Din conversion

[gg indy]

Sorry to hijack the thread but...

I am growing ever more frustrated with bumping my head on the DIN-Yoke adapter I use on my DS4 regulator whenever I travel. Most every place I travel to only use tanks with yoke valves. I have to put the adapter onto my DIN 1st stage and I always finish my dives with a bruise on the back of my head from bumping my head on the adapter.
I have been considering selling my setup and using that money towards buying a yoke setup.

I have a DS4 DIN first stage, ATX50 2nd, ATX50 Octo.

Options I see so far are:
1) Sell my setup and hopefully get between $350 - $400. Then use that money to buy a whole new setup (XTX50 2nd and octo with yoke DS4) which I'm guessing would cost me around $800. I will be a shame to lose the DIN for diving at home

2) Keep my setup and have the local shop switch it from a DIN to a yoke. They have quoted me about $150 to do that + $125 for the annual service. I could ask for the DIN parts back. I have read other threads saying it's a fairly straight forward job of switching the 1st from a yoke to a DIN and back but I don't have any literature or manuals specifying how to do this.

One thing the shop has indicated is it would probably be best to buy a new setup (surprise) but they did point out Apeks has a service for life program. They reason I will save money in the long run by not having to pay for parts. I've read many manufacturers are going away from this.

Suggestions which way to go or where I can get a service manual for the DS4 so I can determine whether it's an easy change or not?

Thanks!

 

[Keith.M]

Wow,that seems like a lot of money.

Here is what I would do for that money.

Buy a new DS4 DIN first stage from DRIS. Free shipping, $299

DS4 1st Stage - Dive Right in Scuba

That way, when you are diving, you can move the hoses to whatever first stage you will be needing.

 

[LowVizWiz]

Options I see so far are:
1) Sell my setup and hopefully get between $350 - $400. Then use that money to buy a whole new setup (XTX50 2nd and octo with yoke DS4) which I'm guessing would cost me around $800. I will be a shame to lose the DIN for diving at home

2) Keep my setup and have the local shop switch it from a DIN to a yoke. They have quoted me about $150 to do that + $125 for the annual service. I could ask for the DIN parts back. I have read other threads saying it's a fairly straight forward job of switching the 1st from a yoke to a DIN and back but I don't have any literature or manuals specifying how to do this.

One thing the shop has indicated is it would probably be best to buy a new setup (surprise) but they did point out Apeks has a service for life program. They reason I will save money in the long run by not having to pay for parts. I've read many manufacturers are going away from this.

Suggestions which way to go or where I can get a service manual for the DS4 so I can determine whether it's an easy change or not?

Thanks!

How often are you diving DIN vs Yoke? Does the conversion quote you got include the price of the yoke assembly?
Either way it seems rather excessive to buy a whole new set up or spend that kind of money for an easy change. I'll even send you my old DST yoke assembly if I can find it.
Alternatively you could set up your tank slightly lower than usual which is what I do when I dive with the yoke adapter on my regs. Or just buy a yoke 1st stage as Keith suggested.

 

[tbone1004]

fact, your dive shop is raping you for the parts cost.
fact, you don't need annual service, that's stupid

yes Apeks still has parts for life if you service every year which gets expensive and depending on how often you dive they can usually go 3-4 years between service. Apeks parts kits are like $50 for the set, so you aren't actually saving money

Solution:
Call Dive Right in Scuba. Get two quotes, one for the yoke conversion kit. Never seen one, usually it's a DIN kit but the DIN is $65, so the yoke can't be much more. The second should be for a US4 first stage. US4 is unsealed with one HP port but otherwise the same as your DS4. Swapping the reg hoses to a second first stage is probably easier for most people than getting the yoke connector off of the first stages, that is an almighty PITA without the right socket.

Option 3, scour ebay.
Apeks Regulator 1st | eBay
$130, apeks yoke first stage from the ATX100 series. Probably works just fine.

AT20 Apeks Regulator | eBay
cheap set will probably go for under $100, then you only have to swap your primary XTX over, and you have a travel reg set.

few others on there, but those are the two that I'd look at. Sealed is nice for salt water use because it makes rinsing easier, so keep that in mind.

 

[gg indy]

Thanks guys for the quick response. It sounds like it's a no-brainer: keep my current setup and either get the parts to convert my DIN to yoke as needed or simply buy another 1st stage for warm water use only.

Thanks again!