Some advice for a newer diver

[1982shawn]

When i fist started diving i bought 2 pairs of used regulators to dive with, so i wouldnt have to continue to rent them. I hooked both pairs up to a tank and tested them both out i took the set that felt the most comfortable to my LDS and had them serviced as a safety precaution.

I recently took the rescue diver course and during an OOA drill i got to breath off of my partners VERY nice regulator which seemed like heaven to breath off of compaired to my old hunks of junk.

I am highly interested in cold water diving(the bottom of the quarry was 40 degrees last time i went down there) and ice diving seems like a great time as well.

I have been eyeballing the Legend LUX. Also any advice on DIN vs Yoke would be much appreciated.

Any advice for a newer diver on quality vs cost in this area?

 

[spectrum]

If you're going down into 40 degree quarries you DO NEED an cold water regulator so that's the first think to lock in on. 40F is plenty cold for a lesser regulator to get you into trouble. An interest in ice diving just reinforces the need.

Spending all you can afford on your regulator is usually money well spent.

DIN/ yoke comes down to a few details. For most divers yoke is the way to go. It's what you will find almost exclusively in warm water travel. If you are still renting cylinders then most will also be yoke.

If you decide to start owning high pressure steel cylinders then DIN is a better way to go but the 3442 PSI cylinders will work just fine on yoke. Having a DIN regulator opens you up to deals on older 3500 PSI DIN only steel cylinders. DIN also has the advantage of not having the yoke knob sticking up out back. With DIN you do have everyone threading into your tank valve to make fills as opposed to a clamp connection and you have to keep those DIN threads clean. The DIN o-ring is bigger and captured a little better. The DIN connector can be spun-out if mishandled and in that respect is more fragile than yoke.

If you do go DIN and need to use a yoke cylinder you can use an adapter that may be a bit of a kludge depending on the regulator involved or you can swap the actual regulator connection making it a true yoke style for the trip. It's usually a 10 minute job requiring about $50 worth of parts. The adapter costs almost as much.

The tech types have a strong preference for DIN but IMO the ability to get good deals on 3500 PSI cylinders is the biggest advantage to the recreational diver.

Going back to the genesis of this.... What do you have for a regulator. In decent tune there should not be such a dramatic difference.

Pete

 

[GillScales]

The legend LUX doesn't seem to have any advantages over the other legends,just a fancy color trim ring. Try the legend supreme to save a bit of cash.

 

[SangP]

The legend LUX doesn't seem to have any advantages over the other legends,just a fancy color trim ring. Try the legend supreme to save a bit of cash.

Agreed, $995 vs $680 for some pink gold... lol! For $300 bucks you could actually buy some real gold!

 

[halocline]

What do you have now? some of the 'old hunks of junk' are actually excellent regulators.

I would take issue with Pete's statement "Spending all you can afford on your regulator is usually money well spent." Getting an excellent regulator is definitely worth doing if you're going to dive regularly, but that often has little relation to 'spending all you can afford.' Maybe that's more what he meant.

For example, in your case you would be better off with a SP MK17/G250V than the higher priced MK25/S600. You'd also be perfectly well equipped with a SPEC-sealed MK10/G250 (or even better for cold water, a balanced/adjustable) which would cost a fraction of a new regulator. Regulator performance and especially cold water use is not necessarily tied to higher cost.

Pete summed up the DIN/yoke situation well, but the bumper-sticker-version is, if you own or rent yoke tanks, buy a yoke regulator, if your own or rent DIN, buy a DIN reg. DO NOT buy a DIN reg with the primary idea of using an adapter on it. You will not be happy in the long run.

 

[Johanan]

For cold water or ice diving Apeks regulators are among the best. Here is a good deal. I have DIN regulators and use an adaptor for hired tanks with yoke valves. Works quite satisfactory.

 

[ams511]

Shane the most cost effective regulators are usually the manufacturers mid-range regulators. If you like Aqualung, the Titan LX is well regarded. The top of the line regulators usually have cosmetic changes that are not worth the price. You should tell us what your "old hunks of junk" are so we can evaluate if they really are low performance or just victims of a bad overhaul.

 

[1982shawn]

You should tell us what your "old hunks of junk" are so we can evaluate if they really are low performance or just victims of a bad overhaul.

I will try and look when i get home and see what they are, maybe post a picture or 2. I have been eyeballing Dive Rite RG3100 Regulator setup for cold water. I am contemplating buying the basic setup and a second reg as the octo with a yellow hose.

---------- Post Merged on November 8th, 2012 at 02:19 PM ---------- Previous Post was on November 7th, 2012 at 09:15 PM ----------



This is what i use as my backup set. The first stage is an SP4, which i believe is made by oceanic. The next post will have my primary regulator setup.

---------- Post Merged on November 8th, 2012 at 02:22 PM ---------- Previous Post was on November 7th, 2012 at 09:15 PM ----------



This is my primary setup.

 

[silver02ca]

Both of your regs are unbalanced which explains why you felt the ease of breathing when you tried your buddies. They are still both work horses just not recommended for cold water. The legend would definitely be a good choice for cold water diving. Whatever you end up buying stick with something that is environmentally sealed for a first stage and balanced adjustable for a second stage.

 

[1982shawn]

Both of your regs are unbalanced which explains why you felt the ease of breathing when you tried your buddies.

Does a balanced regulator help you use less air? Also how important is it for a cold water regulator setup to have heat exchanger? I see soem models that have them built in and other models that say they are codl water models but dont have heat exchanger.