Yoke adapter doesn't fit ALL tank valves ...

[Matt S.]

...I discovered that the adapter doesn't fit a certain tank valve that my instructor development center has on every one of their tanks: the Sherwood 5000.

Patrick, did your RG2500 come with the black adapter or did it look like this:

http://www.divesports.com/mall/diverite_reg_rg1225.asp

I need a new adapter as lost the one that came with my RG2500, and I want to minimize the chances for problems when traveling so I am considering other brands...

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I just wanted to give everyone an update on what was up with my Dive Rite DIN-to-yoke adapter.

To recap, I had an issue with using the adapters on certain Sherwood tank valves. The piece that compresses the O-ring would only fit flush inside the valve recess if I tightened it down _really_ hard. Even then, there was a metal-on-metal grinding that occurred. Many times after dives, I found the adapter to be lodged/wedged so tightly into the recess that I had to rock the adapter from side-to-side with a lot of force to release it. According to Dive Rite, this is a known issue with older Sherwood tank valves (not the newer 5000 series). I encountered the incompatible Sherwood tank valves while on vacation in Bonaire (using Photo Tours Divers/Yellow Submarine as dive op).

Kathleen (Dive Rite Rep) was super nice about exchanging the adapters for the latest version of the product. As it turns out, I already had the latest version. I had purchased the model RG1225blk black-colored adapters from Dive Rite Express in July 2007. The official word from Dive Rite is that they are currently investigating the extent of the distribution of the incompatible Sherwood tank valves and whether this warrants a re-design of their DIN-to-yoke adapter.

So...that leaves me with 2 DIN-to-yoke adapters that will not fit certain older Sherwood tank valves. Before my next vacation, I will probably end up "investing" in some other brand (Trident or Poseidon) of adapter. I would hate to get stuck on a liveaboard and have to waste 10-15 minutes before each dive getting the adapter to seat properly onto the tank valve.

I hope that other DIN reg users out there find this info useful. My interactions with Dive Rite Customer Service were great, and they make some very good products (BP, harness kit, wings, etc.). However, I do take issue with the design of their DIN-to-yoke adapters. I can only hope that, once they run through their current inventory of adapters, they will re-tool the design (perhaps just slightly "thin out" the part of the adapter that compresses the O-ring).

 

[scuby-doo]

I too have received excellent customer service from Kathleen and others at Dive Rite on this issue. She confirmed that the adapter I have is one that is manufactured to different specs. She swapped-out my adapter for the correct one - I tried it out yesterday and - voila! It works just fine on the Sherwood 5000 valves.

Thanks Kathleen!

SD

 

[ArcticDiver]

I was asked how I solved the din - yoke adaptor problem. As I said the DiveRite adaptors wouldn't seal on any of the valves I was using. My call to a guy at DiveRite was unproductive.

I posted the question on SB and got some good info from 300BAR.

So, I tried Poseidon adaptors on my recent family/dive trip. So, far I haven't been able to find a yoke valve tank the Poseidon's don't fit. Of course I don't dive in France so....

By the way; the Hurricane regulators are the easiest breathing I have ever used. I've been "blessed" with a large lung capacity and a muscular build. Even in surge and current I was not able to overbreath them; and I can't say that about all regulators. They only have a few dives on them at this point but I have every reason to believe they will be excellent performers over the long haul.

 

[Matt S.]

This is funny: I got a DIN/yoke adapter for the trip I just returned from. It's the XS Scuba one, because that is what my LDS had.

On my second dive stop, they had Sherwood 5000 valves. And the damn thing wouldn't work! It seemed to fit but the seal was not happening.

I'll have to verify that something on my reg didn't get busted when I get home, of course, but my reg sure looked ok. Luckily, using their reg didn't kill me.