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Post by SeaRat on Apr 12, 2010 20:12:15 GMT -8
I have just put together a hybrid regulator, one that never existed by the manufacturer. What is it? It's a Healthways Deluxe Scuba regulator. Here is a photo of my Healthways Gold-label Scuba:  And here is a photo of my old Healthways Scuba:  So I combined the original boxes with the third generation ejector body, and had a new regulator.  Why do this? Well, the original Healthways Scuba has a much lower profile, and in my opinion is a better-looking regulator. I can mount it lower on a single tank, because the backpack will slide higher past the regulator, allowing it to be lower on my back. So there you have it, a hybrid regulator.  This is a "prettier" regulator than the second- and third-generation Healthways Scuba regulators! Maybe I'm a bit prejudiced, but that is because this was my first regulator in 1959. Now, it breathes even better. I actually have one other too, an AMF Voit Fifty-fathom body inside a USD Mistral set of boxes. It looks just like a Mistral, but it breathes much, much differently--better in fact. Does anyone out there have another example of a hybrid regulator, one that you've put together that was never in a manufacturer's catalog? John |
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Post by duckbill on Apr 12, 2010 22:39:23 GMT -8
John, how did you rig the exhaust at the can? I have one of these, but I'm not sure how it is supposed to be, even with the diagrams and explanations. I understand the diaphragm against the end of the tube, but not the "rubber band" around the holes in the tube. Why is that even necessary? I'm sure you found some great way to jury rig it so it works like it should.
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Post by nikeajax on Apr 13, 2010 14:49:05 GMT -8
That's our John, showin' off again; just watch, next time he'll make it fly too!
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Post by SeaRat on Apr 13, 2010 19:57:26 GMT -8
John, how did you rig the exhaust at the can? I have one of these, but I'm not sure how it is supposed to be, even with the diagrams and explanations. I understand the diaphragm against the end of the tube, but not the "rubber band" around the holes in the tube. Why is that even necessary? I'm sure you found some great way to jury rig it so it works like it should. Duckbill, This is a bit of a problem, and it was to Healthways too. Healthway's problem was the US Divers patent on the exhaust system for double hose regulators. This first Healthways Scuba was an attempt to get around the USD patent with a unique exhaust system. So what they did was to put together a system where the exhaust tube was blocked by the flexible membrane from the case. Slightly higher pressure in the case closes the exhaust tube. The holes in that tube, with a rubber cover (rubber band) was a backup in case the exhaust diaphragm were to stick to the end of the tube. But Healthways made it too thick, and it never did really provide the block to the end of the tube that was envisioned. So I took it off, and substituted a very flexible latex sheet (actually part of a latex clean room glove), which is what you see in the photo above. This actually did block the end of the tube very well--almost. When it worked, it worked very well. It was a very easy exhaling regulator. But, and this is a big "but," in one position (left-side down, with the exhaust tube pointed down), there was no blockage, air leaked out and water replaced the air. This made for a very hard exhale (blowing out about 4 inches of water) from some positions. This was the "unbalanced" exhaust that Fred Roberts discusses in his text. What did Healthways do? They put a small duckbill into the exhaust tube. I saw one on E-Bay just a few weeks ago. Iw was like the one I had as a kid, with the small duckbill inside the tube, and held in by a C-clip. So what can we now do? We can add a small duckbill into the exhaust chamber. I don't recommend the latex cover either--it leaked water into the case for me, and was simply an experiment to see whether that concept could work. But adding the small duckbill could work; it needs to be trimmed to be within the chamber though. John |
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Post by duckbill on Apr 13, 2010 20:26:40 GMT -8
O.K. so that's latex glove material I see. Maybe the exhaust would work better (not leak water) if a stiffer material was used, like the original neoprene? When you use the duckbill, what do you use in place of the latex to keep water from leaking into the case?
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Post by SeaRat on Apr 14, 2010 6:12:07 GMT -8
Duckbill,
I use the original cover of neoprene to complement the duckbill, just as Healthways did in the original version. It has always had the duckbill, but it was a much smaller version than the USD version. The original one is stiff enough that it does not seal well, hence the need for the duckbill--that and the one position problem.
John
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Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2010 15:58:38 GMT -8
John
This is the first time I have seen the inside of a healthways DH......and I have a question........if the exhaust exit is in the same chamber as the intake.......how did the exhaust make it out of the reg?
Mossback
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Post by nikeajax on Apr 14, 2010 17:51:53 GMT -8
Um, how did you get an SPG on there; can I do that for my Scuba Deluxe?
Jaybird
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Post by SeaRat on Apr 14, 2010 20:54:18 GMT -8
Um, how did you get an SPG on there; can I do that for my Scuba Deluxe? Jaybird Jaybird, This is what a number of us did before the Mossback Mk III and Pheonix came out--we used the Sherwood valve with two posts, and put a single hose regulator on the other post. We ran the SPG from the single hose regulator:  John |
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Post by SeaRat on Apr 14, 2010 21:08:20 GMT -8
Mossback, Here is a different view, exploded, which may explain it better:  The chamber is open to ambient water in the back, and the flexible membrane is supposed to cover the exhaust tube, blocking it between breaths by the slightly higher pressure from the regulator housing. In reality, it didn't work too well (see above). Tonight I successfully fitted a USD duckbill into the Healthways Scuba original housing by cutting it down a bit longitudinally (not on the end), and cutting it off at the square part (as they come from Dan). This will work well for the Healthways Scuba hybrid. I can mount it much lower on my back because I can raise the backpack higher onto the tank. The original Healthways Scuba has a much lower profile (is not as "fat"). This modification should be worth about 1-2 inches of suction pressure, by getting the regulator closer to my lungs on a single tank mount. John |
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Post by SeaRat on Apr 15, 2010 22:04:04 GMT -8
I just thought of another hybrid regulator I have made--a modified Mistral. What did I do? Well, I had an old DA Aqualung, that's right, a BroXton (I still have it). I took the bottom can off the BroXton, and put it on the Mistral. Why? Well, that was in a time where the duckbills were expensive and rare (before Dan came around with VSS). The DA Aqualung had the detachable exhaust horn, which worked very well with old, worn-out duckbills. I was able to salvage several duckbills which had worn through at the top, and put them onto the BroXton horn. They wore much better there than in the Mistral can. I still like that first bottom box better than the ones which came afterward. They were more expensive to make, and had more parts, but functioned very, very well--and still do. BroXton Chuck, when he heard about this, was anguished...how could I desecrate the best regulator ever made...  John |
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Post by Voice of Gomez on Apr 16, 2010 3:25:43 GMT -8
Kowabunga!
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Post by SeaRat on May 13, 2010 22:28:32 GMT -8
Last weekend I had my hybrid Healthways Scuba regulator in the water, and it worked well. I then took out the exhaust valve. It was the duckbill that I had put in, and it was an old one. It seemed that with the duckbill in the old Healthways Scuba case (first generation, with the flexible diaphragm inside the case covering the exhaust tube) there was a bit of water getting into the exhaust tube just when I was in a left-side down attitude. So I took that duckbill out, and dove it a second time without the duckbill. That was the original design, to which Healthways added a duckbill because of an exhaust balance problem. Well, I like it better without the duckbill; it breaths very easily (third generation ejector tube inside for inhalation, and no duckbill creating excess exhaust effort too). So I don't plan on using the duckbill now. I'll simply dive it in its original configuration, and let either be exhaling when head-down or on my left side, or let a bit of water into the exhaust tube. The silicone non-returns in the Hope-Page mouthpiece work extremely well.
John
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