Yoke vs DIN

[flyguy]

I thought for sure this would already be on here but I searched and couldn't find anything.

Anyhow, to the point.....

If DIN is supposed to be superior to Yoke, why does just about every tank (especially aluminums) and first stage come default with a yoke adapter and not a DIN. I have a couple HP steel tanks and they're DIN with a Yoke screw in adapter... showing they still need to be compatible with the majority. Even a regulator like the Atomic M1 that is more of a "technical" regulator is easier found with a yoke connector.

The basic design of DIN appears simple and more effective and I can't imagine it costs more to manufacture. It's rated for a higher pressure and it's easier to assemble. Is it just so new that the majority of the industry hasn't adopted it yet? Are there so many yoke tanks out there that it's not worth replacing the valves because yoke works just fine in general?

Any insights would be cool.

 

[cfenton]

There really is no question that a DIN connection is supperior to a yoke connection. My understanding is that DIN are very common in Europe while yoke is more common in the Americas on anywhere dealing with American tourists. If you go to rent a single tank of gas almost anywhere in North America the tank valve will take a yoke connection. As a result (or vise versa) most regulators sold here have the yoke connection. A bad reason, but a reason none the less.

 

[Charlie99]

Any insights would be cool.

Same reason the US is still using imperial measurements, and why you probably typed your post on a QUERTY keyboard. Tradition / compatibility with older gear / inconvenience of change.

 

[spectrum]

There are numerous threads on topic in the Tank forum for your future reading.

It's all about the masses, the dive resorts and the rental side of the sport are for all intents and purposes is exclusively yoke. Since many divers chhose not to be local divers and/or tank owners they offer no influence to change the norm.

From my engineeering background I suspect the DIN system is a bit more costly to manufacture and probably more so since it's in the minority.

The DIN system is not foolproof. There is an o-ring sealed connection in the subassembly that allows for the swivel of the hand wheel that tightens it. If you twist the assembly the wrong way you can break this connection and get a leaker. Overall I agree as said that it is the better connection. As someone who has worked with industrial pneumatics for over 30 years the yoke concept blew my mind once I understood the pressure and experince level of some users. The DIN connection with all of those threads is more prone to problems from sand or grit so that is also a consideeration to some.

We went with HP cylinders and for the safety margin went DIN. It will mean investing in DIN/YOKE adapters for my wife and I when we travel and until I pop for those I can't just rent extra cylinders for when I can't cover the planned dives with our 4.

So it's not all upside. Like everything else there are trade-offs that need to be considered.

Pete

I thought for sure this would already be on here but I searched and couldn't find anything.

Anyhow, to the point.....

If DIN is supposed to be superior to Yoke, why does just about every tank (especially aluminums) and first stage come default with a yoke adapter and not a DIN. I have a couple HP steel tanks and they're DIN with a Yoke screw in adapter... showing they still need to be compatible with the majority. Even a regulator like the Atomic M1 that is more of a "technical" regulator is easier found with a yoke connector.

The basic design of DIN appears simple and more effective and I can't imagine it costs more to manufacture. It's rated for a higher pressure and it's easier to assemble. Is it just so new that the majority of the industry hasn't adopted it yet? Are there so many yoke tanks out there that it's not worth replacing the valves because yoke works just fine in general?

Any insights would be cool.

 

[HowardE]

You can always get a DIN on your Reg, and get an adapter to use Yoke, but you can't adapt from Yoke to DIN.

Many places in the Americas ONLY have yoke available, so if you do get DIN, and travel you'll want the adapter.

Steel tanks usually have DIN, and there are advantages and disadvantages of those as well.

I have been considering the switch as well to DIN from Yoke. One factor that I have been considering is the bouyancy of the steel tanks vs aluminum tanks (but that is another thread alltogether)

 

[Xanthro]

Same reason that airplanes are made so high off the ground. Fitting existing standards.

While DIN is better than Yoke, for the recreational diver the difference is not huge, and with the huge number of Yoke tanks and compressors on dive boats, DIN is at a disadvantage.

Shops and boats are not going to switch until the user base switches and divers aren't likely to switch unless the boats and shops do. This is a common thing in many industries.

 

[scubamickey]

You can always get a DIN on your Reg, and get an adapter to use Yoke, but you can't adapt from Yoke to DIN.

If you have your regulators converted to DIN you should get back the parts to allow you to use the standard connector, unless you tell the installer that you do not want this. If you keep the parts, it only takes about 20 seconds to unscrew the DIN fitting and replace the standard fitting on a regulator.

 

[fdog]

Yoke predominates because of market inertia.

All our regs and personal cylinders are DIN, though. And when traveling, it's easier to put a Yoke adapter on a DIN regulator, rather than the reverse.

All the best, James

 

[Whatgoesdown]

There is a do-nut fitting that can be screwed into a DIN valve, using an allen key, so that a yoke can be attached. This is commonly done when filling DIN tanks from whips that only have a yoke fitting. I suspect that you could dive with it, I've never tried and I'm not sure that it would be recommended that you do so. You would lose the benefit of having a single o-ring embedded deep in the connection and would have something theoretically more prone to failure than a yoke fitting alone. That is also the case using a yoke adapter on a DIN reg. That said, I used the latter configuration for about a year and never had an o-ring blow but many did deform. Don't get lazy about removing the adapter and whatever you do, don't get the Scubapro ultralight and leave it on there. It will fuse to the reg (different metals in saltwater etc.) and be hell to get off!

FYI there are two types of DIN fitting. If you do buy a DIN reg, try to get the longer one. It will work on both valves, the shorter one won't!

 

[drbill]

All my tanks are DIN (even the intermediate pressure 3,300 psi). When I travel, I take a DIN-to-yoke adaptor (or the yoke reg from my pony bottle)... that is if I could figure out who I loaned the DIN-to-yoke adaptor to a month or so ago. They never returned it to me. Grrrr.