Atomic reg performance (vs other Atomic)?

[Couv]

I had water sitting in the ambient chamber of my first sealed titanium, against the spring. The spring broke, in fact, I've had 2 Atomic springs break. Guess how the only way a first stage can fail and not give you air?

Yikes. Sealed as in, sealed with a rubber boot and the ambient chamber packed with grease? If so, what was the cause of the water intrusion? I.e was the boot torn; the ambient chamber not packed correctly; other?

TIA

Couv

 

[Wookie]

Yikes. Sealed as in, sealed with a rubber boot and the ambient chamber packed with grease? If so, what was the cause of the water intrusion? I.e was the boot torn; the ambient chamber not packed correctly; other?

TIA

Couv

I don't exactly service them every 3 years, so yes, sealed, with boot in place, but sometimes you get water in that spring area anyway if you dive 2 or 3 times a day.

But I'm much more careful about how I seal them now than I was then.

 

[stuartv]

Easier to maintain? Not much easier than "Don't dunk the second stage unpressurized".

"Dunk it, in any state" IS just a little easier.

I can see how this can be an issue for the more casual diver, who does not have tanks at home. If you're out on a boat that doesn't have a fresh water gear rinse tank (which most don't, that I've been on), then you're waiting until you're back on land to rinse. Sometimes, arrival back at the dock doesn't really afford the time or there is not a tank handy to let you pressurize the reg and rinse it. And even if you could, that rinse isn't necessarily as thorough as what you might want to do when you get home.

If you wait until you get home to really rinse or soak your regs, and you don't have a scuba tank of your own, the difference between a reg with the Seat Saver and one without becomes significant.

Lastly, the T series are the only ones with a 3 year maintenance interval. All the other Atomics are 2 years. They all have the Seat Saver. I think the Seat Saver is not what makes the interval longer. I think it's the titanium that gives the T series its extra year between services.

ScubaPro is now 2 years. I think other major manufacturers are also going to 2 years. To me, the Seat Saver is not something that seems to give a practical advantage and I would be perfectly happy to not have the feature and not have to take the extra step to put my regs on a tank before soaking them at home. I don't notice any wear on my ScubaPro 2nd stage seats...

But, I think the Atomic Z2 regs are one of the best values for money in the regulator marketplace, and the M1 regs are a really nice tech reg - and also pretty good value for money. So, I have a Z2 set and am buying some M1s in spite of the Seat Saver - not because of it.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

It seems to me the thing to do if you are afraid you got water into the reg from the dunk tank is to finish by putting it back on a partial tank and purging it throughly as a last step.

 

[Wookie]

It seems to me the thing to do if you are afraid you got water into the reg from the dunk tank is to finish by putting it back on a partial tank and purging it throughly as a last step.

Don't even need to do that. Just hold the first stage above the second stage when dunking the second stage. Water goes up the hose, and comes back down. But not all the way into the first stage.

You can dunk the first stage all day long.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Z2 was my very first regulator. Amazing breathing performance. It was practically breathing for me. I just held it in my mouth. I was doing my ice dives and was concerned about how it would work under extreme cold. This is the reply I got from Mike in Atomic on Dec 19, 2011:

I am glad you are enjoying your Z2. Yes, the Z2 can be taken under ice
and yes,
we recommend having the first stage sealed prior to cold water diving.

1. Our unsealed regulators are recommended for use in water 10 degrees Celsius
(50 Fahrenheit) and above.

2. Yes, a sealed 1st stage piston regulator will perform just as well as a
diaphragm. When the 1st stage is sealed, basically it is filled with a
high-grade Christolube and sealed with a ring. This ensures that water does
not come into contact with any of the internal working parts of the 1st stage.

3. Sealing is extremely reliable. The only caveat is that the lube must be
removed each time the regulator is serviced (every 2 years or 300 dives). Our
cost to environmentally seal a 1st stage is $40.

If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Happy Holidays!

Mike

 

[BoltSnap]

You folks make things sound too complicated. I just got back my ST1 regulator from service. This is the first time I have had it serviced since I bought it in 2012. Looking at the old parts replaced, there doesn't appear to be ANY trace of water at all. I rinsed and soaked my regulator for hours and usually overnight WITHOUT attaching it to a Tank at all, never. I put it in my big rinse bucket and let it soak. I usually put the first and second stages in the bucket with the LP hose forming a semi-circle pointing up to prevent any potential water traveling from the second stage to the first stage but this depends on my remembering to do it which is less frequent than my forgetting to do it. I can't see how water would get in the LP hose connecting the second stage to the first stage and compressing the air inside the hose to the point where water makes it to the first stage if the first stage is sealed by the dust cap at the air inlet. The depth of the water in the rinse bucket is insignificant to cause air compression in the hose. In short, all you have to do to rinse your Atomic regulator is to hold is from the middle of the LP hose connecting the second to the first stage and drop the set into the water leaving the middle of the hose higher than the two stages (and the Octo) and you are all set (making sure that the dust cap is very secure at the first stage as you should for any regulator).

 

[BoltSnap]

I think the Seat Saver is not what makes the interval longer.

I have to respectfully disagree here, the seat saver is one of the most important features that make the Atomic regulators as reliable as they are compared with the rest of the regulators out there in the market today. I run 3 - 5 years between servicing my Atomic regulators, all models, without ANY issues. This is very different for other brands including SP. For the other brands, you need to service them and replace the ss seat every 3 years if not before. The seat saver features and the materials Atomic uses in their regulators make their regulators the most reliable regulators I have ever used and serviced while having the highest performance they do.

 

[lexvil]

I have to respectfully disagree here, the seat saver is one of the most important features that make the Atomic regulators as reliable as they are compared with the rest of the regulators out there in the market today. I run 3 - 5 years between servicing my Atomic regulators, all models, without ANY issues. This is very different for other brands including SP. For the other brands, you need to service them and replace the ss seat every 3 years if not before. The seat saver features and the materials Atomic uses in their regulators make their regulators the most reliable regulators I have ever used and serviced while having the highest performance they do.

I think the 3 year is to justify, in the buyers mind, the extra cost of the Ti reg.

 

[eelnoraa]

Yikes. Sealed as in, sealed with a rubber boot and the ambient chamber packed with grease? If so, what was the cause of the water intrusion? I.e was the boot torn; the ambient chamber not packed correctly; other?

TIA

Couv

One reason is when packing ambient chamber, air pockets is trapped. These air pocket are guaranteed to be filled with water after some dives. Crystolube is really not lube like (can flow), it is more paste like. It is not difficult to trap air.

One common on M1 exhaust T. I have them on my B2 2nd stages in blue. Yeah, they used to come in other color than gray and yellow. Honestly, although it is wider than stock B2 Ts, it is not a noticeably improvement in diverting bubble. Or I should say B2 stock Ts are already pretty good.

There is one disadvantage of the M1 T, it actually get in the way of adjusting the knob. M1 knob is already a bit longer, but the width and shape of the M1 T still make it harder.

Overall, M1 T should NOT be a deciding factor. It is more for cool looking than functional.