DGX Oxygen Valves

The most common technical objections to the use of ordinary SCUBA valves with pure oxygen are: (1) too rapid a speed of opening and (2) chrome plating of the surfaces in contact with high pressure oxygen that are subject to friction or impact, plus (3) improper lubrication. The DGX Premium O2 valves are designed to answer these specific objections, but are otherwise similar to our DGX Premium Nitrox Ready Valves.

DGX Premium O2 Valves are oxygen clean, using oxygen compatible materials, lubrication free, and when sealed in the original factory packaging are also free of organic and particle contamination. The DGX Premium O2 valve seat & plug assembly has finer threads, making the initial opening action of the valve more gradual and requiring several more turns to fully open than the standard SCUBA valve. The DGX Premium O2 Valves are a copper metal alloy body with inlet and outlet threads, modular port threads and port plug, seat & plug assembly, dip tube, burst disk assembly and optional DIN-to-Yoke screw-in adapters that are not chrome plated. Just to be clear, all the SCUBA tank valves sold by Dive Gear Express incorporate oxygen compatible materials including fluorocarbon elastomers & seats and are oxygen cleaned by the factory; the DGX Premium O2 Valves are not any more so in those characteristics than our DGX Premium Nitrox Ready Valves. Finally, the Nitrox Ready valves have a minimal amount of oxygen compatible lubricant and the O2 valves have NO lubricant.

We want to properly set your expectations: The inlet and outlet on the DGX Premium O2 valves are oxygen clean copper metal alloy (aka "brass") which exhibit some discoloration that is NOT aesthetically pleasing as electroplated chrome finishes typical of other SCUBA valves. If you consider the cosmetics to be important, and maximum compatibility with pure oxygen is less of a concern, then we recommend choosing our DGX Premium Nitrox Ready Valves over the DGX Premium O2 Valves.

Can I use the DGX Premium O2 valves with pure oxygen? Yes and no; this simple question has a complex answer because there is no widely recognized scuba diving standard for what constitutes suitability for oxygen service. The reason why we can't give you a simple unqualified "YES" is related to the associated risks when the circumstances of use are completely outside our control. To dive using oxygen requires you to make an informed decision to accept for yourself the risks of handing the oxygen. For more information please read About Oxygen Disclaimers.