Help choosing b/t 3 regs

[Tony7781]

I am looking at purchasing either:
1- Oceanic Delta 4 FDX10 Diaphragm Regulator with Environmental seal, Black with Svival
2- Atomic Aquatics Z2 Sealed Regulator
3- Atomic Aquatics "M1" Regulator, Black

Can anyone provide some advice on these regs? Also, what exactly is an environmental seal? Also, if you had a choice of either a yoke or a Din, which one would you choose. From what I know the only real difference is the Din can handle greater pressure i think? I think the most common are yolk, just didnt know if that was for a specific reason?

Thanks!

 

[Tony7781]

Oh also, what is the difference b/t the piston and the diaphram??

 

[stefusa]

So if i remember correctly, in a piston first stage, water enter more the first stage than in a diaphragm one...
As for Yoke or Din, it depends where you are and what you plan to do.
DIN seems more common in Europe. It's also for me better than yoke.
However, there is 2 different DIN, a high pressure and a low pressure that differ only by the length of the fitting. You can plug the high pressure in a low pressure but it will stick out a bit.
You CANNOT plug a low pressure DIN reg into a high pressure DIN valve.
Moreover, Yoke is more common in the US and Americas and very common in rental equipment. (Even in that case you can find pretty easily DIN fittings).
The O-ring on the DIN is on the reg whereas it's on the tank valve on the yokes.
Yokes have a tendency to leak due to the O-ring.
There is however a adapter to convert a DIN to a Yoke.
I am not familiar with those 3 regs but i think you can't go wrong with either of them..

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Where are you diving? Environmentally sealed regs are less prone to freeflow and icing up. They are also nice for diving in less than perfect conditions( silty, lots of particulates in the water, etc.) Yoke attachments are the most common tanks you'll run into on rentals. Some will advise getting DIN with Yoke adapter but I don't unless you have your own tanks that are DIN. DIN regs and the trapped oring are favored by tech divers for their ability to handle higher pressures and less likely to blow an oring or lose one. If you plan on going tech at any time then a DIN with the adapter is a good choice. If all you are going to do is recreational diving (warm or cold water) don't worry about going DIN. I have 6 regs, 4 are DIN two are not. One is a warm water travel reg-Oceanic Alpha 7 with a DX4 first stage( this reg is sealed) and a Sherwood Blizzard-(another good cold water reg that is sealed but in a different way). In fact all my regs are sealed. In any case why are you looking at the most expensive of the lines. My personal choice at this moment if Iwas going to replace my regs would be with Oceanic GT3's or even alpha 8's with cdx5 first stages. Save between 300 and 400 bucks or more and get one helluva great set up. I'd try to get DIN in this case because I don't see the DVT feature as being necessary or worth the extra 100 bucks or so. Unless you can get yoke CDX5's without the DVT and they are out there. The GT3 would give you the adjustable second stage and has served me well in 38 degree water to depths in excess of 150 feet. Easy to service anywhere, free parts for life, and one helluva company that stands behind their products.

 

[Tony7781]

Wow this is all great information, I really appreciate the insite! I live in NY and will mainly be diving in warm/cold waters. I am looking to do mainly reg recreational dives along with wreck diving and underwater photograpghy possibly. I am new to the diving world and the only real reason that I was looking at these higher end models was due to the simple fact that I wanted to make a one time (really good) purchase to last me for a while, especially when it comes to my breathing underwater, I wanted to make sure I had a really good and dependable reg. I have also looked at the GT3 and alpha 8's. Its so hard reading reviews because they are sooo different from person to person. So in all that, you would recommend me using a yoke and possibly taking a look at the Gt3 or aplha 8 in further depth? Oceanic has a great reputation right? Are you familiar with any Cressi regs?

 

[rstofer]

Wow this is all great information, I really appreciate the insite! I live in NY and will mainly be diving in warm/cold waters. I am looking to do mainly reg recreational dives along with wreck diving and underwater photograpghy possibly. I am new to the diving world and the only real reason that I was looking at these higher end models was due to the simple fact that I wanted to make a one time (really good) purchase to last me for a while, especially when it comes to my breathing underwater, I wanted to make sure I had a really good and dependable reg. I have also looked at the GT3 and alpha 8's. Its so hard reading reviews because they are sooo different from person to person. So in all that, you would recommend me using a yoke and possibly taking a look at the Gt3 or aplha 8 in further depth? Oceanic has a great reputation right? Are you familiar with any Cressi regs?

When you say "warm/cold" water you really mean "cold". Any cold water regulator will work in warm water but the reverse isn't true. If you plan to dive in water below 50 deg F, you need to seriously look at cold water regulators.

Oceanic, not to single them out, in their owner's manual says that no Oceanic piston regulator should be used below 50 deg F. So, that leaves diaphragm regulators, or more specifically, diaphragm first stages like the FDX10 or CDX5. Then there is the issue of whether these come from the factory with an "Environmental Protection Kit" as required for cold water.

The FDX10, when coupled with the Delta 4 does come with the environmental kit and it may be common on all FDX10's. I don't know. You can ask over on the Oceanic forum. I also have no idea whether the CDX5 comes with an environmental kit. In either case, your local dealer can install one.

So, you can look at the Alpha/CDX5 for $150, the GT3/CDX5 at $250, the GT3/CDX5 with DVT for $200 (why is the DVT cheaper?) OR you can use the regulator selected by the Coast Guard, NOAA and the US Navy for cold water diving, the Delta4/FDX10 at $400 w/o DVT and $540 w/ DVT. I bought the Delta4/FDX10 w/o DVT for my wife. I had the reg converted to DIN so DVT was off the table anyway. I don't want extra parts in the air stream so I would always avoid DVT. But that's just me and my opinion is meaningless.

See Regulators

I still use my Oceanic Omega IIs. They're no longer manufactured and I have cornered the world's market by buying a bunch on eBay. They're a balanced piston but I haven't had any problem in water down to 47 deg F.

So, yes, I like Oceanic regulators.

I have also bought a couple of Dive Rite Hurricane cold water regulators - currently on backorder. Repair parts are sold to end users and the repair manual is online. No other manufacturer does this.

For cold water, I would also consider the ScubaPro Mk17/G250V It's a real high-end regulator but it's about the same price as the Delta4/FDX10.

Richard

 

[Tony7781]

When you say "warm/cold" water you really mean "cold". Any cold water regulator will work in warm water but the reverse isn't true. If you plan to dive in water below 50 deg F, you need to seriously look at cold water regulators.

Oceanic, not to single them out, in their owner's manual says that no Oceanic piston regulator should be used below 50 deg F. So, that leaves diaphragm regulators, or more specifically, diaphragm first stages like the FDX10 or CDX5. Then there is the issue of whether these come from the factory with an "Environmental Protection Kit" as required for cold water.

The FDX10, when coupled with the Delta 4 does come with the environmental kit and it may be common on all FDX10's. I don't know. You can ask over on the Oceanic forum. I also have no idea whether the CDX5 comes with an environmental kit. In either case, your local dealer can install one.

So, you can look at the Alpha/CDX5 for $150, the GT3/CDX5 at $250, the GT3/CDX5 with DVT for $200 (why is the DVT cheaper?) OR you can use the regulator selected by the Coast Guard, NOAA and the US Navy for cold water diving, the Delta4/FDX10 at $400 w/o DVT and $540 w/ DVT. I bought the Delta4/FDX10 w/o DVT for my wife. I had the reg converted to DIN so DVT was off the table anyway. I don't want extra parts in the air stream so I would always avoid DVT. But that's just me and my opinion is meaningless.

See Regulators

I still use my Oceanic Omega IIs. They're no longer manufactured and I have cornered the world's market by buying a bunch on eBay. They're a balanced piston but I haven't had any problem in water down to 47 deg F.

So, yes, I like Oceanic regulators.

I have also bought a couple of Dive Rite Hurricane cold water regulators - currently on backorder. Repair parts are sold to end users and the repair manual is online. No other manufacturer does this.

For cold water, I would also consider the ScubaPro Mk17/G250V It's a real high-end regulator but it's about the same price as the Delta4/FDX10.

Richard

Why would you prefer the first stage w/o the DVT? The DVT seemed like a really great feature offering a greater piece of mind while undoing your gear with wet hands and not worrying about getting water in the first stage. Another reason why I was siding with the Delta 4 was because it had the swivel on it. The swivel jsut seems as if it would provide a much greater comfort and manuverability. Also, why did you convert it to DIN? Did you do that becasue you are planning on doing tech dives or are you from the UK? I apologize in advance if these are amatuer questions. I am just trying to get a full understanding of the equiptment and the reasons behind certain decisions people make with them.

 

[jeckyll]

I can't comment on the Oceanic, but I can on the Atomics.

On my doubles I dive an M1 on the right post and a Z2 (without the environmental seal) on the left post. All my dives have been in water < 50 degrees F and I used to dive the Z2 on my single tank rig, never had any issues.

Diving effort wise: both the Z2 and M1 breath great I've not been able to notice a difference.

I recently had both regs serviced for the 2 year service and chose not to add the environmental seal and the M1 style heat sink to the Z2. I just simply don't see a reason to.

The coldest the regs have seen is about 43 degrees.

Good luck

Edit: Tony, it may help if you fill out your diving profile, sometimes it helps provide 'local' experience and advice

 

[Tony7781]

Thank you Jekyll for the input. The Atomics have to be serviced every 2 years? What is the cost for basic maintenance?

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

Get a scubapro mk17/S600 (DIN w/ yoke adapter) from Scuba store. Online Scuba gear and Scuba equipment shop. then your set with a high performance reg that will work in any environment world wide for that site has them for $200 less than the LDS