Cyklon Super 300: A Blast From the Past . . .

[Bigbella]

Here is one of my long-delayed projects -- an overhaul of a Cyklon 300, my very first regulator, "inherited" in the late 1970s -- a 1972 so-called "Cyklon Super," its parts just out of the ultrasonic cleaner. What was unusual about those earlier models, were that they relied upon semi-permanent nylon gaskets (visible on the first stage) for both LP and HP ports, in lieu of o-rings -- and the sintered filter, was just a flat disc (see photo).

There is also a shot of a 3884 service kit in the photo; and there is something to be said for a manufacturer, who still supports products, almost fifty years out . . .

 

[Bigbella]

Back on the job, without missing a beat.

Here, too, are two first stages, separated by about four decades.

Took the regulator on a couple of dives; breathes beautifully, even when ass-over-teakettle. I’ll retire that 300, when I finally hit dry-dock myself . . .

 

[snowdog61]

that's awesome!

 

[happy-diver]

I think I've punched those gaskets out of milk bottles, but not the glass ones.
But they're thicker than that so maybe I punched them out of something else.
I think the purge rubbers are dust on mine.

Fantastico!

 

[2stroketony]

Good job on what another diver called the AK-47 of regs!!!!!

 

[Bigbella]

Good job on what another diver called the AK-47 of regs!!!!!

Thanks — they are that; compact; tough as hell and dirt simple, produced about decade or more before planned obsolescence really began to hit the dive industry. Among most divers that I knew, it had generally been “one and done,“ in terms of expensive scuba gear purchases, back then — a bit like the older skiing ethos — well before that annual drive to reinvent the wheel.

Poseidon was confident enough to even supply a nine-year record-keeping card with their new Cyklon 300s, along with an option for a new card, at ten (see photo).

There were recent threads on SB about regulators, in particular, being somehow metallurgically “suspect;” with components -- anecdotally -- susceptible to “micro-fractures,” and in need of replacement, only after a few years!

While I do own quite a few regulators, I’ve always prized the 300. I took them along on ice dives, fitted with vodka-filled environmental caps (quick, effective; no silicone goop; drinkable) to the tropics, and parts in between. They breathed the same at either five or fifty meters; and their size also made them ideal for bailout bottles. It was particularly liberating to go for an hour’s dive, the other day, on an old 72, along with just an analogue watch and mechanical gauges — given that the almost constant piping of someone’s electronic alarms, at some popular dive sites, have become an all-too common occurrence . . .

 

[2stroketony]

According to your authorized dealer service card, you'd better request a 25th new one!!!!

I'll have to look but I have one that the Poseidon us rep said is one of the oldest still in use that he's seen. Yours seems low numbered. I'll see what number mine is.

 

[Bigbella]

According to your authorized dealer service card, you'd better request a 25th new one!!!!

I'll have to look but I have one that the Poseidon us rep said is one of the oldest still in use that he's seen. Yours seems low numbered. I'll see what number mine is.

Yeah, none of the techs filled out those cards, back then. They just gave me written invoices to keep as records -- the print, on that card, being far too small for their "old eyes," which always inspired some clinched-teeth confidence, on a first dive.

That particular card had the serial number, "000559," and the others, that were handy, were "25663" and "39638" . . .