Valves Sea Elite vs Thermo

[Scared Silly]

I posted this in another thread but the question got lost.

I have been looking at valves for a set of doubles. Any comments on Sea Elite valves versus Thermo valves? I know that Sea Elite made/makes the valves for Halcyon and are cheaper than Thermo.

I am thinking about putting these on a set of Al80s initally but later might put them on some HP80s or HP100s. Any things to consider?

 

[eandiver]

I have the 200 bar on my double HP 100's and have no issues. Sometimes the extra $ you pay is just for the name.

 

[matt t.]

Go with the Sea-Elites. Best deal around. I bought my last one (200 BAR) new,
on E-bay for $99. I have 3 and haven't had any trouble.

 

[roakey]

The huge advantage of Sea-Elites is that you can easily buy parts for them so you can maintain them yourself.

Roak

 

[rjack321]

Tech diving limited sells Thermo parts and they are easy to clean & service.

Except for one manifold, I have all Thermo valves. They have one annoying design flaw. I don't know if the sea elites also have this or not.

There is a copper washer under the bonnet nut which must be replaced everytime you disassemble the valve. They don't cost much ($0.30) but its kinda a pain to keep spares around. If the washer isn't replaced the valve is almost for sure going to leak.

 

[Scared Silly]

Thanks for the info. Because I will be buying them new any reason to get the 300 bar versus the 200 bar? All of our regs are DIN so the insert for a yoke is not an issue and they are 300 bar compatible.

 

[SparticleBrane]

My issue with Thermo will sound petty, but it's slightly annoying. The valves don't turn on slowly, the instant you turn the knob they're ON. Thus when I need to use my O2 analyzer I have to be very careful to barely touch the valve so it won't open a lot. The Sea Elite valves seem to open slower so it's easier to analyze my nitrox.

 

[rjack321]

Personally, I'd get 200 bar. They are not any weaker.

The issue I've had with 300s is that the threads vs the face can get a little out of alignment. Regs and/or gas flow meters don't seal as well then.

 

[hunter991]

I have thermo, 200 bar din, and 300 bar din here at the shop. The thermos can be broken down and used as a single valve or an H valve if you buy the extra parts. I dont' think you can do that with the sea elite. That said the sea elite style are cheaper and I like them just a little bit better than the thermos.

I sell both but usually suggest people buy the sea elites (I sell the Salvo version).

Brent

 

[Scared Silly]

My issue with Thermo will sound petty, but it's slightly annoying. The valves don't turn on slowly, the instant you turn the knob they're ON. Thus when I need to use my O2 analyzer I have to be very careful to barely touch the valve so it won't open a lot. The Sea Elite valves seem to open slower so it's easier to analyze my nitrox.

I have heard this comment from several others and my wife found this out the hard way when she was analyzing a tank one time during an adv. nitrox course. She literally blew the sensor apart and unfortunately it was not ours. When we bought ours we got an Analox analyzer which has the sensor on the inside so hopefully it has a bit more protection.