Do I NEED an adjustable 2nd stage for 95 ft diving?

[Swell Time]

I am going to dive the Meg Ledges in NC next week, and I do not have an adjustable reg. I hardly ever dive over 60ft and it breathes OK there, except with exertion.
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[randy88k5]

No, absolutely not necessary. I used a Sherwood Magnum (a non-adjustable second stage) for several years with no problems whatsoever. I barely noticed a difference compared to adjustable second stage regulators. YMMV.

 

[rx7diver]

I am going to dive the Meg Ledges in NC next week, and I do not have an adjustable reg. I hardly ever dive over 60ft and it breathes OK there, except with exertion.
Help fast...

Thanks

Swell Time,

I wonder if your current regulator needs servicing? In my experience, a modern, quality reg can tolerate quite a bit of exertion (e.g., when the diver is finning into a current) and still breathe okay.

My "newest" regs (Poseidon Odin, ca. 1994 vintage) as well as my oldest regs (Scubapro Mk 10 + Balanced Adjustable, ca. 1987 vintage) breathe superbly regardless of whether I'm huffing and puffing on them at recreational depths. Only the Scubapros have an adjustable knob, and I never actually use it when I'm breathing on the reg (i.e., the knob is always fully on when I'm breathing on the Scubapros).

What make and model of reg are you diving? And when was your reg last serviced?

Safe diving,

rx7diver

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

You don't need an adjustable reg. I actually prefer non-adjustable.

A modern reg should work fine at 60 and 95ft, and deeper. Has your reg always breathed hard with exertion, or is this something new? If new, when was the last time it was serviced? If it were me and I had question about it, I would take it in for a quick check. Most full service shops will do that while you wait and let you know if it needs service vs a quick adjustment.

The trick to reasonable dive times at deeper depths is to move slowly and more deliberately so as not to overexert yourself and waist air, but obviously you still want a reg that there for you when you need it. I wish I could be there with you. I used to live on the NC coast, but never heard of the Meg Ledges when I was there so I missed out. It's definitely on my list, soon.

 

[tbone1004]

what hasn't been mentioned is what the adjustment knob means. The adjustment knob adjusts the height of the lever in the second stage to alter the cracking pressure. This is a nice feature to have if you are scooter diving or have a second stage that you want to "detune" because it is your secondary to make it less prone to freeflow but still adjust back to normal if you have to breathe on it.

This is an entirely different part of the design than the balancing mechanisms and the depth compensation mechanisms in the second stage that allow it to maintain similar performance at depth. Any nonadjustable, balanced reg that is tuned properly should perform the same at 10 feet as it does at 100ft.

 

[Freewillow]

no need

 

[Rich Keller]

It is not needed. If you feel the need to increase the performance a little you could adjust your IP setting a little higher as long as you stay with in the design specs.

 

[Colliam7]

I am going to dive the Meg Ledges in NC next week, and I do not have an adjustable reg. I hardly ever dive over 60ft and it breathes OK there, except with exertion.

As others have said, 'NO', you do not. What you DO need, is a spool / reel and a DSMB - not because those are essential, but because certain charter operators require it for the ledge (e.g. Aquatic Safaris' website includes the following statement: 'Fossil Ledge (wreck reel and SMT required)"). The Meg Ledge / Fossil Ledge is generally a pretty benign dive (also - for me - a very BORING dive as well). But, it is somewhat easy to get lost, and surfacing several hundred yards off the boat is a PITA - for the diver, AND the boat crew.

I am a wee bit concerned by your statement that your reg 'breathes OK there, except with exertion.' Hard to tell what it breathes like with exertion. While I find the Med Ledge to be boring, there MAY be current, and therefore exertion. That is more an issue of tuning, than adjustability.

tbone really addressed the issue in his response - pay attention to it. All of my ocean regs are adjustable and have a venturi control - I have a couple of Mares regs that I use in the pool, and in quarry OW that are not, but I have taken them deeper off the NC coast without any issue. I regularly encourage divers to buy (2) adjustable second stages - why not, the price difference, in the grand scheme of things, is trivial. But, lots of people (myself included) have been to far greater depths than the Med Ledge, in more challenging conditions, on non-adjustable second stages and lived to tell about it.

 

[tbone1004]

oh, would like to point out, USN and most other Navies don't use adjustable regs to much deeper than that. Many of us are in the same boat diving Poseidons, no adjustment option.

 

[Nemrod]

No, I dive a Titan LX and it is not adjustable and I do not care. My wife has the Legend LX and it is adjustable. The adjustment knob is not a bad feature, to be clear, but it will not affect breathing performance of the regulator. The primary use for most people is to detune the unused second stage to prevent free flowing needlessly or to detune the primary for swimming into a current etc. When they first came out with the adjustment knobs I was all about them and now it is like, meh, who cares.

N