Diving under water requires simple and sophisticated equipment each with its own functions and designs. These devices are significant for all divers depending on their own needs and personal preferences considering the factors of their diving activity. Many scuba gears are invented to help assist human capabilities underwater to expand a number of factors concerning our ability. Also to move and do things in an inhabitable environment due to lack of breathable air. Our drive towards pleasure enables us to develop valuable breakthroughs when it comes to underwater activities. It is to bring more excitement and energy especially in our favorite leisure and passion which is scuba diving.
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What Is A Scuba Cylinder Valve?
The scuba cylinder valve or considered as the ventil of scuba tanks serves as the regulator and the connector. It controls the gas supply to the scuba cylinder or scuba tank. It is the device that makes gas flow to the scuba tank possible and to allow the diver to manually operate the gas flow. Cylinder valves are normally made of metallic substances with a plastic tube to help reduce the risk of any contamination. There are four classifications of the cylinder valve, its specifications, connection, pressure, and functions.
What Is The Composition Of The Cylinder Valve?
The main structure of the cylinder valve is a metallic brass. It is shaped to fit the neck portion of the cylinder tank that is then attached to support the regulation of gas flow in the gas tank to the diver using a tube. Without the cylinder valve, it is impossible to use the cylinder tank. Since gas flow cannot be optimized and the control of pressure will not be working and will eventually lead to a turbulence of underwater breathing. Most cylinder valves are made to fit the standard size of all gas tanks in the neck portion for convenient use. However, there are also numbers of standard threads for the cylinder valve like the taper thread and the parallel threads.
What Connects The Cylinder Valve To The Regulator?
There is a rubber material called “packing” or “toric joint”. It is responsible for the compression of the hardware connected between the regulator and the valve. The toric joint of the valve and the regulator also prevents accidents like fire in the gas tank reduces the risk of unwanted disasters. Although there are different standardized versions of the cylinder valve and the regulator it only depends on which country it is being used.
What Are The Types Of Cylinder Connectors?
There are two types of cylinder connectors, the yoke and the DIN. Both can be used depending on the breathing gas inside the cylinder tank. It only differs on the preferred substance used inside the gas tank.
Yoke Connector
This connector presses the rubber material or “toric joint” in the cylinder valve to produce strength and protection to the regulator. The yoke connector also has a clamping device to guarantee the connection between the cylinder valve and the regulator. Furthermore, this type of connector is the cheapest type and is used throughout the world by many scuba divers.
DIN Connector
The DIN connector simply traps the O-ring between the cylinder valve and the regulator which makes it more secure and safe compared to the yoke connector. The O-ring is perfectly guarded although it is not being used world wide unlike the yoke connector.
What Are The Pressure Rating Of The Yoke And DIN Connector?
The Yoke connector has a rating normally ranging between 200-240 bar. This means that is the standard bar of the yoke connectors although some old versions might not fit the rated standard.
The DIN connector on the other hand can go up to 200-300 rating. This explains why the DIN looks better than the yoke connector, and it is made to avoid incompatibility for attachments with the valve.
Conclusion
The importance of having a sophisticated tool is as valuable as our needs to adapt in an underwater environment. The cylinder valve or ventil is one of the most valuable attachments in all of scuba gears and equipment. Without it, our gas tank will not work accordingly and breathing underwater will be impossible. The classification and complexity of these devices only proves a room for improvements in innovating a greater composition of diving gears to make us more excited in our passion for diving. Conclusively, scuba diving is not as simple as we think it is. Understanding the value of all the attachments needed to dive underwater can change the way we think of scuba diving.