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I have a love/hate relationship with these regs. They look great, they're supposed to breathe great. The parts can be hard to come by. All the ones I come across need a new poppet and 90% need a diaphragm cover.
My latest 109 arrived, not surprisingly, with the top-hat poppet. Since I don't want to pay $30 for a new duro poppet of ebay and I don't have a source for them I was determined to make this old top hat work. I couldn't get it to come off easily, so I soaked the black "rubber" part in boiling water and then gently pried it off. Turns out the top hat part is made from rubber coated brass or copper. See pictures below. These were taken after I burned the rubber off the metal. I don't recall anyone posting about this before.
It seems to me that the hockey-puck seats ought to just glue right on the nice flat surface and the assembly go back over the plastic poppet, maybe with a little glue.
On the diaphragm cover, what about a thin coating of shoe goo to hold it together until Bryan repos them?
Might work for a temporary patch but you are probably just delaying the inevitable. Yes, $30 for a duro poppet is too much. I don't believe I have ever paid more than $10. Keep looking for better prices. And stock up on enough 109s and parts that a temporary parts supply problem does not effect your diving.
I measured the OD of the brass (not copper) seat holder. It is .254". If I can find the right size brass tubing (or maybe a spent .25 cal shell) I think I could solder it on. If I cut the tubing with tubing cutters, there will be a crimp that could be used as an additional holder for the lp seat. Between glue and the crimp, it might work. I wouldn't want to rely on it seriously, but its kind of an interesting DIY idea.
Thanks for the info on the diaphragm cover. I thought they were no longer produced.
I have a love/hate relationship with these regs. They look great, they're supposed to breathe great. The parts can be hard to come by. All the ones I come across need a new poppet and 90% need a diaphragm cover.
I'll probably get strung up for saying this but I'm starting to realize "One-O-Nine means Nickel-and-Dime". Many of the ones I have purchased used needed a significant expenditure on parts to be brought back to tip top shape. Even if it looks good from the outside if it needs a poppet and lever you're looking at a minimum of about $25 in parts and who knows how much time searching for them. The 109's that have been serviced within the last 10-15 years are a different story and seem to work well with only a minimal expenditure of time and money, but you never know what is going show up in the ebay box.
On the other hand, every metal USD 2nd I have messed with worked very well with nothing more that a little silicone grease and a flipped seat. Total cost about a half cent and no time spent searching the net for a duro poppet priced under $30.
I'll probably get strung up for saying this but I'm starting to realize "One-O-Nine means Nickel-and-Dime". Many of the ones I have purchased used needed a significant expenditure on parts to be brought back to tip top shape. Even if it looks good from the outside if it needs a poppet and lever you're looking at a minimum of about $25 in parts and who knows how much time searching for them. The 109's that have been serviced within the last 10-15 years are a different story and seem to work well with only a minimal expenditure of time and money, but you never know what is going show up in the ebay box.
On the other hand, every metal USD 2nd I have messed with worked very well with nothing more that a little silicone grease and a flipped seat. Total cost about a half cent and no time spent searching the net for a duro poppet priced under $30.
While I agree that the 109 is not the ideal regulator for those whose primary motivation is saving money and time, I do think the time and money are well spent. Someone here once expressed the DIY philosophy that I follow very eloquently "do it yourself even if it costs twice as much" (sorry don't remember who said it). My primary regulator is a BA with new G250 poppet that I converted to the 109 look because it just looks cooler in my opinion. All done with Ebay parts and total investment about $100 and time spent. I realize that it's all personal preference, but in my opinion you couldn't find a finer regulator for $100.
I measured the OD of the brass (not copper) seat holder. It is .254". If I can find the right size brass tubing (or maybe a spent .25 cal shell) I think I could solder it on. If I cut the tubing with tubing cutters, there will be a crimp that could be used as an additional holder for the lp seat. Between glue and the crimp, it might work. I wouldn't want to rely on it seriously, but its kind of an interesting DIY idea.
Thanks for the info on the diaphragm cover. I thought they were no longer produced.
Before you start to modify your poppet you should try and get a precise measurement of the overall length so that you can replicate it. I have found in my poppet experiments with the BA poppet that a few thousandths of an inch make a huge difference in lever height and adjustment range. You may need to fabricate an entirely new head for the poppet if removing material to get the proper length results in the head coming off as in couv's experience.
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Originally Posted by jacked_72
