100% O2 w/ APEKS T20 second stage?

[Jaysee]

G'Day all,

I'm new to Scubaboard and have joined to find out more info. I need to know whether the Apeks T20 second stage reg is capable of being combined w/ a DS4 first stage and used w/ a 100% O2 mix. I intend to use this combination on my stage bottle for decompression dives.
It seems that Apeks suggest that it shouldn't be used an higher than 40% EAN. Is this true or just manufacturing hype?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[daylight]

Jaysee,
Welcome to the board.

Your question is frequently asked. You may want to invest some time checking the archives.
The short answer is that the apeks regs are good to go to 40% out of the box. If you want to use them for mixes above 40%, you need to have them O2 cleaned.

They are great regs.
Enjoy the board and Dive Safe,
Larry

 

[O-ring]

<g>

 

[Jaysee]

Appreciate the feedback, Larry - nice one!

Yeah, I went to the Apex webite's FAQ page which states that they are, in fact, Nitrox compatible but require the 'conversion'.

How'z the diving over there in the States? I look forward to hitting Mexico soon for some of the world's best cave diving!

Many thanx,

Justin.

 

[Scubaroo]

Short answer is that the first stage needs to be O2 clean, because that's where the adiabatic heating will occur which is the danger when using high O2 mixtures. The second stage only encounters lower intermediate pressures, and does not have to be O2 *clean*.