Do any Cozumel HP steel tank dive ops REQUIRE DIN 1st-stages ?

[scubafanatic]

Are there any HP steel tank operators (recreational diving) in Cozumel that REQUIRE divers use DIN 1st-stages ? I thought I remember seeing that Aldora has a policy of converting yoke 1st-stages to DIN 1st-stages, but is this an optional 'service' provided to divers who ask for this to be done, or is it REQUIRED to have yoke 1st-stages converted over to DIN while diving with them ? I don't really want to have my regs messed with, and it's impossible to find DIN conversions for some regs (like my 'vintage' Scubapro MK 5's if I wanted to dive those in Cozumel).

I'm assuming that as long as my regs have yokes rated to at least 3000 psi (yeah, I know HP is approx 3500 psi) but it's pretty rare to get 'real' HP fills anyway, and years ago I dove with Liquid Blue using HP 120 steels with yoke 1st-stages, as their tanks had the valve 'inserts' that allow tank valves to accept either DIN or yoke 1st-stages.

Thanks in advance,

Karl

 

[Ron Lee]

I have a yoke system and it works fine with Aldora tanks.

Aldora did convert to customer regulators to DIN some years ago but it is not required now.

 

[gopbroek]

I believe Aldora uses a universal valve. A yoke with a removable insert that then converts it to a DIN. With time I think most operators will also go to this style valves. To the best of my knowledge in the Caribe, the yoke is the standard, not optimum but it is what it is. With time I suspect more ops will convert to the the dual valves going forward.

 

[divingjd]

Aldora does use the universal valve with the inserts on its tanks. No problem at all with yoke first stages. BTW, you do get real 3500psi fills with Aldora. The fills are always 3300 or more, most often 3400 or more.


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[scubafanatic]

I believe Aldora uses a universal valve. A yoke with a removable insert that then converts it to a DIN. With time I think most operators will also go to this style valves. To the best of my knowledge in the Caribe, the yoke is the standard, not optimum but it is what it is. With time I suspect more ops will convert to the the dual valves going forward.

All of my own personal tanks use the convertible valves, so I like them too, just making sure I don't HAVE to use the DIN feature if I use my 'vintage' regs one day in Coz.

---------- Post added August 30th, 2014 at 09:27 PM ----------

Aldora does use the universal valve with the inserts on its tanks. No problem at all with yoke first stages. BTW, you do get real 3500psi fills with Aldora. The fills are always 3300 or more, most often 3400 or more.


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Thanks for the confirmation. While I agree with those that say DIN is a superior connection, and while I do own a few DIN regs I can use if needed, my 'vintage' regs are impossible to convert to DIN (as Scubapro long ago stopped producing the DIN 1st stage connections for my MK 5's) so I wanted to make sure my Yoke 1st stage MK 5's would be accepted for use by the HP steel Coz dive ops.

 

[mikeycanuk]

I have a yoke system and it works fine with Aldora tanks.

Aldora did convert to customer regulators to DIN some years ago but it is not required now.

True. However from my reading on either their website or the documents they sent, I was under the assumption I would see our gear with a din adapter on our first day.


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[Dirty-Dog]

True. However from my reading on either their website or the documents they sent, I was under the assumption I would see our gear with a din adapter on our first day.


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When we first started going to Coz, Aldora did swap our regulators to a DIN adpater. No longer. They now use the universal and yoke regulators work just fine.

 

[smichels]

Liquid Blue Divers still uses the tank valves with removable inserts and are set for either yokes or DIN. Though it's always best to let us know that you're using a DIN first stage so we can make sure we have enough tanks on board with the inserts removed. Some of them can be a little stubborn and it's always best to find that out BEFORE heading out for a trip in the morning. Most yokes are rated to 240 bar which converts to 3,480 psi which is within a few psi of the rated pressure of the valve itself.

 

[macado]

I will echo what others have said. Aldora and Liquid Blue Divers both use Convertible 200 BAR DIN Valve. No issues or modifications to regulators are necessary.

My personal experience is that I've used my ScubaPro MK5 first stages with Aldora tanks many many times without any issues.

Fills from Aldora are consistently in the 3400-3500PSI range since they fill their own tanks now although this wasn't always the case when they used to use Meridiano 87.