B2 first experiences

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timothyk

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Location
Dublin, Ireland
As someone who agonized a bit over my recent regulator purchase I thought sharing my first impressions of the device might be helpful to someone who is considering an Atomic B2.

So far I have nothing but positive experiences to relate with my new Atomic B2/Z2 setup. I purchased the regulator online from nearby dive shop in the UK (online sales and competitive pricing are allowed in Europe, and Atomic even has its own online merchant). The ability for small shops to compete here is wonderful and with a bit of searching you are easily able to find great deals while still supporting your local or semi local lds's.

The regulator was shipped with an environmental kit attached at no extra charge. As I did not order the kit (but was planing to upgrade at a future date) I called atomic to confirm that the environmental notation on the box was in fact the installed kit and the customer service was very polite, receptive, and helpful.

My first dives were wonderful, the regulator and octopus needed no adjustment out of the box and were smooth and comfortable. As soon as I got underwater the breathing was the most natural and consistent I have experienced (to be fair my experience is limited, but the B2 did offer a positive contrast to the other regs I have used). The regulator was comfortable throughout all of my dives and the hoses and bubble exhaust were note worthy in their ability to never be noticed during the dives. The breathing was consistent throughout the dive, and truly identical from 1m to 25m. I did notice the breathing a bit stiffer right around the surface interface but it was really a minimal difference.

The dive leader was curious about this regulator and on the check out dive he asked to swap primary regs during our air sharing exercise rather than the octos so he could breath it. His impressions were similar to mine in that the B2 at shallow depth 4-5m was more comfortable and smoother in its air delivery than the Aqualung legend he was using.

The only issue i ran into were 2 or 3 free flows at the surface (B2 primary not Z2 octo) when i let reg go of it for a moment and it floated upside down. I am sure i could turn up the cracking pressure via the adjustment knob, but i never bothered as it was not a frequent enough occurrence to bother me, and my inattention to its floating position was the cause.

I hope this brief report is helpful to someone interested in this regulator, given my experiences so far i would certainly recommend it.
 
.....I agree with you completely on the Atomic......I've had a B1 for some years now....which I actually ended up eventually converting into an M1 by adding the M1 extended exhaust T / M1 purge cover/ cave ring.......did this because the only 'flaw' my B1 had was the 'open' holes in the front of the purge cover allowed slight free flows when facing into a current...the front of the M1 purge cover has no holes (the holes are on the sides of the purge cover) so the M1 2nd-stage doesn't free flow in those conditions. (before I swapped out the purge cover the only way to stop the slight free flow was to constantly fiddle with the 2nd-stage adjustment knob, turning the 'cracking' resistance up and down constantly....PITA !) ...the M1 extended exhaust T is also nice !
 
Timothyk
I'm glad to hear that you are happy with your new Atomic regulators. They are our best sellers and worth every cent. Our rental Z2's are very popular with our visiting divers, even those who own their own other brands because the Atomics outbreathe most of their personal regs. If you ever need service or help with your regs just ask.
Larry
 
The only issue i ran into were 2 or 3 free flows at the surface (B2 primary not Z2 octo) when i let reg go of it for a moment and it floated upside down. I am sure i could turn up the cracking pressure via the adjustment knob, but i never bothered as it was not a frequent enough occurrence to bother me, and my inattention to its floating position was the cause.
This sounds to me like you had the second stage on the surface of the water mouthpiece up. It is entirely normal for a second stage to start flowing if you dip the stage lower into the water while the mouthpiece is still out of the water. Water pressure is collapsing the diaphragm which is then depressing the demand lever and allowing air to flow. Exactly what happens when you inhale!

If that's your only "problem" then your reg had no problems. Every reg will free flow if the diaphragm is immersed while the mouthpiece (and by extension the interior of the second stage) is dry.
 
This sounds to me like you had the second stage on the surface of the water mouthpiece up. It is entirely normal for a second stage to start flowing if you dip the stage lower into the water while the mouthpiece is still out of the water. Water pressure is collapsing the diaphragm which is then depressing the demand lever and allowing air to flow. Exactly what happens when you inhale!

If that's your only "problem" then your reg had no problems. Every reg will free flow if the diaphragm is immersed while the mouthpiece (and by extension the interior of the second stage) is dry.

That certainly sounds like it.

The only way to truly appreciate an Atomic reg is to use it and then go rent or borrow another reg for comparison.
 
i love my b2, glad to hear that you enjoy yours as well. just as tfsails said about the freeflowing, just turn the reg around so the mouth piece is in the water and the freeflowing will stop. most regulators are like this (diverite, oceanic, etc).
 
Ditto on the B2 compliments. I've been using mine for 2 years from 30' to 130' dives and have never noticed a difference in breathing from top to bottom. My wife has been using a Mares for about the
same time and tried mine out recently - she now wants one (hopefully my excuse to upgrade!!!). I
used several different brands/models in several different locales before getting my B2, and this is
definitely the nicest reg I've ever used.
 
Does anyone know the difference between the B2 and the B1? I found a local dealer who is still selling the B1 at a good price, and I'm thinking about purchasing it.

Also, any info about Atomic reg service/warranty would be much appreciated.
 
The atomic have a lifetime warranty to the original purchaser which is not contingent on regular servicing. You do however have to pay for all parts and labor for regular servicing which is a two year interval.

My question with the atomics are, with the environmental kit installed on a B2 are they good for great lakes diving? everyone says they are great breathers, but how about performance at cold temperatures?
 

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