Alec, cold water Washington, USA diver here! Have been diving various wrecks up in Canada twice. I wanted to sincerely thank you for putting so much effort into these videos! These are undoubtedly the best scuba videos on TH-cam, and the scuba community desperately needs your knowledgeable content! Every time I go to research a particular scuba topic or gear comparison, the internet provides only strong forum opinions, and manufacturers often don't have reliable information on their own gear! Your wonderful videos are the best source of scuba information on the entire internet in my opinion! Thank you, thank you, thank you! These videos will help divers for years and decades to come! You also have an amazing camera presence--nobody else could take the somewhat dry topic of scuba gear/skills and make it entertaining and easy to learn for hours on end! You are the best asset to our hobby!
Wow! I'll have to show this to my kids. Maybe I'll get some respect! I thank you very much for the kind words Logan. I know your area. It's beautiful above and below the surface. Did you know that Washington was once the location of the famous Octopus Wrestling Championships? Yep! In the 60's, divers would get together every year and form teams. Then, at a signal, they would race into the water to grab as many octopuses as possible in a limited time. The total weight of all the octopuses captured by a team was the winner. Maybe misnamed as "wrestling" but it was hilarious to be part of the contest and even more fun to watch. Thanks for watching Logan. Hope to hear from you again. Alec
I want to thank you so much for your honest tech tips. I am relatively new to diving and still have lots to learn. You have been my number 1 go-to for anything scuba. You are a life saver - literally. I bought my first regulator, about 6 years ago, based solely on advise I learned from watching your videos. I chose the standard piston for cost savings. I think I paid about $350 for the reg and second stage. I have 100 dives with it. It's been in temps from 92f to 53f, and depths to 118' with zero issues. My LDS was selling a discontinued balanced diaphragm compact reg and second stage for $299. I could not pass this up. Anyway, again thank you for everything you do. You are the best!
I agree. I dive been diving both standard and balance regs for 48 years. I've never had any problems. In fact, I still dive my older vintage sets. I may get some weird looks from people, but just keep up with me and you'll do fine.
beginning next yr i plan to get my license by following a course i'm so thankfull to have found your series here to give me a great advantige to start this cours becourse of all the knolidge you share ,Alec THANK YOU SO MUCH.wen ever you you stay in the Philippines you and yours are very welcome to stay at our home for as long as you want.greets Dirk (belgian expat )
Great point Alec. Amazing my Calypso VI balanced regulator is over 40 years old, and still working like charm. Still original HP seat after 2,000 dives.
Really amazing. The HP seat was the 1st thing to go in them. But it still was amazingly reliable. But heavy, clunky and not the best breather. Take care. Alec
Amazing Explanation!! I’m a new diver. I Just got my AOW Cert. card. I’ve been watching your videos,so awesome. I’ve learned so much from them. You are very thorough and easy to understand. Thank you so much for your contribution to the Scuba Community to help keep us safe.
Some manufacturers claim ‘over balanced’, although I have no idea what that is? Just a very good balanced regulator I presume or some fancy sales gimmick perhaps! 🤔
Actually, it is not just a sales gimmick. Overbalanced regulators deliver more air to you compared to a balanced 1st stage. So it performs better when you are diving deeper or are using Nitrox. But they're definitely non-essential for most divers.
Another great tip. I have been diving since the Sea Hunt days also and recently returned and have found your tips honest and insightful. My with recently learned to dive and her dive and instructor and you are my information superstars. Keep it up
Great! Diana and I started our Treasure Hunts, Spring & Fall, over 30 years ago. I hope you had fun. These Tech Tips and my Vintage and Sea Hunt playlists may be the best way to get to meet me. I don't travel to the city much if it can be avoided. Take care. alec
We had a great time! It was our first dive here at home. My wife won a really nice Oceanic dive computer and I won a certificate for Nitrox e-learning. I don't blame you for avoiding travel to the city. Traffic is terrible.
Thank you Alec for confirming my thoughts on if it ain't broke don't fix it it's like my Sherwood sr1's I've had people ask me if I was crazy diving with them at depths deeper then 40 feet and temps colder then 50 f. I said nope it's a comfortable reg and oh so easy to breath don't even realise your breathing off a reg. And it's environmentally sealed bonus for cold water less chance of freeze up. Great video Kevin good job making Alec look so young btw. That can't be easy take care and stay wet
I've no idea why anyone would question the Sherwood regs, especially the excellent SR series! Sherwood built a great reputation over 40 years for building scuba regulator that work reliably in poor conditions - cold, deep, low vis. When I was doing light commercial work, I always reached for a Sherwood reg knowing it would always give me air with no problems. The SR series (SR1 and SR2) are so good and incorporate such unique benefits that other companies can do little except criticize. They are super breathing, easy to service, rugged and have a design that is sealed against the environment rather than an add-on like all others. Thanks for your support Raymond. Alec
Yeah the SR models don't have anything wrong for cold water use. The old dry bleed design I wasn't so sure about, but that's not what the SR has. They are certainly not the only one designed sealed. My XTX certainly is sealed out of the box. No add-ons there either. But the SR2 is certainly less expensive as far as I know. Of course the SR2 and SR1 didn't exist when I got my XTX200, and I was not impressed by my wife's Blizzard's performance.
Can I get your advice on using oxygen cleaned regulator set for normal non nitrox dives? Found a good price on one. Does it mean I have to clean it more often or service it before im able to use higher concentration of O2?
All good regs are rated to 40% O2 and can switch between EAN and air without cleaning. Watch my video on O2 cleaning to answer a lot of these types of questions. A
Keeping your regulators well maintained is enough to use them on normal Nitrox mixes. If you're planning on using them on high O2 mixes, have them O2 cleaned first. Some lubricants can react with high O2 mixes. In Europe, an M26 screwthread is required for Nitrox (or any gas mixture with 22% or more oxygen).
Honestly, I notice the difference, especially when I dive deeper than 60 feet. But I see one more advantage of the unbalanced (standard) regulator. When you forgot to control your PG and your air ends, you can feel it. Breathing is difficult. With a balanced regulator, you do not notice that the air ends until the last breath.Maybe unbalanced regulator is safer?
I haven't tried a modern standard regulator, but remember very well in the 80s having it get harder to breath the deeper and especially as you ran out of air - you could tell when it was getting close to pulling the reserve and start your deco up. And no you don't need to spend 1k to get balance - mine (Aeris now part of oceanic) was under $200 with flex hose on closeout...
On my first open water dive back around 1968 or 1969, no SPG, no depth gauge, when I felt the extra effort needed to suck in air, I knew it was time to head on up. I kind of think I like that idea even now. Of course, the old "J" valve I had when I bought my own tank gave me a little better sense of security, but I was always cautious about trusting that too much. There was always a chance the pull rod would get pulled without my knowing it so when you went to get that last 300 pounds of air, it might not be there.
Rick thats when you learn to buddy breathe with a double hose. We used to dive until we ran out then pull the reserve, which we checked half way during dive to make sure it didn't get pull by mistakes...
Regulator wise how long should you expect an average regulator to last? Trying to decide if I should go for the gold and get a $800 regulator like the mk 25 evo and s620 ti if it should last me 20 years. If 6-12 years is the most common life span of regulator in the hands of an average scuba diver (I'll rinse and follow your recommendations but I bet it won't be perfect) I'm wondering about getting a C range regulator from scubapro. Just trying to decide. I'm in my mid thirties and want a venturi since I am a large guy. I went cheap on my first scuba gear and had issues but I think 70% of that was the cheap regulator part quality (chrome peeling off), free flows that dive masters couldn't fix without opening, and probably a little of my cleaning early on. Never knew about removing the hose protectors when cleaning. Can't complain it was a $600 set for bcd, gauges, and regulator system w/o computer.
This is the regulator I use. While I do like the Scubapro mk25/S620ti, I don't know if the titanium makes that much of a difference. I have dove with the S600, and I honestly didn't notice the difference. The S600 is probably a small amount heavier, but it is probably insignificant.
The DACOR Pacer was one of my all-time favorites. But it is 40 years old. Still a good reg but a lot has changed. Not to mention that service is not available. Take care Dave. Alec
I couldn't suggest anything better than the Scubapro MK25/S600. It's been around forever with regular improvements, is easy to service anywhere, breathes the best and looks good too. Rinse it well after EVERY dive; service it regularly; store it dry in an airtight bag and you'll be giving it to your grandchildren. Take care. Alec
The $1,000 reg is nice, but you don't need to go to a $1,000 reg to get a balanced reg set. For most companies it is about $100 more for the balanced typically diaphragm reg set vs the unbalanced piston reg set.
That's quite right. I was using the high and low price as an example. Generally, there is a very affordable (cheap?) regulator in every line and the very next one up the line in price is balanced. It is the first feature that a "better" regulator would have. Alec
Hi Alec, for some reason I've not had notifications so I'm checking to see if there is something I missed. I know the time is looming for You being over here and wonder if you have the message I sent a while ago. Take care, Peter
DFC (fancy name dreamed up by a marketing agent looking for a raise!) is simply an attempt to utilize the venturi principle (Bernoulli's Law) in the first stage. The supposed benefit is a constant IP. In fact, application of the venturi principle is only beneficial at the diver's mouth where it can be utilized to greatly increase the air flow when needed such as under exertion. Any use of a venturi effect in the 1st stage is an attempt to solve a problem that doesn't exist. All regulators today supply air in such volumes that no diver could possibly be adversely affected by any drop in the IP. The drop in IP is generally so small (contrary to Mares videos that show a large drop in non-Mares regs) that it's inconsequential. Look at it this way. It's volume of air that's important to the diver. If there is sufficient flow of air to fill the diver's lungs when needed, the IP is no importance. IP may be important to ease of breathing, that is, the effort required to start the flow but venturi effect doesn't begin until after the air flow begins. If the 1st stage supplies sufficient air to the 2nd, its job is done. No venturi effect will aid or diminish that. Likewise, having an IP that doesn't vary while breathing doesn't give the diver any benefit, assuming the flow is sufficient. Today's regulators have such high flows that they would supply air for 5 or more big divers with no perceived loss. For the record, a properly adjusted, modern regulator will exhibit an IP drop in the range of 2-4 psi only - DFC or not! The DFC is, in my opinion, a very neat marketing ploy. I can elaborate more in technical terms about this if needed but suffice to say for now that I have seen hundreds of these so-called 'improvements' over the years and the vast majority are neat ideas that serve mainly to sell regs but that usually disappear in a short time once the marketing benefit is over. Alec
Personal opinion You dont kned a balanced first stage if you go 20-30 meters. Nitrox, deco, oxygen use non balanced regulator. If you go under 30m or you swim alot, if you work hard, swim at eny dept you will feel a drop in presure with standard reg at 150-100 bar depends how hard you work so you kned a balanced first stage They are other manufactures cost 200- 250euro
From a practical view you don't need it but, like in a car, power steering, air conditioning, sunroof, leather seats, GPS, etc, etc, they make it much more enjoyable. Better to buy more reg than you need than buy a 2nd one latter. I know as I had at one point over 30 single hose regs. Take care Marian.
Hi Alec, The first (and only) 1st stage I ever owned is a Sea Hornet and they didn't make unbalanced regs (sadly they are no longer in business). As a young diver I earned extra money scrubbing boats and retrieving lost gear from fishing vessels. I never had any problems with attitude in the water with this 1st stage. I can't remember how much I paid but 32 years later, I think it's been a good investment.
Sea Hornet was good stuff but not well known outside of Australia. I recall as well collecting fishing plugs (lures) while scuba diving as a kid. Then I'd sell them to the fishermen along the shore, sometimes the guys that lost them, for $0.75 each. Each sale paid for an air fill at my fire hall. Simple times. Life was good when my only worry was collecting $0.75 so I could go diving! Alec
Hi Alec. When are you coming to Ft. Lauderdale? I discovered your series this past weekend and have been binge watching your series ever since. Thank you for making me a more informed diver, Dive Master, future instuctor and dive shop employee at Divers Cove, Davie. Lets blow some bubbles!
I'll be at the Sea Hunt Forever event at Silver Springs on Mar 2,3. Come out and see some really neat diving using 60 year-old scuba gear. I'll be there and you can see some of my Sea Hunt collection too. Contact me at dive@wetshop.com . I have a question for you. Take care. Alec
Hi Alec, fantastic video thanks! I have a balanced regulator but I can still clearly feel an increased resistance to breathing when I am flipped facing upwards. Could you explain why this happens in the first place, and then whether this can also happen with a balanced regulator (and why)?
Ok. Your comment is a bit confusing. If you have a balanced regulator you should NOT feel (much) of a difference when breathing upside down. With a balanced reg, which means the 1st stage is balanced, there will still be some difference because the 2nd stage is not balanced - nor can be, despite claims from gear manufacturers. It's possible to make a reg that has a balanced valve in the 2nd stage but because the diaphragm and the lungs are not always at the exact depth, a sensitive diver will definitely feel a change. I just posted a short while ago a video explaining how a balanced reg works. Alec
Alec, great unbiased info on all of your videos. I am glad I ran across your series. Been diving on and off for 45 years and did not realize the stuff I did not know.....excellant
I came here to understand , they explained to me in this way , if you breath from standard its like breathing from a can , if you breathe from balanced you breath like you are on surface , so i will try and judge by myself
honest description, i've made conversions from non balanced to balanced and the major difference I've saw is that the intermediate pressure is much more consistent in regard if the tank pressure and the air volume drawn from the first stage. on the earlier regulators, this was more noticable
I agree that you don't need balanced. For me personally I want the balanced (I have the XTX 200). I hated the breathing effort on the brut often used in rentals 15 years ago especially at 90feet or so and knew I didn't want to buy that. You can't kill the brut but it just wasn't comfortable to use on deeper dives.
You won't find a more rugged reg than the Brut. But, like a Corolla, it's suited for driving in town, NOT on the Autobahn. You need a Ferrari for that. The Brut got you into diving Len (I remember!) but you need the right gear for the diving you do. Thanks for your support. Alec
Well I am happy my first pool dive was with an old all metal mares regulator. My second was with a brut. I learned that regulators don't all work the same. Of course I also suspect the brut they were using in the pool may not have been tuned particularly well.
Thank you very mutch for youre very fine explication of those regulators. I have Mares MR12 and MARES MR22 ABBYS regulator from 1998 they have both a KIT COOL WATER DIVER so they canot freeze! Now in Europe thay say that those regulators are no longer good for octopus configuration becausse there is no EN250A number on it. The local dealer says those regulators do not deliver the needed flow when you breath with two divers deeper than 30 meters! When I started in 1997 we trained on one tank with one first stage and octopus configuration and we had never problems. Is it about marketing? Greethings from Belgium.
It would be foolish for me to advise counter to manufacturers specifications but ..... The MR12 is a fine regulator & ought to perform easily with 2 divers breathing from it, with the following provisions in mind. The EN250A regulation is a measure of air delivery at 30m or in water colder than 10 degrees. Here's my suggestions: 1. If diving deeper than 30m or in cold water, have a 2nd 1st stage with it's own dedicated 2nd stage for use as a Safe Second. This can be mounted on a Y valve or some other configuration. The best rig option is a 2nd tank, perhaps a Pony bottle, with it's own regulator. 2. Realize that 30m & 10 degrees is an arbitrary measurement. During ANY dive, the amount of air that must pass through the regulator increases dramatically as depth increases. At just 10m, it must process twice as much air as required at the surface; at 30m it is 4 times as much! Add a couple of unsettled, heavy breathing divers (which is the case in an emergency) & it can get dicey! 3. I'm disturbed by your feeling that your regulator "cannot" freeze. There is not nor ever has been a regulator that will not freeze. Protecting the regulator with an 'Anti-Freeze Kit' (a misnomer for sure), is beneficial but NOT a guarantee!! Regulator freeze-up is NOT caused by water so shielding the regulator from the water is not going to stop freezing. Freeze-up is caused by adiabatic cooling resulting from air pressure decrease, exactly the process that occurs in a regulator. There are ways to reduce the likelihood of freeze-up - but NOT eliminate the possibility. And that possibility increases with greater passage of air through the regulator - as happens on deep dives. If this sounds like a "damned if I do, damned if I don't", you're right. I have the same problem, realizing that times passes quickly - 1997 is 26 years ago. Regulator development, as with any technical apparatus, has changed a great deal in 26 years. Your MR12 is an excellent regulator but you ought to restrict yourself to shallow dives (
@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter Hello Alec, thank you for youre very fast reply and very proffesional answer. I never experienced a frozen regulator during my training and we dived in quarries both summer and winter. But after my training I bought my own scuba tank with a double valve with a regulator on each valve.(for safety reason) My first regulator was the MR12 and then I bought the MR22 ABBYS, and I still dive with it to this day. The only problem is the service kits.(they are becoming scarce) As you wrote, a kit cool water diver for youre regulator will not prevent the first stage from freezing if the flow rate becomes too high (with two divers on one regulator). I do pay great attention to where I have my tank filled, because a compressor needs new filters in time and if that doesn't happen.........., extremely dry air is usually pumped into the bottles, which reduces the chance of getting ice on the high-pressure valve , but it is not excluded. You are right about that. Now I can tell you that after my training I never dived below 20 meters, because here with us there is not much to see at that depth, I prefer to dive between 6 and 15 meters, and enjoy the marine life,and you have a much longer bottom time with no decompression, just a 5 minute safety stop at 3 meters. You are right about time, it looks like yesterday. Your answer was very good and helpful as always very technically understandable, thank you for that. Keep up the good work. Best regards Marc
@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter It's apparently not a problem. Got it serviced last year. Sporasub was the Mares high end brand, like Apeks for Aqualung, and it apparently shares parts with the Mares V-16 regulator. They've even updated the internal seals, and they're still available. That service replaced some that were over 20 years old(the technician knew because they'd been out of production for 20 years, see: updated seals).
I bought a balanced regulator, a scubapro mk25 I wonder what you think about them. I bought it because I wanted to be able to dive in Switzerland too so we need cold water regulator, so I thought if I buy a new regulator, I buy it for the next 5 to 10 years, so I thought it's more smart to buy a balanced, because you want enjoy it for the next few years. As far as I know all cold water frist stages are balanced, or am I wrong? Or is it just in Switzerland, because those 1st stages I saw were made for cold water and balanced. 🤔
There are a great variety in dive gear. Check the owners manual to ensure the 1st stage is actually balanced (most are), but they do sell un-balanced (bit cheaper). Think of scuba gear like a car, everything from VW bugs to Ferrari, gas or electric, long or short range, etc. etc. Many choices so be careful that what you bought is right for your style of cold water diving. Give my videos on cold water preparation and how to prevent free flows. Some tips before diving to think about. Be safe and thanks for watching. A.
@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter I will take care, dive safe too. Few things I don't mind to buy online like snorkel or fins, but as soon as it's about my safety I buy in a store I trust. If a snorkel wouldn't work, who cares, but if a regular doesn't work as it should... well you can't just sand up and take a breath. :) I will check the manual, even if I'm sure it's a balanced, it's always good to double check. Thanks for your amazing videos, there is so much to learn from you. So I guess I'm not the only one here who wishes you are here at least another 50 years. 👍 Thanks for all Alec Peirce.
Hi Alec. I have a vague memory from my Introduction To Scuba Diving class way back when of "upstream regulators" and "downstream regulators," but so many years elapsed between that class and my finally getting certified that I've forgotten what they were...and nobody at my LDS seems to know, either. If I'm remember correctly and there is such a thing, can you explain?
I think this was explained in one of my videos. I'll check with Kevin. These terms and the valve design they describe are still very much in use and important. Alec
The difference is in how they respond when they fail. An upstream regulator will freeze shut, a downstream regulator will freeze open. All regulators nowadays are downstream regulators because you can still breathe from a free flowing regulator, but you can't from one that doesn't deliver any gas.
Hi Arif. I don't want to get into talks about all the models of Scubapro or other regs. It's like saying one fin is better than another, no winner just options. But research and pick the Mk25 you like and enjoy it.
They're OK. I've never considered them special in any way. The so-called benefits of the side discharge are a bit of a stretch. I'm not sure how beneficial they really are. Side discharge is not new nor rare. My first scuba regulator was a side discharge - the famous Aqua-Lung Aquamatic from 1958 which I still have. Most Poseidon regs are a side discharge design and many others too - Oceanic, Sherwood, Tekna and others have had them. They do tend to cost more (for some unknown reason) and service is usually costlier too. They work well. Take care. Alec
I'm just getting into diving, I enjoy watching your videos. Scuba equipment is crazy expensive, especially for me. I only plan to dive a handful times per year. I just purchased a used US diver Conshelf SEA regulator set, from what I found it's not easy to get it serviced.. So I guess I would have been better to just wad the $100 up and throw it out the window.. Anyway do you have any videos or plan on any, to help us newbees pick out serviceable used equipment?
I can do that Rich. If your LDS (local dive store) is really good, they will advise you on what used gear to avoid. Many aren't interested in helping you buy used scuba gear but that's dumb. You are a customer today and tomorrow - not just when they choose. I'll try to do that soon. Take care. Alec
@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter We can always upgrade, but those of us on a budget has to start somewhere. I haven't delt much with my LDS it's an hour away, but so far they have been good to me and answered all my questions. I'm not knocking my LDS, they do service all major brands, if they are able too. But I just thought it would be a good suggestion for a video.
Alec, cold water Washington, USA diver here! Have been diving various wrecks up in Canada twice. I wanted to sincerely thank you for putting so much effort into these videos! These are undoubtedly the best scuba videos on TH-cam, and the scuba community desperately needs your knowledgeable content! Every time I go to research a particular scuba topic or gear comparison, the internet provides only strong forum opinions, and manufacturers often don't have reliable information on their own gear! Your wonderful videos are the best source of scuba information on the entire internet in my opinion! Thank you, thank you, thank you! These videos will help divers for years and decades to come!
You also have an amazing camera presence--nobody else could take the somewhat dry topic of scuba gear/skills and make it entertaining and easy to learn for hours on end! You are the best asset to our hobby!
Wow!
I'll have to show this to my kids. Maybe I'll get some respect!
I thank you very much for the kind words Logan. I know your area. It's beautiful above and below the surface.
Did you know that Washington was once the location of the famous Octopus Wrestling Championships?
Yep! In the 60's, divers would get together every year and form teams. Then, at a signal, they would race into the water to grab as many octopuses as possible in a limited time. The total weight of all the octopuses captured by a team was the winner.
Maybe misnamed as "wrestling" but it was hilarious to be part of the contest and even more fun to watch.
Thanks for watching Logan. Hope to hear from you again.
Alec
I want to thank you so much for your honest tech tips. I am relatively new to diving and still have lots to learn. You have been my number 1 go-to for anything scuba. You are a life saver - literally. I bought my first regulator, about 6 years ago, based solely on advise I learned from watching your videos. I chose the standard piston for cost savings. I think I paid about $350 for the reg and second stage. I have 100 dives with it. It's been in temps from 92f to 53f, and depths to 118' with zero issues. My LDS was selling a discontinued balanced diaphragm compact reg and second stage for $299. I could not pass this up. Anyway, again thank you for everything you do. You are the best!
Well thank you very much for the feedback. Glad to know i'm helping divers make better decisions. Dive safe.
A
I agree. I dive been diving both standard and balance regs for 48 years. I've never had any problems. In fact, I still dive my older vintage sets. I may get some weird looks from people, but just keep up with me and you'll do fine.
I love when new divers stare at my "vintage double hose" (to me still new), regs and ask, are you a tec diver? Good fun.
A
Need or Want... that is the issue my friend ;-) hehehe
What's the difference between a $300 and a $1000 regulator? $700.
Correct.
A
thank you for the videos, i am finding them quite helpful.
Thanks for watching Vetwar.
Alec
Hi Alec, This was a good topic in stage 1 regs, non balanced vs balanced. Great discussion. Now to choose... Enjoyed, Thank's Alec 👍
Glad you enjoyed it Mark.
Alec
Thank you for taking the time to make these insightful videos.
Would you please do one on the caring of BCDs? Especially rinsing out the bladder etc?
Thanks Luan.
I've already done that at least once.
Now you can have more fun - finding those BCD care videos!!
Take care.
Alec
beginning next yr i plan to get my license by following a course i'm so thankfull to have found your series here to give me a great advantige to start this cours becourse of all the knolidge you share ,Alec THANK YOU SO MUCH.wen ever you you stay in the Philippines you and yours are very welcome to stay at our home for as long as you want.greets Dirk (belgian expat )
Great point Alec. Amazing my Calypso VI balanced regulator is over 40 years old, and still working like charm. Still original HP seat after 2,000 dives.
Really amazing. The HP seat was the 1st thing to go in them. But it still was amazingly reliable.
But heavy, clunky and not the best breather.
Take care.
Alec
Excellent video. You just educated me. Thank you for this valuable content.
Glad it was helpful!
A
Amazing Explanation!! I’m a new diver. I Just got my AOW Cert. card. I’ve been watching your videos,so awesome. I’ve learned so much from them. You are very thorough and easy to understand. Thank you so much for your contribution to the Scuba Community to help keep us safe.
Thanks Charles.
You have so much to look forward to.
Take care.
Alec
Some manufacturers claim ‘over balanced’, although I have no idea what that is? Just a very good balanced regulator I presume or some fancy sales gimmick perhaps! 🤔
Actually, it is not just a sales gimmick. Overbalanced regulators deliver more air to you compared to a balanced 1st stage. So it performs better when you are diving deeper or are using Nitrox. But they're definitely non-essential for most divers.
Another great tip. I have been diving since the Sea Hunt days also and recently returned and have found your tips honest and insightful. My with recently learned to dive and her dive and instructor and you are my information superstars. Keep it up
Thanks Richard.
Hopefully you pick up some ideas or at least enjoy the memories.
Alec
Hi Alec. Love your videos. Just came back from the SCUBA 2000 Treasure Hunt dive. I look forward to meeting you at some point hopefully.
Great!
Diana and I started our Treasure Hunts, Spring & Fall, over 30 years ago.
I hope you had fun.
These Tech Tips and my Vintage and Sea Hunt playlists may be the best way to get to meet me.
I don't travel to the city much if it can be avoided.
Take care.
alec
We had a great time! It was our first dive here at home. My wife won a really nice Oceanic dive computer and I won a certificate for Nitrox e-learning. I don't blame you for avoiding travel to the city. Traffic is terrible.
Thank you Alec for confirming my thoughts on if it ain't broke don't fix it it's like my Sherwood sr1's I've had people ask me if I was crazy diving with them at depths deeper then 40 feet and temps colder then 50 f. I said nope it's a comfortable reg and oh so easy to breath don't even realise your breathing off a reg.
And it's environmentally sealed bonus for cold water less chance of freeze up.
Great video Kevin good job making Alec look so young btw. That can't be easy take care and stay wet
I've no idea why anyone would question the Sherwood regs, especially the excellent SR series!
Sherwood built a great reputation over 40 years for building scuba regulator that work reliably in poor conditions - cold, deep, low vis.
When I was doing light commercial work, I always reached for a Sherwood reg knowing it would always give me air with no problems.
The SR series (SR1 and SR2) are so good and incorporate such unique benefits that other companies can do little except criticize. They are super breathing, easy to service, rugged and have a design that is sealed against the environment rather than an add-on like all others.
Thanks for your support Raymond.
Alec
Yeah the SR models don't have anything wrong for cold water use. The old dry bleed design I wasn't so sure about, but that's not what the SR has. They are certainly not the only one designed sealed. My XTX certainly is sealed out of the box. No add-ons there either. But the SR2 is certainly less expensive as far as I know. Of course the SR2 and SR1 didn't exist when I got my XTX200, and I was not impressed by my wife's Blizzard's performance.
thanks you so much for your valuable advice ...
You are most welcome sir.
Can I get your advice on using oxygen cleaned regulator set for normal non nitrox dives? Found a good price on one. Does it mean I have to clean it more often or service it before im able to use higher concentration of O2?
All good regs are rated to 40% O2 and can switch between EAN and air without cleaning. Watch my video on O2 cleaning to answer a lot of these types of questions.
A
Keeping your regulators well maintained is enough to use them on normal Nitrox mixes. If you're planning on using them on high O2 mixes, have them O2 cleaned first. Some lubricants can react with high O2 mixes.
In Europe, an M26 screwthread is required for Nitrox (or any gas mixture with 22% or more oxygen).
Well explained thanks Alec!
Thanks for watching Pete.
Alec
Tank you Alec
Thank you for watching Jony.
Nice name. Is that Jony as in John or as in Joan?
Alec
Alec Peirce Scuba
😂😃
It's "Jony"
And my last name is "Harri"
I'm Finish, but living in Sweden 👍
Honestly, I notice the difference, especially when I dive deeper than 60 feet.
But I see one more advantage of the unbalanced (standard) regulator.
When you forgot to control your PG and your air ends, you can feel it. Breathing is difficult.
With a balanced regulator, you do not notice that the air ends until the last breath.Maybe unbalanced regulator is safer?
That may be stretching the reasons to look at a standard regulator but it's sure an interesting comment.
Thanks.
Alec
I haven't tried a modern standard regulator, but remember very well in the 80s having it get harder to breath the deeper and especially as you ran out of air - you could tell when it was getting close to pulling the reserve and start your deco up. And no you don't need to spend 1k to get balance - mine (Aeris now part of oceanic) was under $200 with flex hose on closeout...
On my first open water dive back around 1968 or 1969, no SPG, no depth gauge, when I felt the extra effort needed to suck in air, I knew it was time to head on up. I kind of think I like that idea even now. Of course, the old "J" valve I had when I bought my own tank gave me a little better sense of security, but I was always cautious about trusting that too much. There was always a chance the pull rod would get pulled without my knowing it so when you went to get that last 300 pounds of air, it might not be there.
Rick thats when you learn to buddy breathe with a double hose. We used to dive until we ran out then pull the reserve, which we checked half way during dive to make sure it didn't get pull by mistakes...
I'm a commercial diver and was a scuba instructor. I wouldn't say I've ever noticed enough difference to spend the extra on a balanced 1st stage.
Regulator wise how long should you expect an average regulator to last? Trying to decide if I should go for the gold and get a $800 regulator like the mk 25 evo and s620 ti if it should last me 20 years. If 6-12 years is the most common life span of regulator in the hands of an average scuba diver (I'll rinse and follow your recommendations but I bet it won't be perfect) I'm wondering about getting a C range regulator from scubapro. Just trying to decide. I'm in my mid thirties and want a venturi since I am a large guy. I went cheap on my first scuba gear and had issues but I think 70% of that was the cheap regulator part quality (chrome peeling off), free flows that dive masters couldn't fix without opening, and probably a little of my cleaning early on. Never knew about removing the hose protectors when cleaning. Can't complain it was a $600 set for bcd, gauges, and regulator system w/o computer.
This is the regulator I use. While I do like the Scubapro mk25/S620ti, I don't know if the titanium makes that much of a difference. I have dove with the S600, and I honestly didn't notice the difference. The S600 is probably a small amount heavier, but it is probably insignificant.
The DACOR Pacer was one of my all-time favorites. But it is 40 years old.
Still a good reg but a lot has changed. Not to mention that service is not available.
Take care Dave.
Alec
I couldn't suggest anything better than the Scubapro MK25/S600. It's been around forever with regular improvements, is easy to service anywhere, breathes the best and looks good too.
Rinse it well after EVERY dive; service it regularly; store it dry in an airtight bag and you'll be giving it to your grandchildren.
Take care.
Alec
The $1,000 reg is nice, but you don't need to go to a $1,000 reg to get a balanced reg set. For most companies it is about $100 more for the balanced typically diaphragm reg set vs the unbalanced piston reg set.
That's quite right.
I was using the high and low price as an example.
Generally, there is a very affordable (cheap?) regulator in every line and the very next one up the line in price is balanced. It is the first feature that a "better" regulator would have.
Alec
Hi Alec, for some reason I've not had notifications so I'm checking to see if there is something I missed. I know the time is looming for You being over here and wonder if you have the message I sent a while ago. Take care, Peter
We got back last week but first I was sick them my wife. Just got back on my feet. Not seen any messages so please re-send.
Thanks.
Alec
Great video Alec. One question. There is feature called DFC (Dynamic Flow Control) in some Mares reg. Can you please explain this? Thanks!
DFC (fancy name dreamed up by a marketing agent looking for a raise!) is simply an attempt to utilize the venturi principle (Bernoulli's Law) in the first stage. The supposed benefit is a constant IP.
In fact, application of the venturi principle is only beneficial at the diver's mouth where it can be utilized to greatly increase the air flow when needed such as under exertion. Any use of a venturi effect in the 1st stage is an attempt to solve a problem that doesn't exist. All regulators today supply air in such volumes that no diver could possibly be adversely affected by any drop in the IP. The drop in IP is generally so small (contrary to Mares videos that show a large drop in non-Mares regs) that it's inconsequential.
Look at it this way. It's volume of air that's important to the diver. If there is sufficient flow of air to fill the diver's lungs when needed, the IP is no importance. IP may be important to ease of breathing, that is, the effort required to start the flow but venturi effect doesn't begin until after the air flow begins. If the 1st stage supplies sufficient air to the 2nd, its job is done. No venturi effect will aid or diminish that. Likewise, having an IP that doesn't vary while breathing doesn't give the diver any benefit, assuming the flow is sufficient.
Today's regulators have such high flows that they would supply air for 5 or more big divers with no perceived loss.
For the record, a properly adjusted, modern regulator will exhibit an IP drop in the range of 2-4 psi only - DFC or not!
The DFC is, in my opinion, a very neat marketing ploy.
I can elaborate more in technical terms about this if needed but suffice to say for now that I have seen hundreds of these so-called 'improvements' over the years and the vast majority are neat ideas that serve mainly to sell regs but that usually disappear in a short time once the marketing benefit is over.
Alec
Personal opinion You dont kned a balanced first stage if you go 20-30 meters. Nitrox, deco, oxygen use non balanced regulator. If you go under 30m or you swim alot, if you work hard, swim at eny dept you will feel a drop in presure with standard reg at 150-100 bar depends how hard you work so you kned a balanced first stage They are other manufactures cost 200- 250euro
From a practical view you don't need it but, like in a car, power steering, air conditioning, sunroof, leather seats, GPS, etc, etc, they make it much more enjoyable. Better to buy more reg than you need than buy a 2nd one latter. I know as I had at one point over 30 single hose regs. Take care Marian.
balance/unbalanced makes a whole lot of difference among double hose. restoration is enough without upgrades ?
With all these upgrades, it performs jus like a modern reg with all the safety features. Kevin loves his.
A
Hi Alec, The first (and only) 1st stage I ever owned is a Sea Hornet and they didn't make unbalanced regs (sadly they are no longer in business). As a young diver I earned extra money scrubbing boats and retrieving lost gear from fishing vessels. I never had any problems with attitude in the water with this 1st stage. I can't remember how much I paid but 32 years later, I think it's been a good investment.
Sea Hornet was good stuff but not well known outside of Australia.
I recall as well collecting fishing plugs (lures) while scuba diving as a kid. Then I'd sell them to the fishermen along the shore, sometimes the guys that lost them, for $0.75 each. Each sale paid for an air fill at my fire hall.
Simple times. Life was good when my only worry was collecting $0.75 so I could go diving!
Alec
Hi Alec. When are you coming to Ft. Lauderdale? I discovered your series this past weekend and have been binge watching your series ever since. Thank you for making me a more informed diver, Dive Master, future instuctor and dive shop employee at Divers Cove, Davie. Lets blow some bubbles!
I'll be at the Sea Hunt Forever event at Silver Springs on Mar 2,3.
Come out and see some really neat diving using 60 year-old scuba gear.
I'll be there and you can see some of my Sea Hunt collection too.
Contact me at dive@wetshop.com . I have a question for you.
Take care.
Alec
Hi Alec, are you coming for the DEMA show this year? I would love to meet you if you are ...
Huge fan :)
I'm afraid not. I'll be in Europe at that time.
Sorry. Next year.
Alec
Hi Alec, fantastic video thanks! I have a balanced regulator but I can still clearly feel an increased resistance to breathing when I am flipped facing upwards. Could you explain why this happens in the first place, and then whether this can also happen with a balanced regulator (and why)?
Ok. Your comment is a bit confusing.
If you have a balanced regulator you should NOT feel (much) of a difference when breathing upside down.
With a balanced reg, which means the 1st stage is balanced, there will still be some difference because the 2nd stage is not balanced - nor can be, despite claims from gear manufacturers. It's possible to make a reg that has a balanced valve in the 2nd stage but because the diaphragm and the lungs are not always at the exact depth, a sensitive diver will definitely feel a change.
I just posted a short while ago a video explaining how a balanced reg works.
Alec
Alec, great unbiased info on all of your videos. I am glad I ran across your series. Been diving on and off for 45 years and did not realize the stuff I did not know.....excellant
I'm the same. I can't believe all the stuff I know nothing about.
Take care.
Alec
I came here to understand , they explained to me in this way , if you breath from standard its like breathing from a can , if you breathe from balanced you breath like you are on surface , so i will try and judge by myself
Do it Ali. On a full tank at 66' 30m, you should not be able to tell the difference. Give them a try.
honest description, i've made conversions from non balanced to balanced and the major difference I've saw is that the intermediate pressure is much more consistent in regard if the tank pressure and the air volume drawn from the first stage. on the earlier regulators, this was more noticable
Right.
Given a choice, get a balanced reg but don't think it's necessary.
Alec
I agree that you don't need balanced. For me personally I want the balanced (I have the XTX 200). I hated the breathing effort on the brut often used in rentals 15 years ago especially at 90feet or so and knew I didn't want to buy that. You can't kill the brut but it just wasn't comfortable to use on deeper dives.
You won't find a more rugged reg than the Brut. But, like a Corolla, it's suited for driving in town, NOT on the Autobahn. You need a Ferrari for that.
The Brut got you into diving Len (I remember!) but you need the right gear for the diving you do.
Thanks for your support.
Alec
Well I am happy my first pool dive was with an old all metal mares regulator. My second was with a brut. I learned that regulators don't all work the same. Of course I also suspect the brut they were using in the pool may not have been tuned particularly well.
Thank you very mutch for youre very fine explication of those regulators.
I have Mares MR12 and MARES MR22 ABBYS regulator from 1998 they have both a KIT COOL WATER DIVER so they canot freeze!
Now in Europe thay say that those regulators are no longer good for octopus configuration becausse there is no EN250A number on it.
The local dealer says those regulators do not deliver the needed flow when you breath with two divers deeper than 30 meters!
When I started in 1997 we trained on one tank with one first stage and octopus configuration and we had never problems.
Is it about marketing?
Greethings from Belgium.
It would be foolish for me to advise counter to manufacturers specifications but .....
The MR12 is a fine regulator & ought to perform easily with 2 divers breathing from it, with the following provisions in mind.
The EN250A regulation is a measure of air delivery at 30m or in water colder than 10 degrees.
Here's my suggestions:
1. If diving deeper than 30m or in cold water, have a 2nd 1st stage with it's own dedicated 2nd stage for use as a Safe Second.
This can be mounted on a Y valve or some other configuration.
The best rig option is a 2nd tank, perhaps a Pony bottle, with it's own regulator.
2. Realize that 30m & 10 degrees is an arbitrary measurement.
During ANY dive, the amount of air that must pass through the regulator increases dramatically as depth increases.
At just 10m, it must process twice as much air as required at the surface; at 30m it is 4 times as much!
Add a couple of unsettled, heavy breathing divers (which is the case in an emergency) & it can get dicey!
3. I'm disturbed by your feeling that your regulator "cannot" freeze.
There is not nor ever has been a regulator that will not freeze.
Protecting the regulator with an 'Anti-Freeze Kit' (a misnomer for sure), is beneficial but NOT a guarantee!!
Regulator freeze-up is NOT caused by water so shielding the regulator from the water is not going to stop freezing.
Freeze-up is caused by adiabatic cooling resulting from air pressure decrease, exactly the process that occurs in a regulator.
There are ways to reduce the likelihood of freeze-up - but NOT eliminate the possibility.
And that possibility increases with greater passage of air through the regulator - as happens on deep dives.
If this sounds like a "damned if I do, damned if I don't", you're right.
I have the same problem, realizing that times passes quickly - 1997 is 26 years ago. Regulator development, as with any technical apparatus, has changed a great deal in 26 years.
Your MR12 is an excellent regulator but you ought to restrict yourself to shallow dives (
@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter Hello Alec, thank you for youre very fast reply and very proffesional answer.
I never experienced a frozen regulator during my training and we dived in quarries both summer and winter.
But after my training I bought my own scuba tank with a double valve with a regulator on each valve.(for safety reason)
My first regulator was the MR12 and then I bought the MR22 ABBYS, and I still dive with it to this day.
The only problem is the service kits.(they are becoming scarce)
As you wrote, a kit cool water diver for youre regulator will not prevent the first stage from freezing if the flow rate becomes too high (with two divers on one regulator).
I do pay great attention to where I have my tank filled, because a compressor needs new filters in time and if that doesn't happen.........., extremely dry air is usually pumped into the bottles, which reduces the chance of getting ice on the high-pressure valve , but it is not excluded.
You are right about that.
Now I can tell you that after my training I never dived below 20 meters, because here with us there is not much to see at that depth, I prefer to dive between 6 and 15 meters, and enjoy the marine life,and you have a much longer bottom time with no decompression, just a 5 minute safety stop at 3 meters.
You are right about time, it looks like yesterday.
Your answer was very good and helpful as always very technically understandable, thank you for that.
Keep up the good work.
Best regards
Marc
I'm really happy with my sporasub matrix regulator. It's a balanced diaphragm regulator, from the 90s.
I love old regs too, its getting parts kits for service thats the problem. Safe diving Kaerius.
A
@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter It's apparently not a problem. Got it serviced last year. Sporasub was the Mares high end brand, like Apeks for Aqualung, and it apparently shares parts with the Mares V-16 regulator. They've even updated the internal seals, and they're still available. That service replaced some that were over 20 years old(the technician knew because they'd been out of production for 20 years, see: updated seals).
I bought a balanced regulator, a scubapro mk25 I wonder what you think about them. I bought it because I wanted to be able to dive in Switzerland too so we need cold water regulator, so I thought if I buy a new regulator, I buy it for the next 5 to 10 years, so I thought it's more smart to buy a balanced, because you want enjoy it for the next few years.
As far as I know all cold water frist stages are balanced, or am I wrong?
Or is it just in Switzerland, because those 1st stages I saw were made for cold water and balanced. 🤔
There are a great variety in dive gear. Check the owners manual to ensure the 1st stage is actually balanced (most are), but they do sell un-balanced (bit cheaper). Think of scuba gear like a car, everything from VW bugs to Ferrari, gas or electric, long or short range, etc. etc. Many choices so be careful that what you bought is right for your style of cold water diving. Give my videos on cold water preparation and how to prevent free flows. Some tips before diving to think about. Be safe and thanks for watching.
A.
@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter I will take care, dive safe too. Few things I don't mind to buy online like snorkel or fins, but as soon as it's about my safety I buy in a store I trust. If a snorkel wouldn't work, who cares, but if a regular doesn't work as it should... well you can't just sand up and take a breath. :)
I will check the manual, even if I'm sure it's a balanced, it's always good to double check.
Thanks for your amazing videos, there is so much to learn from you. So I guess I'm not the only one here who wishes you are here at least another 50 years. 👍 Thanks for all Alec Peirce.
Hi Alec. I have a vague memory from my Introduction To Scuba Diving class way back when of "upstream regulators" and "downstream regulators," but so many years elapsed between that class and my finally getting certified that I've forgotten what they were...and nobody at my LDS seems to know, either. If I'm remember correctly and there is such a thing, can you explain?
I think this was explained in one of my videos. I'll check with Kevin.
These terms and the valve design they describe are still very much in use and important.
Alec
The difference is in how they respond when they fail. An upstream regulator will freeze shut, a downstream regulator will freeze open.
All regulators nowadays are downstream regulators because you can still breathe from a free flowing regulator, but you can't from one that doesn't deliver any gas.
Hi alec..how about the mk25 evo a700?since you mention about mk25 s600
Hi Arif. I don't want to get into talks about all the models of Scubapro or other regs. It's like saying one fin is better than another, no winner just options. But research and pick the Mk25 you like and enjoy it.
@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter thanks alec😆
What you opinion on side discharge regulators
They're OK. I've never considered them special in any way.
The so-called benefits of the side discharge are a bit of a stretch. I'm not sure how beneficial they really are.
Side discharge is not new nor rare. My first scuba regulator was a side discharge - the famous Aqua-Lung Aquamatic from 1958 which I still have. Most Poseidon regs are a side discharge design and many others too - Oceanic, Sherwood, Tekna and others have had them.
They do tend to cost more (for some unknown reason) and service is usually costlier too.
They work well.
Take care.
Alec
Crystal clear as always Alec
diving stuff are my favs. Cool.
Me too Vit.
Alec
I need you to be mine teach/coach please :)
Glad your learned something new. Keep watching, I have so much to share with everyone I could be doing this for another 10 years.
Take care.
Alec
I'm just getting into diving, I enjoy watching your videos. Scuba equipment is crazy expensive, especially for me. I only plan to dive a handful times per year. I just purchased a used US diver Conshelf SEA regulator set, from what I found it's not easy to get it serviced.. So I guess I would have been better to just wad the $100 up and throw it out the window.. Anyway do you have any videos or plan on any, to help us newbees pick out serviceable used equipment?
I can do that Rich.
If your LDS (local dive store) is really good, they will advise you on what used gear to avoid. Many aren't interested in helping you buy used scuba gear but that's dumb. You are a customer today and tomorrow - not just when they choose.
I'll try to do that soon.
Take care.
Alec
@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter We can always upgrade, but those of us on a budget has to start somewhere. I haven't delt much with my LDS it's an hour away, but so far they have been good to me and answered all my questions. I'm not knocking my LDS, they do service all major brands, if they are able too. But I just thought it would be a good suggestion for a video.
I love you alec muwahhhh
OK. I'm fine with that. You do know that I am very happily married?
But a little extra love is always welcome.
Thanks for watching.
Alec
Top😃👍👍👍
Thanks for the visit
Thanks 😊
You're welcome!
Love the intro music!
That's Sea Hunt!! Get it off Spotify or the internet. It's my mobile notification sound.
Thanks for watching Riley.
Alec
Cool thanks!