what the hell is a the big deal about DIN, what is it?

I have been diving for 6 months now and have around fifty dives under my belt, and am slowly accumulating all of my gear with plenty of deliberation but this is driving my nuts - what is the REAL difference between a yoke or a DIN 1st stage - I see a shape difference (only in pics - haven't gotten my hands on one in real life) but what is the deal ? How do they work, is it differnt than a yoke?...good, bad? and oh yeah don't just say one better - I want to know WHY? sorry for the rant (please imagine the smiley pulling out her hair)

A yoke pulls the reg up against the O-ring to make a seal. It is a secure method of making a seal and can quite easily handle higher pressure than is normally used with it.

A DIN regulator screws into the valve pushing the O-ring against the valve to make a seal. It's more secure in that a very hard blow could possibly dislodge a yoke, but is much less likely to dislodge a DIN.

While the DIN is more secure, I don't believe there's that much of a difference to really matter.

While what Walter says is true, it's likely that if you purchase a steel tank, as many people do, it will be a high pressure tank, and will come with a DIN valve. So your regulator will need to be DIN to match.

The DIN valve is also used in many applications because the screw on a yoke tank tends to protrude badly from the back of the tank, and can entangle itself on fishing line, cave line, or other things of that sort. It's position behind your head can make it a real chore to try to get to and cut yourself loose.

Divers in overhead environement (caverns caves, shipwrecks, etc.) tend to favor them because a bump can dislodge the regulator from the first stage with a yoke, but cannot with a DIN.

In short, the DIN offers are more secure way to attach a regulator to a tank, its more streamlined, and less of an entanglement hazard.

If you purchase a DIN regulator, chances are it will come with a convertor for standard yoke tanks in case you happen to rent one of those.

suziq239:

I have been diving for 6 months now and have around fifty dives under my belt, and am slowly accumulating all of my gear with plenty of deliberation but this is driving my nuts - what is the REAL difference between a yoke or a DIN 1st stage - I see a shape difference (only in pics - haven't gotten my hands on one in real life) but what is the deal ? How do they work, is it differnt than a yoke?...good, bad? and oh yeah don't just say one better - I want to know WHY? sorry for the rant (please imagine the smiley pulling out her hair)

Click to expand...

DIN (in no particular order):

• More secure connection.
• Able to withstand higher pressures.
• Lower profile.
• You can adapt a DIN regulator to a yoke valve but the opposite isn't always true.
• Deutsches Institute fur Normung sounds so...serious.
• All the cool kids use them.

The DIN valve is also used in man applications

Click to expand...

Woman applications can just use yoke?

LOL!! Well, I thought I had a yoke around MY neck... but now I know it was just a noose...

PerroneFord listed many good points, and there is still one very good reason to
choose DIN instead of Yoke. However, this concerns mainly technical diving:

If you dive with decompression or stage cylinders, DIN is preferred choice to those.
This is bacuse of the handling protocol of them: Before the dive, you pressurize the
stage cylinder, check the gauge, regulator and possible leaks. Then you close the
stage cylinder valve, leaving pressure to the regulator. During the dive the stage
cylinder valve remains closed, and you may or may not leave the cylinder somewhere.
During the bottom time period, when the stage cylinder valve is closed, there is a
risk of loosing the pressure from the stage regulator (accidental pushing of the purge
button, minor leaks in O-rings etc.). When you are ready to use your stage (or deco)
cylinder, you open the valve, which re-pressurize the stage regulator, in case it has
leaked. In this point, Yoke fitting may leak. Yoke has some tendency to loosen if it
has not been pressurized all the time. If it is loosen, then the valve opening may blow
your Yoke O-ring away, causing massive leaking. DIN fitting can withstand better
this kind of a problem.

DIN fitting comes in two types: 200 bar (~3000 psi) and 300 bar (~4500 psi) models.
The latter is longer, i.e. it has "longer screw".

Dive safe,

Matti
http://www.techdiver.ws/

O.k. thanks everyone for your responses - sorry i had to run right after initating (why does that word not look right no matter how I type it ::blinking: but drunken friend duty called.
So my next question is are they just as easy to attach to tanks as yokes? Most of my diving is pretty foofoo tropical rented tank type (career and money dictate that) and I so don't want something that is hard to switch tanks on deck with 6-8 foot swells. do they work with standard nitrox rentals?
do i need a yoke converter to do this?

My first stage has both a DIN and a Yoke fitting. It takes a big spanner to change them but I take both with me.
If the shop has DIN then I put that on.
If the shop has yoke only then I switch the connector and use that.
By preference I would use din but most rental tanks are yoke

suziq239:

So my next question is are they just as easy to attach to tanks as yokes? Most of my diving is pretty foofoo tropical rented tank type (career and money dictate that) and I so don't want something that is hard to switch tanks on deck with 6-8 foot swells. do they work with standard nitrox rentals?
do i need a yoke converter to do this?

Click to expand...

The regulators screw in like a light bulb. And just as easy. The part on the tank is like the socket, and the part on the regulator is like the bulb. Easy as pie.

It's hard to say what a "standard nitrox rental" is going to be because it depends on where in the world you're standing. There is no worldwide standard. That said, it's easy to use a DIN (regulator) to yoke (tank) converter, and many DIN regulators come with them at purchase. If your rental places use yoke tanks, then you simply screw the adapter onto your regulator for the weekend, and put it on like a yoke. If you happen to purchase your own tank(s) then purchase DIN and you don't need an adaptor. Or if you travel to places where DIN is used, you can leave the adaptor in the bag.

Easy.