Thoughts on Titan Regulator (circa 2015ish?)

[ADMB]

Hi all,

I recently made a "bundled" purchase that included a couple regulator sets and some other misc. gear. One of the reg sets is a mint condition AL Titan regulator set, SPG, and computer. I almost exclusively dive cold water (45F-50F) and I'm wondering how well this model will perform as a backup (once overhauled, of course). Per the seller and verified by the computer, this set was hardly used - computer shows: 10 dives/1hr of dive time.

I'm not the most well informed person when it comes to gear but is this revision of the Titan worth keeping around as for cold water dives?

TIA!

 

[rhwestfall]

@buddhasummer @rsingler

 

[Still Kicking]

Hi all,

I recently made a "bundled" purchase that included a couple regulator sets and some other misc. gear. One of the reg sets is a mint condition AL Titan regulator set, SPG, and computer. I almost exclusively dive cold water (45F-50F) and I'm wondering how well this model will perform as a backup (once overhauled, of course). Per the seller and verified by the computer, this set was hardly used - computer shows: 10 dives/1hr of dive time.

I'm not the most well informed person when it comes to gear but is this revision of the Titan worth keeping around as for cold water dives?

TIA!

Titans are solid regs, befitting their Conshelf lineage. Very dependable and easy to service, if you get into that. No special tools needed. A good choice for a backup reg.

 

[rsingler]

I agree. They're workhorses that are easy to service.
I can't speak to their cold water bonafides, with no direct experience.
That said, even an unsealed diaphragm has it over an unsealed piston in potential freezing conditions. It would have to be quite an iceball to impair the unsealed spring action. More to the point, the area of adiabatic cooling is at the other end of the reg, encased in metal that should act as a fair heat sink. But it's not marketed that way, and may not do as well as, say, a MK19EVO.

The second stage has one real advantage in your proposed conditions: that cover peels off by pulling on the loop around the knob-like projection, though doing it with gloves might be a challenge.

But if it indeed froze up, it would be straightforward to clean out the ice and put the cover back on, even while underwater, if your octo continued to function.

The valve itself is a dirt-simple downstream metal valve that again, has modest heat sink capability. The hose side of the valve has some small heat exchanger fins. It does require careful tuning.

I'm not the one to advise you specifically for cold water, but these two regs are solid.

The ABS is a convenience octo that has no place in cold water diving, IMO. If you tune it regularly, it can do fine. It's almost the same valve as in your Titan. But it doesn't stay in tune and most breathe quite stiffly coming from most shops, given the case configuration. The case frequently gets damaged by techs disassembling frozen valve halves. Not much room for water to circulate to melt or carry off bits of ice.

That's a great backup set with proven performance. You can find others perhaps better suited to 45°F water.

 

[Still Kicking]

I agree. They're workhorses that are easy to service.
I can't speak to their cold water bonafides, with no direct experience.
That said, even an unsealed diaphragm has it over an unsealed piston in potential freezing conditions. It would have to be quite an iceball to impair the unsealed spring action. More to the point, the point of adiabatic cooling is at the other end of the reg, encased in metal that should act as a fair heat sink. But it's not marketed that way, and may not do as well as, say, a MK19EVO.

The second stage has one real advantage in your proposed conditions: that cover peels off by pulling on the loop around the knob-like projection, though doing it with gloves might be a challenge.
View attachment 847014
But if it indeed froze up, it would be straightforward to clean out the ice and put the cover back on, even while underwater, if your octo continued to function.

The valve itself is a dirt-simple downstream metal valve that again, has modest heat sink capability. The hose side of the valve has some small heat exchanger fins. It does require careful tuning.
View attachment 847013

I'm not the one to advise you specifically for cold water, but these two regs are solid.

The ABS is a convenience octo that has no place in cold water diving, IMO. If you tune it regularly, it can do fine. It's almost the same valve as in your Titan. But it doesn't stay in tune and most breathe quite stiffly coming from most shops, given the case configuration. The case frequently gets damaged by techs disassembling frozen valve halves. Not much room for water to circulate to melt or carry off bits of ice.

That's a great backup set with proven performance. You can find others perhaps better suited to 45°F water.

I love those "Tupperware" purge covers. So easy to remove and clear out the sand if a student takes a roll on the beach.

 

[ADMB]

Excellent, thank you very much for the input @Still Kicking and @rsingler !

 

[Nemrod]

If you can find a cooperative AL store/dealer it would be simple to convert the first stage to a fully sealed unit as that first stage is current product.