reefrat
Contributor
This is probably not really a vintage scuba post but I am hoping you guys will be cool with that.
I had looking for an all metal second stage with a nice wide exhaust tee and good breathing performance for a while and after much perusing the SB forums it looked like a rebuilt BA SP R109 or R156 would fit the bill nicely. Some PM's and phone calls to "Couv" here in Houston Texas resulted in an absolutely "as new" Balanced Adjustable second stage coming into my possession.
Now I don't want to start a rush on Couv, but let me say that I am VERY impressed! This thing does not look like it has ever seen water, the chrome is immaculate, the "Balanced Adjustable" etching is perfect and all components look like they came out of the factory yesterday. In fact many of the functional components are brand new and shared with current high performance Scubapro second stages, this is one of the aspects that attracted me to this model.
On arrival at Couv's home he proceeded to give me a run-down on how the stage is assemble and how to tune it. It is obvious that he is both knowledgeable and passionate about these regs, and frankly I can see why now! The quality of manufacture is immediately apparent and it also makes me wonder why more "modern" regs incorporate parts for functions like lever height adjustment, when this is really not necessary if things fit together properly in the first place?
Also looking at the internals, the balanced valve directs gas at an angle toward the mouthpiece tube and neatly meets the upper aspect of the tube in such a way to generate a subtle venturi effect, no need for adjustable vanes or automatic gizmos- just good, sound and minimalist design.
I hooked the R156 up with a miflex hose to an Atomic (B2) first stage because, being a revamped old school SP design, it seemed like an appropriate choice. the secondary was a Hog D1 but I will probably change the soon to a SP R395 that I have laying around. IP was right on 135 PSI, cracking pressure was a smidge over 1" H2O and a quick pool test revealed everything working as it should. A new type 1 "high flow" Seacure mouthpiece was fitted and mated perfectly with the mouthpiece tube.
Two days later the misses and I were in Cozumel and over the following 6 days we did 10 leisurely dives with maximum depths of 50 to 100 ft, mostly using Nitrox 32%.
This is a GREAT second stage!!!
It is by far the smoothest and most natural breathing I have experienced underwater and I am certainly no expert but have dove a wide range of regs over the last 30 years. There is just enough venturi effect that it is apparent when inhaling rapidly but no sensation of being force fed gas!
An advantage of the metal body is that inhaled gas was always "moist", in fact the balmy tropical water temperature resulted in a sensation that I found similar to breathing off a rebreather loop at times.
I think it is worth noting that the purge is VERY forceful, a bit like some Poseidon regs and it should be used gently while the reg is in the mouth!
The metal body does add a little weight but I honestly never noticed it in the water, and the Seacure mouthpiece probably played a part here.
There were however occasions when a "moist" breath turned to a little "wet". This occurred usually in a slight head down orientation with my face turned to the side (photographing critters under ledges!) or when my face was side on to the typical Cozumel current. I suspect the the exhaust valve was letting a little water in and maybe this is due in part to the older style exhaust tee no having an internal baffle? It was a very minor issue and did not detract from the overall quality of the breathe, unlike some other regs I've used- for example the Oceanic Omega 3! One last point on the exhaust tee, it is very effective at diverting bubbles and I barely saw a bubble in front of my mask the whole vacation. The difference between this and a typical reg became immediately apparent when I changed to my secondary and a screen of exhaust bubbles instantly obscured my vision- wow!
In summary:
As I said previously, this is a GREAT second stage!!
It gives up nothing in terms of breathing performance to any current regulator on the market, eliminates dry mouth and does it with a style and panache that is very endearing.
Are there any cons? Well yes actually- It is just too shiny and pretty! No matter how careful I was handling the gear I am ashamed to say it now has some minor marks on the body; and I guess I'm just going to have to learn to deal with the on-going blemishes because this is now my primary and I don't see any reason to use anything else in future.
P.S. I think I better pick up another one on Ebay soon for for a back-up, just one!
I had looking for an all metal second stage with a nice wide exhaust tee and good breathing performance for a while and after much perusing the SB forums it looked like a rebuilt BA SP R109 or R156 would fit the bill nicely. Some PM's and phone calls to "Couv" here in Houston Texas resulted in an absolutely "as new" Balanced Adjustable second stage coming into my possession.
Now I don't want to start a rush on Couv, but let me say that I am VERY impressed! This thing does not look like it has ever seen water, the chrome is immaculate, the "Balanced Adjustable" etching is perfect and all components look like they came out of the factory yesterday. In fact many of the functional components are brand new and shared with current high performance Scubapro second stages, this is one of the aspects that attracted me to this model.
On arrival at Couv's home he proceeded to give me a run-down on how the stage is assemble and how to tune it. It is obvious that he is both knowledgeable and passionate about these regs, and frankly I can see why now! The quality of manufacture is immediately apparent and it also makes me wonder why more "modern" regs incorporate parts for functions like lever height adjustment, when this is really not necessary if things fit together properly in the first place?
Also looking at the internals, the balanced valve directs gas at an angle toward the mouthpiece tube and neatly meets the upper aspect of the tube in such a way to generate a subtle venturi effect, no need for adjustable vanes or automatic gizmos- just good, sound and minimalist design.
I hooked the R156 up with a miflex hose to an Atomic (B2) first stage because, being a revamped old school SP design, it seemed like an appropriate choice. the secondary was a Hog D1 but I will probably change the soon to a SP R395 that I have laying around. IP was right on 135 PSI, cracking pressure was a smidge over 1" H2O and a quick pool test revealed everything working as it should. A new type 1 "high flow" Seacure mouthpiece was fitted and mated perfectly with the mouthpiece tube.
Two days later the misses and I were in Cozumel and over the following 6 days we did 10 leisurely dives with maximum depths of 50 to 100 ft, mostly using Nitrox 32%.
This is a GREAT second stage!!!
It is by far the smoothest and most natural breathing I have experienced underwater and I am certainly no expert but have dove a wide range of regs over the last 30 years. There is just enough venturi effect that it is apparent when inhaling rapidly but no sensation of being force fed gas!
An advantage of the metal body is that inhaled gas was always "moist", in fact the balmy tropical water temperature resulted in a sensation that I found similar to breathing off a rebreather loop at times.
I think it is worth noting that the purge is VERY forceful, a bit like some Poseidon regs and it should be used gently while the reg is in the mouth!
The metal body does add a little weight but I honestly never noticed it in the water, and the Seacure mouthpiece probably played a part here.
There were however occasions when a "moist" breath turned to a little "wet". This occurred usually in a slight head down orientation with my face turned to the side (photographing critters under ledges!) or when my face was side on to the typical Cozumel current. I suspect the the exhaust valve was letting a little water in and maybe this is due in part to the older style exhaust tee no having an internal baffle? It was a very minor issue and did not detract from the overall quality of the breathe, unlike some other regs I've used- for example the Oceanic Omega 3! One last point on the exhaust tee, it is very effective at diverting bubbles and I barely saw a bubble in front of my mask the whole vacation. The difference between this and a typical reg became immediately apparent when I changed to my secondary and a screen of exhaust bubbles instantly obscured my vision- wow!
In summary:
As I said previously, this is a GREAT second stage!!
It gives up nothing in terms of breathing performance to any current regulator on the market, eliminates dry mouth and does it with a style and panache that is very endearing.
Are there any cons? Well yes actually- It is just too shiny and pretty! No matter how careful I was handling the gear I am ashamed to say it now has some minor marks on the body; and I guess I'm just going to have to learn to deal with the on-going blemishes because this is now my primary and I don't see any reason to use anything else in future.
P.S. I think I better pick up another one on Ebay soon for for a back-up, just one!
None are shiny some are a little green.
