Stop steering new divers in North America towards DIN regulators

[Lorenzoid]

All the issues being brought up are easily preventable with a checklist and caring for your equipment properly. . . . I guess my feelings are they are both proven and reliable systems and there are tools to convert them. People are going to dive what they dive, as long as they are safe and having fun, does it really matter?

I suspect that dive ops would prefer to be able to maintain an inventory of yoke-only rental tanks, since DIN tanks suffer from the potential problems of: (1) saltwater corrosion around the insert (@halocline's comment above), (2) the inserts going missing, and (3) damage to DIN threads from rough handling (rental tanks do get abused). So I can understand why a dive operator might prefer maintaining an inventory of yoke-only rental tanks over DIN tanks with inserts. For this reason, I suspect yoke tanks will remain more prevalent for rental than DIN.

 

[DiverDownD3]

My LDS is about half and half. All the aluminum tanks are yoke and steel are DIN. I can't recall any of the DIN tanks having a yoke screw in adapter, probably for the reasons you mentioned above. They may sone they keep on hand, I know they have some first stage DIN to yoke adapters on hand in case you forget

 

[2airishuman]

My LDS is about half and half. All the aluminum tanks are yoke and steel are DIN. I can't recall any of the DIN tanks having a yoke screw in adapter, probably for the reasons you mentioned above. They may sone they keep on hand, I know they have some first stage DIN to yoke adapters on hand in case you forget

I have also encountered this, although the op in question also had 32% in the 100cf steel/DIN tanks and air in the 80cf aluminum/yoke tanks.

 

[Lorenzoid]

North Carolina is certainly DIN-friendly. But be wary in the places that get most of their divers flying in from America's heartland for their annual tropical dive vacation. They may or may not readily and cheerfully accommodate divers with DIN regs.

 

[halocline]

All the issues being brought up are easily preventable with a checklist and caring for your equipment properly.

Exactly, which is why I said way earlier in the thread that DIN is excellent for divers using their own tanks. But you can't prevent a tropical dive op from leaving the yoke inserts in convertible valves until they weld themselves in place from salt corrosion, and you can't prevent DIN valves on rental tanks from getting the threads bunged up or the valves knocked out of round by getting tossed around boats and trucks.

"What regulator to buy" threads often go something like this: 1. New diver is looking for his/her first regulator to use on dive trips in the caribbean or other destinations in north/central america. 2. Helpful experienced diver that dives locally and/or technical diving suggests a DIN regulator, because in his mind, DIN is a better system. 3. New diver ends up being told to buy a regulator that won't fit most of the tanks he/she will be encountering in those recreational dive destinations.

It doesn't matter which system is "better" in principle, it matters what will work the best and most conveniently for the new diver's specific needs.

 

[kelemvor]

Exactly, which is why I said way earlier in the thread that DIN is excellent for divers using their own tanks. But you can't prevent a tropical dive op from leaving the yoke inserts in convertible valves until they weld themselves in place from salt corrosion, and you can't prevent DIN valves on rental tanks from getting the threads bunged up or the valves knocked out of round by getting tossed around boats and trucks.

"What regulator to buy" threads often go something like this: 1. New diver is looking for his/her first regulator to use on dive trips in the caribbean or other destinations in north/central america. 2. Helpful experienced diver that dives locally and/or technical diving suggests a DIN regulator, because in his mind, DIN is a better system. 3. New diver ends up being told to buy a regulator that won't fit most of the tanks he/she will be encountering in those recreational dive destinations.

It doesn't matter which system is "better" in principle, it matters what will work the best and most conveniently for the new diver's specific needs.

That's what I experienced, and is the reason I bought DIN. Not that I regret it, as already mentioned. Well, the posts here and my LDS that caters to tech/cave divers both played a role. Despite being happy with my choice, I tend to agree with @2airishuman. New divers in the USA should probably be steered toward yoke unless they are talking about tech diving. Even then, a yoke to din conversion kit for their yoke reg is a darn near perfect answer... assuming most regs like my scubapro mk25's have such a kit available. That same LDS has the opinion that minor operations on a reg like this should be well within the skillset of a tech diver, and I tend to agree. Not that I'm claiming to be one (but I'm working on it).

 

[DMDavid]

Hmm

I have friends who have 5000+ dives on Yoke valves, when do they stop being "Noob Divers" ?

It is NOT the equipment that makes a "seasoned" diver!!!

Since you're apparently having difficulty understanding my abbreviated sentence I'll write a longer response for you.
I (as in ME) found that a DIN valve fit my needs better and therefore I (as in ME) replaced my yoke valves as they were replaced due to age or damage, l arrived at this decision using my experience and knowledge gained from diving over many years.
What everyone else chooses to use is none of my concern, but I can tell you that I'm not impressed with number of dives as a qualifier of any sort when it comes to diving style or equipment usage, I have seen other divers use an alternate technique/equipment/agency their entire lives and what works for them does not necessarily work for me.
I will however agree that equipment does not make the diver, but then again nor does a log book full of dive entries.
Training, training and more training with those in the know and years and years of actual experience will eventually make you a "better" diver, but as far as seasoned goes it doesn't mean squat if you continue to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

 

[Oldbear]

...
I found that a DIN valve fit my needs better...

This the the best reason to use one configuration over another...

 

[DDI]

My LDS only stocks DIN and sells yoke adapters cheap for those of us who travel or like to match their gear to what students may be using. I have always figured that if you buy high end regs for example cold water, environmentally sealed regs then DIN is the only way to go in order to use them in your future tech diving (if that is on the horizon) and so they hold their resale value. I suppose for regs that are not environmentally sealed and used by divers who will never go the tech route than maybe Yoke is an option.
For me and just about everyone I have discussed this with figure it comes down to the fact that it is easy to screw on a yoke adapter if required, and that yoke has no advantages over DIN? I have seen people regret the yoke purchase and have the reg converted to DIN which can cost up to 3 times a yoke adapter.

 

[Skulmoski]

We have DIN in our family. I also had a Betamax machine! I hope DIN is not the new Betamax!

GJS