War Of The Regs !!!

[Nemrod]

The reg is your primary life support. I would get the best you can afford from an authorized dealer. I would stick with the ones that have a history.
(It amazes me sometimes. I know people who will scrimp on a regulator to save 50 or 100 bucks, but think nothing of a $600.00 a month car payment or a $200.00 dinner and bar tab on Saturday night.)

The Titan LX is the equal of any single hose regulator made at any price range. It has high performance, it has a rugged and proven first stage that goes back decades to the Royal Aqua Master. It is heavy built in the first stage and highly durable and because it it essentially the same internals as the Conshelf as well parts are everywhere for them. It uses a simple and easily serviced design. The second stage of the Titan LX is essentailly the same as the AL Legend. I can tell no difference breathing a Titan LX compared to the top end Legend, I have both. In fact, I prefer the Titan between the two. The only fly in the ointment with the Titan is that it only has one HP port. I only need one, a few though like those silly wireless things so that could be an issue for them. BTW, I have a buddy with Apeks, the Legend and the Titan breath just as well if not better. Even better, a little shopping the Titan LX can get you one cheap. Leisure Pro has them under 300 I think. I got mine, NIB, ebay, 200 dollars. They are a perfectly fine regulator for any diving. If your diving doubles then you will have to evaluate your hose routing to see if it is acceptable to you.

N

 

[Splitlip]

good to know, Nem.
Thanks
Are they balanced 1st and 2nd?

 

[Nemrod]

First stage is balanced and the second stage is so called balanced.

If you want to get a high dollar regulator by all means go ahead, nothing wrong with that, all I am saying is that you can get a perfectly fine mid price regulator that will do just fine for most any diving and in doing so not risk your life and have something that is durable, reliable and functional.

N

 

[SeaHound]

Thanks Nem! Is the Titan nitrox capable?

 

[herman]

Very valid! But from what I understand, Sea Elite is confugured for higher than 40% nitrox air mixes. They say it is advanced reg built for deep tech diving. Titan on the other hand is Aqua lungs entry level reg. Any idea on its nitrox capability or how it would do in those deep mixed gas dives?

Not likely, anything over 40% has to be O2 cleaned and it's not likely any company is O2 cleaning a low end reg. The Titan's guts are common with many of the Aqualung regs and is just slightly differnent from it's beginning in the old Royal Aquamaster double hose. The internals of the reg have been tested and proven reliable for many many years in thousands of regs. Give me tried and proven over latest and greatest any day. For what it's worth, most of the "features" on most regs are more hype than of real value. So what if your first stage flows hundreds of CFM, you can't take that much air in anyway. Besides, the more dodads on a reg, the more to break.

 

[Nemrod]

The answer is yes, the Titan LX is nitrox capable out of the box up to 40% same as the Legend. Most regulators require additional set up for pure O2 use or beyond 40%. It is also available with a DIN converter and an optional enviro kit for cold water divers. The second stage has the "finned" connector similar to the Legend. Again, there are plenty of good regs out there at various price ranges, paying top dollar does not always get you more safety however.

N

 

[Bob Vincent]

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced its new regulator pick. In the June issue of Undercurrent, we wrote about NOAA's new rules and regulations for government divers in response to the death of two Coast Guard divers in Alaska last summer. One major change was giving the boot to all regulators Coast Guard divers had previously used for cold-water diving. After testing of multiple regulators, NOAA found Oceanic's Delta IV to be the most reliable.

"It consistently came up first for meeting all our criteria, and it won't freeze up in cold water," says Lieutenant Eric Johnson of the NOAA Diving Program. The Delta IV is an environmentally sealed diaphragm regulator and its first stage has Oceanic's Dry Valve Technology, designed to stop moisture and contaminants from entering and to prevent corrosion of internal components. NOAA bought 350 of the regulators and now requires its 500 divers to use that model when diving in water temperatures of 50 degrees or less. Johnson says the Navy's experimental dive unit is using them, too. The Delta IV is also commercially available for sport divers; Oceanic's suggested price is $570.

Cold-water divers should definitely invest in a good regulator that won't freeze up underwater. Two people died last April because of that problem. Jason Balsbough and Daniel Frendenberg, both age 21, and Sherry Eads, 43, went diving in a quarry in Gilboa, Ohio, where the water temperature was 38 degrees. Another diver called 911 to report the divers were down. Balsbough had regulator problems but was able to surface by himself. Frendenberg and Eads were too deep and their regulators were too iced for them to breathe.

just a little info

 

[battles2a5]

I have 2 sets of the Sea Elite regs and I use them on my doubles. I've had them to 160ft, in water down 45 degrees, and have used them for my cave training. I've never had an issue. This reg is the exact same reg as salvo's new SRX/SR3. Balanced, sealed first stage, air-balanced second stage w/ adjustable cracking pressure and venturi-assist. The hose routing is pretty much identical to Apeks FST's. So you get a bit of a kink in the inflator hose of the right post and you will prob need a 24" hose on your backup (assuming hogarthian routing). But they route cleanly. I have a local diver's supply that has been great to me so I don't worry about parts availability or anything like that. That may be the deciding factor for you. These regs have been good to me and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. This is a great price.

 

[Bob Vincent]

The Titan is the original JM Cousteau regulator which when they was the newest kid on the block I had one for a few years and it was a very good regulator one of the best at that time. - I like it!

The Sea Elite I believe I seen reports on that reg but I really can't remember. I know I seen a report in Scuba Diving but their name I confuse with another. One is a really good reg the other not so good. So you might want to page through old issues are do it on-line.

 

[battles2a5]

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/regulators/219997-first-stage-clone-chart.html

Look at this sticky. The Sea Elite X06 is the same as the Salvo SR3 and Dive Rite RG3500 (Hurricane 1st stage). Admittedly, DR does additional work to the reg, but basically the same guy. The X05 (predecessor) is the same as the 2500/3000 and the previous generation salvo. All of these regs have had great reviews and the DRs and Salvo's are staples in cave country. I don't think you can go wrong w/ any of them. Of course, I'm biased