Technical diving regs

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craig chamberlain

Contributor
Messages
99
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Location
England
# of dives
500 - 999
Hello anyone

i am a tdi extended range diver and i am after purchasing some regs. i was looking at the apeks xtx50 regs. since i do all my diving in egypt the m26 fitting is no good to me on the deco reg so i was thinking of buying the oxygen 2nd stage and the normal 1st and getting the 1st o2 cleaned. would this work?
Also what do expiernced tek divers think of other makes than apeks and scubapro. eg dive rite and hollis etc.

if tek divers could please tell me what regs they are using for back gas and deco. thanks?

also what do you think of the apeks xtx50 setup for all regs?


cheers
Craig Thomas Chamberlain
 
My primary backgas regs are ATX200's. I also use a set of Atomic ST1's from time to time. All of my stage/deco regs are XTX50's. I have absolutely no complaints with any of them.
As for using XTX50's all the way around, I say go for it. My only suggestions would be to consider the DST first stages, and the 5th port conversion. It will make hose routing easier.

K
 
Nothing wrong with Apeks - solid regs, easy to service. XTX50s are fine - I've just bought a set for sidemounting, and I'll probably end up using them for backmounted doubles as well. As long as you can get hold of an O2-ready service kit, no problem at all getting the normal first stage and O2 cleaning it.

At the moment I use a pair of fairly old Mares MR22 Abyss regs for backgas (essentially because I got a good deal on them, but they've done me solid service on technical dives, including depths past 100 metres) and Aqualung Calypsos for deco regs - unless you're looking to do some big dives in future (ie. with gas switches deeper than 39m) there's really no need for anything more elaborate than a simple unbalanced piston first stage on deco tanks, but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with using a higher-performing reg. You can always use it on a bottom-gas stage if you start doing bigger dives.
 
There's a member in Egypt, that just put two new Apeks XTX50's up for sale.....You might want to look at the HOG reg's too......
 
Hard to beat Apeks, there are lots of very solid regs out there and you named most of them. I've used ATX 50's with DS4's for years, back gas and deco, I agree though that the DST first makes a better routing for sidemount. You won't be disappointed.
 
My primary backgas regs are ATX200's. I also use a set of Atomic ST1's from time to time. All of my stage/deco regs are XTX50's. I have absolutely no complaints with any of them.
As for using XTX50's all the way around, I say go for it. My only suggestions would be to consider the DST first stages, and the 5th port conversion. It will make hose routing easier.

K

Atomic ST1's are hard to beat. :wink:
 
My primary regs are Dive Rite and Scuba Pro MK15's. The SP go on my doubles and the Dive Rite go on all stage, deco, and side mount bottles. I like both. With doubles I just prefer the routing on the SP's. I have never had an issue from my DR regs. They breath great and have performed flawlessly for me for ten years.
 
Hi Craig, my 2 cents would be that all the top brands perform well enough for the job, it s more about the hose routing for me. I like the DIR / Cave style set up and I cant stand hoses poking out from the 1st stages at angles or having a 90 degree bend in them. Unfortunately, this means that the Apeks are only usable for me with the extra port modification. Even the Tek 3's will give you a bit of hose bend.

The Scubapro MK25 / Halcyon H-75P is the only first stage I have seen that will give this kind of configuration
Equipment Configuration | Global Underwater Explorers
 
I'm a zeagle guy and I also like apeks. Just today my apeks ccr O2 clean DS4 reg's IP started creeping. Every time I get a creeper it seems it is one of my apeks, but I still love them.

I like the zeagle's because I feel the conical seat just gives a little extra. I may get a 2-3psi creep in my zeagles but they just dont seem to be as creepy as my apeks.

You can O2 clean the zeagles as well you just don't see them often, but you may not be able to find the pre-made clean kit you need. Get a standard kit, clean the diaphram and get viton rings.. they are all standard sizes and listed in the rebuild manual. (3 rings on the balance plug, 1 on the seat, 5 standard port orings, 2 for the din tube). You can do the same with the second.. get a load of rings and keep them clean.. easy to maintain.
 
How do you "O2 cleaned" your reg?
Don't you require dust free room(Jade's room) at all?
I believe there is a difference between O2 clean and O2 compatible.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/
http://cavediveflorida.com/Rum_House.htm

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