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Vintage Equipment DivingPre-1980 "Vintage" SCUBA Gear, including Double Hose Regulators, Conshelfs, Voit, Aquamaster, Horsecollar BC's and other classic pieces of gear. Sea Hunt, Jacques Cousteau and the early history of this great sport.
One reason they may have gone out of fashion was maybe some maintainance issues. For example the duckbill valve inside the reg got to be an issue. The rubber would get a bit sticky , etc and casued a bit of trouble. There are new silicone valves available now that eliminate this problem. With folks like Vintage Double Hose making silicone parts for them it makes things much simpler.
The duckbill valves did get sticky when they got really old, and even when new the first exhalation can be a hard one as each sides adheres to the other when they dry. But with new ones available it is not an issue.
The mushroom valves tended to get crispy as well and this is one area where new silicone valves are nice to have. New silicone diaphragms are available (making the stock of new- old stock originals I have worth a lot less than they were worth before). and they result in a lower
inhalation effort as they are more flexible.
Personally, in terms of strictly vintage regs, I prefer my single stage Mistral (pictured in y old pre-toast avtar) over my two stage DA Aquamaster and even my two stage balanced Royal Aquamaster. It breathes exceptionally well and breathes even better as tank pressure drops due to the unbalanced diapgragm design.
For real world non vintage diving I like using a DA Aquamaster that I updated to a Phoenix Royal Aquamaster (PRAM) as it allows the use of modern LP accessories as well as an SPG without having to use a banjo fitting.
Unfortunately I have not really figured out how to use it with a long hose secondary and the double hose reg does not lend itself well to the current techical diving convention of a long hose primary with a bungeed secondary for OC technical diving. You are in effect configured much more like a rebreather diver when using a double hose reg and that can make OC technical buddies nervous.
On the other hand for that very reason a double hose reg would make an excellent rebreather simulator letting the diver get used to the hose configuration and related procedures before having to learn how tro fly the rebreather itself.
What I would like to see however is a new mouthpiece incorporating a shut off valve to prevent a freeflow under water, or more practically on the surface if you are vertical or on your back.
Some one mentioned on this thread or the other that metal wagon wheels would be nice to weight the mouthpiece. I have never found that to be neccesary - except with Aqualungs recent Mistral disaster of a reg where they used larger diameter and very floaty rebreather hoses. With vintage designs the hoses are floaty but just enough to keep the mouthpiece in place with no real need to bite down on it.
My PRAM started as a 1958 DA Aquamaster and was undapted in 2007 with Luis's Phoenix Nozzle (serial number 136), rechroming by Sir Chrome A Lot, custom PRAM labels, new hoses, new mouthpiece, new duckbill valve, a new shiny chrome clamp to replace the original box clips, silicone diaphragm, silicone mushroom valves and a new DA Aquamster rebuild kit making it basically a new reg.
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Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but rather by the number of moments that take your breath away.
Last edited by DA Aquamaster; December 4th, 2008 at 08:37 AM..
The long hose just does not work because the long hose is trapped under the double hose and in this case you are not swapping, unless, instead of wrapping it around your neck, you instead stuff it back to the tank under a bungee old cave style on the tank and then route the "secondary" up to the neck area and bungee as usual. Of course, you could always get new buddies. N
Thanks for that! Wow, I'm sold! No bubbles (well, not right in my face) and moist air. Sign me up!
Why did they go out of fashion? I'd definitely buy one if a modern version was released. Only thing putting me off an old one is that I'm relatively new to diving and wouldn't know where to start with 2nd hand gear.
I guess I prefer the minimalist approach rather than vinage. I'd dive vintage gear for the fact that I can take less stuff with me, not just because it's old and different. I own modern equipment myself for availability and serviceability.
In my (non-student-income) dream world I'd dive with just a backplate, tank and sounds like a double hose reg and AI wrist computer.
Spimon,
I started out minimalist as well. I think as you get into vintage diving, you really learn to appreciate the history of our sport, then you sort of just acquire things. The shop I work at requires that you wear shop gear for any official training I help with, and other than that I find that my fancy new Atomic regs, highspeed backplate and wings, etc. all usually sit in my closet unless I am required to wear them. There are actually some really top notch places that service vintage regulators.
Check out Vintage Double Hose if you want to see some awesome, serviceable double hoses.
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NAVED Master Diver #188
Quote:
Originally Posted by elmer fudd
Second, the prices should be competitive. They don't have to beat the cheapest prices I can find online, but I don't want to feel like I spent a night in jail sleeping next to Bubba when I compare what I spent at your shop to the price at Scubatoys or some other online retailer.
I started with a Scubapro Buoyancy Control pack (a mid 70's version of a backplate and wing) and a Mk 3 High Performance single hose reg wth no SPG or octo everything fit in a small gym bag. It was a very clean and well suited to diving in the fairly shallow water (less than 30') but strong currents below a hydro electric power plant.
I still enjoy diving with the very clean configuration offerred by just a double hose reg and a horse collar BC or small wing without all the extras. Most divers never know what it is like to slip through the water with a truly minimalist configuration.
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Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but rather by the number of moments that take your breath away.
Oops, apologies to the OP. I kinda turned this into a 'whats a double hose?' thread.
Thanks for all the explaining from everyone!
To answer the question...Yes, I'd definitely be interested in a modern double hose, as long as its compatible with other modern devices. Would only consider it if I can plug in my SPG (and an alternate air source would be nice). Power inflator would be a nice option, but it wouldn't put me off altogether if it wasn't compatible.
Oops, apologies to the OP. I kinda turned this into a 'whats a double hose?' thread.
Thanks for all the explaining from everyone!
To answer the question...Yes, I'd definitely be interested in a modern double hose, as long as its compatible with other modern devices. Would only consider it if I can plug in my SPG (and an alternate air source would be nice). Power inflator would be a nice option, but it wouldn't put me off altogether if it wasn't compatible.
I don't know why people think that a "modern" double hose regulator would be one with a LP and HP outlet? Here's a photo of me in the water with a Dacor Nautilus and a Sportsways Hydro Twin regulator:
This regulator came out in the 1960s, and had a balanced first stage, downstream second stage, and both LP and HP ports. It had an ill-designed hose/mouthpiece system, but putting a modified mouthpiece on it (like the Healthways that had the non-returns removed, as in the photo) solved that problem. But it seems that because US Divers Co. continued to make Aquamasters and Mistrals without these features, that this must be "vintage" and LP and HP ports must be "modern." Not so. My AMF Voit Trieste II has all these features, and I bought it in the mid-1970s.
SeaRat
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I've been called an "old Coot." Well, that would be the American Coot (Fulica americana ) or mud-hen, and I've done my share of mucking around in low visibility, so it applies. But, you're never too old to learn something new.
John, that's good info. Are there parts around to make those regs maintainable?
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NAVED Master Diver #188
Quote:
Originally Posted by elmer fudd
Second, the prices should be competitive. They don't have to beat the cheapest prices I can find online, but I don't want to feel like I spent a night in jail sleeping next to Bubba when I compare what I spent at your shop to the price at Scubatoys or some other online retailer.
I don't think people think that LP/HP ports distinguish a modern regulator but only that it is a requirment of one along with several other features often discussed should there ever be an attempt at a modern double hose again. One of those other features would be a yoke/DIN conversion kit which designs like the Trieste were despite their LP/HP ports a step backward with the integrated yoke design.
Linear Mode
