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Post by SeaRat on Mar 4, 2018 23:32:06 GMT -8
Well, I was hoping to dive three different Dacor double hose regulators. I now have all three ready for the water. But today the pool was closed for a swim meet. Saying that, I now have a Dacor R-2, the regulator before the R-3 Dacor Dial-A-Breath regulator. This regulator, like the USD DA Aqualung regulator, had the second stage impacting the case, but unlike the DA Aqualung, it impacted at the three-o'clock position from the intake horn, and not the six-o'clock position of the USD competitor. I was pleasantly surprised at the ease of breathing this design had; no, it's not as good as the R-3 Dial-A-Breath, but it was surprisingly good. No Venturi effect though. However, I think the asymmetrical discharge may have contributed to better breathing. That's why I was disappointed to not get it into the water today. I don't know my nexzt chance, but will keep you in the loop.
John
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Post by SeaRat on Mar 13, 2018 14:05:02 GMT -8
Okay, I may have found a new source for the main HP spring in the Dacor regulators. It appears that the spring used for the sonic mechanism of the Scubapro Mk 7 sonic reserve regulator is the same spring that Dacor used for their HP spring. I've got several of these first stages, and I'm going to check on this soon. If so, I may have a new source for a spring that has not been compressed for 50+ years.
John
PS, that did not work. It turns out to be a 1/2 inch spring, and not a 3/4 inch spring. Oh well...
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Post by vance on Mar 14, 2018 8:31:40 GMT -8
Hey John, This is info from Michael I copied from the Snark III sub parts thread: "For the spring, if your II has the same size spring...you'll need a caliper.....measure the free length, the od and id and the wire dia.....go to this website 'AxcessSprings' www.acxesspring.com/compression-spring-calculations.htmland plug your numbers you find into their calculator, hopefully they have one like your's in stock. (They have about a million, billion different types." Phil
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Post by vance on Mar 16, 2018 9:48:12 GMT -8
I just serviced an R-4 and a Clipper C-3. Interesting regs. I didn't like the C-3 AT ALL. Hella hard to breathe off it.
I took it apart, but it was very clean inside, so it wasn't that it had a potato chip diaphragm or anything. I put it back together and slapped a USD hose loop on it to test it. WOW! What a difference.
The original hose loop looks like it's around 1" at the mouthpiece (slightly larger than the Healthways MP) and the tiny non-returns are buried in there. Too bad. It's sorta like they installed a lawnmower carburetor on a V-8. It doesn't work anywhere near its potential with that mouthpiece. WTF?
The R-4s mouthpiece is an improvement, and it works ok, but it's still restricting the regulator a bit. I'm pretty much a convert to the VDH DSV mouthpiece and hoses for actual diving with any double hose regulator. I wish the Hope-Page had a way to close it when surface swimming. Gotta carry a cork, I guess.
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Post by SeaRat on Mar 18, 2018 14:40:52 GMT -8
I just serviced an R-4 and a Clipper C-3. Interesting regs. I didn't like the C-3 AT ALL. Hella hard to breathe off it. I took it apart, but it was very clean inside, so it wasn't that it had a potato chip diaphragm or anything. I put it back together and slapped a USD hose loop on it to test it. WOW! What a difference. The original hose loop looks like it's around 1" at the mouthpiece (slightly larger than the Healthways MP) and the tiny non-returns are buried in there. Too bad. It's sorta like they installed a lawnmower carburetor on a V-8. It doesn't work anywhere near its potential with that mouthpiece. WTF? The R-4s mouthpiece is an improvement, and it works ok, but it's still restricting the regulator a bit. I'm pretty much a convert to the VDH DSV mouthpiece and hoses for actual diving with any double hose regulator. I wish the Hope-Page had a way to close it when surface swimming. Gotta carry a cork, I guess. Vance, Yes, the hose/mouthpiece system on the Dacor double hose regulators was bad, and you can say it "sucked," as the suction effort was much greater than a USD system, or Voit. The early mouthpieces, except for Voit and USD, were almost universally undersized. The Healthways, once they got rid of the Hope-Page mouthpiece, were very much undersized, and the only way I could get them to work was to carve out with my pocket knife the wagon wheel on each side. Then, it would breathe well. The Nemrod was only a bit better, and I got that to breathe well by simply removing the wagon wheel non-return on the inhalation side. Dacor was somewhere in the middle once they went to the C-3, C-4 and R-4 regulators, with a re-designed mouthpiece. But their non-returns seemed to stick, and I finally got mine to work by really working on the rubber with silicone grease. I have the R-2, R-3 and R-4 regulators, now in dive-able shape (right to left: Note that the R-2, without "Dial-a-Breath" features, and with the intake hitting the case at the three-o'clock position, actually breathes pretty well. I'm wondering whether with that positioning they created somewhat of a flow by having the two streams coming in asymmetrically? I won't let anyone but myself use this regulator, as the hoses are literally on by duct tape. I'm using a USD hose on the intake, and have expanded the mouthpiece with duct tape, and the exhaust hose is a non-diving hose that I got off E-Bay with too large an opening for the case, so the case has been expanded with duct tape. It passes a pull test, but I won't let others try to use this regulator. The reason is that both the original hoses had become hard, and the last hose developed two large cracks in it. Dacor did not use a long-lasting rubber compound for their hoses. The R-3 Dial-a-Breath and the R-4 both have some venturi, with the Dial-a-Breath feature allowing it to be trimmed down if necessary. I have tried to get it back to original, but (as mentioned previously) think I need to replace the spring with a new one to get the original interstage pressure up higher. I have Voit and USD hoses on them now. The R-4 is actually a C-3 Clipper with the double diaphragm added, and it can be converted back to a Clipper. The double diaphragm limited the exhaust values as it provides a lot of resistance to flow due to the 90 degree angle of the exhaust out the diaphragm rather than directly out a duckbill. John
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Post by SeaRat on Apr 15, 2018 16:10:53 GMT -8
Okay, I had all three of these regulators (the R-2, R-3 Dial-a-Breath), and the R-4 (converted Dacor Clipper) in the water today. The R-2, Dacor's first double hose, double diaphragm regulator, is not a very good breathing regulator. It allowed me to be underwater, but the breathing resistance was noticable. The R-3, Dial-a-Breath, was better, more comfortable, but not great. The only regulator I would be comfortable diving in the river under heavy current conditions is the R-4, converted Clipper.
John.
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Post by vance on Sept 23, 2018 12:23:02 GMT -8
So, I just bought an unusual Dacor C-2 Clipper on eBay. Haven't got it yet. Someone has been busy drilling LP ports! I bought it pretty much because of the mods: Looking at my other Dacor DHers, it appears to be easy enough. I wonder how many got this treatment? Has anyone seen this or done it?
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Post by nikeajax on Sept 23, 2018 12:48:58 GMT -8
Phil, I have thought about this mod for my C3's: please let me know how well it works: I may try it too.
JB
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Post by vance on Sept 23, 2018 14:07:13 GMT -8
Will do, JB. I'm kind of wondering if the two unplugged drillings shown in the pic were botched or not finished (tapped into the LP). There is one with a plug, two open, and two more at the bottom that have a second stage and a bc inflator screwed in. Time will tell!
I also scored an IST single hose second stage that is on the C-2 as a safe second. It appears to be a rebranded Sportsways plastic Waterlung. Here's hoping it has a good diaphragm! This model has a two part cover and a special diaphragm that has to fit exactly so you can get the clamp on. I have another that looks exactly like it that I just can't find a diaphragm that will work! I'll pull the Waterlung and sub-in a Dacor second on the C-2, natch!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2018 17:36:20 GMT -8
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Post by vance on Sept 24, 2018 7:56:13 GMT -8
You can see the passage drilled into the LP valve body hole in the main body in Howard's picture. I'm pretty sure the holes on the modded reg tap into the center the same way (avoiding the screw holes). PM sent Howard!
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Post by vance on Sept 24, 2018 8:35:51 GMT -8
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Post by nikeajax on Sept 24, 2018 9:11:29 GMT -8
Phil, I think, what you have on the bottom is either an R4, or C3-N: it is definitely a much later model as denoted by the vane. When I looked at Charlies C3-N (N stands for New so I've been told) I saw that it was basically an R4 with a duckbill: anyway, that's what my sleep deprived brain believes it remembers JB
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2018 9:17:34 GMT -8
I just inherited a set of Dacor repair manuals from a closed local shop. Always wondered about that C3-N model and how it differed fro m the rest and now I know. I suppose all of the models from R1 thru the C3 N will work just fine with a single diaphragm and a duckbill ?
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Post by vance on Sept 24, 2018 9:43:50 GMT -8
JB, didn't Charlie, you, and I figure out the C-3N was balanced from looking at his manuals?
Edit: There was a C-3NB (balanced) that was listed in Dacor's catalogs for some time, but there's no known example of one in the wild. That must be what we saw.
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