regulator setup for doubles?

[rddvet]

I've heard that mediocre factory QC means that some of the HOG regs are fine regs, and some are not so good. That was from a tech instructor who doesn't sell gear, but based on what they had seen.

You heard right. In my experience, Hogs are big old POSs. I would never use them again if they were free. Multiple issues on multiple regs all due to poor QC. It irks me how many people love them, because I'm sure there's good ones, but there's way more cramp ones than their should be. I think many have had good experiences and others are happy with their regs eventhough they're not awesome because they bought them so cheap.

Stick with apeks

 

[divad]

You heard right. In my experience, Hogs are big old POSs. I would never use them again if they were free. Multiple issues on multiple regs all due to poor QC.

Could you please elaborate on the multiple issues so that those of us who are stuck with them will be apprised of possible unseen problems before we find out the hard way? It could be profoundly helpful.

 

[tbone1004]

tbone1004 that is what I figured. I do feel I am pretty mechanically inclined. I work on my motorcycle and car. How does one go about learning to service their own regs though? I want to do it right and safe!

less than a day with any manufacturers course. It's not rocket science and the manuals are good.

regarding QC issues, it's ridiculous to still hear this, there was a rocky start with them while they were ironing out some stuff, but the QC on them is no different than Dive Rite or Hollis as they come out of the same factory. They are every bit as good as those are now and have been for years.

 

[Yoyoguy]

less than a day with any manufacturers course. It's not rocket science and the manuals are good.

regarding QC issues, it's ridiculous to still hear this, there was a rocky start with them while they were ironing out some stuff, but the QC on them is no different than Dive Rite or Hollis as they come out of the same factory. They are every bit as good as those are now and have been for years.

I hope I don't sound dumb but how do I go about taking the manufacturers course

 

[KevinNM]

I hope I don't sound dumb but how do I go about taking the manufacturers course

It varies. Commonly you need to get the guy who runs a shop that is authorized to sell a manufactures gear to sign you up with the manufacturer's instructors.

 

[tbone1004]

you can't for anyone other than Hog. For Hog you need a technical cert of any kind, or nitrox from TDI and you can take it. The rest you have to be sponsored by a shop, and they are usually done at DEMA.

 

[macado]

I use a mix of Apeks DS4s first stages / Apeks ATX50 second stages and HOG D1 first stages / HOG Classic second stages on all my doubles and deco/stage bottles.

Honestly only reason I haven't replaced my Apeks with HOGs is because I already had the Apeks, they have good track record, and I have a good stock of service kits for them. I admit to freely mixing and matching both Apeks and HOG first and second stages on my kits.

They both perform equally well and share very similar designs. Any person that is able to service an Apeks reg should have no problem servicing a HOG reg. The question is if they're able to get service kits and if they're going to want to do it for liability reasons. If you have a HOG dealer in your area then this shouldn't be a problem, you can always send them to someone like DRIS or Jim Lapenta for service.

If you're going for serviceability around the world through authorized dealers, get Apeks. Any Aqualung/Apeks dealer can service them. They're fairly ubiquitous in the dive world. Most people are familiar with them.

If you're comfortable servicing gear yourself, get HOGs. Technically you should take the HOG repair course, it will teach you the proper way to service these regulators. You will need to hold a minimal technical rating to take this course. If you're mechanically inclined and have good mentor that is experienced in rebuilding regulators, this may also suffice.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I'll sell the rebuild kits to whoever gives me an order for them. There is no restrictions on that. Be aware though if you buy the kits, have not taken the service class, and screw them up your repairs are not going to be warrantied. Overtorque something and ruin the turret or body, you're sol. We have seen a number of regs , speaking of jack and myself, where it was obvious the individual did not follow proper procedures and screwed the reg up. Then they expect us to fix them under warranty. Not gonna happen. HOG regs have a limited lifetime warranty on non user serviceable parts. Unless you screw them up without having the proper training. Do that and the warranty is void. Scratch the balance chamber because you had to use a steel pick and now your IP won't lock up? Your fault. Might want to weigh that against the cost of the class that will teach you the proper procedure for these regs. They do have their own little details that need to be observed.

 

[rddvet]

Could you please elaborate on the multiple issues so that those of us who are stuck with them will be apprised of possible unseen problems before we find out the hard way? It could be profoundly helpful.

My favorite is the hog piston reg that on its first dive ever blew the black plastic cover off the top of the first stage when the tank was opened. It blew the top off an easy 25 feet. I was told the wrong oring was used and was the cause.

There are several more I've posted in the past here. Just do a search. I've gotten massacred so many times for relaying my experiences I don't want to list the whole gambit again. Just watch your face when you crank the tank open.

 

[tbone1004]

and how many of those experiences are with the D3 series, or with the D1's once they had the better HP seats put in? I had a D1 explode on my first ever cave dive, almost knocked my instructor out at pothole from the pressure wave. Took 3-4 minutes for him to lose the vertigo, but that wasn't a hard parts issue, it was a crappy HP seat that failed. Bring up all the old issues you want, but we can do the same to Apeks when they had their soft parts issues, and just about every other manufacturer. Just because it happened a few years ago on the original regulators doesn't mean it's still an issue.