Hog Zenith (or any Hog 2nd) as a my secondary, second stage

[HungoverDiver]

I'm looking to get in more of the DIR style. I just upgraded to BP/W and I'm looking to fix up my regulators.

I currently have Aqualung Titan LX first and second stage, with Titan octo. I want to swap out my current hose of the primary Titan LX for the 84" technical style and then switch out the octo and get a 22" hose and new second stage. The Titan octo doesn't breath all that great at depth, and I don't want to think someone can grab a bright yellow reg at my neck in a OOG situation.

Hog regs seem affordable and people here seem to like them, so I was thinking of getting the Zenith or one of the others (to be honest, other than the appearance, they all seem the same).

Any advice? What kind of reg would y'all recommend?

 

[claymore]

In a long hose configuration your primary 2nd stage is on the long hose and the alternate is on a bungee around your neck.
In an OOA situation you hand off the 2nd stage on the long hose and switch to the bungled 2nd under you chin. In an OOA situation one of two things will happen.
1 is the text book you hand off your primary, long hose configuration, to the OOA diver and you switch to the reg under your chin.
2 you get mugged for the reg in your mouth and you switch to the reg under your chin.

If your Titan is the original Titan LX 1st and second 2nd stage the Titan 2nd stage I believe the Primary 2nd stage is a balanced down stream and the Titan Octo is an unbalanced downstream 2nd stage with the Octo having a Yellow case and tuned to have a higher cracking pressure so it does not free flow as easily. Non adjustable Octos are generally harder to breath from as they are detuned to prevent free flows.

I would put the new higher performance 2nd on the long hose, as this will be your primary, and the Titan 2nd on the short hose on the bungie. Put the Titan Octo in the spare parts bin.

I hope this helps.

 

[buddhasummer]

Or look for a another second hand Titan LX 2nd stage, that way your gear is all the same which can make servicing easier. The Titan LX 2nd will breathe as good as any other you're likely to find.

---------- Post added May 10th, 2014 at 12:42 AM ----------

You could always buy a Titan LX octo and change yellow face plate to black, other than colour they are the same as the primary. This of course might be an expensive way to go, I have no idea but maybe something to look into. Among other more pragmatic reasons I'm a little OCD so would want both seconds to be the same. Seeing as you already have a a good reg if you can get another LX for a nice price that's what I'd be doing.

 

[HungoverDiver]

I would put the new higher performance 2nd on the long hose, as this will be your primary, and the Titan 2nd on the short hose on the bungie.

This is more or less what I want to do, but I don't have the funds to buy a new, higher quality 1st and 2nd stage. Therefore I'm looking for another 2nd stage to go on on the primary or secondary hose. So I was looking into Hog regulators, since they can be bought without buying another first stage.

Sorry for my wording is confusing.

Or look for a another second hand Titan LX 2nd stage, that way your gear is all the same which can make servicing easier.

Any idea where I could get one of these? Most I've seen for sale are the 1st & 2nd, and I just want the 2nd stage.

---------- Post added May 9th, 2014 at 10:51 PM ----------

You could always buy a Titan LX octo and change yellow face plate to black, other than colour they are the same as the primary

Wait, they can do that? Just ask my LDS?

 

[buddhasummer]

I'm not sure what you are expecting by buying a newer, more expensive reg set, I'll bet my life you would not be able to tell the difference breathing of X,Y, Z and your Titan LX. Put a wanted add in the classifieds here on SB someone may have one knocking around. Keep an eye on eBay although I think prices there or on the silly side in many cases. Contact Leisure Pro and ask what's the best deal on an LX Octo then you'd just need to order Purge cover and you're good to go.

---------- Post added May 10th, 2014 at 12:58 AM ----------

LPs advertised price is $149 I reckon you could get it cheaper if you ask nicely, it is an older model after all lol.

 

[HungoverDiver]

No, I don't want to buy something newer or more expensive. claymore's reply was suggesting something to that effect, but that isn't my goal.

I just want to replace the crappy octo I have now with something. The Titan LX octo or second stage sounds like a good idea.



Back to my original question; what do people think of the hog regulators? Or should I not even both with using a different brand? It seems like it shouldn't matter.

 

[buddhasummer]

I'll check out classifieds over here and get back to you, although don't hold your breath prices here are often ridiculously high.

 

[HungoverDiver]

Also, are the instructions somewhere to switch out purge covers? I don't want to break the damn thing trying to make it matchy-matchy

 

[buddhasummer]

I own a HOG set and they breathe very nice in my limited experience. In reality servicing shouldn't be an issue as you can provide the service kit to any tech and they should be able to service without any issues as the design is very similar to many other regs on the market, Apeks for example, nothing odd or weird about them. Hopefully some of the HOG boys, cue Jim, will chime in.

---------- Post added May 10th, 2014 at 01:06 AM ----------

Also, are the instructions somewhere to switch out purge covers? I don't want to break the damn thing trying to make it matchy-matchy

It will take about 5 seconds, outer ring (black ring in the photo I posted) unscrews purge cover is then accessible, take out and put new one in and re screw outer ring. Very simple.

---------- Post added May 10th, 2014 at 01:12 AM ----------

If you do end up going with a HOG second stage contact Jim Lapenta here on SB, very professional, great service. I bought some HOG stuff off of him and couldn't be happier with the transaction.

 

[ams511]

I just want to replace the crappy octo I have now with something.

Your octo is not crappy it is just tuned to be difficult to breath to reduce freeflow, even if you buy a new LX octo it will still breath crappy if tuned to octo standards. That is one of the reasons that most tech divers prefer adjustable regulators with a separate venturi adjustment. The diver can adjust the cracking effort to be hard when not in use to reduce freeflow and then when in use adjust it so it breaths well.

---------- Post added May 9th, 2014 at 11:28 PM ----------

Also, are the instructions somewhere to switch out purge covers? I don't want to break the damn thing trying to make it matchy-matchy

You need to buy a new one at the LDS so have them do it.