What do you think about replacing a old Dacor Fury with Oceanic Alpha 9?

[KathyV]

My husband and I have been diving for many years but we only do warm water recreational dive trips once per year.

Every year we take our equipment in to the local dive shop to have it serviced. Most of our equipment is pretty old but we take good care of it and it doesn't get a lot of use.

My husband has been using a Dacor Fury regulator that was new when he purchased it long ago (back in 2001) and he has always liked it. This year when he took our equipment in for annual service, the dive shop owner told him that he can't service the Dacor any longer because no one makes parts. We called another area dive shop and they said the same thing.

So we are shopping for a new regulator; the local dive shop owner is recommending an Oceanic Alpha 9; but my first regulator was an Oceanic Omega and I much prefer my current ScubaPro reg. (I know that there are a lot of Oceanic fans out there and that's fine, but I personally like my ScubaPro much better.)

My husband is leaning toward the Oceanic Alpha because it was recommended by our local vendor. To be fair, we've been customers for years and have never had any reason to distrust him; but I would like to learn about the experiences of others with this regulator. Of course, it is my husband's regulator and it will be his choice, but it would be good to do some research before buying.

What do you think of the Oceanic Alpha 9? Do you have any other regulator recommendations appropriate for a recreational diver that takes an annual warm water dive trip?

We want reliable equipment that will give good, safe service. We don't want to buy something cheap just for the price - but we don't need the "latest and the greatest" either.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

[diversteve]

Do you have any other regulator recommendations appropriate for a recreational diver that takes an annual warm water dive trip?

We want reliable equipment that will give good, safe service. We don't want to buy something cheap just for the price - but we don't need the "latest and the greatest" either.

Do you have an Atomic Dealer nearby? Look at their Z2/3 models. It's the lowest end of their line but breathes identical to the $1600 T3 - the difference is the materials used - the design is practically identical. A Z2 is $409 - the Z3 is around $529. http://www.atomicaquatics.com/reg_Z2_Z3.html The difference in the two models is primarily the swivel hose on the 2nd stage. Not needed but nice...

So a little more than the Oceanic but the advantage for you is that the factory specified service interval on all Atomic products is 2 years/300 dives. They also don't have the fussy annual warranty service requirement of ScubaPro. I like SP regs also, in fact I was about to buy a MK25T/S600T when a dealer showed me the T2 which I bought instead. Service costs on mine are $60 bi-annually. One gets free parts, the other cost me $22? last time. The tech said the only reason he changed them was because he had it apart. That reg would've had maybe 150 dives on it at the time.

Dive two years or 300 dives without required servicing.

The Atomic Limited Lifetime Warranty is not contingent on proof of annual service.

They have a special seat saver design that retracts the orifice slightly from the seat during storage which is one of the things that imprints in most other regs requiring the annual service. Two ex-Scubapro engineers founded Atomic. Atomic Aquatics - Before Atomic Aquatics, there was no "best' in scuba diving

 

[KathyV]

Thanks DiverSteve! There is a dealer in our area that handles Atomics so I will check it out.

Is it difficult to get Atomic regulators serviced? Do you have to go to an Atomics dealer?

 

[tbone1004]

The shop has to be certified to service atomics. That being said, if you're only diving once per year, there is really no reason to service every year unless you are trying to maintain a warranty. When they fail, you'll know but most of the time if they have been stored properly age doesn't really matter.

The Oceanic Omega shouldn't be compared to any other regulators on the market aside from Poseidons. The nature of the internal mechanism is very different and provides a unique breathing experience due to being servo assisted.

We carry a huge selection of regulators and octos - Dive Right in Scuba
Wait until Black Friday if you can, and grab one of those. They have the same lifetime warranty on the metal bits, you can buy the parts kits yourself and learn to service them yourself if you're so inclined. I actually find it quite enjoyable and that way I know exactly what's going on with my regulators. There isn't a whole lot of specialty tools needed or anything, maybe $50 in required stuff to get you going, and they breathe as well as any other reg on the market.

 

[diversteve]

Do you have to go to an Atomics dealer?

I would. I also wouldn't take a Scubapro reg to an Atomic dealer for service either. There are likely some small differences the tech needs to be trained for. Since you have one nearby???

 

[KathyV]

I would. I also wouldn't take a Scubapro reg to an Atomic dealer for service either. There are likely some small differences the tech needs to be trained for. Since you have one nearby???

I just wondered, we have been dealing with the same dive shop for years (the shop that recommended the Oceanic) so I wanted to know if we would have to change vendors.

I was also wondering if it would be difficult to have it serviced while we are on vacation. Many years ago we had problems with a Poseidon while on a dive trip and we couldn't get it serviced. He had to rent a regulator for the remainder of the trip.

---------- Post added September 17th, 2014 at 04:10 PM ----------

...We carry a huge selection of regulators and octos - Dive Right in Scuba
Wait until Black Friday if you can, and grab one of those. They have the same lifetime warranty on the metal bits, you can buy the parts kits yourself and learn to service them yourself if you're so inclined. I actually find it quite enjoyable and that way I know exactly what's going on with my regulators. There isn't a whole lot of specialty tools needed or anything, maybe $50 in required stuff to get you going, and they breathe as well as any other reg on the market.

Thanks for the information, we can't wait until Black Friday as he will be needing it sooner.

 

[tbone1004]

I'd still consider the HOGS, either from DRiS or your local dealer. They are very familiar with shipping to Canada, do it all the time.

 

[KathyV]

I'd still consider the HOGS, either from DRiS or your local dealer. They are very familiar with shipping to Canada, do it all the time.

I am not in Canada, but thanks for the information.

 

[MaxE]

The shop has to be certified to service atomics. That being said, if you're only diving once per year, there is really no reason to service every year unless you are trying to maintain a warranty. When they fail, you'll know but most of the time if they have been stored properly age doesn't really matter.

The Oceanic Omega shouldn't be compared to any other regulators on the market aside from Poseidons. The nature of the internal mechanism is very different and provides a unique breathing experience due to being servo assisted.

We carry a huge selection of regulators and octos - Dive Right in Scuba
Wait until Black Friday if you can, and grab one of those. They have the same lifetime warranty on the metal bits, you can buy the parts kits yourself and learn to service them yourself if you're so inclined. I actually find it quite enjoyable and that way I know exactly what's going on with my regulators. There isn't a whole lot of specialty tools needed or anything, maybe $50 in required stuff to get you going, and they breathe as well as any other reg on the market.

Im not trying to be a smart ass this is a serious question, I'm a new diver and not familiar with all the different gear.

Would you include the Hollis 500se in that group? It's a servo regulator no? If not what would the difference be?

thanks.

 

[diversteve]

If a concern is service while on vacation, HOG wouldn't make my list. They don't have worldwide coverage.

I don't think it's an exaggeration to state that there may be continents where they still don't have a presence. Their dealer locator seems to show only Canada and the U.S. - although I thought I'd read that they have several Australian dealers now.

There's nothing wrong with Oceanic. I was just suggesting an alternative with a longer service interval since you don't seem to dive frequently.

There's no rules about changing dive shops. If you're happy with yours buy the Alpha. Nothing wrong with it either.

---------- Post added September 17th, 2014 at 09:14 PM ----------

Im not trying to be a smart ass this is a serious question, I'm a new diver and not familiar with all the different gear.

Would you include the Hollis 500se in that group? It's a servo regulator no? If not what would the difference be?

thanks.

Hollis, Oceanic and Aeris are all divisions of AUP (American Underwater Products) So either the Omega or the 500se is basically the same regulator rebranded. There might be minor functional differences, IDK the line well enough to compare. If Aeris wasn't being re-absorbed into the parent company, they'd probably have their version of it also.