Equipment: Regulators (I LIKE SHERWOOD)

Regulators! What does it regulate? What is it for?

These are all good questions! A regulator is the piece of equiptment that attaches to your tank and that you breath out of. There are two different parts to this regulator, reg for short, called stages. The first stage attaches to your tank via a screw called a yoke. From here the first stage decreases the pressure from inside your tank, which if it is an aluminum tank is 3,000PSI and if it is a low pressure steel tank is 2,250PSI. The first stage regulates or reduces this pressure down to a more reasonable pressure that the line is tested for. Then the air is sent down the line to the second stage, the part that you breath out of. Now there are two different second stages attatched to your first stage. The main is normally your best second stage, but to be on the safe side you need a second one called an octopus. This second stage is where the pressure surging down the line is reduced to pressure less than about 20PSI, so that you can breath it and not blow your lungs out.

The regulator that I use and love is a Sherwood Maximus. I know and love this regulator. The octupus that I use is a Tusa Duo Air, which is both an octopus and a BC inflator.