yoke to din conversion

[RyanT]

o it sounds like my reasoning is OK. My personal tank is an aluminum 80 with a K valve configured for a DIN connection. I do have a yoke adapter which screws onto the first stage which the part that I think you all are referring to with respect to torque specs. I'm going on a dive this next week in the Turks and plan to rent my tank so expect it will likely have a K valve with a yoke connection. If so, I planned to screw on the adapter, snug it down and attach to the tank. Is that over-simplifying?

Nope, works great. I have DIN regulators that I use on my personal tanks when diving locally. When I travel to the caribbean, the yoke adapter comes with me and I works just fine on the AL 80s with yoke valves.

 

[halocline]

So it sounds like my reasoning is OK. My personal tank is an aluminum 80 with a K valve configured for a DIN connection. I do have a yoke adapter which screws onto the first stage which the part that I think you all are referring to with respect to torque specs. I'm going on a dive this next week in the Turks and plan to rent my tank so expect it will likely have a K valve with a yoke connection. If so, I planned to screw on the adapter, snug it down and attach to the tank. Is that over-simplifying?

The spin on yoke adapters do work, but they put the first stage about an inch off the tank valve, closer to the back of your head. For me that would be a deal breaker as I'd be bumping my head against the reg every time I look up. It depends on how high/low your tank is, as well as what kind of BC you use. Jacket BCs are typically going to put the 1st stage lower and further away from your back than backplate/wing set ups.

One other thing to remember is that the yoke adapters cause you to lose any of the reliability benefits of the DIN system, as basically what you have is a DIN and a yoke connection to the tank, and if there is any failure on either connection, your SOL. You're still reliant on the tank o-ring, for example. Another issue is that the threads on the DIN fitting (on the regulator) are not protected by the o-ring, so if you're diving in salt water, you need to remember to take the adapter off your reg after every dive. Otherwise, dried salt water can quickly corrode the threads and eventually 'weld' the adapter in place.

So while it works in a pinch, I would never plan on using one on a regular basis. For a long time on trips where I needed DIN and yoke regs (like cave diving and reef diving on the same trip) I would usually just bring an extra first stage and switch hoses. The extra first stage is not much bigger than the adapter. Now-a-days many resorts have tanks with the convertible valves so you can use DIN regs. It really depends on what part of the world you're diving in.