Cold water reg in warm water??

[cougar]

Is there a downside to diving in warm water with a reg that is engineered for cold water performance?? Or do the cold water regs met a higher standard adn work just fine in warm water??? Thanks for your input.

 

[JeffAustin]

Cold water regs. have sealed first stages often. This is also good to have in silty, dirty water. Heat exchangers, etc... will not affect warm water operation in a negative way. I have Apeks regs. that are sealed, and I have to keep an eye on the seal, because if it starts to leak, and I don't catch it, then crap can build up in the first stage and cause problems that wouldn't happen if it wasn't sealed. IMO, performance is not the issue, rather the small added responsibility regarding maintainence.

 

[Amphibious]

Cold water Regs will work in all enviroments.

the issues start when you take, for example, a Warmwater reg Ice Diving or really silty water.

I tell my students to spent the extra $ and buy a cold water reg, gives you more options in the long-run. I too have Sealed Apeks regs (Atx50 DS4) and I never stop being impressed by their quality. think they're my new Favorite.

Willer

 

[RSdiver]

You should be fine.

I've heard that balanced diaphragms are preferred for cold water, but can have flow limitations if not designed properly.

Piston models generally have much higher demand capacity.