Why do yoke valve connecters even exist?

[Hickdive]

Yokes are vulnerable in overhead environments and much more prone to extruding the o ring but they are much more forgiving of inexperienced or careless operators.

DIN are less robust, a serious consideration in the rental/tourist market, but offer a much more secure connection.

If you want a real example of technology persisting in diving long after it has largely disappeared have a look at the number of cylinder valves still being manufactured and sold that rely on copper sealing glands rather than o rings.

 

[Lorenzoid]

That's the kind of answer I was looking for! Need something that is more durable during installation for novice/careless divers.

My local dive shop rents tanks that have the convertible valves with the threaded insert. It is not uncommon to find a tank with a valve in which the threads have been damaged enough to prevent my DIN reg from screwing in. I have learned to, before I leave the shop, remove the insert and check whether I can screw my DIN reg in easily. What a PITA. Yoke is great for rental tanks.

By the way, I'm in a "DIN vs. yoke" mood today, as I just finished converting my wife's and my DIN reg sets (HOG brand) to yoke in preparation for a trip to Bonaire. DIN tanks are very scarce on Bonaire. And the DIN-to-yoke screw-on adapter tends to limit the range of my head movement by a centimeter or so--just enough to be noticeable. For a weeklong trip, I think we will be happier with our regs converted to yoke.

 

[lowviz]

I'm with the DIN side. Not really in a big way, but I prefer DIN.

One should always take care of one's gear (life support equipment). Thorough rinse after each saltwater dive and the reg threads get a quick shine-up with a BRASS brush when they develop a 'blush' on the chrome. You run into trouble when both the cylinder valve and your reg threads are cruddy.

 

[Hatul]

I prefer DIN as well but there's another weakness of DIN. When not pressurized the DIN is much more likely than Yoke to loosen, so I always make a point of tightening the DIN connection just before pressurizing it. Once pressurized the DIN connection is very solid.

 

[tbone1004]

Yoke has it's place, they are infinitely faster at the fill station, easier to get reg sets on and off, more idiot proof as far as putting them on by inexperience divers, more durable to dropping since the top of the valve is solid. Din is just a better connection for non abusive environments, which is why the tech divers generally have them, and travel destinations don't. All of my tanks are 300bar din, and all of my regs are the same. I keep a few yoke adapters for my regs in my tool kit, and keep yoke fill adapters in there as well. If I know I'm travelling to a location where I'll be using yoke tanks, the turret gets swapped for a yoke and off I go. I have to swap all of my hoses around anyway, so the two minutes it takes to swap the turret over to a yoke is nothing. Used to keep a dedicated yoke first stage, but it was pointless since I so rarely needed to use it I'd rather just swap the turret on a first stage that I know is used regularly.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

This is definitely true, but also DIN valves can get knocked out of round easily...

I have two DIN valves where the regs don't seat properly and leak because of this exact problem.

 

[Scared Silly]

It also takes a long time to dislodge a widely used incumbent standard, even when you come up with a superior product.

Like driving on the right side of the road versus the left ...

 

[Nemrod]

This isn't so much a yoke vs DIN question, since there are a million posts with that debate, but rather an inquiry as to how did these two styles come to be. If the DIN connection is more secure, why does the yoke style remain so prevalent in the market (at least in the American/Australia/Caribbean markets)? If by magic all the old yoke style 1st stages and tanks were converted to DIN, would anyone care?


This more or less came to my attention as I now move from rec to tech, and need to convert by 1st stage to DIN from yoke.

Because your question assumes a superiority that does not exist or transfer to any real world advantage if it does.

N

 

[Centrals]

I wonder if M26 would ever become a standard in EU members?

 

[lowviz]

Yeah, when all fill stations become ISO 9001 compliant.

I just want two things that connect with a reasonable degree of reliability, I'll take the personal responsibility from there...