Moving to Europe, regulator question

[Scuba Bud]

Hi Everyone,

So I have an Aqualung Titan LX Supremer regulator seen below (yoke connector):

I was diving in Germany last year and I was told I needed two 1st stage regulators, all the tanks had 2 DIN connections.

My question, could I convert this yoke to a DIN and use it as one of my 2 first stages? I am worried about the orientation and making it all fit...

Or should I sell this and switch to two native DIN regulators?

Thanks!

 

[Zef]

Where in Europe are you moving to?

For the most part, you can put an insert in a DIN tank and use your yolk regulators....as long as the tank valves are not 300 bar DIN valves.

Not all places in Germany require the use of 2 1st stages and it not required throughout all of Europe. It is highly recommended when diving in cold water.

If you rent or buy a tank that has an "H" or "Y" valve you have the option of just mounting one 1st stage if that is permissible at the site you are diving at.

You will find that there is good mix of DIN and yoke regulators in use across Europe.

I would wait until you arrive and start diving to have your reg converted....first it may not be necessary if the tanks you will be using can accept your reg...second it will be cheaper to convert over here. A DIN conversion kit will cost roughly 20-30 Euros installed....the kit costs about twice that in the US depending on where you buy it.

-Z

 

[Zef]

Just looked up the price of the DIN kit for your reg on some US sites and some European sites.

The US sites list the kit for roughly $75.
The European sites list the kit for roughly 25 Euros.

-Z

 

[Scuba Bud]

Germany, will be doing cold water diving mostly. The place I went last year was a cold water site which is aligned with what you are saying.

Do you think I will be able to fit this 1st stage + the DIN conversion + another DIN reg?

 

[almostDIR]

it is possible to put a pressure withstanding DIN plug to the 2nd din outlet so that you can manage with a single 1st stage. It is common here for the old simple 2 output single din valves to have this plug installed. these valves are relatively rare though and in very cold water they are not that much more useful because you can't shut off the first stages separately which is pretty much the whole point of having two 1st stages...
.

It should be easy enough to convert your 1st stage to DIN on a local shop which services them. A H or Y valve or small doubles could be useful in your situation. Here it is pretty common to do cold water ( from 10 °C to about 2°C ) with only one first stage though only the most reliable ones are used. Under ice it is always two first stages and ice diving is usually always with doubles.

One note about the tank valves:
changing them is very easy if you are allowed to empty the rental tank and even if the place is not having Y or H valves for their tanks it could be possible to use your own valve if diving couple of days in a row with the same tank.
most single DIN valves (the 230bar versions) can accept the screw in Yoke adapter which costs only couple of bucks

 

[Storker]

Unless the water is very cold (very close to freezing), one single, good, cold water compatible 1st should be enough. If the tank is 200 or 232 bar with a modern valve, just get a DIN to yoke insert and mount your reg on the valve.

In water down to 4-5C being too cold, plus 2nd stage freeze and freeflows, will be your main concerns. Provided you have a decent cold-water compatible reg set. And a 2nd stage freeze is easily handled by turning off the gas and leaving your 2nd in the water for a few minutes. It's only an annoyance.

 

[tbone1004]

no problem making that regulator DIN. Takes 5 minutes and your LDS should do it for free.

@almostDIR those plugs are SUPER easy to get in the US as an fyi.

 

[Zef]

Germany, will be doing cold water diving mostly. The place I went last year was a cold water site which is aligned with what you are saying.

Do you think I will be able to fit this 1st stage + the DIN conversion + another DIN reg?

I am not sure what you are asking.

When you convert a yoke reg to DIN the yoke retaining nut, yoke, and often the sintered filter is removed and replaced by the DIN fittings and a different sintered filter (dependent on the make/model of the 1st stage and the filter will normally come in the conversion kit if required).

I have 2 older Mares MR22 1st stages and they are quite the bulky pieces of crome plated brass...I had them both converted to DIN and they fit just fine on both the Y and H valves that I have used. Y valves are becoming increasingly rarer and H valves more and more prevalent. The benefit of an H valve is that it can be converted to be used on a twin tank setup by removing the secondary 1st stage outlet and installing a manifold between a left and a right hand valves.

Your 1st stage will have a smaller profile than it currently has with the yoke.

Again, wait to purchase here...I have found Aqualung (and most all dive gear) to be less expensive here in Europe than the US.

-Z

 

[Scuba Bud]

Thank you everyone. I will hang onto this and get it converted to DIN once I arrive!

 

[chrisch]

Have a look at prices. As I understand it from this board regs are expensive in the US. It might just be that your reg is worth more to sell in the US than a new reg in Germany.

I had an Apeks changed from yoke to DIN and the cost was about 40 Euro.