Post by luis on Nov 22, 2007 11:24:15 GMT -8
Phoenix Mod-II
Back at Sand Dog IV I showed Bryan and a few others my drawing for a slightly improved Phoenix nozzle…the Mod-II. I am personally very pleased with the way the original Phoenix turned out, both from my personal experience with it and the feedback that we have received, but like with most things, there is normally some room for improvement.
Based on the feedback that we have received there has been one improvement that some divers would like to see. If it was possible to make it shorter it could fit more back packs or back plates. Well the best I can reasonably squeeze is a 1/10 inch shorter. This may not sound like much, but I hope it is enough to make a difference to some.
The limiting factor is the space needed for the ports. Just to achieve this size reduction I had to add an undercut at the end of the 7/8” threads. It is very expensive and almost impossible to cut threads right up to a flat surface. The undercut allows cutting the threads and having a run off for the cutting tool.
Another minor improvement is the enlargement of the air passages and angling them to avoid two 90 degree turns in the air flow. The idea is to reduce IP fluctuations during the breathing cycle. How significant is this improvement is hard to tell.
I had the prototype Phoenix modified and tried testing it, but I don’t have the equipment to consistently apply a repeatable flow rate. Therefore my results were inconclusive. I would need a flow meter like the one here: www.scubatools.com/Lab.html , (part number 26-250-025), in order to be able to get better test data.
At this point I am seeing a bigger bottle neck to the air flow in the regulator main body, but I am just making sure to minimize in any way possible the flow resistance in the Phoenix first stage. Any performance improvement will be small, but there is just not much room for improving the performance of a well tuned Royal Aqua Master.
Below are drawings of the Phoenix Mod-II and the original Phoenix.
Phoenix Mod-II
Original Phoenix (notice drawing doesn't mention the Phoenix name... it didn't have a name at first)
The Phoenix Mod-II are now available for pre-purchase.
Back at Sand Dog IV I showed Bryan and a few others my drawing for a slightly improved Phoenix nozzle…the Mod-II. I am personally very pleased with the way the original Phoenix turned out, both from my personal experience with it and the feedback that we have received, but like with most things, there is normally some room for improvement.
Based on the feedback that we have received there has been one improvement that some divers would like to see. If it was possible to make it shorter it could fit more back packs or back plates. Well the best I can reasonably squeeze is a 1/10 inch shorter. This may not sound like much, but I hope it is enough to make a difference to some.
The limiting factor is the space needed for the ports. Just to achieve this size reduction I had to add an undercut at the end of the 7/8” threads. It is very expensive and almost impossible to cut threads right up to a flat surface. The undercut allows cutting the threads and having a run off for the cutting tool.
Another minor improvement is the enlargement of the air passages and angling them to avoid two 90 degree turns in the air flow. The idea is to reduce IP fluctuations during the breathing cycle. How significant is this improvement is hard to tell.
I had the prototype Phoenix modified and tried testing it, but I don’t have the equipment to consistently apply a repeatable flow rate. Therefore my results were inconclusive. I would need a flow meter like the one here: www.scubatools.com/Lab.html , (part number 26-250-025), in order to be able to get better test data.
At this point I am seeing a bigger bottle neck to the air flow in the regulator main body, but I am just making sure to minimize in any way possible the flow resistance in the Phoenix first stage. Any performance improvement will be small, but there is just not much room for improving the performance of a well tuned Royal Aqua Master.
Below are drawings of the Phoenix Mod-II and the original Phoenix.
Phoenix Mod-II
Original Phoenix (notice drawing doesn't mention the Phoenix name... it didn't have a name at first)
The Phoenix Mod-II are now available for pre-purchase.
