Yawana Dive
Regular Diver
Diving the Solomon Islands
Posts: 45
|
Post by Yawana Dive on May 23, 2021 13:54:19 GMT -8
A few days ago I finally received the mixed box of vintage regs I’d bought and had shipped out here to the remotest corner of the planet. Shipping costs and import charges exceeded the price$ I paid for each reg, but I’ve long believed I need to have my head examined and this just confirms the case. Among the goodies is this piston 1st which has a thumbscrew identifying it as a Sportsways, but I can’t find any such regulator in the Sportsways catalogues and history. The closest thing I’ve found is a Dacor model currently for sale on eBay which is identical but for a Dacor branded thumbscrew. Can anyone confirm this to be a Sportsways regulator? Or has someone cunningly swapped thumbscrews to confuse me. I’ve serviced it and it locks up nicely at an ip of 140. It has 1hp and 1lp port as you can see in these photos on Flickr. Cheers Andrew  8E8E3EA3-EF17-4486-81E2-FE5A99634EBF by Andrew Trahair, on Flickr 8E8E3EA3-EF17-4486-81E2-FE5A99634EBF  CF06973B-183C-4F5D-9735-D24331578F21 by Andrew Trahair, on Flickr CF06973B-183C-4F5D-9735-D24331578F21 |
|
|
|
Post by nikeajax on May 24, 2021 7:33:55 GMT -8
Ahoy shipmate, can ya give us another code Flickr-code, even if you just grab the IP-address. Well get this sorted out  Can't wait to see what you got... JB |
|
|
|
Post by SeaRat on May 24, 2021 16:38:22 GMT -8
Andrew, I'm almost positive that this is a Dacor Olympic Model 100 piston first stage. The regulator yoke has the distinct Dacor squared profile, which Sportsways never had. Yes, someone tricked you a bit. But, this is a nice first stage. Here's what Dacor said about it: This is from the Dacor catalog, 1977. I have the Dacor Olympic Maintenance and Repair Manual, and here's their writeup on the Dacor Olypmic 100 regulator:  Olympic 100002 by John Ratliff, on Flickr  Olympic 100003 by John Ratliff, on Flickr This will be a great first stage for you in a very remote location, as it is very easy to maintain and repair. You will find that it will have a variable interstage pressure, and it will get a bit harder to breathe as tank pressure decreases, as the interstage pressure will decrease with lower tank pressures. This Olympic 100 was in the 1977 and 1978 catalogs, and then became the Pacer Model 150 in the Pacer line, with an upgraded yoke for 3000 psig. John PS, one of the "tricks" for repair of these regulators is to use a 16 gram CO2 bottle (we used to have those in our life vests) and screw them into the port (both LP and HP ports on this first stage have the same diameter and thread count). Use only one that has already been discharged (has a hole in the end). It then becomes a very nice handle for using a wrench to remove that yoke nut (#34) and cap (#22) from the first stage. PS2, if you have to use a pliers to get that cap off, be sure to put several rounds of masking tape over the knurled area so as to not scar it with the pliers. You can also get a unique regulator wrench which has a curved quarter circle with a knob on it to engage the hole in the cap. If you have a hardware store nearby, you can use that. Otherwise, try the tape method. |
|
|
|
Post by SeaRat on May 24, 2021 16:49:06 GMT -8
Ahoy shipmate, can ya give us another code Flickr-code, even if you just grab the IP-address. Well get this sorted out Can't wait to see what you got... JB JB, I was able to go into Flikr and use their search feature to get the image, and then copy the BBCode. John |
|
|
|
Post by nikeajax on May 25, 2021 12:07:07 GMT -8
Andrew, sorry to hear this mate! As you are only a vintage-scuba-nerd, and not an "official geek" *, things like this can happen unless you're really careful  Well, I guess you need to get an Olympic second stage now, they gotta match ya know?  * One who gleefully pores over esoteric minutia  JB |
|
Yawana Dive
Regular Diver
Diving the Solomon Islands
Posts: 45
|
Post by Yawana Dive on May 26, 2021 0:00:48 GMT -8
I also gleefully pore over esoteric minutia which makes this all so much fun.
I’ve already serviced and dived this reg with a Sportsways downstream 2nd and it works great. I’m not surprised to learn it’s a 1970s model as it’s heavier than the Earlier Healthways 1sts I have. It doesn’t look to be afraid of a 3000 psi fill.
I’ve have a bunch of other stuff I’m working on now, having problems with a Sportsways Waterlung 1st I just can’t get to lock up so I’ll post some pics of that soon. Thanks for helping me with getting the images up on this thread - one day I’m gunna figur out how to do it meself.
Cheers
Andrew
|
|
|
|
Post by vance on May 26, 2021 7:49:36 GMT -8
|
|
|
|
Post by nikeajax on May 26, 2021 8:57:34 GMT -8
Andrew, please only use these regs @ 2250-psig, as that's what the yokes are rated for  Is it the Navy Unit that's not locking up? If that's the case it's more than likely the valve-plunger:  another view:  Here's my fix for it: please note that the 9/32" is wrong! But, you would lock this into a drill-chuck, spin it up and very lightly touch the cone of the plunger: this will give you a new seating surface  JB |
|
Yawana Dive
Regular Diver
Diving the Solomon Islands
Posts: 45
|
Post by Yawana Dive on May 26, 2021 9:28:03 GMT -8
Ok JB I’ll give that a try.
I’m in Honiara right now and will be back at my place early next week.
I’ve got two Sportsways 1st. The navy unit breathes a treat but the Jvalve doesn’t seem to be working and it makes a very unusual “plung” spring sound when inhaling.
It’s the Waterlung 1st, a later model I think, that I’m having trouble with the seat.
I’ll post pics in a few days.
Andrew
|
|
