Regulator 101

[RHoodJr]

Hello all,

I am sure these questions have been posted and discussed before on this board and apologize if I’m repeating anything. I am relatively new to diving and absolutely new at purchasing equipment. As a warm water, vacation diver I’ve always rented my equipment other then M/F/S. I am now at a stage (no pun intended) that I want that extra security of owning a BC and regulator so I know their service history and to increase the comfort zone of using the same equipment for each dive. The BC decision has been made with a Zeagle Scout soon to be ordered at ST, however the next tough decision is the reg. I have read the many threads on this and Scuba board, have googled for reviews and stats of many different regs. Talked with divers and LDS employees about what they sold and what they suggested and still end up confused. So I will ask the questions here that has probably been asked by many. What should I be looking for when making my decisions. The most common answer I get from LDSs is it is a personal preference. OK that works if you know what that may be. It’s not like buying a car and you can take it out for a test drive! I read about all of the great features each manufacture lists but don’t have a clue half the time what it means as a end result. So I’m asking for help developing a short list of regs to focus on for the type of diving I do. I don’t think I need a lot of bell and whistles such as adjustable resistance, dive pre-dive switches etc. or do I. How many LP and HP ports should I want? Should I be looking at something better then the standard rental reg lines? Regulator 101 would be helpful.

Thanks

[CompuDude]

Adjustable resistance is really nice to have. I'd move it closer to the top of the list, personally.

As to the rest, what kind of diving do you do, or will you be doing, in what geographical area?

Two HP ports are handy to have when you may be using both wireless AI computer plus an analog SPG. Otherwise, there's little actual need for two HP ports.

As for LP ports, you need one for your primary reg, one for your secondary, and your LP inflator hose. That's three. If you will ever dive dry, you'll need a fourth.

Sealed? Piston? Lots of other options, but without knowing more, it's hard to say.

[Puffer Fish]

Originally Posted by RHoodJr

Hello all,

I am sure these questions have been posted and discussed before on this board and apologize if I’m repeating anything. I am relatively new to diving and absolutely new at purchasing equipment. As a warm water, vacation diver I’ve always rented my equipment other then M/F/S. I am now at a stage (no pun intended) that I want that extra security of owning a BC and regulator so I know their service history and to increase the comfort zone of using the same equipment for each dive. The BC decision has been made with a Zeagle Scout soon to be ordered at ST, however the next tough decision is the reg. I have read the many threads on this and Scuba board, have googled for reviews and stats of many different regs. Talked with divers and LDS employees about what they sold and what they suggested and still end up confused. So I will ask the questions here that has probably been asked by many. What should I be looking for when making my decisions. The most common answer I get from LDSs is it is a personal preference. OK that works if you know what that may be. It’s not like buying a car and you can take it out for a test drive! I read about all of the great features each manufacture lists but don’t have a clue half the time what it means as a end result. So I’m asking for help developing a short list of regs to focus on for the type of diving I do. I don’t think I need a lot of bell and whistles such as adjustable resistance, dive pre-dive switches etc. or do I. How many LP and HP ports should I want? Should I be looking at something better then the standard rental reg lines? Regulator 101 would be helpful.

Thanks

Nothing unreasonable in your questions...

LP - at least 3 (most will have more)

HP - 2 is nice, depending on what you plan to add later. I have a small spg on one and my wireless on the other.

Now as to who's... if you don't travel a lot.. then any regulator you like (I know, you don't know which one you like). Travel and you might want to get one you can have fixed at places outside the US.

I like diaphragm first stages (simplier design).

Mares makes a lot of nice ones, the XS scuba is supposed to be a great breathing reg (need to try it). I have scubapro, aqualung and Zeagle, and all breath nice.

Truthfully, about half the regs made would make anyone happy.

Have you read the scuba reviews of regulators? Well, take that with a grain of salt, except for the general place they fit. Some regulators can be adjusted to very fine numbers, but the one you have may never be there.

The first issue is how much do you want to spend? And you cannot say "as little as I can get away with". There are a lot of very nice regs around $400, for example, but I love Poseidon's... and they cost a fair amount more.

Over the long haul, you want a good, easy to breath reg..one that you can get serviced....

[fireflock]

Virtually every reg sold by a name brand company is find for recreational diving. If you plan on diving in cold water, that will direct your search to some extent. Some people develop a strong preference for piston vs diaphragm regs, but most people probably don't care. If you want a low cost choice, look at the Tusa RS-130. If you want a mid-range reg that performs better than it costs, look at the Zeagle Envoy. If you want a top of the line breather, consider Atomic.

That's the way I see it, anyway.....

Rich

[ScubaToys Larry]

I have my favorites based on price point.. depending on conditions. So let's say you are not going to be doing any real cold stuff (below 40 or so). And the adjustable thing can be nice... So then for cheap - great reg for the money is the Tusa RS130 (you'll find a lot of threads on that reg and my feelings of it by putting RS130 into the search box above). For Example:
Tusa RS-130

So in a low price range, I like the Tusa TUSA RS-130 Regulator, Regulators, Tusa, TUSA RS-130 Regulator Going up from there, my next stop would be the Zeagle Envoy or Deluxe

Zeagle Envoy Deluxe Regulator, Regulators, Zeagle, Zeagle Envoy Deluxe Regulator

And if I didn't want or care about adjustments, then the mares abyss is an awesome regulator Mares MR 12 Abyss, Regulators, Mares, Mares MR 12 Abyss

and when coupled with the MR12 first stage, they are reasonably priced.

Or if you want to spend more - one of the coolest regs out there is the delta IV... adjustable, swivel, DVT... good stuff: Oceanic Delta IV FDX-10 Regulator, Regulators, Oceanic, Oceanic Delta IV FDX-10 Regulator

You will get a lot of opinions here, and if you ever want to talk about it, feel free to give us a shout!

[RHoodJr]

Originally Posted by CompuDude

Adjustable resistance is really nice to have. I'd move it closer to the top of the list, personally.

As to the rest, what kind of diving do you do, or will you be doing, in what geographical area?

Two HP ports are handy to have when you may be using both wireless AI computer plus an analog SPG. Otherwise, there's little actual need for two HP ports.

As for LP ports, you need one for your primary reg, one for your secondary, and your LP inflator hose. That's three. If you will ever dive dry, you'll need a fourth.

Sealed? Piston? Lots of other options, but without knowing more, it's hard to say.

Thanks for the great info. To clarify I am a vacation only diver at this point in the warm waters of the Caribbean. So travel (light) and ease of repair are considerations, though what I have read it is highly unlikely that there would be a need for that.

Does the breathing resistance control make that much difference in feel with dives less then 100'? Is this something that makes the whole dive more comfortable?

Thanks again.

P.S. Larry, I will be calling you to order the Scout. Maybe we can hash over the reg list then.

[Puffer Fish]

Originally Posted by RHoodJr

Thanks for the great info. To clarify I am a vacation only diver at this point in the warm waters of the Caribbean. So travel (light) and ease of repair are considerations, though what I have read it is highly unlikely that there would be a need for that.

Does the breathing resistance control make that much difference in feel with dives less then 100'? Is this something that makes the whole dive more comfortable?

Thanks again.

P.S. Larry, I will be calling you to order the Scout. Maybe we can hash over the reg list then.

First off, Larry gave some excellent choices.

Adjustable? Actually, I think it is a bit of a gimic. A non-adjustable should be set to the same setting as the adjustable is at it easiest breathing. So what is the real advantage - stopping a freeflow when out of your mouth? I can live with that.

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by RHoodJr

Thanks for the great info. To clarify I am a vacation only diver at this point in the warm waters of the Caribbean. So travel (light) and ease of repair are considerations, though what I have read it is highly unlikely that there would be a need for that.

Does the breathing resistance control make that much difference in feel with dives less then 100'? Is this something that makes the whole dive more comfortable?

Thanks again.

P.S. Larry, I will be calling you to order the Scout. Maybe we can hash over the reg list then.

Breathing resistance controls make the most difference when your reg is either just back from, or just due for, service. What happens is, over time, regs tend to sort of "break in" a little bit, and something that was a little tight at the beginning loosens up towards the end. A reg tech will frequently choose a setting that will be mid-range for the longest duration, but that may be a little to one side of the mark at the beginning, and as parts wear in, moves to the other side of the equation as you use the reg and get closer to service time. Having a fine-tuning tool will let you even out the performance by tweaking things to one side or the other throughout the whole usage time period.

Personally, I can breathe off nearly any reg as long as it's not a wet breather, and be reasonably happy. So I'm pretty tolerant of a wide range of settings... handy for rental regs in various states of repair. When I own my own regs, however, I want to be able to keep them as dialed in as possible, else, why bother?

[mike_s]

Breathing restistance knobs are nice.

But I'll be honest, I never change mine from how it's set right now. I think that you'll find most other divers never change theres either..... so if you were to buy the same regulator w/o a knob, chances are you won't really notice the difference.

[awap]

I dive older scubapro BP 1sts with metal adjustable 2nds. I use the adjustment controls on almost every dive. I tune my 2nds to fairly low cracking pressure. To prevent freeflows during setup, entry, and descent I detune it about one turn. My alternate is also detuned 1 to 2 turns. When I reach depth I readjust my primary for easier breathing but sometimes have to keep it detuned or detune it more if current is effecting it. If gear is doffed in the water on a bloat dive, I detune my primary to prevent freeflows while removing my gear at the surface and handing it up. For surf entries and exits and for diving is high current conditions in SW and in rivers, I will usually have to detune my primary.

OTOH, my wife dives a Mk20/S600 and rarely touched the adjustment knob except to rinse her regs.