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Post by SeaRat on Sept 25, 2021 14:13:12 GMT -8
Antique Diver,
I have found that the twin manifold USD valves are about the only ones I can use my DA Aqualung Braxton regulator on, because of that problem. It’s happened to me too.
John
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Post by vance on Sept 28, 2021 15:57:21 GMT -8
I'd like to get some opinions on the model of valve body I have. It has no tab cuts and has a 2 piece IP seat/adjuster. Can anyone id this valve?
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Post by SeaRat on Oct 6, 2021 15:13:45 GMT -8
Have you gotten that Spaco regulator wet yet? John
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Post by vance on Oct 6, 2021 15:22:51 GMT -8
It has come to my attention that not everyone is familiar with the SPACO AquaLung, so a few quick words... The Spaco was made in Canada by Aqualung in 1948 or 49, and I think Emile Gagnan had moved to Canada by that time with parent company Air Liquide. I suspect he was key to the Canadian production of Aqualungs. It was distributed in small numbers by Spaco Inc. in Vermont. This reg predates the Aqualungs sold by Rene's Sports (soon to be called US DIVERS) in California, which are now commonly called Broxtons, due to address. So Rene was not the first seller of Aqualung devices in this country. Spaco is considered a pretty rare item.
The photo shows the insides of a Broxton on the left, and Spaco on the right. The lack of a spring tension adjustment makes it a little tricky to tweak the Spaco, as the only way to adjust the IP (as far as I can tell) is to remove the retainer, add shim(s) to the spring, and reinstall the retainer. It's a bit difficult to get started into the threads due to spring tension. Yep, I could install the two piece retainer and solve that issue... but then it wouldn't really be a true Spaco. I prefer to use it in as close to original configuration as possible, and live with the limitations.
Your Broxton has cutouts for tabs. My valve has none, like the Spaco. Is mine a Spaco, or are there others w/o tab cutouts?
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Post by redrover on Oct 6, 2021 17:39:55 GMT -8
Early International Diver's regulators didn't have tabs, or at least the can didn't. They would also have had the two piece IP adjuster. The casting finish on them is quite rough which may indicate what you have.
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Post by vance on Oct 7, 2021 7:57:25 GMT -8
If only... I looked at Adair's CG-45 site, and the 2 stage International I saw on there had a different valve body casting and was bright chrome. Mine IS crude, but looks like it's a USD valve. On a side note, I was surprised to see International sold a rebranded DivAir! Screech! (Sound of thread veering wildly off-topic...)
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Post by redrover on Oct 8, 2021 4:27:38 GMT -8
The photo on Adair's site is a later model international divers two stage, the earlier ones had a rough casting similar to yours, but may be slightly different. I can send you a few photos of one.
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Post by vance on Oct 8, 2021 9:50:50 GMT -8
Thanks, Neil. I got them.
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Post by antique diver on Oct 9, 2021 17:21:40 GMT -8
I have a correction to make on a previous photo ID I posted in this thread. It was an old photo of mine that I thought showed both my Broxton and the Spaco internals. I was mistaken about that photo. After opening the red label Broxton today I was a bit surprised. After not seeing inside for some years I had forgotten that it did not have an adjustable retainer. Sorry for the confusion and wrong information that I posted! Also saw that there were no indexing tabs. Here are the true insides of that reg, which seems to indicate a pretty early Broxton. The rough body casting seen here seems pretty common on the early California regs, not even near the quality of its predecessor, the Spaco. Also looks like the yoke is not orginal, maybe having been changed long ago to fit more valves.
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Post by broxton coalition on Oct 10, 2021 6:13:37 GMT -8
A.D., thanks for your postings of these early u.s. divers regs. it was a wild time at the newly formed u.s. divers co when these regs were produced. a few notables on your(1952?)red tag reg: no plating on the internals, what hose/mouthpiece setup did yours come with?. is that a crack in the can?( that was a problem on a lot of those early u.s. divers two hosers). the real early cast u.s. divers reg bodies remind me of rough cast blacksmith equipment production in ye old foundry, nothing fancy,(pour it, shape it, get it into use!) As always, the Historical Diver Volume 13-Issue 1-Number 42-Winter 2005 is the best article( Dr Nuytten) written on the early history of 1045 broxton ave.
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Post by antique diver on Oct 10, 2021 8:45:37 GMT -8
A.D., thanks for your postings of these early u.s. divers regs. it was a wild time at the newly formed u.s. divers co when these regs were produced. a few notables on your(1952?)red tag reg: no plating on the internals, what hose/mouthpiece setup did yours come with?. is that a crack in the can?( that was a problem on a lot of those early u.s. divers two hosers). the real early cast u.s. divers reg bodies remind me of rough cast blacksmith equipment production in ye old foundry, nothing fancy,(pour it, shape it, get it into use!) As always, the Historical Diver Volume 13-Issue 1-Number 42-Winter 2005 is the best article( Dr Nuytten) written on the early history of 1045 broxton ave. There were no hoses with the reg when I got it. I don't even remember when it was, as it was just one among many of the older regulators given to us or traded in between 1970 and 2001. Only after we sold the dive business, and I kept all the interesting looking double hosers, did I realize that I had a pretty good start on a vintage collection. Look closely at the photos and you will see that the crack appears adjacent to a noticeable dent in the can. Luckily the crack has not extended into the main sealing surface where the diaphragm seals, and this nice reg is still usable. I think I'll take it on my next dive along with its cousin, the Spaco. Thank you for the notation about the Historical Diver issue. I'll try to find one.
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Post by vance on Oct 10, 2021 8:45:50 GMT -8
Thanks for the update, correction, and photos, Bill! Can you post a photo of the inside of the exhaust box, please?
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Post by james1979 on Oct 10, 2021 9:44:24 GMT -8
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Post by antique diver on Oct 10, 2021 10:04:59 GMT -8
Thanks for the update, correction, and photos, Bill! Can you post a photo of the inside of the exhaust box, please? Rascal Phil, why did you wait until I buttoned it up and stored it away. But you know I will gladly unwrap it for you... just may be later tonight before I have a chance.
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Post by antique diver on Oct 10, 2021 10:06:19 GMT -8
Thank you James! That's a great read that gives well deserved credit to Gagnan.
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