Who knows Apeks stuff?

[JohnN]

Incidentally, HOG regs are copies of Apeks but HOG haven't gone to the expense of having them CE marked so they can't be legally sold in the EU nor could a diver "at work" use them however there's nothing to stop you personally importing them and using them on personal dives.

Odd, my D1 "classic" first and seconds have an CE mark for EN250. . .

Have those Belgium gnomes been feeding you some bad Haggis?

 

[ams511]

In that case it had to do with Sherwood regulators. I got them back non-functioning after service TWICE and vowed never again to buy anything that I couldn't get serviced by people who I know personally.

This is surprising. Sherwoods are among the cheapest and easiest regs to service. The seats for both stages are simple pucks and the o-rings are pretty much standard. If the tech can't service a Sherwood I would wonder about him.

 

[Diver0001]

This is surprising. Sherwoods are among the cheapest and easiest regs to service. The seats for both stages are simple pucks and the o-rings are pretty much standard. If the tech can't service a Sherwood I would wonder about him.

Dunno, All I know is it happened twice. Once after a normal service when I got it back and the WOB was off the charts and once after a recall when the regulator was delivered back to me completely non-functional. The first time I tweaked it myself because the problem was in the 2nd stage that was obviously thrown together and not tuned. The second time I went back to the shop and demanded an explanation which boiled down to, "we didn't know because it's all out-sourced and we have no control over the quality".

They had it fixed but I put it on ebay the same day I got it back.

R..

 

[buddhasummer]

Apeks regs are made and sold in the EU and therefore have to meet the minimum standards of EN250.

In fact Apeks regs exceed these minimums by a considerable margin.

Following an investigation by the UK HSE it was found that some regulators couldn't meet the EN250 standard with two divers breathing from the regulator (i.e. one first stage supplying a primary and octopus with a diver breathing off each) so there is to be a new standard introduced EN250A which requires regulators to meet the EN250 standard with two divers breathing from it. IIRC the new standard requires the regulator to not exceed the EN250 limits but with two divers breathing from it at a depth of 30 metres and a water temperature of 10 degrees C. Apeks regulators actually don't exceed the limits at 50m and 5 deg C.

Incidentally, HOG regs are copies of Apeks but HOG haven't gone to the expense of having them CE marked so they can't be legally sold in the EU nor could a diver "at work" use them however there's nothing to stop you personally importing them and using them on personal dives.

I think you are mistaken. I have no idea about earlier HOGs but here's a photo of one of my HOGS, both are marked.

 

[buddhasummer]

I dive Apeks FSR/XTX50s and have had zero problems. I bought the HOGs more out of curiosity than anything else I wanted to see for myself after reading so many glowing reviews. Bonus, they were cheap enough to indulge my curiosity. Comparing the two at depths greater than 30m the HOGs "seemed" to breathe a little harder. I'm going to re tune them this weekend as could well be just down to tuning. But with my limited experience, four dives, I think I'm going to like them. If I can get them to breathe the same at depth as my Apeks I'd consider swapping over.

 

[John_B]

My Apeks have been solid. I got my first set for cold water and added more for doubles. Now that I only do warm water single-tank diving, I don't think the whole sealed diaphragm design is as necessary for me as it once was; in fact the doubles reg set was sold to someone who will actually use it.

But I have the opposite problem from you. My local tech that has been servicing Apeks/Aqualung for decades is retiring (though he did just service my single tank set for my upcoming Roatan trip). And the couple of times I've had a question about my regulators in more remote warm-water destinations, the techs have been unfamiliar with diaphragm regs in general and Apeks regs in particular. My thinking is that, since everywhere in the world has seen the Scubapro piston regs, I'll probably get those next and move my Apeks on to someone more inclined to need a cold water regulator.

As always, YMMV.

 

[Agility]

The XTX 200 is the only Apeks first stage with replaceable high pressure seat, that was the reason I went for two of them for my doubles.
Many European divers use a DS4 / DST combo because the routing on doubles is nice and tidy.
All sets exept the Apeks flight (which IMHO does not stand up to the reputation Apeks has and which i would strongly discourage you from buying for daily use) and the XTX200 (because of the included HP seat) use the same service kit AFAIK.
The XTX second stages are all identical internally from XTX 20 upwards to XTX 200, the XTX 20 and 40 do not have the knob to increase cracking pressure but can easily be fitted with one and the XTX 20 does not have the heatsink all the others have and therefore is not rated for cold water.
The second stages can be opened without any tools - even under water if necessary.
Yes I love my Apeks regulators but I have no affilation with any shop that sells them.

 

[Redshift]

My first reg was an Aqualung Impulse Cryo, which I still have and has always worked fine. What I don't appreciate much is the different diameter for the main LP port.
When I moved to doubles I got Apeks. I have two DS4 first stages, and XTX50 and ATX50 seconds. They are great regs. Have used them down to 60m and 2ºC without problems. I think it's one of the best quality for that price and I'd even consider the 40 because I've also not used the adjustment knob.
The routing is not bad although it does bend the hoses a bit (I put miflex on the wing inflator and that helps, the bungeed second stage has had the same rubber hose for years so far without problems...). I think the DST can get a 5th port underneath which is quite nice.
Without having any experience with them, I've also heard good things about Scubapro.

 

[dbulmer]

Rob,
I have a TX50 primary, ATX50 for warm water.
On twins XTX50s.

I have never ever noticed any difference in performance whatsover - My favourite is the TX50 - it feels solid and has never given me any problems.
The ATX50 diaphragm lever came loose once resulting in bubbles everywhere and was fixed very easily - something to look at every niw and again.

The XTX can be routed from either left or right hand side for twins - personally I think the XTX route okeish but the Scabbypro alternatives have a cleaner routing ( I use MK20s G250HPs for the cleaner routing - better but no worth forking out a load of money for it - I bought mine off a former mentor at a good price).

The APEKS when inverted ie horizontal on your back give you a slight wet breathe but other than that they are a fine reg for the price. DS4s are cheap and can be used as stage firsts or the other way round

By and large the feedback I have had from service blokes is that they like APEKS because they are easy to service and can be done quickly.


PS I'd look for TX50s and spend the difference on something else - if you D A R E

 

[Diver0001]

Thank you all for your input. I still have mixed feelings about not buying an Aqualung reg after having dived with only aqualung gear for so long. It's funny how you build up a brand loyalty over time, but I think I'll get over it for the difference in the price LOL.

It sounds like the consensus is that the Apeks regs are solid and suitable for the type of diving I do.

Based on your input and some googling of my own I'm leaning toward the DS4/XTX40 combination. It's not the low-ball solution but since my wife is pushing me to do something about my eclectic collection of regs, and she wants me to buy new ones instead of 2nd hand ones, I figure I have some leverage to buy what I like.... and it's my birthday on Wednesday.

R..