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Post by vance on Dec 29, 2019 10:46:39 GMT -8
The DivAir is coming along well.
I got the holes fixed and the rim and flange shaped pretty nicely so the cover fits perfectly. The exhaust channel is smoothed out where the plastic was all melted and rough. I'm now working on building up the mount for the reserve mechanism.
I'll need to find some hardware for it since most of the screws in it are incorrect, rusty, or brutalized. The plastic tubing over the cover screws had to be heated to get the stuff off, and it shrank up badly. So, that will need to be replaced with something, probably more plastic tubing. The tubing keeps the diaphragm from being abraded by the long screws. Maybe I'll use heat shrink tubing?
I'm not sure if I'll paint it or leave it showing its war wounds. I might glue some small stainless plates on over the cover screw holes for strength. Jeff is making me a new diaphragm for it, so it should be ready to pool test sometime in the near future.
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Post by vance on Dec 29, 2019 12:58:31 GMT -8
Dressed up and (almost) ready to go!
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Post by nikeajax on Dec 29, 2019 13:34:48 GMT -8
Phil, you ought to get some satin-black paint and bring this reg back even more. They're pretty historic regs and deserve all the spit and polish they can get. I just realized they're kinda like the Curved Dash Olds': Americas first regulator! (yes I know the bass actually is, but still) JB
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Post by vance on Dec 29, 2019 14:22:19 GMT -8
I'm still working on the platform for the reserve mechanism, and will probably clean up the surfaces some more and paint it black.
These have a fairly rough casting with lots of mold seam lines and imperfections, so even with the damage and patches, not much is necessary. I have taken off most of the best hardware and put it on my other Model F, so this one is getting all the rusty or funky bits. Nothing is terrible, but it isn't great, either.
I didn't get this with the intention to make it a showpiece. I just got it for the challenge to see if I could fix it and make it a diver again.
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Post by SeaRat on Dec 29, 2019 16:25:24 GMT -8
I'm still working on the platform for the reserve mechanism, and will probably clean up the surfaces some more and paint it black. These have a fairly rough casting with lots of mold seam lines and imperfections, so even with the damage and patches, not much is necessary. I have taken off most of the best hardware and put it on my other Model F, so this one is getting all the rusty or funky bits. Nothing is terrible, but it isn't great, either. I didn't get this with the intention to make it a showpiece. I just got it for the challenge to see if I could fix it and make it a diver again. One of the things I'd like to know about is the exhaust. From what I've read, there is no exhaust valve in the DivAir, but rather just a routing of the air out of the regulator. Does this make for a lesser exhalation resistance than other regulators? My curious mind needs to know. John PS, where the heck did you find green super-flex 1 inch hoses?
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Post by vance on Dec 29, 2019 16:45:24 GMT -8
OK, the exhaust. Apparently, the exhaust port routing was supposed to not require an exhaust valve. I don't have much experience diving these, but they are supposed to be ok without a duckbill. Exhalation effort is easy. Whenever I have used one (in a pool) I didn't have any water intrusion into the exhaust hose. But, diving in the ocean, a lake, or a quarry is different than a 15' pool. Head down may cause issues? However, they are good breathing regs!
I got those hoses on my other Model F regulator. They seem to be in almost perfect condition. I had one other Model F that I sold that had almost as good ones. I'd love to find more!
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Post by vance on Dec 29, 2019 17:06:50 GMT -8
A couple years ago, I took a couple of young dive masters (friends of my kids) to fool around in the pool with my old DH regs, They were initially not expecting much from them, but when they tried them out, they were impressed. They loved the DivAir, the HydroTwin II, the Mistral, and the GL, especially. I also got great reviews about the Misuba rev3, and the Scuba with the JB Snorkeljet.
They, of course, had heard that a DH reg will kill you.
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Post by vance on Dec 30, 2019 9:13:47 GMT -8
I have now seen three plastic DivAirs with a "C" serial #. I had one a while back Which was C7544, the subject of this thread C6173, and I just saw a nice plastic DivAir listed on eBay (for a shocking amount) which is C7719. Hmm.
According to Roberts, the A and B models are bronze, Cs are alloy, Es and Fs are plastic, and there is no D model. He also says that Unity Divers Service, Inc. in New Jersey (who took over service facilities, LIFETIME warranty responsibilities, and spare parts inventory for LG Arpin Co.) offered an inexpensive conversion from the aluminum bodies to a plastic body, so this is probably what happened with these regs.
So, in collecting circles, a plastic bodied DivAir with a C serial # should be considered legit, since the swap was made by the OEM service shop?
Since the later model DivAirs have a lifetime warranty, I should send this broken one in!
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Post by nikeajax on Dec 30, 2019 11:58:16 GMT -8
Phil, mine doesn't have a letter prefix, but it's 10558. If I recall there were E&F models too, but these were merely denoted by their hose types. I believe the HW type hoses as you'd find on a Scuba were the F-models. If you can find the movie "The Monster That Challenged the World", see it, really nice looking women in it as well as HW gear you'll never see in real live, oh and it's got a pretty danged good monster too: But if you want to see the image better, click through to here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=50NZq9DNVa0JB EDIT: Phil, please check your email: there's a MS-Word Doc waiting for you with the history of the Divair
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Post by vance on Dec 30, 2019 12:34:18 GMT -8
The PDF you sent offers the same explanation I figured must be why there are plastic models with the "C" prefix. The aluminum bodies were replaced with plastic by the service center, probably by warranty due to corrosion problems. Aluminum and salt water are not a good combination.
I have seen that movie. Lots of upside down DivAirs, as I recall. And one with a full face mask?
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Post by vance on Dec 30, 2019 12:55:05 GMT -8
Note the absence of a second adjuster screw that limits the height of the diaphragm lever, and the different style lever.
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Post by vance on Dec 30, 2019 15:45:52 GMT -8
My alloy DivAir has the long fingered lever, but it has the second adjuster. I wonder when the second adjuster appeared. It only seems to limit the height that the lever can flop upward so it doesn't sound like something is loose inside, or possibly to prevent the inner levers from falling out if the main lever is adjusted too low?
Its serial #6975 has no letter. What th'?
There is another distinctive difference between the earlier and later DivAir models. The later ones with plastic bodies have very poorly chromed covers. The earlier ones have a nice thick and shiny chrome coating, but the later ones are so thin that they look brassy. These have wear-through and corrosion problems, as you'd suspect. And, they're not pretty.
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Post by nikeajax on Dec 31, 2019 15:56:10 GMT -8
...there were E&F models too, but these were merely denoted by their hose types... JB The E&F models not only had different hoses, but an improved diaphragm too!
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Post by SeaRat on Dec 31, 2019 16:22:24 GMT -8
My alloy DivAir has the long fingered lever, but it has the second adjuster. I wonder when the second adjuster appeared. It only seems to limit the height that the lever can flop upward so it doesn't sound like something is loose inside, or possibly to prevent the inner levers from falling out if the main lever is adjusted too low? Its serial #6975 has no letter. What th'? There is another distinctive difference between the earlier and later DivAir models. The later ones with plastic bodies have very poorly chromed covers. The earlier ones have a nice thick and shiny chrome coating, but the later ones are so thin that they look brassy. These have wear-through and corrosion problems, as you'd suspect. And, they're not pretty. Okay, now I'm curious about something else. Does the DivAir have a Venturi assist? I see that there is a channel for the air, but this isn't explained by Fred Roberts in Basic Scuba, and so I cannot tell. What is your experience? John
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Post by vance on Dec 31, 2019 16:35:41 GMT -8
Here's the more finished inside: Note the thicker rim walls at the breaks, and the new tubing over the screws. I blackened the patches with sharpie to reduce the contrast.
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