Originally posted by Uncle Pug
Now we are going to talk about tank valves....
Have you ever put one of your 300 bar DIN regs on a 200 bar DIN tank valve???
I have.... and the versatility of 300 bar DIN fittings allows me to do that... but I don't like it!
It gives me a very uneasy feeling to see all those threads exposed to potential damage when they could be nice ~n~ secure in a 300 bar DIN valve and adding to the strength of the lock up....
I'm with you so far, although I'm not convinced of the strength thing. I've worked on enough mechanical stuff to know that 2-3 threads can hold thousands of pounds of stuff *IF* there isn't a lot of movement, and the 200 bar valves have more than 2-3 threads on them.
I also agree that it doens't look as nice to have the exposed threads, but again, I'm used to seeing that kind of things all the time, in situations where the threads are much more likely to get beat-up/wrecked.
I think if I were going to consistently use a 200 bar DIN valve I would want to have a 200 bar DIN regulator fitting so that all the threads were locked down tight....
Except then the regulators wouldn't be usable on a 300 Bar tank valve. Plus the fact that I don't think you can buy a 200 Bar regulator fitting anymore.
I want the connection between my valve body and first stage to not only be pressure proof but mechanically bullet proof!
And so do you Nate... so do you.
You're absolutely correct. And, I'm willing to bet that the 200 Bar is within a few thousands of a percent (.001%) as strong as 300 Bar connection.
The price difference new is really no big deal if it exists at all....
Actually, the price difference is actually rather high, because you can get the 200 Bar stuff *much* cheaper because the technical community has been convinced that 200 Bar == garbage and 300 Bar == Nirvana.
So, I'm more than willing to buy someone's barely used 200 Bar manifold for dirt cheap because they were convinced that the 300 Bar is the only 'safe' way to dive.
Besides, in my situation, the 300 Bar connection means I can't get air fills.
The reason the 200 bar DINs are on ebay is because somebody screwed up and bought the wrong thing.....
And if 300 bar DINs show up on ebay they command a premium because that is the thing to buy.....
See above. I don't think it's the wrong thing.
Now I don't know what it is you are buying, Tanks w/valves or valves or manifold....
Right now, I'm just looking at a manifold and/or two valves, if I can get them cheap enough. So far I haven't found any that would work on my Al tanks under $100 (yet) that weren't OMS valves.
I'm also not sure what size the threads are on a LP 95/104 (3/4" or 7/8"), so until I resolve that issue, I'm only partly serious about buying, since I'd like to be able to move the valves over to steel tanks in case I ever dive doubles. I'm trying to do things right (DIR
) the first time, so I don't have to buy everything over again.
So far, I haven't felt too bad about any of the purchases I've made. (Well, maybe the shark-killer knife for my wife, but it was because I didn't know any better.
)
But I do know that if you are going to put a 300 bar DIN regulator into a 200 bar DIN valve you will not be happy in the end result...
Maybe, but I think I be even unhappier if I couldn't get air fills.
My goal in this posting was to someone like yourself to bring up considerations I hadn't thought of, and you've done that. As always, thanks for looking out for me!!!!
Nate
ps. Someone's birthday is coming up pretty soon, isn't it?
