Legend LX or Apex?

[DIR Tec Diver]

Hello

I have used the AL Legend, ATX50 and ATX200 here in Finland and none had any problems at all, and I have never seen any of them free flow here (constant 4 degree water). I went with the ATX50, but then switched due to the problems with the swivel, and now I use the ATX200. I think they are all very high quality and can't go wrong, personally I went with Apeks due to the field experience and the amount of reviews given by some excellent divers. Just my experience

 

[DIR Tec Diver]

Using your regs that are not 02 clean with mixes over 40% will definitely lead to a serious issue with the regs. They need to be stripped of contaminants that can react with the high oxygen concentration and lead to a very serious injury. Even if that does not occur the orings that are in the regs will not stand up to the high oxygen concentrations and will deteriorate extremely fast.

This is a big safety issue, and something that has been proven, so I hope people will think about that before assuming that it's ok. Getting your reg 02 cleaned is not expensive and better to spend a few bucks then have an accident.

 

[cnidae]

omar once bubbled...


What a load of crap....

Why don't you cite the federal reg that sets this criteria. (Bet you can't.)

Also, you can use any reg up to 100% without doing anything special to them. I have and will continue to do this on a regular basis.

It's your life, do as you wish. The legend LX failed at some tests when 100% was introduced, It just maybe Aqua Lungs way to come out with the same reg but with a green cover, I don't know. Some regs can't be used with 100% you need to consider adiabatic compression which will be determined by how the paths of the reg were designed. Apeks regs can be converted to 100% so using them out of the box at 100% may not be a problem but I don't know if the o-rings are viton out of the box, if not you would have to replace them for the reason dir-tech explained.

 

[mars2u]

omar once bubbled...


What a load of crap....

Why don't you cite the federal reg that sets this criteria. (Bet you can't.)

Also, you can use any reg up to 100% without doing anything special to them. I have and will continue to do this on a regular basis.

SSI Enriched Air Nitrox
Third printing 9/99
Page 33

"The 40% Rule"
"Two United States government agencies have done substantial portion of the pioneering work with Nitrox and the established the standards of practice...." (it goes on)
"What is the 40% rule? Simply stated, when any equipment item is exposed to gas mixtures with FO2's of no more than 40 percent, no special preparation, modification or maintenance procedures are required."
"....more than 40%, then they must first be O2 clean and O2 service rated..."

If forgot about this part although it doesn't give specifics as to which states:
"In some instances, local laws or regulations stipulate that all equipment exposed to gasses with O2 conc. greater than air be oxygen clean and oxygen service rated"

I'm curious as to which agency Omar is referring to that states you can use Nitrox to 100% without doing anything special to the equipment?
Bet you can't...lol
BTW...good luck in your diving...didn't mean to get you in the defensive mode...I was just referring to my Nitrox course info. I prefer to stick to the information given and my manufacturers specs...Thanks

 

[tyrell]

Hey

Im using 2 legend LX supreme regs for tech dives and recreational ones for almost 2 years and they r working great.

The Apex seems 2 work better for deeper dives (deeper then 30m) , in the shallow water it doesn’t perform well while the Legend works remarkably in any depth..

The Legend is 100% o2 clean from the manufacture.

i recommend the legend.
enjoy

mark

 

[cnidae]

tyrell once bubbled...
The Legend is 100% o2 clean from the manufacture.

Were did you get this info? The only reg Aqualung has that is good to 100% is the calypso.

 

[BigJetDriver]

I have four of the APEKS TX100 "flatheads" and find them to be truly excellent! They breathe easily at depth, and they are rugged.

The one note of caution is this, since Aqualung took over, they have made it hard to get the O-ring and filter kit needed to upgrade the regs to 100% O2 service. There are ways, but contact me off-line for info.

And regardless of what anyone says, if you use high-pressure O2 in a device not specifically cleaned and o-ringed for such use: "YOU GOT MORE COJONES THAN BRAINS!"

 

[Chaos]

As far as I know, the Legend regulators (all recent Aqua Lung regs for that matter) are built with EPDM O-rings, not butyl or nitryl and certainly not Viton.

If Viton, a fluoroelastomer, oxidizes in a high oxygen environment a toxic gas is formed, so in a way EPDM is safer in breathing equipment even though the auto oxidization temperature is lower. My personal opinion, of course.

EPDM is oxygen compatible (despite the lower auto oxidization temp.), but AL regs are not delivered oxygen clean so you need to have them cleaned if you're going to use them with more than 40% oxygen.

Some interesting background info: Aqua Lung is owned by Air Liquide, one of the world's largest industial gas suppliers. I don't think a company like that would be mistakingly using EPDM in high O2 environments.

 

[BigJetDriver]

Chaos once bubbled...
Some interesting background info: Aqua Lung is owned by Air Liquide, one of the world's largest industial gas suppliers. I don't think a company like that would be mistakingly using EPDM in high O2 environments.

I don't believe they are mistakenly using EPDM rings. The last time I talked to an Aqualung rep, I was told that AL "did not approve of the use of higher than 40% O2 in those regs."

The reason for using the viton kit is, of course, to have the higher auto-ignition temperature with high pressure O2. If your EPDM rings start burning, you've got much more serious problems than the fact that the burning gases are less toxic than those from viton.=-)

 

[ScoobieDooo]

Go look at Rodale's 'Mother of Regulator Reports" October 2002. The Aqua Lung Legends scored perfect 20's on a scoring system from 0-20 based on performance, etc.

I own ATX50's but the Legend LX came in even better than the Apek's did in their tests.

The Legend LX breathed beautifully at all depths and cracking pressure was superb!

I'd buy a Legend LX in a minute of faced with a purchasing decision again....but certainly don't feel handicapped using my ATX50 in the least!