Button Pressure Gauge. Is it safe?

[Bryan@Vintage Double Hose]

 

[KeithG]

I am curious. Did your LDS explain "why" they thought the gauge was not safe?

 

[Trace Malinowski]

How safe the gauge is depends upon how long you are planning to dive. If you quit before your 40's it is most likely safe. If you dive past age 40 you might not be able to read it.

 

[Hou s4m]

I have an spg with pressure n depth which ive had for a while now. thought about changing to a single one since i rely more on the divecom these days. The LDS says the button gauge screen is plastic that it can pop under pressure, and the casing built is poor. My average dives are 45-50mins long no more than 100ft deep. I was just exploring the idea. Its not about cost, rather i kinda like how it looks - small and nice. If theres any indication of it being unsafe or not recommended, i rest my case.

 

[Marie13]

I didn't buy a button gauge for my pony for the sole reason that they're too small for me to easily read. A 1.5" HOG plastic face gauge works just fine and is much easier for me to read.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Cave divers prefer full-sized SPG's for easy, accurate reading of stage bottles because we will use 1/2 the gas + 200 psi or 1/3 of a stage into a cave before dropping the cylinder and leap-frogging off it. When you are using a stage for penetration it is crucial to be able read the gauge so you don't go beyond a safe gas plan.

For recreational diving or open water technical diving, in-water accuracy is less critical and it is just nice to know approximately how much gas remains during the dive. Button gauges are easy to read before a dive when you want to make sure the tank is full.

Some divers, such as those trained by GUE or UTD, are taught to use a standard set of equipment from open water diving through tech and cave diving where the SPG's are the same for all dives without variation from team protocols and without allowing for personal preference.

Safety in diving is often related to intended use and philosophy.

 

[Kharon]

... If you dive past age 40 you might not be able to read it.

I'm 70 and can read mine fine. You just get lenses installed in your mask. I use them on my ponies and the only failure I've ever had was when the air monkey did a super fast hot overfill on the pony and blew the screen off. It still functioned but had a tiny leak so I just replaced it. Now I fill my ponies myself and haven't had another one pop.

 

[tbone1004]

it's perfectly safe, but I wouldn't use it for OW on a normal hose. They're less streamlined than a regular SPG since they are wider, and you have no accuracy with them.
I use them on all of my deco bottles because I couldn't care less about what I actually have in them while diving. It's basically "are they full?" or "are they half?" +500psi is about as accurate as I need them to be, and that's about as accurate as they are.

Mini Spg Nitrox Ready!
these are the ones I use and I think DGX has the same ones. As said above, they all come from Termo in Italy so just buy what is cheap from a company that will protect you. At $15 they're certainly incredibly cheap, but you can usually find relatively inexpensive full size gauges that really are worth the extra money.

 

[Hou s4m]

Safety in diving is often related to intended use and philosophy.

Caught up with my pals over coffee, most of them are against the "DIY" idea. Hehe. Come to think about it why spend on BC, reg, fins, etc for its performance then risk it all on something purely because of aesthetics. it's just not worth it.

 

[KeithG]

I'm 70 and can read mine fine. You just get lenses installed in your mask. I use them on my ponies and the only failure I've ever had was when the air monkey did a super fast hot overfill on the pony and blew the screen off. It still functioned but had a tiny leak so I just replaced it. Now I fill my ponies myself and haven't had another one pop.

Does this mean that the button gauges do not have a vent valve on the back (or maybe side)?