Question - 200 vs 300 Bar isolators etc

Besides the obvious difference in max pressure...

If the costs are equal, would there be a reason to ever use a 200 over a 300? I can't imagine there's any performance correlation (But as my wife will tell you, I'm often wrong...) Again, cost aside, if you were going to purchase a new setup, is there a reason not to get a 300, and call it the more over engineered the better?

Thanks for your incite,

James

 

200 bar will accept a 200 bar DIN regulator or a yoke fitting, which may someday be useful if you had to borrow someone else's reg(s).

A 300 bar fitting is designed purely to be incompatible with 200 bar DIN regulators be adding more threads. It has nothing to do with the pressure the valve was designed for.

I also find it annoying to screw regulators that deep into the valves. I've been spoiled on the 200's.

 

300 bar can get dinged out of round much easier and is then useless. Get 200 bar, the 2 extra threads have ZERO to do with strength. The weak link is not the DIN to tank threads, its the the DIN to reg portion. The extra threads on 300 bar are only there to make 200 bar regs, which are not used in scuba service, incompatible with >2300 psi fills.

 

If you pick 200s then you have the ability to put in yoke insets and use yoke regs. 200 bar units are less suceptible to damage (e.g. denting) of the treaded region. In addition, there is no practical difference in the strength of the connection. The "300 bar" design was invented to meet a european regulatory requirment that attempted to solve a problem that did not exist in the first place.

I would turn the question around - what is the overriding technical reason to prefer the 300 bar connection? Fill Express has a nice writeup on the subject


Valves, Regulator Fittings, Cylinder Neck Openings -- More than you wanted to know

 

I have both and like the 200 better, two less threads and less prone to damage if the tank falls over and hits the valve opening. Plus the pro valves are both yoke and din.

 

This "obvious difference in max pressure" you mention is in fact...wrong.
It might be time for you to do some more research.

edit: Looks like a few others beat me to it...

 

Although they are extremely rare, 200bar scuba regulators do exist. They tend to be older yoke regs that had a DIN conversion done on them.

The only regulator I know of that's a current model and sold as 200 bar is the Poseidon Xstream Deco (IIRC, it's been a while since I've seen or used one).

 

Many models of argon regs are 200 bar.

 

very handy on a manifold.

 

I had a 200 bar O2 analyzer once. Yes stuff like that is out there, but its rare and quite easy to avoid. For all practical purposes 200 bar regs are not in scuba service here in 2008. They are incompatible with the OPs initial impulse to buy a 300 bar manifold as well.