Dacor 2020

[Aquala1]

After Phil built my Titan II/Black Fifty Fathom, he asked if I would test dive his Dacor 2020. The Black Fifty Fathom breathed so nicely that there was no way I could turn down the Dacor, so he packed it up and sent it to me.

He sent it without the hose loop because I had an idea for it and here it is.





I already had the yellow neoprene hoses that I bought from Dan at VSS, so all I needed was the new hose clamps and the blue mouthpiece. Those I ordered from Rob at The Scuba Museum.

I haven’t had it in the water yet, but will real soon. A full report will follow!

[nikeajax]

Ty, here's my project that's on the back burner; yes, that's Phil's handy work:



It got stalled out because I'm working on my house, but I need to make a jig that goes into a vice so that when I compress it, the can's deck will extrude? and lower about 1/4" so the jet will shoot down the air-horn, and I think the levers need more clearance too...

JB

[vance]

How about a 1/4" or so spacer between the boxes? Stretching the top box would be difficult, to say the least, and would probably distort the mating flange.

I got some 1/8" thick rubber gaskets (for my Titan III) that push the first stage back a bit more in order to gain a little more lever throw. They would also work for the Dacor (same diameter). That, and a thick gasket between the boxes would get you your 1/4".

[nikeajax]

Phil, I have a little room to work with on the cans: I'm pretty confidant I can safely get 1/8", and with your gasket it should be just right. I just don't want to lose too many threads on that nifty retaining ring you made...

JB

[artc]

Ty, that’s one fine looking regulator. I really like the blue and yellow colors with the matching mouthpiece. 👍

[vance]

Jan 19, 2023 15:33:13 GMT -8 artc said:

Ty, that’s one fine looking regulator. I really like the blue and yellow colors with the matching mouthpiece. 👍

It is pretty! Hopefully, Ty will find it performs as good as it looks!

[vance]

Jan 19, 2023 13:56:40 GMT -8 nikeajax said:

Phil, I have a little room to work with on the cans: I'm pretty confidant I can safely get 1/8", and with your gasket it should be just right. I just don't want to lose too many threads on that nifty retaining ring you made...

JB

That's why you want to put the spacer between the boxes. All you need then is 6 longer screws. The 1/8" gasket gets you some room, but as you say, there's a limit to the amount you can back the first stage out before you run out of threads.

I've got a top box that was modded by Old Mossback for one of his unsuccessful hotrods. I am considering cutting it for the Dacor 400 body, so as to make an all Dacor 2020. In conjunction with a 5/16" spacer between the boxes, there should be plenty of room for the extra height of the second stage in the modded first stage.

If anyone has an orphan Dacor mech side box of any model and would like to move it along, please let me know. I'd rather not cut the Old Mossback top, jic I want to revisit his experiment.  

[Aquala1]

Jan 19, 2023 15:33:13 GMT -8 artc said:

Ty, that’s one fine looking regulator. I really like the blue and yellow colors with the matching mouthpiece. 👍

Thanks Arthur. Once I saw that Rob had the blue mouthpieces, which I think is a relatively new offering, I couldn’t see any other hose & mouthpiece combo. I can’t wait to dive it, but in the meantime it’s just fun to look at.😀

[Aquala1]

Jan 19, 2023 17:01:29 GMT -8 vance said:

Jan 19, 2023 15:33:13 GMT -8 artc said:

Ty, that’s one fine looking regulator. I really like the blue and yellow colors with the matching mouthpiece. 👍

It is pretty! Hopefully, Ty will find it performs as good as it looks!

I have no doubt that it will.👍

[Aquala1]

JB, that modernized Clipper is going to be super cool once it’s finished!

[vance]

Modding valve bodies/nozzles with bad volcanos got me thinking of the Dacor C-3 top box I got from O-M that's been sitting on my desk, waiting for a decision. I decided to cut it for the Dacor 4/800 instead of saving it to revisit Michael's doomed project.  It had already been cut, so no good parts were ravaged for this.





I need to make a new second stage and lever for it, but the 4/800 body has been drilled and the LP seat has been installed. Box height is a problem, so I'm installing a spacer between the box halves.

[nikeajax]

WOW--very cute! Very much looking forward to seeing it in one piece of gloriousness...

JB

[vance]

If anyone is interested, the Dacor 2020 went through some revisions concerning the second stage drilling and the second stage body. You could read the rather long and tortu(r)ous agonizings I posted on a dedicated thread, or just get the gist here.

Dacor 4/800s are a single hose regulator. Unlike the similar Titan II/Trieste, it was never a DH reg. This means that there is no provision to install a second stage. In order to mod it, a bore has to be cut into the first stage, and also drilled to access the LP chamber.

Unfortunately, alignment is a problem. You can see the issue in my photos above. The first stage must be aligned with the fixed yoke in position between the two horns. In order to get the second stage in front of the intake horn, the bore must be drilled as close as possible without breaking into space or the spring retainer bore. This leaves a very worrisome tiny amount of real estate in which to plunge! Herman accomplished this more subtly than I, but my method works fine. Depth is a big problem as well, so one doesn't open it up into the atmosphere.

I fussed with LP seats and second stages for a long time. I finally came up with the obvious solution which is a threaded nipple with an integrated seat, and a screw-on castled cap. I will post photos as I work on this conversion.

[SeaRat]

As you dive the Dacor 2020, know that I am that diver on the label that Jaybird made. It's of me in Clear Lake, probably around 1975.

Dry Suit Dive, Clear Lake_edited-1 by John Ratliff, on Flickr

John

[vance]

Sure is! It's an homage to one of the OGs.