Yoke vs. DIN for stage bottles

[Flightlead]

I have DIN regs and valves on my stages. My tech instructor recommends yoke valves. What do most people use?

 

[Jimmer]

Your tech instructor recommends yoke? I have all DIN and the 3 tech instructors I have talked to before choosing one all said I don't care what brands of regs you use, just as long as they are all balanced and DIN".

 

[Scared Silly]

Same fitting all the way around. Here is why - say your deco bottle reg goes dead and for some reason you do not have enough back gas to finish your hang. Now if all of your regs are DIN you can take one reg off your back gas and put it on your deco bottle and continue your hang. Otherwise suck your back gas and hope for the best.

Turning my training I had to take a reg off of one cylinder and put it on and other - while holding my breath in 3' of water. Takes longer than one would think.

 

[PfcAJ]

DIN...Why is he recommending yolk valves?

 

[Flightlead]

Same fitting all the way around. Here is why - say your deco bottle reg goes dead and for some reason you do not have enough back gas to finish your hang. Now if all of your regs are DIN you can take one reg off your back gas and put it on your deco bottle and continue your hang. Otherwise suck your back gas and hope for the best.

Turning my training I had to take a reg off of one cylinder and put it on and other - while holding my breath in 3' of water. Takes longer than one would think.

those were my thoughts as well. my instructor had the following rebuttals:
1. its much quicker to swap a yoke from another bottle (empty stage for example) that it is to swap a DIN (all that screwing)
2. screwing in a DIN under water forces a lot of water into the regulator.
3. you can fly anywhere in the world and everywhere you go you can get an AL 80 with a yoke valve and turn it into a stage just by carrying a couple of clips, some line, and a hose clamp

 

[Jimmer]

those were my thoughts as well. my instructor had the following rebuttals:
1. its much quicker to swap a yoke from another bottle (empty stage for example) that it is to swap a DIN (all that screwing)
2. screwing in a DIN under water forces a lot of water into the regulator.
3. you can fly anywhere in the world and everywhere you go you can get an AL 80 with a yoke valve and turn it into a stage just by carrying a couple of clips, some line, and a hose clamp

1. True, but doesn't it make more sense to have the more secure connection?
2. What regs do you use? It's my understanding that if you flood a diaphragm reg, you're SOL anyway.
3. You can always use a Yoke adaptor, or swap the whole thing to yoke for the trip. To me it doesn't make much sense to plan for the few weeks a year you may be on vacation, over your day in and day out diving.

 

[Dirkadiver]

I don't know that I've ever seen a tech dive with a yoke anything. Not sure what angle your instructor's coming from. The reason's listed above don't make sense to me. You should be diving 1/3's anyway leaving you enough backgas to deco out on in the event of a stage failure.

DIN for everything

 

[nadwidny]

those were my thoughts as well. my instructor had the following rebuttals:
1. its much quicker to swap a yoke from another bottle (empty stage for example) that it is to swap a DIN (all that screwing)
2. screwing in a DIN under water forces a lot of water into the regulator.
3. you can fly anywhere in the world and everywhere you go you can get an AL 80 with a yoke valve and turn it into a stage just by carrying a couple of clips, some line, and a hose clamp

I would find a new instructor.

 

[dsteding]

I would find a new instructor.

I knew you were going to say that.

 

[rjack321]

those were my thoughts as well. my instructor had the following rebuttals:
1. its much quicker to swap a yoke from another bottle (empty stage for example) that it is to swap a DIN (all that screwing)

If you are swapping regs you will have another source of gas in the process. Either backgas or a buddy's

2. screwing in a DIN under water forces a lot of water into the regulator.

Flooded is flooded do you really care if it was a teaspoon or a tablespoon?

3. you can fly anywhere in the world and everywhere you go you can get an AL 80 with a yoke valve and turn it into a stage just by carrying a couple of clips, some line, and a hose clamp

Has this supposed instructor actually tech dived around the world? Yokes (A-clamps) aren't that universal. And if you have a yoke reg and get a DIN tank now what? You're totally screwed. At least with a DIN reg you can use a yoke adapter if you want to do some single tank diving or something. I would never use a yoke fitting for gas I have to have.

Get a new instructor.