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Post by SeaRat on May 25, 2008 22:42:34 GMT -8
My newest experiment with the Healthways involved rebuilding it with a few new parts:  The bottom row are the original Healthways internals. The top are slightly modified Conshelf internals, along with a USD Titan orifice. The practical upshot is that my unbalanced single stage is now a balanced single stage similar to the USD Royal Mistral. This was achieved without any machining of the Healthways body(however, this IS the body I earlier made some adjustments to by drilling new lever mounting holes). About a month ago, I took my Healthways Scuba Deluxe into open water for my second dive of the year. It was into a fairly high, swift-running Clackamas River that I dove that day, and the Healthways Scuba Deluxe (Gold Label) proved itself in that very challenging environment. It was fast enough that I did not feel comfortable staying on the bottom, and so went to mid-water to let the current take me downstream. But I got into a whirl, and got disoriented, and so surfaced to see whether I was still going downstream, and I was. The regulator worked extremely well, with a Hope-Page mouthpiece and Dan's Super-Flex hoses, it was better than the original (with the small mouthpiece). Today, I took that regulator apart, and tried the above modification to convert it into a single stage, balanced regulator. I had all the right parts, and took apart my Conshelf to get the first stage parts, then put a Titan removable orifice into the regulator. I tried very hard to get it together, and finally came to the conclusion that I did not have enough room to make it work. I had even filed and ground down the seat to make it fit into the Scuba Deluxe's interior (which is slightly narrower). So I put both regulators back together, and unless I am doing something wrong, will not attempt it again with that combination. It was a nice try. Creed, any ideas on what I'm doing wrong? The rivers are running too high and wild for diving right now, so I'll have to await the snow melt to get a divable river. Right now, the rivers are just below flood stage with a huge snow melt and warmer weather, so it may be a while here. John |
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Creed
Pro Diver
Posts: 189
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Post by Creed on May 26, 2008 8:16:17 GMT -8
I dont know off the top of my head. If you want, you can send me the internals, and I can mate them to one of mine, and then send them back once we know they are machined down to the correct sizes. PM me if you want to do that.
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Post by SeaRat on Jan 10, 2009 18:58:05 GMT -8
Creed, My apologies for taking so long to post the parts diagram. It was a busy year, eventful year! Here it is:  I am going to dive my Scuba Deluxe and Gold Label Scuba tomorrow at the pool (no open water is diveable right now due to flooding). I think I've got a fix for the exhaust of the Scuba Deluxe, and will write more after the dive. I'm still working on the exhaust of the original Healthways Scuba regulator, which is interesting, but more complex. John |
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Post by SeaRat on Jan 11, 2009 23:09:11 GMT -8
I did get into the water at the pool today, with the Healthways Scuba Deluxe and Gold Label Scuba regulators. I dove both with both a single 72 tank and my twin 50s. I must say that the single 72 with the old Healthways backpack and harness were nice, but kept the regulators at a position behind my neck instead of between my shoulder blades. This does affect the performance of a double hose regulator. Here are a few more observations:
--I used both regulators with the inhalation valve and cage removed for increased performance. On the Healthways Scuba Deluxe, without the air injector, breathing was adequate. It was also smooth, which I enjoyed. The breathing characteristics were better than a DA Aqualung, but worse than it's competition, the USD Mistral and Stream Air. I used the Scuba Deluxe with a modified Hope-Page mouthpiece system (non-return and spider removed), and Dan's Super Flex hoses. This makes a very nice, balanced hose exhaust system, and the Super Flex hoses are much better than the original Healthways hoses (both the blue, and the shorter black hoses). But I could not use the Hope-Page mouthpiece on the Gold Label Scuba regulator, as the air injector was too powerful, and shot air through to the exhaust on the back. With this regulator, either the original hose/mouthpiece system is needed, with the baffle plate in it, or the non-returns are needed to take some of the "oomph" out of the injector system. I quickly switched to the original Healthways mouthpiece system on this regulator, and with the baffle plate and no non-return, it breathed very nicely even at high tank pressure.
--I tried both the original length hoses for the Healthways Gold Label Scuba and hoses for my Nemrod Snark III on the same Healthways mouthpiece. The original hoses work if diving a single tank, and the regulator is behind the neck. They make the regulator perform even a bit better, with their shorter length. But they are also noisier, as the air is passing right beside my ear.
--Diving the twin 50s with the regulator several inches lower does give a noticeable performance boost to both regulators. But this comes with a streamlining and weight disadvantage. It was very nice to dive a single 72 with only the harness, fins, mask and snorkel and a swim suit. This truly is vintage diving, without the encumbrances of modern gear.
I spent almost two hours at the pool, and found a swim suit that I had inadvertently left there over a week prior in their lost and found. One other comment, my Healthways Scuba Deluxe, blue label, without the air injector had problems last year with the exhaust being blocked by the diaphragm. I fixed this by gluing, with a two-part epoxy, a nut on the trailing side of the exhaust mushroom where the metal projection (diaphragm deflector) is in the Gold Label Scuba regulator. So now it is back working very well.
I think there are other things to mention, but I'll wait as it is late, and I need to get to bed.
John
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Post by SeaRat on Jan 12, 2009 18:33:22 GMT -8
I have a couple of other observations from my dives on Sunday in the pool with the Healthways regulators. I did several doff and don exercises, leaving the scuba units on the bottom while I came to the surface. I intentionally tried to flood the regulators to see how easy it might be to remove the water on the "don" portion of the exercise. But what I found was that if I simply let the mouthpiece go, it would sit there floating above the regulator with the air turned off, and no water would enter the breathing hoses despite not having non-return valves in the intake hoses. When I turned the air on again, there was an immediate free flow, confirming that no air had entered the hoses. So I held my breath, and purposely flooded the units by turning the mouthpiece upside down and allowing the air to drain out before surfacing. I then got a big breath, and went back down. By pulling on the hoses, I was able to initiate a free flow of the flooded system without problem, got my air supply back, and after donning the unit did a roll and exhaust to get rid of any excess. Again, this did not cause any breathing problems. When I got out and removed the hoses from the Scuba Deluxe unit, there was still several spoons full of water inside, but it did not have any effect on the breathing characteristics, or the air supply.
I also experimented with the units while off and in front of me, to see what the breathing characteristics of a chest-mounted rig would be. Actually, I did not like it. Inhalation was much improved, but exhalation resistance was significantly increased due to the difference in hydrostatic pressure. I now see why the U.S. Navy was reluctant to go to single hose regulators, which had a better inhalation resistance but poorer exhalation resistance in the time when the single hose was new (1960s). The U.S. Navy kept the DA Aquamaster, as overall performance was better than with the current single hose regulators of the time.
I mentioned above the increased resistance of the twin tanks--it is significant. Going back to a single 72 was a lot of fun, and made for a more enjoyable experience in the water. The Healthways harness, with it's integrated crotch strap worked well once I had it adjusted correctly. This system has a wire metal piece which slides over the quick waist strap release and secures the crotch strap. It actually works better than the metal piece of the European weight belt system where the crotch strap hooks into the weight belt buckle. I'll try to get photos up of the system tonight.
John
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2009 3:33:13 GMT -8
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Post by SeaRat on Jan 29, 2009 22:45:38 GMT -8
Here are a few of the photos I have recently taken of the Healthways regulators on various tank systems.  This is the Healthways Gold Label Scuba regulator on my twin 45 tanks. I have a Sherwood manifold, with a USD original Calypso regulator as the safe second.  Here is the same regulator on my single 72, with a Scubapro J-valve and Healthways harness. I'll post more of the photos tomorrow. John |
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Dale
Pro Diver
Posts: 141
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Post by Dale on Feb 17, 2009 15:43:21 GMT -8
I just aquired a Healthways Deluxe, my next project regulator. I have 2 other models, older Scuba & gold label Scuba, which both are good breathers. I'm hoping this Deluxe is rebuildable and works as good as the other 2. Will post again after I have a chance to work on it.
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Dale
Pro Diver
Posts: 141
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Post by Dale on Feb 20, 2009 18:00:16 GMT -8
Well, I got very lucky. It was pretty dirty, but cleaned up well. Diaphragm was still in good shape, seat was fine. I now have another working Healthways. Will probably get it wet this weekend.
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Post by SeaRat on Mar 15, 2009 12:33:07 GMT -8
I just bought off E-Bay a Healthways Scuba Gold-label parts, the top box and the entire HP system. It was really dirty, with a coating of something--almost like it was smoke damage from a fire. Well, I got them at a good price, and they did clean up well. So I have some more parts to work with. I'll keep you informed as to how it works out.
John
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Dale
Pro Diver
Posts: 141
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Post by Dale on Mar 15, 2009 16:14:38 GMT -8
Since my last post, I got the Scuba Deluxe working great. It breathes well with USD hose set. I have also aquired about 4 older Healthways Scuba's and managed to make 3 of the 4 divable again. I like these regs, they are fairly simple to work on and its amazing how well the parts hold up over 40 years. I'm thinking of trying to rebuild the internals with Conshelf parts too. If nothing else it will keep me out of trouble for a while.
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Dale
Pro Diver
Posts: 141
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Post by Dale on Jun 26, 2009 18:51:38 GMT -8
I am resurrecting this thread 'cause I'm bored & there hasn't been much action here lately. My last post I stated I got a few Healthways Scuba's and that I got all but one working. Well, thanks to a member here, I got the parts to get the last one working and since it had no label, I decided to have some fun with it. See the links below. s214.photobucket.com/albums/cc175/Diverswift/?action=view¤t=Deathways1.jpgs214.photobucket.com/albums/cc175/Diverswift/?action=view¤t=Deathways2.jpgI call it my Deathways reg, but it breathes very good. I really like these regs, I think their big downfall was a crappy diaphragm. They just don't hold up as well over the years. If a good reproduction was made, I think Healthways regs rival most single stages for performance. Just my opinion though. |
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Post by SeaRat on Jun 29, 2009 21:47:37 GMT -8
Hi Dale,
I too have been playing around with my Healthways Scuba regulators. I tried my original one with the latex exhaust diaphragm in the pool over the winter, and decided (again) that this was not a safe way to do it. I see that your Deathways regulator is an original; what are you doing for the exhaust? Do you simply have the original black diaphragm, or have you supplemented it with a duckbill?
Anyway, I decided to dive the second generation, not the Gold Label, but the Blue Label with the original first stage, last weekend. I had a great 50 minute dive, picked up four golf balls, three fishing lures, and several heavy lead fishing weights. In addition, I found a good paddle (which I left for whomever could use it), and one of those flying ring frisby-like things. The Healthways Scuba worked very well on my twin 50s (yes, I used them on a 3000 psi system). I was going to breath it all the way down to the automatic reserve, but the air supply outlasted my dive. I did not use any guages, J-reserve, or anything else except my tank, regulator, Para-Sea BC and harness with a wet suit.
My only problem was that I had forgotten my open water fins, and so had to use my pool full-foot fins in open water. That wasn't a problem, but I needed to then take my sandals on my dive with me. The were hooked to my BC, and I did not really have a problem until I went to get out, and found that I could not reach around to the outside of my foot in all the gear and wet suit to strap the sandals on. So I got out, took off the scuba, got into my sandals, put the scuba back on, and went to the car sans weight belt and fins. After getting out of the gear, I went back and retrieved the gear.
My Healthways Scuba had a USD hose/mouthpiece on it and breathed quite well, especially at lower tank pressure. That said, I think I'll dive my Gold Label (with the venturi assist) on the next dive). I have Dan's super-flex hoses on it, and a Hope-Page mouthpiece (the original mouthpiece of the Healthways Scuba regulator).
Thanks for starting this thread again. By the way, did you or Creed ever get the balanced single stage going? I think I'll make a new diaphragm for mine just to check and see how it performs with a different one. But the diaphragms I have are still like the original; but the original was somewhat stiff too (rubber reinforced nylon or fabric of some kind).
John
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Dale
Pro Diver
Posts: 141
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Post by Dale on Jun 30, 2009 5:13:52 GMT -8
On the exhaust I use a duckbill. I have only found one Healthways reg with the original exhaust valve in place. I tried to get the parts from a Aqua Lung Titan to fit the body of the Healthways & didn't have much luck. I'm not giving up though, will try again soon. I won a couple Healthways bodies on ebay to have something to play around with. I would like to see Creeds in person to see what he did.
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Post by swimjim on Jun 30, 2009 16:23:43 GMT -8
On the Healthways note, I dove it's predessor last week. A DivAir model B. I had to home make a diaphragm for it out of a swim cap, but it works pretty good. I was surprised.
Jim
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