About to buy first regulator set - DIN or yoke?

[dflaher]

Pro valves on shop tanks - you're still taking a chance.

Most of a tank's entire life there is done in the yoke/insert mode.

Will the inserts come out after being cemented in place, encrusted and welded by salt, other corruption, and many many many fill cycles without ever having been removed? May need a battery operated impact drill to get some of those out (just kidding. maybe.). Not all, but some. And when you do, getting a good seal may sometimes be difficult too.

Thanks for the warning; I appreciate it. My plan to mitigate that risk is to have an adapter with me - at least on day 1 of a trip until I know what the shop's tanks are like.

I would expect the CCV crew on your boat to take care of you in any case. Within a day or so, they will learn your preferences and equipment quirks. If not, just ask and they will be glad to accomodate.

That's great! I've heard and read good things about CCV.

 

[Cthippo]

I only dive my own tanks and went all DIN from the very beginning. I thibk it is a far better engineered design, and it also removes a failure mode because someone cannot remove yohmur reg while thinking they are turning on the tank.

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

DIN ... also removes a failure mode because someone cannot remove yohmur reg while thinking they are turning on the tank.

Curious - where do you find your dive buddies?

 

[Cthippo]

Curious - where do you find your dive buddies?

Generally, I don't. I did it once in training (the only time I used a yoke reg), and I saw it happen once at a rescue gig.

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

Generally, I don't. I did it once in training (the only time I used a yoke reg), and I saw it happen once at a rescue gig.

SMDH ...

But then again I was once teaching an Academy class on the patrol carbine and there was a cadet loading his mag with the cartridges in backwards....

 

[Dan]

My reg (Scubapro MK25) was setup with Yoke back in 2005. After 1442 dives (18 years later) on my way to a wreck sitting on 38m sandy bottom, the tank o-ring blew underwater spewing lots of bubbles, sounded like a jet engine on the back of my head. The guide grab my shoulder and offered his Octo, which I gladly took. You can read the rest of the story in my post here: Tuna Wreck, Similan

After that incident, I converted my Yoke reg to DIN reg and dove 200 more dives in Thailand, Indonesia, Colombia, Mexico, Cayman, Maldives with DIN reg without any problem as all the rental tank has DIN insert that can be easily remove from the tank valve with Allen wrench in those places I went.

I feel more safe now with DIN reg. The problem with Yoke reg, the o-ring is in the DIN insert and the metallic seal face is on the yoke reg. After many times (1443 times in my case) of removing and installing the reg onto the rental tank valve and the rough handling of the tank swapping operator, that exposed metallic seal face can get badly scratch, as shown, below.

The tank o-ring can get easily cut by those scratches. If the o-ring is not blown out, you may see some bubbles that would shorten your dive time.

I have no more leak on my DIN reg as the o-ring is on my reg (see the picture, below) and the metallic seal face is inside the tank valve. To get to that metallic seal face you need to screw in the DIN reg into the valve. So that metallic seal face is well protected and foolproof from rough handling during tank swapping.

So, if you want to be safe, get DIN reg.

 

[GF99/99]

I’m close to buying my first regulator setup and wavering between a DIN or yoke first stage. So far, 95-plus percent of my diving has been in the US or the Caribbean, and all my rental gear has been yoke. But who knows where I’ll be going in the future … and for that reason, im leaning toward buying DIN along with a yoke adapter. Does this make sense, or am I better off just buying yoke?

I know most have voted for Yoke but as someone who was told this also when I bought my first reg set (first generation of AL Legends) I wish someone would have just told me to buy DIN.

I have probably dove in 15+ different counties and on several liveaboards and never had an issue with being supplied DIN tanks (I don't even bother taking an adapter as I have never encountered an issue where they only had Yoke tanks even on super remote little islands like Cape Kri in the middle of Raja Ampat) and most of the liveaboard trips I have been on I would say about 30% of the other guest are diving DIN as well. So its not that uncommon and dive outfits know lots of people dive DIN so they expect to have customers with DIN not to mention I don't think I have seen a dive center that does not have a couple of its employees that are diving DIN also.

 

[stepfen]

My reg (Scubapro MK25) was setup with Yoke back in 2005. After 1442 dives (18 years later) on my way to a wreck sitting on 38m sandy bottom, the tank o-ring blew underwater spewing lots of bubbles, sounded like a jet engine on the back of my head. The guide grab my shoulder and offered his Octo, which I gladly took. You can read the rest of the story in my post here: Tuna Wreck, Similan

After that incident, I converted my Yoke reg to DIN reg and dove 200 more dives in Thailand, Indonesia, Colombia, Mexico, Cayman, Maldives with DIN reg without any problem as all the rental tank has DIN insert that can be easily remove from the tank valve with Allen wrench in those places I went.

I feel more safe now with DIN reg. The problem with Yoke reg, the o-ring is in the DIN insert and the metallic seal face is on the yoke reg. After many times (1443 times in my case) of removing and installing the reg onto the rental tank valve and the rough handling of the tank swapping operator, that exposed metallic seal face can get badly scratch, as shown, below.

View attachment 830600

The tank o-ring can get easily cut by those scratches. If the o-ring is not blown out, you may see some bubbles that would shorten your dive time.

I have no more leak on my DIN reg as the o-ring is on my reg (see the picture, below) and the metallic seal face is inside the tank valve. To get to that metallic seal face you need to screw in the DIN reg into the valve. So that metallic seal face is well protected and foolproof from rough handling during tank swapping.

View attachment 830601

So, if you want to be safe, get DIN reg.

If @Dan with all his traveling can live with DIN, everybody can

DIN for me (with no adapter) and I've been diving in 3 continents so far (Europe, Africa, Asia). Never had a problem. Only once while changing tanks in a busy dive boat (somewhere in Indonesia) the crew grabbed an odd tank (valve without the insert). Within seconds they just grabbed another (convertible) tank and that was it.

I understand that in America (North and Central) yoke is more popular, but who dives there?

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

I understand that in America (North and Central) yoke is more popular, but who dives there?

All the cool kids !!

 

[cgblake]

I like DIN since you become responsible for the O ring instead of the rental shop or charter. Since it’s your gear, you have to check it yourself and make sure it’s up to snuff. Otherwise you may get issues.

Plus I’m a sucker for shiny metal and I like threads vs the clamp design of yoke.