Apeks DST 5 port orientation on doubles for cave diving

[v-v]

Honestly it’s pretty much a non issue, unless you are a diving like a Bull in a china shop.

Yeah, makes sense. And if I want to really protect everything, we also have our DIY meshes that go around the valves that tend to be used here.

Depending on what manifold you are using, I would be more concerned about a roll off or a random impact to the burst disk.

If I'm not wrong, the valves I'm using, from the european BTS systems, shouldn't have any burst disks but I'll seek confirmation out of curiosity.

Thank you all once again.

 

[kensuf]

There is a good reason to remove the environmental seals, effectively turning a DST into a UST, if you ever plan on diving those regs deep. I've had freeflows as shallow as 240' due to the IP issue.

For more details, read deep diving regulators

 

[JohnnyC]

To say it again so it's really hammered home:

Right post: Long hose on the turret, LP inflator on the 5th port facing in
Left post: Short hose on the 5th port facing in, HP hose to your SPG, drysuit inflator on the turret

 

[tbone1004]

@JohnnyC and when you get to a CCR in a rack, put a QC6 hose on the left post

 

[v-v]

There is a good reason to remove the environmental seals, effectively turning a DST into a UST, if you ever plan on diving those regs deep. I've had freeflows as shallow as 240' due to the IP issue.
For more details, read deep diving regulators

Cool! Very interesting read and fact, I was totally unaware of this (still far from trimix and those depths for now anyway), shines a completely different light on the seals I was worrying about. Glad I asked for your thoughts at ScubaBoard, thank you.

 

[JohnnyC]

@tbone1004 I'm swimming in QC6's. And 4's. And about $900 more worth of Swagelok parts all thanks to $75 and eBay!

I've got more QC6's than I have regs to put them on.

 

[v-v]

Breaking the environmental seal (as improbable as that may be) still won't hurt your reg function. If you crack that mounting ring clear thru, the reg just becomes an unsealed diaphragm. The main diaphragm is still protected well inside the reg body.
Same thing if you tear the outer environmental diaphragm.

Hm.... so if I damage the exposed hydrostatic diaphragm (27) and let's say maybe another close component (down to 25), there is another diaphragm behind it in the DST version? Just from this diagram, I fail to see it and it seems that the hydrostatic diaphragm (27) actuates the HP valve (13) directly through (25) and that if water gets behind (25) it would cease to function. What am I missing?

Also, is the hydrostatic diaphragm (27) the only thing keeping the water separated from air or do (26) and (25) also seal?

There is a good reason to remove the environmental seals, effectively turning a DST into a UST

But which elements would you remove? Here it seems like it's necessary to swap parts {1, ..., 6} with {23, ..., 28} to swap and only then is there another diaphragm deeper inside (5).

Sorry for the confusion, I'm just curious and trying to understand.

 

[divad]

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[tbone1004]

@v-v if you damage that amount of stuff, you have SERIOUSLY screwed up. You have to be going very fast and hit the rock at just the right angle. I have never heard of any damage like that being done to a DST.

Now, for what matters to you.
Parts 3/4/5/6 are in both regulators and are the actual diaphragm that makes the regulator work
Part 1 and 24 are the same thing and are the spring pressure adjustment screws that determine your IP.

When you change a UST to a DST, or US4 to DS4, you remove parts 1 and 2, and replace them with parts 24 and 23 *pretty sure part 1 and 24 are the same part number*.
Part 28 is the outer retaining cap, 27 is the actual sealing diaphragm. 26 is a sticker, and 25 is a pressure transmitter that presses on part 4 and makes it depth compensating.

For all intents and purposes it's a solid block of brass. You aren't going to damage it, and in a cave there is exactly a 0% chance that you'll rip the exposed diaphragm.

 

[v-v]

#1 thru #7 shows the unsealed 1st stage.

Yeah, so since I have the sealed version (28 to 23) my question is, what happens if I scratch/cut/break element (27) and maybe (26, 25) since they're also quite exposed?
If I lost the 1st stage, then I'm probably right to worry of facing the diaphragm outward / forward and should better keep it inwards. No?