Delta4/FDX10, XTX50, or S600/MK25

[wunat]

The regs you mentioned are all among ones with good feedbacks. Here are also some other combinations you might want to look into:

1) Scubapro MK17+G250hp
2) Scubapro MK25+G250hp
3) APEKS DS4+ (A)TX50
4) APEKS XTX100

I don't have personal experience with Oceanic regs but am happy with my Scubapro MK16+G250hp (for singles) and APEKS DS4s+ATX50 for doubles.

 

[S. starfish]

Went down to the shops today and had another look at the Apeks and the Oceanic. Both look great. I prefer the look and feel of the Delta4 but as I was informed by a buddy, he says that the plastic and chrome on oceanic regulators in general aren't all that durable (cheap) and that they generally have short life-spans.

I also read on Divernet, that in one of the group tests conducted in May 2005, the Delta4 (stage 2) they tested had flaking bits of metal (I suppose it should be chrome) after a week of testing. Anyone here using it faced this? Has oceanic rectified this in their exisiting batch? Any comments? Appreciate any and all help/advice.

Mine had 150+ dives in 9 months on it and I never had any flakey bits. The metal ring does tend to get scratched up though, at least if you're shore diving and gearing up in parking lots that is. All in all, when mine were working I loved them, the breathed easy and I was never worried about any moisture or dirt inside the reg. It's just that after two failures I find I don't really trust them that much anymore - could just be that I have bad luck though.

 

[goodeatsfan]

S.Starfish's incident with his Delta4 failing really scares me.... any idea, why/how your DVT got stuck?

JPCPAT, You mean that the design of bullets used in the DVTs have been changed?

 

[jpcpat]

S.Starfish's incident with his Delta4 failing really scares me.... any idea, why/how your DVT got stuck?

JPCPAT, You mean that the design of bullets used in the DVTs have been changed?

"according to Oceanic" the only issue they had with the DVT was with the plastic they used to close the first stage "the bullets", which caused whistling sounds at certain pressures. Not a safety issue. Relator service kits include red "Updated design" bullets which fixed the issue. SS had the first report I was aware of of a safety issue. Hope to god ALL issues have been fixed with the latest parts.

 

[S. starfish]

I'd just like to say that I can't say for sure if it was the DVT failure that caused the air restriction, It just happened to happen at the same time. So lets not start any rumors here.

 

[cerich]

We have never had a reg with DVT where DVT caused any air restriction, ever.

The first FDX10's with a white DVT "bullet" are a different design bullet from the red ones that ship with all our regs now with DVT, all it is is a different shape so there isn't a harmonic. The Red bullet is in the servce kit so anybody with the white one can just come by a Oceanic dealer and get the red (new design) bullet installed if they have a harmonic (not all of the old design do, if depends on the breathing of the diver)

 

[goodeatsfan]

Hi cerich,

would you say the build and finish quality of the current delta4 is as good as any of the other regulators out there? I keep hearing over and over again from divers in my community that Apeks is 'bulletproof' and that Oceanic is made from cheap materials, but in all honesty they've never used the Delta4 (never even looked at it even) but I have been seriously checking it out and it seems outwardly very, very well built. But I'm not a materials expert, and ultimately, I can't really tell.

 

[cerich]

Hi cerich,

would you say the build and finish quality of the current delta4 is as good as any of the other regulators out there? I keep hearing over and over again from divers in my community that Apeks is 'bulletproof' and that Oceanic is made from cheap materials, but in all honesty they've never used the Delta4 (never even looked at it even) but I have been seriously checking it out and it seems outwardly very, very well built. But I'm not a materials expert, and ultimately, I can't really tell.

Yes, the Delta 4 is as good as anything out there. IMHO the comments on build quality of Oceanic regs refers more to the past than now, in the late 90's the build quality(mostly chroming and grade of stainless used) was different than now. The Delta 4 also is our first forged regulator (like most Apeks) and you'll notice a different chroming on it.

Bottom line no worries.

 

[goodeatsfan]

If we look at the actual ratings and scores from Rodale's, the Delta4's actually outperform the XTX50 (although by just a total of 1pt).

BUT, I was told by both my local Apeks (XTX50) and scubapro (S600) dealers that they recommend bi-annual servicing. What about the delta4's?

OOoo... my heads spinning from trying to figure which reg to get! M wife and I really adore the delta4 but the 'so-called' reputation of the apeks keeps holding us back...

 

[ccohn2000]

I have over 150 dives on my Delta 4 since I purchased it in May 2005. I have had no problems with it at all. I have no flaking metal. The metal ring on the second stage is not chrome, it looks more like brushed aluminum or something. It does have scratches on it, but it shares a reg bag with another regulator and gets banged around a bit. I don't use the dvt, as mine is DIN so I don't know about failures from that end. When I'm diving, I breath easily enough that I never think about it, even when looking up or when I'm upside down. I'm pefectly happy with it.