Questions about my new Abyss

[fishoutawater]

First of all the thing works great! First dive 85 ft/about 40 deg F. Checked all attitudes, no problems breathing. And no dry throat! A first for me.
The one thing that's bugging me is, why is the main port located behind the port for my octo? And why is the main port 1/2", and all the rest 3/8"? And what is that little tube for inside the 1st stage main port?
To me, the second stage should be attached to the forward port, and the octo attached to the rear port for more ergonomic hose routing.
Does Mares have some reason I don't know about for this? Different hose routing?
Can I use adaptor fittings to get this thing configured the way I'm used to? Will that little tube interfere with adaptor fitting attachment?

 

[Zak OHara]

I am glad to hear it works great. Did you think it wouldn't???? Seriously the Abyss is an awesome reg, and you are also getting the benefits of the all metal second stage delivering a nice moist breath.

The little tube in the primary port is the DFC tube (dynamic flow control). This is a Mares patent and basically reduces the intermediate pressure drop that occurs in all 1st stages through the inhalation/exhalation cycle. This feature improves the breathability at this specific port. While port configuration is a personal preference, I have heard from other divers, if they had their choice it would be in the forward port for the same reason you mention. I would discourage you getting adapters to change the configuration as you will lose the benefit of DFC. If my memory serves me correct it can be done, but like I said I would try to get used to it as I don't think routing your hoses differently will make that big of a difference, and the drawbacks outweigh the benefits.

Hope this helps,

 

[fishoutawater]

Thanks for your reply Zak. I can get used to it, but tell the designers that the rear port configuration cause the second stage to be a little harder to find if I spit it out or lose it for some reason. I tested it for this. The second stage hose gets stuck behind my octo hose. Not a big deal for me, but this might be kind of disconcerting to a new diver.
Other than that, I love it. I can only compare it to two other regs that I've owned, but it is by far THE best.

 

[Zak OHara]

You are welcome... Spread the word

 

[fishoutawater]

Actually, I think I've fixed the problem. I don't know if I'm breaking any safety protocols by doing this, but I just put my rig together, studied the situation, and discovered that if I moved my octo holder to the left side of my bc, and run the octo hose under my right arm, the length of that hose no longer interferes with my primary hose. I don't think it could be a problem anyway, because I tell everybody that I dive with to grab my primary in an emergency, and I'd use my octo. Simple. Even seems more streamlined this way.