What is your favorite of all time regulator?

[vjb.knife]

Just wondering...how many regs are over tightened?

Since the real pressure seals are based upon orings and flat surfaces, over cranking things down is generally bad.

Is "hand tight" tight enough?

I have seen regs were the yoke retainer nut was almost stripped due to excessive over tightening.

I work as a diver and one of the guys at work does not understand that an O-Ring is a dynamic seal not a static gasket, which he does not understand. He cranks the yokes on the regulators and compressor fill whips down like a gorilla. I am the lead diver and I tell him to knock it off but soon afterwards he resumes his idiocy. Finger tight is enough. It requires very little tightening. Someday, I will put the yoke on his finger to show him how tight it needs to be, compared to how he does it. But then I will have to drive him to the emergency room.

 

[Yawana-Dive]

Without question the 109 with 108 Octo. Mk10 first stage. These regs are just so beautiful to look at, tough as nails and breath as well as any later models.
I’ve dived with a lot of regs over the years and most have been pretty good breathers if they are tuned well. The fundamental differences I have noticed are with types of mouthpieces and types and length of hoses. These things have a greater impact on how the reg sits in your mouth and how comfortable it is for the dive. I’ve experimented and adjusted these things until I’ve settled on what works for me. But always loved the early SP models. I’ve got three sets.

 

[buddhasummer]

Just wondering...how many regs are over tightened?

Since the real pressure seals are based upon orings and flat surfaces, over cranking things down is generally bad.

Is "hand tight" tight enough?

I have seen regs were the yoke retainer nut was almost stripped due to excessive over tightening.

Almost every reg I've ever worked on except my own.

 

[GameChanger]

Mk25/s600

+1

 

[Umuntu]

Just wondering...how many regs are over tightened?

Since the real pressure seals are based upon orings and flat surfaces, over cranking things down is generally bad.

Is "hand tight" tight enough?

I have seen regs were the yoke retainer nut was almost stripped due to excessive over tightening.

I regularly have to use a breaker bar to loosen yoke nuts. I jam the yoke nut socket in with a nut wedged between the socket and the top of the yoke so the socket cannot slip and damage the nut. I swear many of the yoke nuts are tighter than car wheel nuts.

 

[Bigbella]

I have seldom seen any regulator components tightened to specifications; and I have, sadly, been no stranger to the use of a breaker bar within the last year or so.

I have a couple of torque wrenches, one fixed at a set maximum value (30 nm) and another adjustable over a range; and when I have shown clients and some "do-it-yourselfers" just for tightly a component needs to be fixed, it often comes as a surprise.

22 foot pounds -- 30 mm -- is actually very little torque . . .

 

[Angelo Farina]

I have seldom seen any regulator components tightened to specifications; and I have, sadly, been no stranger to the use of a breaker bar within the last year or so.

I have a couple of torque wrenches, one fixed at a set maximum value (30 nm) and another adjustable over a range; and when I have shown clients and some "do-it-yourselfers" just for tightly a component needs to be fixed, it often comes as a surprise.

22 foot pounds -- 30 mm -- is actually very little torque . . .

30 Nm is not really little torque. 10 Nm is little. However a good torque wrench is very useful, I have two of them: one makes 5-30 Nm, the other is 20-120 Nm. For servicing regs I use the small one, which of course is more precise.

 

[Edward3c]

In the 70s I started with a US Divers Conshelf, but switched to Shearwood In the early 80s and have been using them ever since.

 

[Bigbella]

30 Nm is not really little torque. 10 Nm is little. However a good torque wrench is very useful, I have two of them: one makes 5-30 Nm, the other is 20-120 Nm. For servicing regs I use the small one, which of course is more precise.

Comparatively speaking, when one grew up working on cars, 30 nm is little to nothing, in terms of torque, when I was accustomed to 85-100 foot pounds (115- 135 nm) for a few applications.

Further, on many regulators that I had serviced, the torque well exceeded that 30 nm; and some, requiring a breaker bar, were far closer to some lug nut settings than anything else . . .

 

[EdTeach]

Without a doubt, Scubapro Pilot with Mk5 or Mk10. I don't believe a better breather has ever been made. It's nearly effortless with the Pilot valve assisted inhalation and the massive exhaust valve / diaphragm.