O.K. all you D.I.R.ers,( A Serious Question)...

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LiveGoat

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I got a serious dilemma! I'm in the process of going D.I.R. (why does that sound so Scientology-esque?). Anyway, I've been diving since I was 16 (I'm 29), and I've been going through umpteen million gear configs and for awhile was goin to quit diving all together cause I was so sick of trying to keep up with all the fads. Along comes WKPP and a configuration and philosophy that really works for me. I've got nearly all the gear that a D.I.R. recreational diver using a single tank would need but then tonight I was reading Irvine's equipment manifesto (I mean that in the best sense) and I came upon the reg config. I currently use a Zeagle (Apeks) Tech 50-D Severe 1st and two T50 second stages both with the anti freeze thingy and adjustable knobs. That's where I'm concerned.

Irvine says the backup (necklace) reg should be low performance and non balanced. Okay, I thought, and went to the Apeks site (Zeagle no longer carrying them). Problem is I could not find a low performance, non-balanced reg anywhere.

All of this leads me to ask (since I think I need a refresher on all this technical jargon):

A. What does Irvine mean by non-balanced, low performance?
B. Is the term "high performance" used by Apeks referring
to the same thing or is there something I'm missing?
C. Is it "okay" to have an adjustor knob on the necklace
reg?
Any info on this would be appreciated. I'm not trying to be a conformist DIR fascist or anything (my best friend is my dive buddy and decidedly not DIR), but I believed for a long time that at least my reg setup was ideal and now this! I have other minor gear issues that I'm working on and don't want the headache of having to get a new backup second stage. At least for a couple years when I decide to do wreck penetration! Then more gear madness!

Oh I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ray. But you may call me LiveGoat (if you want). I've been surfing this site and a couple others for years and this is my first post on this board! THE MUTE HAS SPOKEN!!
Thanks for listening.

------Das Goot (the Goat)
 
http://www.wkpp.org/articles/Gear/newgeorge.html

Here's a link to an article by DIR god George Irvine regarding equipment configurations. In this article, he discusses his preference for a "low performance" back-up, due to free flow concerns and hose stress.

I think this is one gear choice you should think about long and hard before simply following what George tells you to do. Based on my own experience and advice from others, I have a relatively high-performance reg for my back-up (Apeks TX-40). I can use the de-tuning knob on the TX-40 second stage to manage the risk of free-flow.

Although I've never been in an actual air-share situation, having done it in the pool and OW as part of rescue and AOW classes recently, I have to say that I prefer a higher performing reg in this type of situation. In my recent rescue class, we had to swim 30 feet underwater with our gear on and our reg out, signaling to our buddy that we were out of air and asking to begin air sharing via the buddy's octopus. My buddy had a small, streamlined octopus. I am big and consume more air than the average human. I felt that his octo did not deliver as much air as I would have liked, and this was in 8 feet of water at the bottom of a pool. If this was at 80+ feet in the ocean, where an OOA emergency would produce a fair amount of stress........

My TX-40 was much more expensive that a lower-performing reg, but to me it's worth every penny.

My $0.02
 
LD: Your story about your rescue class once again pointed out why I enjoy hanging about with divers discussing both the sport and the gear. You learn a lot from others experiences.

It also made me think that divers need to think past the hype when purchasing gear. Your story pointed out that while the low profile octo's might look cool and do their job of cutting drag. But is purchaser ever considering where the octo might be used? Most likely not. Your story points out that these LPO regs may not be up to the performance that we need (per the dive profile) at the deeper recreational depths (60-100 fsw).

I've got a different question about octo's but rather than dilute the original question/discussion, I'll post it as a new thread.
 
Remember GI is talking about deep technical diving using trimix. Helium is reported to greatly improve the performance of a regulator. I think I've seen statements where he has said he likes the ScubaPro MK2 R190 regulator. This is unbalanced but delivers fairly high performance according to tests by Rodale's and Diver magazines.

Ralph
 
It's well established that a reg need not be balanced to give fairly high performance, so I think what Mr. Irvine means is that a low performance reg will not have a tendency to freeflow while hanging on the bungie. Any reg can be adjusted not to freeflow, and the adjustable ones are perfect for that. When you give up your long hose to 230 lb. yours truly, you're gonna wish you had a high performance back-up! :)
Neil
 
Apex offers the unbalanced reg called the TX40, I beleive. By "low performance" he means keeping the reg from free flowing, and the unbalanced reg is less likely to give you a problem with free flows. You don't want a finicky highly tuned reg under your chin that could go off at the most inconvenient time is all he's saying I think. Go ahead and e-mail him if you want more clarification.

Mike
 
Yooper,
The TX40 is a balanced diaphragm first stage, as are all of Apex regs.
Neil
 
As was mentioned above, the purpose of the "low performance"
safe second is to prevent freeflow. This will occur in current conditions such as in a cave or heavy seas. Unless you are doing any of these your TX50 will do just fine until you can afford a LP safe second. Just detune close the knob all the way down and adjust the lever to (-).

Hope this helps. If you have any further questions, you can e-mail me.

Sometimes here you have to wear asbestos underwear when you mention DIR.

ID
 
ID: Perhaps we need to introduce a new acronym----DMOIR---"Doing Most of It Right"

or

DSBNAOIR -- "Doing Some (But Not All) of It Right"

or

IWC911 -- "If Wet, Call 911"

--Mike (It's too early in the day for good and funny.)
 
Oops, I think I meant to say that you can get a non air balanced TX40 to use as a back up which is what Irvine uses (with non swival first stages). I use Zeagles so I get confused once in a while with the Apeks line.

Mike
 

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