YOKE vs DIN

[Belzelbub]

In the American market it seems that YOKE is much more popular but I cannot find one simple reason...
Can you guys explain why you chose it? Is it because you learned to dive with it, was suggested by your buddies, dive store? Is it because you cannot find tanks with a donut insert?

Yes, it is quite a bit more popular here. And I don't have a good reason for it other than what was posted. Yoke predates DIN, and people are somewhat resistant to change.

My first regulator and cylinder(s) were yoke only. They were purchased toward the end of the previous century. I chose yoke at that time because I'd never even heard of DIN.

Several years later, I learned about DIN, and heard good things about it. I bought a new reg in the early 2000s and got it in DIN configuration. I dove with it for several years using my original cylinders and a DIN to Yoke adapter. Even later, I got some additional cylinders and got combo valves with them. Since then, I've converted the original cylinders to DIN valves. My daughters' regs are all DIN.

A lot of newer cylinders I see today are actually combo valves, not just yoke. Yet, DIN regulators are still somewhat rare. A lot of divers may not even realize that their yoke valve has an insert that can be moved. That may mean that it might be a bit difficult to remove that insert when needed.

The way I see it, I don't see a downside to using DIN regulators. They work just fine on yoke, DIN, or combo valves. The DIN to Yoke adapter doesn't cause me any problems with my regulators, though with some regulators that protrude more from the valve, the added depth of the adapter can mean contact with the head is more likely.

 

[Tracerbullet]

I just purchased my first reg and decided on DIN with a yoke adapter.
down the road I will be buying my own tank

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Now, as new bottles are being cycled in, many dive shops are going to pro valves which are convertible, but if the insert is not removed regularly the risk of the insert being fused to the valve are very high so you can't rely on that insert coming out.

That was my experience in Belize. I forgot my adapter, and while I had allen wrenches, I did not take the largest one that would have come in handy for some pro valves. Having more torque would have helped.

 

[hilljo88]

DIN with yoke adapter here. If available, I'll ask for DIN valve. Seems more secure connection. But I just want to dive, so I pop on the adapter if it's a hassle for the op.

 

[The Chairman]

I dive DIN regs and my valves are all pro-valves (either/or). Most of the tanks I encounter world wide are pro-valves. I bring an adapter, but rarely have to use it. If I'm renting tanks from the boat, I do specify that I need DIN way before I get there.

I dive DIN because they are hard to snag, and I am not relying on THEIR o-ring to seal to the tank. I do carry extras, and I don't have to worry about digging one out of a yoke tank to continue diving.

 

[Pressurehead]

If he is going to be doing a mix of local and vacation travel, then two regulators; one with Yoke and one with DIN.

This ^^^ easy.

 

[broncobowsher]

One of the local dive shops has a story of a customer wanting to get a DIN conversion on there regulator. The service technician looked at it, unscrewed the yoke adapter that had been on it since new.

I'm seeing a lot more DIN here in the states even in the standard recreational market. It is not the oddity it once was. There is a transition, although slow. Sort of like the days when 3000 PSI tanks were replacing the older 2250s.

The yoke is old. Can't really say better, just been around longer. For decades there was no choice, yoke was all that existed. Now it is mostly a legacy product. There because it has always been there.

 

[El Diablo]

Yes, times thousands and thousands of tanks per year.
Plus yoke auto clamps are more reliable than the din equivalents as the din versions wear out that O-ring every few hundred tanks.

Sorry Tracy but it is exactly the opposite. DIN O-rings are by far more reliable than YOKE. I worked with both valve types for many years, had dozens of failures with YOKE and none that I can remember with DIN.

The reason is the YOKE O-ring is quite smaller / thinner and exposed to the elements. Also the way they work is different. DIN O-rings are 'encased' within a groove while YOKE O-rings are 'sandwiched' between 2 pieces of metal, that's why they cannot withstand higher pressures like DIN. That's also why if you accidentally bump your A-clamp you'd probably get a leak. Those O-rings get 'chewed' constantly and dried out by the elements.

'Every hundred tanks' (???) you should be changing those O-rings anyway

Just for a size comparison:

 

[El Diablo]

Yes, it is quite a bit more popular here. And I don't have a good reason for it other than what was posted. Yoke predates DIN, and people are somewhat resistant to change.

My first regulator and cylinder(s) were yoke only. They were purchased toward the end of the previous century. I chose yoke at that time because I'd never even heard of DIN.

Several years later, I learned about DIN, and heard good things about it. I bought a new reg in the early 2000s and got it in DIN configuration. I dove with it for several years using my original cylinders and a DIN to Yoke adapter. Even later, I got some additional cylinders and got combo valves with them. Since then, I've converted the original cylinders to DIN valves. My daughters' regs are all DIN.

A lot of newer cylinders I see today are actually combo valves, not just yoke. Yet, DIN regulators are still somewhat rare. A lot of divers may not even realize that their yoke valve has an insert that can be moved. That may mean that it might be a bit difficult to remove that insert when needed.

The way I see it, I don't see a downside to using DIN regulators. They work just fine on yoke, DIN, or combo valves. The DIN to Yoke adapter doesn't cause me any problems with my regulators, though with some regulators that protrude more from the valve, the added depth of the adapter can mean contact with the head is more likely.

You put it in a fantastic way and to be honest, browsing YouTube on the matter, I do see a positive change in the US also, more and more Americans are adopting the DIN standard as they see the clear benefits. As you said, YOKE predated DIN and that made it a 'standard' in the Americas, Asia & Pacific. After all, DIN was a German invention.

Funny enough, before YOKE, many US manufacturers also used much smaller proprietary DIN valves like the extremely popular Healthways Airflo...

Divers (like Photographers) are very reluctant to change, in the early days, switching from a double hose regulator to a single hose was a capital sin, diving has evolved and keeps evolving, J valves were rendered obsolete as people got access to use SPGs, SPGs are now replaced by wireless integrated dive computers, etc.

I found this video online, this guy is hilarious and he summarizes it very well at the end:

'In what parallel universe, IF DIN was the standard in US, you will choose to switch to YOKE?'

 

[The Chairman]

DIN O-rings are 'encased' within a groove while YOKE O-rings are 'sandwiched' between 2 pieces of metal, that's why they cannot withstand higher pressures like DIN.

While I've heard this my whole diving career, let's take another look. Both o-rings are in a groove and both mate against a face. The bigger and somewhat more forgiving o-ring (DIN) is only seated when the diver who owns the set dives. The yoke o-ring gets banged around, gets used far more often, and is otherwise ignored until it fails.

FWIW, I've seen a filler that accommodates both yoke and pro-valve DIN. I was impressed.