deco regulators - apeks?

[craig chamberlain]

Hello everyone

i am currently a TDI Extended Range diver and i am considering purchasing a decompression regulator for a stage tank. i was looking at the apeks xtx50 o2 cleaned regulator.

i believe that DIR divers tend to steer towards apeks. Is this a good choice? i hope in the future to be a trimix diver, would this reg be suitable for decompressing with some helium in the deco mix? how often would i need to get it o2 cleaned?

Does any body else use this reg for deco? also any infomation or opinions from tech divers will be greatly appreciated. Also why do some websites offer this in an a clamp version? surely din 300 bar is better? why is the a clamp the same privce as the din?


i believe that there is not much difference between the xtx 50, 100 and 200 and since the 50 is slightly cheaper i would opt for this.

Also does the pressure gauge (SPG) have to be o2 cleaned?

on one website it says perfect for photographeres, surely they would not use >40% O2 as a primary mix?


Tanks for your time

any opinions will be greatly appreciated.

Craig Chamberlain

 

[fire_diver]

I can't give personal experience on the reg, but I have also read from many deco divers who used them and were happy.

The SPG does not need to be O2 cleaned, in fact there is nothing to clean. You just have to make sure the spool has O2 safe o-rings and lube.

DIN is prefered for overheads where the reg could strike a hard surface. The costs are the same because it's just different parts. IIRC you can change them back and forth from DIN to K, just like most brands.

 

[HowardE]

I use this reg for deco. Its as you would expect from Apeks... unsurpassed quality.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2

 

[parzdiver]

The Apeks second stages (50, 100, 200) have slight differences which are mostly cosmetic. The one thing I don't like about the way Apeks markets their regulators is they typically don't mention the first stage that comes with the second stage. The DST (turret) and DS4 are both great regs for a deco/stage reg. The DST has an advantage that the hose can move with the turret, while the DS4 has the ultimate simplicity, but fixed ports. I think the FSR and FST that are sold with the 100 and 200 are designed more for single tank diving and are a bit bulkier because of the angled ports.

Other than that, I have been switching all of my regs over to Apeks, and all my second stages are older ATX50's. Most of my first stages are DST's with a FSR Black Pearl for my single tank diving.

 

[fdog]

Apeks makes decent regs. So does Atomic, Aqualung, & Scubapro.

There's more utility in making sure all your regs are the same, both backgas and stages; this makes overhauling them much easier. They all use the same parts kit, they become interchangeable, etc.

If you already have investment in regs, look long and hard at continuing that flavor, so to speak. Everyone that I know that has had a "mixed stable" eventually ends up with all their regs the same...it even happened to me.


All the best, James

 

[nimoh]

I don't believe apeks has the DIR market cornered. I like my Apeks regs, and don't find much difference between the XTX50 and XTX200 (I have 3 XTX50s and 1 XTX200). HOG regs are also very popular, even though I can't offer first hand experience.

I can't give personal experience on the reg, but I have also read from many deco divers who used them and were happy.

The SPG does not need to be O2 cleaned, in fact there is nothing to clean. You just have to make sure the spool has O2 safe o-rings and lube.

DIN is prefered for overheads where the reg could strike a hard surface. The costs are the same because it's just different parts. IIRC you can change them back and forth from DIN to K, just like most brands.

isn't that what O2 clean means?

 

[fire_diver]

isn't that what O2 clean means?

It depends on what you are talking about. People typically refer to regulators and tanks as being O2 cleaned, which means the internals have been specially cleaned to be free of all hydrocarbons. You can not clean the inside of the SPG, which is why I made the post about what can be made O2 ready.

 

[nimoh]

It depends on what you are talking about. People typically refer to regulators and tanks as being O2 cleaned, which means the internals have been specially cleaned to be free of all hydrocarbons. You can not clean the inside of the SPG, which is why I made the post about what can be made O2 ready.

makes sense, thanks for the clarification

 

[Centrals]

UST/US-4/US-1 + XTX-20 would save you some money. BTW, all these 1st stages are NOT for cold water diving.

 

[TreyR]

I have 4 sets of Apeks XTX50's two with the Dst and two with the Ds4 first stage they are excellent regs never an issue and breath great. I also have Atomic B2 and Hollis 212/dc1. The Hollis is also an excellent reg.