HELP! Need advice (quick) about DIN adapters

[nwflyboy]

I'm leaving for a trip to the other side of the world (Maldives) in about 9 days. Thought I had checked, re-checked, and triple-checked all my gear. Today, I was looking over the website of the dive live-aboard operators. And I see this:

Do you use DIN or International tanks?
All tanks are fitted with 5/8's DIN valves. We strongly advise divers with M26 regulators to note that when travelling outside Europe tanks with M26 valves or adapters to fit M26 regulators to 5/8's DIN tanks may not be available. These adapters cannot be purchased in countries such as Africa, Asia, etc and we have limited stocks available for rent. Please remember to either bring your own adapter with you or check with us regarding availability at the time of booking.​

Uh-oh. Our regs are standard yoke types. We've been diving for decades, have never seen any DIN gear (AFAIK), never mind used one. It's never been an issue, we've used our gear from Raja Ampat to the Caymans, everything has always been the same old yoke gear. Now, I'm wondering what to do. (And yes, I know that Africa and Asia are not "countries"...).

I'm gonna email the dive op, but I suspect they have non-technical, non-connected people in their office and won't be able to provide solid info. And they're half a world away, so there will be at least half a day of time lag in getting any response.

From the (poorly written) website bits quoted above, I take it that they make no guarantees that "adapters" will be available upon arrival. I will ask about that (surely this can't be an unusual thing for people to show up needing them). But I now have more questions...

We have Atomic Z2x regs. I googled "Atomic yoke to DIN adapter". It seems that it's easy to go from DIN to Yoke, but much harder to go from Yoke to DIN?

I see a "conversion kit" for around a hundred bucks (like this one here: Atomic Aquatics Yoke to DIN Conversion Kit). My local dive shop has one of these and will install it. But this may be the only time we will ever need DIN compatibility, and I hate to make a big change for this one time.

It also sounds like the boat folks have some kind of a non-permanent "adapter" they may provide (if they have enough). I don't see any such things advertised. I've searched on the two big name online scuba shops, and amazon. No results. I asked my local dive shop and they claim there is no simple, easily reversible adapter (at least none that they know of). Really?

My wife is currently in Thailand (on the way to our live-aboard, she headed out 2 weeks ahead of me - she has her regs with her). She's chatting with divers there, she says they're telling her "don't worry about it, just go, just use a simple adapter, the boat will have one you can use...don't mess with your regulators." I mentioned this to the owner of my local dive shop. He rolled his eyes and said the only kind of "adapter" he knew of is one he uses to fill DIN tanks at the LDS (he showed me one - it was a simple brass fitting with a 90 degree bend, yoke size fitting on one end, DIN on the other). He said that kind of fitting was just for filling tanks and should never be used for diving. I didn't disagree, it looked like industrial stuff, not life support gear.

So I'm stumped, confused, and worried. I need to get this sorted out pretty quick.

What do I need to safely dive using my plain-vanilla, non-DIN Atomic regs, on the operator's DIN tanks? When I can get the attention of the dive boat operators office, what should I ask them about the adapters that they might (or might not) have available for us? I'm looking for safety, and not messing up our gear.

This shouldn't be hard....right? Thank you!!!

 

[Jcp2]

Yoke to DIN inserts

 

[aviator8]

This should make a din work with your yoke I think asumming it is not a 300 BAR DIN valve. I am unfamiliar with M26 vs 5/8 threading, you might want to give the guys at DGX a call, they are very helpful.

DGX Insert 200-BAR DIN to Yoke | Dive Gear Express®

 

[jgttrey]

That excerpt is not about yoke regs. M26 is a European thing. In Europe, Nitrox tanks and regs are M26, which is like DIN but a different diameter.

Using a yoke first stage on a din valve is simple. It just takes a little threaded insert into the tank valve that costs about 5 bucks. I'm sure they have a million of them but you could always bring your own if you want.

 

[nwflyboy]

Many thanks for the quick responses above.

The $4 piece linked above from aviator8 (DGX Insert 200-BAR DIN to Yoke | Dive Gear Express®) looks simple, cheap, easy - three things I like. Any time I can find a solution for $4 I'm happy...and I was starting to panic, now maybe I'll be able to sleep tonight.

Sounds like I need to get some more clarity from the boat operators to be 100% sure. I guess I need to ask them about 200 BAR versus 300 BAR, which do they have (and hope the answer is 200)?

Anything else I need to get confirmed from the boat operator, besides the 200-BAR/300-BAR question? Ask if they have a "Pro valve"? Are there any other terms for that they might be using ("what's that in Euro metric?").

Dive Gear Express opens in about 13 hours; looks like I will be giving them a call then to overnight a couple of these. Is it worth buying a handful of spares? (do they tend to disappear, or maybe could I help out someone else in a pinch?).

Many thanks again for your help, it's much appreciated!

 

[nwflyboy]

Oh yeah, one more question: assuming the insert linked above will work in their tanks, is the installation fairly idiot-proof?

Just use the proper size Allen wrench, no cross-threading, and screw it in there "tight but not insanely tight"? That is, about as tight as other connections on the regulator (more than finger-tight, but no grunting or excess wrench pain)? No torque wrench needed? Keep threads clean, but no special anti-sieze (or pro-sieze) juice applied, no grease, no plumbers tape, no nothing, just simple common sense?

Thanks!

 

[jgttrey]

I would be floored if you need to bring your own DIN inserts.

 

[aviator8]

Oh yeah, one more question: assuming the insert linked above will work in their tanks, is the installation fairly idiot-proof?

Just use the proper size Allen wrench, no cross-threading, and screw it in there "tight but not insanely tight"? That is, about as tight as other connections on the regulator (more than finger-tight, but no grunting or excess wrench pain)? No torque wrench needed? Keep threads clean, but no special anti-sieze (or pro-sieze) juice applied, no grease, no plumbers tape, no nothing, just simple common sense?

Thanks!

Super simple, allen key that fits and screw it in till it seats. Same pressure you would with a yoke, no need to use anything on the threads, and don't need to tighten hard, its the o rings that make the seal. You just need to make sure with the operator that their DIN valves are convertible and will take the inserts. I would be surprised if they did not have them but if you want to have piece of mind its easy to bring your own.

 

[lexvil]

While I can’t speak for the operator, the warning is for Europeans who have the M26 spec din fittings. The warning is for them, your yoke Atomic will likely be fine, they seem to have standard pro valves so it more likely you will see them with the insert already in place.

 

[Fibonacci]

I would be floored if you need to bring your own DIN inserts.

Yup, just about every dive operator I've encountered across Asia Pacific now uses these spin-out DIN adaptors.
Main issue will be whether the Allen key recess is 1/4" or 8mm, with 8mm being the most common size in this part of the world.