US Divers Aquarius reg

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ScoobieDooo

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I have a friend that has an old US Divers steel tank and an Aquarius regulator.

I don't know anything about the Aquarius regs - can anyone enlighten me about them. Do they have any value? Were they any good? Worth rebuilding for say stage or deco bottle use?
 
Old... very old. USD still has parts for them, so you can overhaul them, but if your second stage housing is cracked, then you will be upgrading the entire second stage. (Which, BTW, will happen eventually)

IMO, not worth it.
 
"Aquarius" is a model name used by US Divers since the 70's. There was a recall for Aquarius regulators built in 1976 and 1977.

New, quality regulators can be had cheaply - a second hand regulator is going to be worn, and not be covered by warranty - so you might as well buy a new, modern greymarket regulator for the same money if you're considering secondhand.
 
ScoobieDooo once bubbled...
I have a friend that has an old US Divers steel tank and an Aquarius regulator.

I don't know anything about the Aquarius regs - can anyone enlighten me about them. Do they have any value? Were they any good? Worth rebuilding for say stage or deco bottle use?

1970's design. Unbalanced piston. Very simple to service. 1 moving part, a spring, HP seat and 2 or 3 o-rings. 2 LP and 1 HP port. Can not be upgraded to DIN.

Indestructable.

2nd stage is a standard unbalanced downstream with a big diaphragm. No venturi and a heavy single adjustment. The older ones are all metal and it's a surprising performer considering the age and design. Can shudder in shallow water.

Your main problem using this reg with modern kit is the lack of LP ports. You don't have enough for all your connections let alone if you use a drysuit.

And another problem might be parts. You'd be able to find o-rings but I'm not so sure about the HP seat. You'll have to take it apart and see if you can find something compatible.

And finally it's open to the environment so it's no good in cold water or if you're crawling around in muck.

I don't know about the recall Scubaroo mentioned. You'd need to look into that. To know the age of that particular reg take a look at the serial number on the 2nd stage. The first two digits are the build-year. (for example, 74 = 1974)

The 1st stage would be suitable for use on a decobottle in warm water but the 2nd stage should probably be replaced. The 2nd stage is really only suitable for an octopus and if there's a recall it's more than likely related to the 2nd stage.

Barter a case of beer for it. It's not worth anything more.

Cheers,
R..
 
i have one and i want to use it for a deco bottle and i want to put a gauge on it i have a tusa gauge ant its not the same tread size do you know where i can find an adapter ant the size of the tread ????




Diver0001:
1970's design. Unbalanced piston. Very simple to service. 1 moving part, a spring, HP seat and 2 or 3 o-rings. 2 LP and 1 HP port. Can not be upgraded to DIN.

Indestructable.

2nd stage is a standard unbalanced downstream with a big diaphragm. No venturi and a heavy single adjustment. The older ones are all metal and it's a surprising performer considering the age and design. Can shudder in shallow water.

Your main problem using this reg with modern kit is the lack of LP ports. You don't have enough for all your connections let alone if you use a drysuit.

And another problem might be parts. You'd be able to find o-rings but I'm not so sure about the HP seat. You'll have to take it apart and see if you can find something compatible.

And finally it's open to the environment so it's no good in cold water or if you're crawling around in muck.

I don't know about the recall Scubaroo mentioned. You'd need to look into that. To know the age of that particular reg take a look at the serial number on the 2nd stage. The first two digits are the build-year. (for example, 74 = 1974)

The 1st stage would be suitable for use on a decobottle in warm water but the 2nd stage should probably be replaced. The 2nd stage is really only suitable for an octopus and if there's a recall it's more than likely related to the 2nd stage.

Barter a case of beer for it. It's not worth anything more.

Cheers,
R..
 
4ce:
i have one and i want to use it for a deco bottle and i want to put a gauge on it i have a tusa gauge ant its not the same tread size do you know where i can find an adapter ant the size of the tread ????

Look on ebay for older pressure guages and adapters. And I believe that you can still get the rebuild kits.
 
LUBOLD8431:
Old... very old. USD still has parts for them, so you can overhaul them, but if your second stage housing is cracked, then you will be upgrading the entire second stage. (Which, BTW, will happen eventually)

IMO, not worth it.

Obviously an old post, but I wonder at its veracity. The Aquarius used the standard metal 2nd. I have one on my main XIV reg. It works perfectly fine. Was there a problem with 2nd stage housing cracks?
 

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