Little present to myself. I think I did pretty well.

[8dust]

Well OK,

got up early today and took the clips off, went fine.

diaphragm looks real good, as did the WW valves, must have had a rebuild at come point not too too long ago.

two things:

- very little salt residue inside can, but there is a little. does some white vinigar sound like an OK thing to wipe it out with ?

- the reminants of the duckbill are looking like they will reed something stronger to remove from can lid, and return horn. suggestions for a mild solvent/remover ?

- there was a little pea-size rubber button on can lid underneath said stuck duck bill. Is that supposed to be there ? it is right next to a drilled hole of same size in face of can lid, is it supposed to be sitting/pluging that hole ?

other than that, I think i'm in good shape. going to order a duck bill and band clamp, and should be off to the now very cold pool next week.

 

[Nemrod]

Maybe you ought to give us some pictures since we are going to do this rebuild via the internet.

The duckbill can be scraped from the horn with nylon or plastic scrapers or my favorite, MEK.

The regulator needs to be taken completely apart and soaked, metal parts only, in the white vinegar to remove the verdigris and then rinsed in clean water. The LP diaphragm probably needs replacing as does the LP seat. No matter how good that diaphragm looks it will perform poorly compared to the silicone version but in an effort to produce authentic breathing characteristics it would certainly be a good choice. The HP seat should be replaced with the new "blue" Titan type. IP should be set to about 125 to 135 for starters.

I would check over the cage valves as well that they are supple and springy. The silicone reproduction valves, especially coupled with the streamline cages make a big difference.

N

 

[herman]

Positive! Be Positive!!!

Not here yet.

OK, I am positive it will be full of holes.

I have had good luck soaking the can in denatured alcohol, almost totally dissolves the DB goo but it can also remove the label so you need to be careful. Scraping as much as you can get off with plastic or wood tools then wiping down with rag soaked in alcohol would be the way I would go at it. If the goo is in the horn, you can soak the horn in alcohol to remove the goo but be sure to prop it up so only the horn and goo are soaking and not the label.
Unless you intend to totally dissamble the reg, I would just rinse the inner can in warm water then wipe out the remaining water.
The WW valves are cheap, so IMO replace them reguardless of the condition, the silicone ones are a lot better. You can use the diaphram but the silicone ones are a good bit softer and do reduce the WOB a good bit. With the band clamp, replacing it at a later date is easy.
No clue on the rubber pea, that is a new one on me.

 

[Paladin]

The Aqua-Lung manual says to set the IP on a Royal Aqua-Master to 100 psi and the IP on a DA Aqua-Master to 110 psi.

 

[Luis H]

The Aqua-Lung manual says to set the IP on a Royal Aqua-Master to 100 psi and the IP on a DA Aqua-Master to 110 psi.

You can set the Aqua Master at 110 psi with a full tank at 2500 psi. That will give you a reasonable IP when the tank is close to empty without causing a free flow due to high IP.

The 100 psi for the Royal Aqua Master has to be a typo. The RAM and all its descendants (Conshelf, Titan, etc.) work best with and IP of about 130 to 145 psi. A lot depends on the second stage spring, etc.

- the reminants of the duckbill are looking like they will reed something stronger to remove from can lid, and return horn. suggestions for a mild solvent/remover ?

- there was a little pea-size rubber button on can lid underneath said stuck duck bill. Is that supposed to be there ? it is right next to a drilled hole of same size in face of can lid, is it supposed to be sitting/pluging that hole ?

"mild solvent"...
you are dreaming...


That chunk of rubber could be a piece of the duckbill that melted off at some point... otherwise I don't know either.
The hole on the can (behind the label) is normal and nothing goes i it.

 

[8dust]

Just trying to be conservative here and learn along the way.
Maybe take it a little easy on the "looser smileys"

the small rubber disk looks more like a something than a nothing. Thought it was to maybe keep the DB from laying flat against the metal and drying/bonding there. If so, it didn't work too well, but I didn't want to just start pulling stuff out.

What is "verdigris" ? If a brownish glaze/film/varnish, yes I have some of that. Looks like the previous owner was smoking a cigarette while diving??? Was hopping it will come off easy with the vinigar wipe down.

will work on it a little more and take a photo tonight after I get Mama off to bed.

Sounds like a professional rebuild an tune-up will be good idea, but will likely have to wait till next off season.

 

[Nemrod]

The Aqua-Lung manual says to set the IP on a Royal Aqua-Master to 100 psi and the IP on a DA Aqua-Master to 110 psi.

The RAM figure is incorrect. I usually run mine at 135 to 145 and occasionally more. A setting of 125 to 135 is a good starting point and should provide a decent performance, work upwards from there. At some point the regulator will become somewhat unstable in that it will tend to free flow one day and not the next or as you change positions in the water. If that is the case, drop the IP a bit. This usually happens at settings above 150 psi for the IP.

N

 

[Nemrod]

Just trying to be conservative here and learn along the way.
Maybe take it a little easy on the "looser smileys"

the small rubber disk looks more like a something than a nothing. Thought it was to maybe keep the DB from laying flat against the metal and drying/bonding there. If so, it didn't work too well, but I didn't want to just start pulling stuff out.

What is "verdigris" ? If a brownish glaze/film/varnish, yes I have some of that. Looks like the previous owner was smoking a cigarette while diving??? Was hopping it will come off easy with the vinigar wipe down.

will work on it a little more and take a photo tonight after I get Mama off to bed.

Sounds like a professional rebuild an tune-up will be good idea, but will likely have to wait till next off season.

The only small rubber disc that I can think of at the moment would be the LP seat in the second stage section.

N

 

[Luis H]

Just trying to be conservative here and learn along the way.
Maybe take it a little easy on the "looser smileys"

the small rubber disk looks more like a something than a nothing. Thought it was to maybe keep the DB from laying flat against the metal and drying/bonding there. If so, it didn't work too well, but I didn't want to just start pulling stuff out.

What is "verdigris" ? If a brownish glaze/film/varnish, yes I have some of that. Looks like the previous owner was smoking a cigarette while diving??? Was hopping it will come off easy with the vinigar wipe down.

will work on it a little more and take a photo tonight after I get Mama off to bed.

Sounds like a professional rebuild an tune-up will be good idea, but will likely have to wait till next off season.

It was not intended as a "looser smileys"… that would be the last thing in my mind.
If you read the second smiley it is “Lots-a-Love”
I was just kidding about the cleaning of the duckbill. After cleaning many duckbills, I feel that it benefits to have a fair amount of sense of humor or many regulator cans would have end up going through a window.

I have used a number of solvents (including alcohol and MEK)… IMO alcohol helped a bit, but only MEK would actually dissolve the rubber, but MEK is nasty stuff to work with; it also dissolved must gloves that I use and it will ruin the paint on the label in an instant.

It was explained to me (I think by a chemist) that the rubber of the duckbill is not just bonded to the metal, but it more like an electrolytic plating to the chrome. Be aware that a lot of the chrome on the inside of the horn will be coming of during the cleaning.


Verdigris is the name for copper oxide and it is green. Most light verdigris will come of easily with vinegar or other acidic solvents, but vinegar will also end up eating the chrome if it is left in it or not fully rinsed off. For that reason it is preferred to fully disassemble the regulator before soaking.


The dark tarnish is most common near where the hoses were touching, but it is found on many of the surfaces. I am not positive about the source, but I found the best way to clean it is with some toothpaste and an old toothbrush. I use regular white toothpaste, not the stuff they have at the dentist, that stuff is way too abrasive.

 

[8dust]

Sorry for misunderstanding Luis. I was thinking the Valley-Girl "L" to the forehead stood for Looser, not that I've ever been flashed one mind you. If it's "Lots-a-Love", I will take all of that I can get, as I seem to be running a constant deficit! So thanks then.

You and the other fellows have been very generous with your advice, and I REALLY appreciate it a lot. I think as most men get older, their circles get pretty small, for various reasons, so it's been great to meet some new CYBER-FOLKS with some common interest. Not too many divers, let alone double-hosers in these parts.

So thanks again, very much. Will see what I can get done tonight once things quiet down at the ranch and maybe take a photo or two.

Fred