Are scuba regulators life-support equipment?

[agilis]

Some divers may prefer to breathe from a $1099.00 reg, instead of sucking from a cheap reg.

Do tactical second stages support life more effectively than shiny chrome or plastic? If they do, is this because tactical regulators protect the user from enemy divers or because tactical regulators have specially designed super strong parts designed to continue operating when metrosexual civilian regulators, even those that (except for color) appear to be identical, will have failed?

 

[divad]

I have quite a few regulators, most of them several decades old. All of them are self-serviced, with loving care. My regs are like family; I know them and they know me. Each is an individual, with its own characteristics, and is treated as such. A couple of them have jealousy issues, so I take that into account when deciding which ones to use.

How do you know they're not whispering about you while you're asleep, scheming, conspiring against you?

 

[dfx]

It's life support for you if said plant is a tomato plant and you later eat it.

Only if tomatoes from said plant were the only thing accessible to me to eat. Which would suck because I don't even like tomatoes.

 

[agilis]

How do you know they're not whispering about you while you're asleep, scheming, conspiring against you?

You can never be sure, but I do keep them in separate drawers just in case. Regulators are funny that way. I have a slightly detuned very early model 108 that I use as an octopus. You'd think the 109/151/250 series regulators would have no reason to regard the 108 as competition, but I eventually realized that they all resented the amount of water time the 108 was getting. They refuse to acknowledge their 300D cousin, and refer to the Zeagle as an "undocumented alien".

 

[KD8NPB]

Hell, HOG gear is relatively cheap yet plenty of tech divers use them. Someone better tell them a reg is life support, and they should spend more.

Why buy a HOG when you can get a Scubamax version of the same regulator for about $250? The 2nd stage doesn't look as pretty, but it's still a balanced downstream 2nd stage with an environmentally sealed Apeks knockoff 1st stage.

So why would you not buy a "cheap" regulator? (By "cheap", I mean inexpensive. Do you mean something different?) Do you really think you get any more "life support" by spending $1000 rather than $500 or even $200?

BTW, I am in the process of assembling two sets of regulators for some friends for under $400.

Typically, more expensive units have better anti-corrosion characteristics and better flow rates.

Comparing the Apeks FSR, FST, DST, and DS4 1st stages...night and day difference between these units although they all use the same internal rubber parts.

 

[redacted]

Why buy a HOG when you can get a Scubamax version of the same regulator for about $250? The 2nd stage doesn't look as pretty, but it's still a balanced downstream 2nd stage with an environmentally sealed Apeks knockoff 1st stage.



Typically, more expensive units have better anti-corrosion characteristics and better flow rates.

Comparing the Apeks FSR, FST, DST, and DS4 1st stages...night and day difference between these units although they all use the same internal rubber parts.

Yes, the Scubamax regulators and other gear looks pretty interesting. I have one of their frameless masks that I am quite happy with.

As far as corrosion resistance, are you referring to titanium regulators? I'm sure it is quite effective, bat at the price they demand, I woulod rather stick with chrome plated brass and good user care. Heck, I could do another dive trip with the $$$ saved.

Flow rate is mostly a matter of design and probably does correlate fairly well with price. But that does not mean you can't get great performance at less cost. I paid about $100 a couple years ago for my Mk5 and original Pilot (1970's vintage). Has anything beat that yet for flow rate?

www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA048033

 

[JohnN]

Some divers may prefer to breathe from a $1099.00 reg, instead of sucking from a cheap reg.

OMG. . .I'm going to die

 

[halocline]

Some divers may prefer to breathe from a $1099.00 reg, instead of sucking from a cheap reg.

Speaking of sucking, ....

Nice to see the beav chiming in on such a crucial matter with his usual cutting insight.

 

[tphelps]

100% oxygen at 20 feet can kill you. Are you Nitrox certified? What exactly is decompressing oxygen? The use of oxygen masks by pilots is a factor of altitude, not speed.

I have quite a few regulators, most of them several decades old. All of them are self-serviced, with loving care. My regs are like family; I know them and they know me. Each is an individual, with its own characteristics, and is treated as such. A couple of them have jealousy issues, so I take that into account when deciding which ones to use.

Im a Nitrox instructor and trimix diver. Some agencies (PADI for one) recognize 15fsw as 1.6 PO2 but most agencies including the navy use 20fsw for oxygen. I dive DIR and our last stop is always 20 feet. Not necessarily as big of deal for us because my tech team dives rebreather. I generally fly the unit manually at 1.4 for deco.

I say "decompressing oxygen" to emphasize the fact I need to trust my oxygen reg for deco after a tech dive.

---------- Post added February 4th, 2014 at 08:01 PM ----------

So why would you not buy a "cheap" regulator? (By "cheap", I mean inexpensive. Do you mean something different?) Do you really think you get any more "life support" by spending $1000 rather than $500 or even $200?

BTW, I am in the process of assembling two sets of regulators for some friends for under $400.

Kudos!

Work of breathing is the main factor. Once I tried an Apeks balanced first stage, I couldn't go back. Contrary to what I said, I think condition plays a big part too. Rental regs often breathe so terribly because they are so abused. But when I said "cheap" I meant the quality of the parts used.

 

[PfcAJ]

Im a Nitrox instructor and trimix diver. Some agencies (PADI for one) recognize 15fsw as 1.6 PO2 but most agencies including the navy use 20fsw for oxygen. I dive DIR and our last stop is always 20 feet. Not necessarily as big of deal for us because my tech team dives rebreather. I generally fly the unit manually at 1.4 for deco.

I say "decompressing oxygen" to emphasize the fact I need to trust my oxygen reg for deco after a tech dive.

---------- Post added February 4th, 2014 at 08:01 PM ----------



Kudos!

Work of breathing is the main factor. Once I tried an Apeks balanced first stage, I couldn't go back. Contrary to what I said, I think condition plays a big part too. Rental regs often breathe so terribly because they are so abused. But when I said "cheap" I meant the quality of the parts used.

how does padi recognize 15ft as 1.6ppo2? Math is math no matter what agency...

and "i dive dir and my tech team dives rebreather" doesnt really go hand in hand.