DIN or Yoke - which is more popular in Ireland?

Pkiernan

Hi,

from using the search function, many seem to say that DIN regulators are better.

However, the search results are 3 years old.

I was wondering however, which are more popular and commonly available when using rental tanks in Ireland?

Thanks.

mint man

yoke are most common for sure.
but the tanks are actually din with an insert for use with yoke.

Pkiernan

Thanks for the reply.

In that case would one be better off with a DIN reg and Yoke adapter for trips abroad? (Red Sea, Malta etc or do rental shops allow for either connection?).

fozz10

id be surprised if more then 1 in 10 regs bought were yoke.din is the way to go.din are far more popular,and some would argue safer.cant get knocked of a bottle like yoke.

mint man

the majority of people/places ive dived just use yoke clamps.
i personaly have din ,really only cause ive 300 bar tank.

fozz10

fair enough but between east coast here to kinsale over the last 5 years id say ive only seen about 5 yoke regs! anyone i know had them got a din kit for them anyways! anyway bottom line ask most shop owners now days they sell f all yoke. just like to clear up yoke are bigger around the world din is slowly creepin into the dive centres ive been in out foreign nowdays too..

locum-motion

fozz10 wrote: »

id be surprised if more then 1 in 10 regs bought were yoke...

Really? I'd be surprised if more than 1 in 10 were DIN, judging by what I tend to see at dive sites.

locum-motion

mint man wrote: »

...
i personaly have din ,really only cause ive 300 bar tank.

If you've a 300 bar tank, you have a "7 thread DIN".

The "yoke v. DIN" argument refers to "5 thread DIN", as both are compatible with 232 bar tanks.

If we're gonna compare, we should at least compare like with like.

fozz10

well i didnt come on here to argue tit for tat with someone.just giving advice on what i see every week and from the guys i know.so yes really id still think din vastly outsell yoke and are only getting more popular. thats my 2c. thats my last input to the conversation!

locum-motion

Pkiernan wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

In that case would one be better off with a DIN reg and Yoke adapter for trips abroad? (Red Sea, Malta etc or do rental shops allow for either connection?).

Whichever way you go, you can use an adaptor if the tank you're renting is the other, with very few exceptions.

locum-motion

fozz10 wrote: »

well i didnt come on here to argue tit for tat with someone.just giving advice on what i see every week and from the guys i know.so yes really id still think din vastly outsell yoke and are only getting more popular. thats my 2c. thats my last input to the conversation!

I'm not arguing with you, Fozz, just pointing out that my experience has been different to yours!

fozz10

no prob,me too. cheers

loctite

locum-motion wrote: »

If you've a 300 bar tank, you have a "7 thread DIN".

The "yoke v. DIN" argument refers to "5 thread DIN", as both are compatible with 232 bar tanks.

If we're gonna compare, we should at least compare like with like.

Hey....
I'd recommend getting a DIN fitting. It is far more popular in Europe (outside of Ireland) than in Ireland and I would have to say IMO it is definitely getting more popular here.

There is a simple reason why A - Clamp was the more popular option, price.
It used to be the case (5-6 years ago and probably longer than that again) that DIN first stages were a more expensive option than A-clamp (yoke). Now the price difference is negligible.
Most new tanks will, as a previous poster has stated, have re-moveable inserts so that they are compatible with both DIN and A-Clamp.

There are two main advantages to DIN vs A-Clamp.
Depending on the design of reg it removes an o-ring from the first stage and thus removes a potential failure point i.e. there is one less o-ring in DIN to potentially fail than A.

Second is the ability to with work with higher pressures. DINs will work with 300 bar and 232 bar whilst Yoke 232 bar only.

As Locum Motion points out the 5 thread vs 7 thread is not really a concern with the DIN fitting itself. I stand to be corrected on this but I don't think that there are any DIN fitting out there that are only compatible with 232 cylinders. The 5 thread is concerned with the tank valve itself (232 bar) and 7 thread for 300 bar tanks.

I'd definitely recommend the DIN. You can always get a yoke adapter if needs be but if you are using rentals you'll definitely get DIN valved cylinders in pretty much every centre in Ireland/abroad.

locum-motion

loctite wrote: »

...

As Locum Motion points out the 5 thread vs 7 thread is not really a concern with the DIN fitting itself. I stand to be corrected on this but I don't think that there are any DIN fitting out there that are only compatible with 232 cylinders. The 5 thread is concerned with the tank valve itself (232 bar) and 7 thread for 300 bar tanks.
...

There are indeed 232bar only DIN fittings. As stated already, 5-thread DIN is only rated to 232, and must not be used with 300. And they DO exist. There's plenty of them out there.

loctite

locum-motion wrote: »

There are indeed 232bar only DIN fittings. As stated already, 5-thread DIN is only rated to 232, and must not be used with 300. And they DO exist. There's plenty of them out there.

Just to clarify, are you refering to the cylinder valve here or the reg first stage?

just out of curiosity (if you mean reg first stages), who is manufacturing the 5 thread DIN first stages?

Just googled and answered my own question - Duh.
I'm shocked. AIRTRAK 232 BAR DIN First Stage by Tigullio. http://www.tigulliodive.co.uk/regs_service.htm

fozz10

i think there NEARLY all 300bar and therefore fit all tanks. very rare that a din reg these days wont work on a 300bar tank. 232 din are rare enough! kinda pointless too imho

locum-motion

loctite wrote: »

Just to clarify, are you refering to the cylinder valve here or the reg first stage?

Both.

loctite wrote: »

just out of curiosity (if you mean reg first stages), who is manufacturing the 5 thread DIN first stages?

Just googled and answered my own question - Duh.
I'm shocked. AIRTRAK 232 BAR DIN First Stage by Tigullio. http://www.tigulliodive.co.uk/regs_service.htm

I'd say they're not the only ones!

Here's a good article about the differences/converting etc. The pictures in the article clearly show examples of 5-thread DIN, 7-thread DIN and A-clamp, and methods of converting between them too.

One thing that we haven't mentioned yet is Nitrox. As far as I know (and please correct me if I'm wrong*) there is some new European regulation that tanks containing enriched air (Nitrox) have to be fitted with what's called an M26 thread. This means that neither 5- nor 7-thread DIN, nor A-clamp, regulators will fit those tanks. It might mean that divers will have to have two sets of regs if they wish to use air some of the time & EANx some of the time. I'm not sure when these regulations are supposed to come into force, or how strictly they'll be enforced when they do.




[*: Pleeeease, let me be wrong!!!]

loctite

I haven't heard that one about EANx valves.
How would they enforce it even if it was introduced??
Somehow I couldn't see too many centres/ divers rushing out to change valve/regs/filling stations.

What do reckon the actual prevalence of EANx is in the diving community.
I reckon that it has to be mostly techies. Can't imagine that there are that many
rec divers actually using it.

Catmologen

Is this the same regulation that was brought in back in 2008? I have noticed no centers in Ireland or abroad observing it. I think it was more of a guideline rather than an enforceable law.

Anyone else noticed anything different?

locum-motion

Catmologen wrote: »

Is this the same regulation that was brought in back in 2008? I have noticed no centers in Ireland or abroad observing it. I think it was more of a guideline rather than an enforceable law.

Anyone else noticed anything different?

Was it 2008? Wow. I remember lots of talk about it. It didn't think it was that long ago.
Nothing ever came of it (so far), and I hope it stays that way.

tedshredsonfire

Remember hearing about it just as I was leaving scubie circles. I though Nitrox would have gottena lot bigger by now I wonder is it cost or hassle. Always figured a single dive was easy, repititive dives are nitrox were a pain in the arse major planning a dive to 25m etc

loctite

locum-motion wrote: »

There are indeed 232bar only DIN fittings. As stated already, 5-thread DIN is only rated to 232, and must not be used with 300. And they DO exist. There's plenty of them out there.

Sorry to be going back to this but I just realised something as I was re reading the thread (no pun intended).... It's not a concern using a 232 bar (5 thread) din 1st stage on a 300 bar (7 thread) valve.

They won't fit, and by that I mean they won't seal.

The real risk is the diver themselves deciding to convert their reg to Din and putting a 7 thread din fitting on your 1st stage when it is only designed for 232 bar.

bikeblue

Keep it simple !

If you buy an Aclamp reg and get a Tank without an insert, you need to put in an insert and have to remove the insert after the dive. There is a big chance that you forget to remove the insert and you will have to get another insert just in case.

If you have an aclamp reg and get a Din tank you need an insert. If an insert is not available, than you won't be diving. if it is the other way around, you just remove the insert and you will dive.