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Post by SeaRat on Jan 7, 2020 18:23:57 GMT -8
Phil,
'Great description of the lever adjustment. This is pretty critical to really great performance for the Mistral. if adjusted correctly. it is a wonderful regulator.
John
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Post by scubalawyer on Jan 7, 2020 19:51:11 GMT -8
Don't forget to make your final lever-height adjustment on a 300 to 500 psi tank. Otherwise, your Mistral will freeflow as your tank air gets low. Lesson learned from school of dumb-ass mistakes.
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Post by Crusty Old Diver on Jan 7, 2020 22:14:31 GMT -8
Mistral Rebuild Pt1: So, the deal here is, get the hoses off, get the clips off, take the valve out, soak the cans in denatured alcohol, hot water, or whatever works for you to get it clean and to remove the remains of the old duckbill. Take the valve apart, check the pieces, and THEN.... Soak it all in the sonic cleaner, vinegar bath, or whatever. Then rinse it all (esp., in baking soda if you used vinegar), wipe it down with soapy water, dry and reassemble. Mount it on a tank @2500 psig or less without the diaphragm and bottom can. Turn on the air. If it hisses at you, you have a leaky HP valve seat, a bad hard seat (VERY uncommon), or the o-ring on the tank valve isn't seated. Some valves don't work well with old regs. Get a spray bottle with soapy water and spray the tank valve/yoke connection and the HP valve. PT 2 is coming! I am going to work on the rebuild this weekend. I appreciate your posting this information.
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Post by Crusty Old Diver on Jan 7, 2020 22:15:10 GMT -8
Mistral Rebuild Pt1: So, the deal here is, get the hoses off, get the clips off, take the valve out, soak the cans in denatured alcohol, hot water, or whatever works for you to get it clean and to remove the remains of the old duckbill. Take the valve apart, check the pieces, and THEN.... Soak it all in the sonic cleaner, vinegar bath, or whatever. Then rinse it all (esp., in baking soda if you used vinegar), wipe it down with soapy water, dry and reassemble. Mount it on a tank @2500 psig or less without the diaphragm and bottom can. Turn on the air. If it hisses at you, you have a leaky HP valve seat, a bad hard seat (VERY uncommon), or the o-ring on the tank valve isn't seated. Some valves don't work well with old regs. Get a spray bottle with soapy water and spray the tank valve/yoke connection and the HP valve. PT 2 is coming! This weekend, I plan on working on one of the Mistrals that I acquired and which arrived today.....
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Post by Crusty Old Diver on Jan 7, 2020 22:19:59 GMT -8
Don't forget to make your final lever-height adjustment on a 300 to 500 psi tank. Otherwise, your Mistral will freeflow as your tank air gets low. Lesson learned from school of dumb-ass mistakes. I have 8 full 80’s....will use a crossover hose to put get 500 pounds on an old 72 that I bought last week...I VIP’d it and it has a wee bit of rust. Gonna need to get it tumbled, followed by a hydro....then I may have to start patronizing another dive shop as mine will not fill a tank over 20 years old....
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Post by vance on Jan 8, 2020 8:04:14 GMT -8
Don't forget to make your final lever-height adjustment on a 300 to 500 psi tank. Otherwise, your Mistral will freeflow as your tank air gets low. Lesson learned from school of dumb-ass mistakes. SL knows whereof he speaks! We have all made all kinds of these!
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Post by vance on Jan 8, 2020 8:08:33 GMT -8
Don't forget to make your final lever-height adjustment on a 300 to 500 psi tank. Otherwise, your Mistral will freeflow as your tank air gets low. Lesson learned from school of dumb-ass mistakes. I have 8 full 80’s....will use a crossover hose to put get 500 pounds on an old 72 that I bought last week...I VIP’d it and it has a wee bit of rust. Gonna need to get it tumbled, followed by a hydro....then I may have to start patronizing another dive shop as mine will not fill a tank over 20 years old.... You really should not put the Mistral on a tank with more than 2500 psig in it. The yokes weren't designed for it (2250), and it will breathe harder at higher pressures. People do use them on 3K psig tanks, but I don't think it's a good idea. Just bleed off a few hundred psi. Dive shops that won't fill steel tanks with current hydro are staffed by morons. Steel tanks can last well over a hundred years.
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Post by SeaRat on Jan 8, 2020 10:33:26 GMT -8
The other thing is that the USD Mistral seat is not designed for 3000 psig. I ruined one years ago by placing my Mistral on a 3000 psi tank. This is not because of the seating, but rather that the metal disk that the pin pushes against is "floating" on the seat material (nylon?).
John
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Post by Crusty Old Diver on Jan 8, 2020 16:15:08 GMT -8
I have 8 full 80’s....will use a crossover hose to put get 500 pounds on an old 72 that I bought last week...I VIP’d it and it has a wee bit of rust. Gonna need to get it tumbled, followed by a hydro....then I may have to start patronizing another dive shop as mine will not fill a tank over 20 years old.... You really should not put the Mistral on a tank with more than 2500 psig in it. The yokes weren't designed for it (2250), and it will breathe harder at higher pressures. People do use them on 3K psig tanks, but I don't think it's a good idea. Just bleed off a few hundred psi. Dive shops that won't fill steel tanks with current hydro are staffed by morons. Steel tanks can last well over a hundred years. I appreciate the advice.....and I shall follow it....I was curious about the pressure irregardless of whether or not the yoke was upgraded....Thanks!
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Post by nikeajax on Jan 8, 2020 16:40:22 GMT -8
Keeter, if you can find a shop that hydro's fire extinguishers, take your gear there--really! They don't do visuals, but your LDS can do that for you. These shops do mass volume, so they don't need to give you lame excuses like, "We don't do 1/2" valves because... (insert stupid reason here)" Also, chances are that's where you LDS will take it anyway They will also tumble your tank if any rust is found, oh and there isn't the high markup either... JB
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Post by cnotthoff on Jan 8, 2020 17:58:23 GMT -8
For minor interior rust, I use a brush I built with stainless steel cable mounted through an aluminum rod. That save the trouble of rinsing after tumbling. PSI/PCI offers a similar tool with a Scotch Brite pad. I've never tried it, but it seems like it will work the same. I blow low pressure air inside the cylinder with a short length of hose to evacuate loose rust. www.psicylinders.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=3910Good Dives, Charlie
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Post by vance on Jan 17, 2020 14:18:11 GMT -8
How about this Mistral rebuild: Works great!
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Post by Crusty Old Diver on Jan 19, 2020 19:30:40 GMT -8
Mistral Rebuild Part 2: Get out your wallet. Done Re: Wallet. I ordered abunch of parts today. I received the other regs, etc. that you sent on Friday. Thanks a bunch!
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Post by SeaRat on Feb 12, 2020 18:17:03 GMT -8
Mistral Rebuild Part 2: Get out your wallet. Done Re: Wallet. I ordered abunch of parts today. I received the other regs, etc. that you sent on Friday. Thanks a bunch! Any update on the USD Mistral rebuild? I'm curious as to whether it has seen water yet? John
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Post by Crusty Old Diver on Feb 14, 2020 16:35:55 GMT -8
It (The Mistral) hasn't see the water yet. It will a little later this spring when my pool heats up. I am working on my Voit 40 fathom at the moment that you and I discusse. I bought another one and it also had a bad diaphragm. I am going to try to take the wagon wheel out of it and do the US Divers Calypso conversion that was mentioned elsewhere.
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