Yoke or DIN with yoke adapter

[spectrum]

Maybe I should just get yoke at this stage and buy the conversion later if I decide to switch to DIN.

You are on the right track.

If what you see available in the foreseeable future is yoke then that is what you want to have for a basic regulator.

Down the road if you decide to own your own cylinders you may then decide to use a DIN configuration. At that time you can get the DIN conversion kit and have it installed. In most respects the DIN connector is superior however the yoke configuration is entirely adequate. DIN is not without downsides including repeated mating with valve threads to your regulator and fill whips in various conditions by individuals with assorted levels of finesse. Also some DIN connectors can be disturbed with a twist in a way that does not exist for a yoke. The bottom line is to continue doing your homework before buying cylinders.

For vacation diving which is predominantly yoke you can swap the connector as Rick Inman mentioned. If you are at all mechanically inclined this is a DIY task.

What you do not want to do is buy a regulator with a DIN connector to dive extensively with a DIN/yoke converter. This will make for a big kludgey rig and ads failure modes.

Pete

 

[CompuDude]

Since we're getting into DIN v. Yoke superiority, here's the problem with yoke.

Yoke valves on tanks are constantly beat up, as people are not especially careful with tanks. They are rolled around, gear is piled on top of them, etc. This leads to the o-rings dealing with all manner of crud, and they need changes quite frequently.

By comparison, people tend to be a wee bit more careful with their regulators. A DIN o-ring is on the regulator side, and the sealing surface is all the way at the back of the valve, considerably more protected than the yoke valve. As a result, the o-ring on a set of DIN regs stays in MUCH better shape for MUCH longer (as a general rule) than the o-ring on yoke regs. I have had morning where we have had to change the o-rings on 7 out of 12 rental tanks before we could get a proper seal. I have never seen that happen with DIN tanks. I'm sure it does... and there are indeed occasional stories of that needing to happen. But there is a HUGE disparity in frequency between the two.

Are the yoke o-rings expensive? No, of course not. Can it delay (or possibly ruin, if you run out of spares) a dive day? Absolutely. I'd go so far as to say it's actually somewhat likely to be a problem with yoke.

I personally really hate yoke connections for this reason. When it's hot out and I'm suited up and ready to dive, the last thing I want to be doing is digging through the save-a-dive kit for a spare o-ring because someone has a leaking yoke connection.

 

[Geoff_H]

Are the yoke o-rings expensive? No, of course not. Can it delay (or possibly ruin, if you run out of spares) a dive day? Absolutely. I'd go so far as to say it's actually somewhat likely to be a problem with yoke.

I've not ever lost a dive through a faulty yoke O-ring, and yoke is dived almost exclusively in this part of the world... I think that risk is over stated. As long as you bring a $2 pack of spares then you're fine... it's part of my dive kit, just like regulators and fins.

I think one is more likely to lose a days diving by not having enough/any DIN tanks on the boat and forgetting the adaptor (in the same way as you forget the spare o-ring's!)

I have had morning where we have had to change the o-rings on 7 out of 12 rental tanks before we could get a proper seal.

Wow, I've seen it happen two or three times on 1500+ tanks. A big disparity.

 

[SparticleBrane]

What is your definition of a "proper seal"?

Occasionally when my school's OW students head down to Key Largo, they have to change out the o-rings on every tank on the boat (occasionally, neck o-rings included -- in this case they just change out tanks :11 before they'll go diving. They do this until there are no leaks.

Diving without o-ring leaks is pounded into their heads, so going onto a boat and using tanks that have leaky o-rings goes right against what they were taught.

I'm a big fan of the "no leaks" philosophy.

 

[caringbah]

I would go for the DIN with the yoke adaptor. Many valves are both DIN and yoke and you should have little or no problem hiring a tank with a DIN valve.

 

[realdiver7]

I prefer DIN and think DIN is better, BUT would go with the yoke setup if I only had access to yoke tank valves for most of my diving. At home I use DIN regs because my steel tank valves are DIN, but for travel vacations I have a spare set of yoke regs.

When I made my decision, I bought both DIN and yoke, and since my wife also dives I had to buy two sets of DIN and two sets of yoke for a total of four primary reg sets. I do not like DIN to yoke adapters because they are bulky, heavy, and cause the reg to hit the back of my head. I do not believe in switching back and forth between DIN and yoke conversion kits because it creates wear and tear on threads, parts, etc., and there is the possibility that you may over-torque or under-torque the kit.

BTW...my first 10 years of diving I only had one yoke setup because all I used was tanks with yoke valves.