Titanium regulators comparison over non-titanium

[DwayneJ]

I think the "spark" reference refers to a higher potential for entrained ferrous particles from elsewhere in the copmpressor/fill station/tank system to spark if they impact the comparatively rough Ti surface. The other caution involves the oxides that form on a Ti surface that are for all intents and purposes impossible to remove making proper O2 cleaning much more difficult.

...and pressure and velocity that generates friction/heat in the first stage. This info comes from a very well informed source.

 

[Jimmer]

Standardizing regs for my tech setup will certainly be a future consideration. For the majority of my local non tech diving, I'm very happy with what I use today.

Can you share what your "standardized" reg setup is? From what I have learnt to date, if you are going to use a reg for O2, it needs to be rated and prepped for O2 use. Assuming as you suggested you needed to do a repair in water, is your current primary 1st and 2nd stage 100% rated O2, 80% rated O2 or some other rating?

Thanks.

Well I'm only at the beginning of my tech training, so my opinions are worth exactly what you paid for them. I chose to use Zeagle regs for my tech gear. Flathead VI's on my backgas, and DSV's on my stage/deco bottles. The advice I've gotten from my tech instructor was to simply have all your regs O2 cleaned at your services, so they are ready to go into service on any of your bottles.

 

[Nemrod]

A titanium regulator could be justified by the sort of person who really does not fuss over manitenance, does a great deal of travel diving, is not into tech, does not use deco gas now or ever but as I said, travels a lot and simply wants a regulator that can take it, the abuse that is.

The material is being misused actually, since it has much greater strength than brass, is lighter than steel, great strength to weight, high resistence to corrosion and similar degradation the proper use would be to make really slim, almost dainty looking, ultra light equipment. Just look at the yokes, connections and bodies on current ti regs, they are just as beefy as if they were brass and needed that beef, they don't.

N

 

[DwayneJ]

The advice I've gotten from my tech instructor was to simply have all your regs O2 cleaned at your services, so they are ready to go into service on any of your bottles.

What I saw on the Zeagle site was these regs were EANx ready to 40% only?
http://www.zeagle.com/clientuploads/datasheets/DS-V.pdf

With apologies since I'm still learning but don't O2 concentrations greater than 40% require a 1st/2nd stage built for these higher concentrations - OMS Workhorse 100%/Atomics M1 80% - O2 Clean means if they were not O2 clean from the factory or have been used for air, they can be cleaned for O2 use but not higher than the concentration they are rated for?

 

[Jimmer]

Most any reg can be cleaned for O2 use. The only ones that really shouldn't are the Ti ones. Some may be better suited to it than others, and some come from the factory prepared for O2 service. Most just need to be cleaned and lubed with O2 safe lubricants then they are ready to go.

The other thing with the 40% rule, is that I expect a LOT of times the regs are built at the factory fully O2 compatible, but sold as only good for 40% as a liability issue.

 

[DwayneJ]

The other thing with the 40% rule, is that I expect a LOT of times the regs are built at the factory fully O2 compatible, but sold as only good for 40% as a liability issue.

Hmm - Might pass on that. Since there is a choice of regs (40%/80%/100%), I'm going to purchase and use regs based on what they are rated for.

Dwayne

 

[Jimmer]

One other thing to add, is that if you look at some brands, like Apeks, they sell the exact same regulator in standard configuration, and an O2 cleaned config. They also add that you can get the parts and have the standard one O2 cleaned to be the same as the factory O2 cleaned one. ScubaPro does the same. Hollis has an O2 reg that is just an Oceanic Alpha 7 (they are on the Alpha 8 now) that is O2 cleaned and has the pretty green colours. I was told by Nick Hollis that you can get the parts from their reg and O2 clean an Oceanic Alpha 7.

The point I'm getting at is that most regs can be fairly easily prepared for O2 service, as most of them are Brass, which is one of the most oxygen inert metals out there.

 

[martzak]

If you fly to the dive site with a hang glider it might be a benefit.

NICE

 

[halocline]

Hmm - Might pass on that. Since there is a choice of regs (40%/80%/100%), I'm going to purchase and use regs based on what they are rated for.

Dwayne

This reminds me of the scam about "nitrox" regulators that SP and other tried to pass off on the gullible dive gear customers, insinuating that there was something safer about using O2 clean regs for nitrox, but not really explaining why. There are still plenty of divers, and dealers, that are happy to keep the issue confusing enough to convince people to A) buy stuff they don't need, and B) pay for services they don't need.

 

[beanojones]

I work with a shop that still has 30 year old Mk 5's in regular rental service where they see salt water on a regular basis. Over the last year or so I have retired a couple that could no longer be made to breathe to spec, but for the most part they are still in good shape. Any chrome loss is cosmetic only and due more to impact than corrosion.

If properly maintained, brass will last for decades - longer than most divers. Now I agree if you don;t want to rinse your regs the Ti bits will hold up pretty well - but the rest of the reg is going to suffer from the abuse, so the Ti is again pointless overkill.

Your experience is worth listening to. (especially as a counterpoint to mine.)

Note: All the retired regs I was referrring to were retired from use as the primary regs for instructors doing 100 dives a month (or more), and living in the tropics).

No question the regs were well used, and lasted a while. But they did wear out. In two particular places: The ambient/spring chamber, and where the lever sat on the barrel. The first stages dechromed (and in one case actually split) where the piston's large oring wiped, and the second stages failed because the square hole where the lever sat became round. The only second stages that failed, that were not instructor's own gear, were all the old all metal ScubaPro second stages. So they lasted a good long time.

Personally I would use (and have bought for my rental regs) diaphragm first stages, and titanium second stages. What is interesting about the Atomic is that they would not even fail at the typical failure point even if they were not titanium since they use an insert where the lever pivots. And that insert is easily replaceable.