deco reg use

[matt t.]

I was reading a post on another board about 02 regs. Most people over there seem to dedicate 1 specific reg for pure 02 use. I have a few deco regs and will use them on 02 and/or 50%. I do have a favorite or 2 that I will use more often, but the bottle contents don't dictate where it will be used. What are your thoughts?

[systematic.entropy]

I figure it can't hurt to dedicate one specific reg for 100% O2 use. What's the harm, really? It keeps things simple. And consistant. Just like all your drills and procedures, consistancy is key. And that includes equipment. For example if that bright yellow reg with the green hose is your "deep stop reg" (say it's some really deep three gas mix dive) you're going to use it often, and more than likely, your buddy will recognize it after a while too. The point is, that in the event of an emergency, it becomes one step easier to know what equipment is what, rather than having three or more identical or similar regs hanging off your body. Just my .02.

[Vtach]

I mix and match.  All my deco reg's are the same brand/model and are oxygen cleaned the same.  So, for me, it really doesn't matter which reg goes on which deco/stage bottle.  I don't have anything against dedicating a reg to oxygen service but for me..why.

[Omicron]

My regs are O2 cleaned, so I'm not fussy about which one ends up on which tank.

You are trained to not use the looks/colors/etc of your regs to identify your gasses, so I'd hate to develop that tendency.  Unclip the reg, follow the hose, have buddy confirm it, turn it on, if you can breathe you've got the right reg.

I don't have a true collection of deco regs/tanks yet either, so maybe once that collection starts growing I'll get fussier.

[Chris H]

I mix and match as well.  Like Omicron said, color is not a good way to identify which gas you are using.

[DiveCaptDean]

Hey Matt-
Are your regs all the same?...if yes..why would one care..if no..i can see the benefit of consistantly using the same reg on the same mix over and over again..

[Omicron]

Out of curiosity, what's the benefit?

Are you thinking that the 50% mix would "dirty" the pure 02 reg?

[matt t.]

Dean and Omicron, all my regs are 02 clean Apeks, with a mix of 1st and 2nd stages (ATX 50, TX 50, TX 40, DS4, DST). I can't see any benefit in using 1 oxygen dedicated reg either. Their feeling was that a dedicated 02 reg will stay"cleaner" because you are taking the compressor out of the equation (if you're not boosting). I was one of the few NOT having a dedicated 02 reg. Seems that a rebuild/cleaning every other year would do the job. Looks like I'm in the majority here  .

[drifter1430]

I use a dedicated reg for O2. For me which reg I use isn't as important as the mouth piece. I use a slightly more uncomfortable mouthpiece on my dedicated O2 reg. That way even if you had absolutely no vis, once you put the reg in you know which gas you have. This obviously isn't a priority way of identifying the stage you are using, just one more subtle precaution. I've even heard of divers twisting a rubber band across the mouthpiece to be sure to identify the O2 reg.

[Omicron]

I think it might be a NOAA standard or something along those lines - you put a cover on the mouth piece as a "worst case" reminder if you are in a bad situation.  If you are just shoveling random regulators into your mouth it should be a little bit of a wake up call that you are about to do something really dumb.