Regulators Suitable for Technical/Trimix Diving?

[Fish-R-Man]

Of course they are different manufacturers and slightly different designs, so service kits are both expected to be different, but here's pics for visual comparison. Looks like both are "complete kits" (without doing an internal inventory of each).
QUOTE]

They both look like complete kits. I haven't rebuilt my regs yet, but I do rebuild a lot of pneumatic controls. Most often the price difference is, for instance, one kit will have a diaphram and one won't or the material of the parts are different. Of course in this instance you may just be paying for the name.....

 

[impulse]

Of course they are different manufacturers and slightly different designs, so service kits are both expected to be different, but here's pics for visual comparison. Looks like both are "complete kits" (without doing an internal inventory of each).

You be the judge.


Apeks 1st stage kit

Hog 1st stage service kit

Too many o-rings. Is that safe?

 

[Fish-R-Man]

To many is better than not enough.... Most kits will cover a number of models so there may be some that are not used in the particular model that you have.

 

[rjack321]

Too many o-rings. Is that safe?

Better not buy any sealed diaphrams then cause they all have about this many orings. Unbalanced pistons would have the least. But seriously the number of internal o-rings is not a "failure point" worth worrying about.

 

[Druid]

Too many o-rings. Is that safe?

Lots of the o-rings are for the hoses or port plugs.

Back to your original question. *TX40/50/100/200 are all cold water rated, XTX20s are not cold water rated - this is just an environmental seal in the first stage, and an extra bit of machining to allow the seal to fit. Service kits are exactly the same, and performance is the same; I have ATX40s, 50s and 200s, and I need to look at the reg to know which one it is, I couldn't tell from breathing it. The only important external difference to the second stages is that the more expensive ones have a breathing resistance adjuster knob that you can fiddle with underwater, the cheaper regs need to be adjusted with an allen key. I set mine up and leave them alone, so the adjustment is of no benefit.

As your instructor uses them, I guess you can buy them and get them serviced locally, which is a major consideration. If you're sure you'll never need a cold water reg, then go with your instructor's advice, but you could also look at the ATX range, there are some very good deals available here, saving about £50 per reg.