Aqua Master vs. Mistral vs. Stream Air

[Trace Malinowski]

I recently acquired several double hose regulators at auction. There are 4 Aqua-Lung DA "Aqua-Masters", 3 Aqua-Lung DW "Mistrals", 1 Aqua-Lung DW "Stream Air" and 1 Aqua-Lung "Royal Aqua Master" left. I already sold a Voit.

I'm going to keep one for myself and sell the others. But, I was wondering how the regulators compared to one another for performance, quality and price in their day for my own understanding of their history and impact on the advancement of diving technology.

 

[Gilldiver]

I recently acquired several double hose regulators at auction. There are 4 Aqua-Lung DA "Aqua-Masters", 3 Aqua-Lung DW "Mistrals", 1 Aqua-Lung DW "Stream Air" and 1 Aqua-Lung "Royal Aqua Master" left. I already sold a Voit.

I'm going to keep one for myself and sell the others. But, I was wondering how the regulators compared to one another for performance, quality and price in their day for my own understanding of their history and impact on the advancement of diving technology.

Go to Vintage Double Hose and you can find a lot about these regs. Well tuned up with new rubber compontents and they can be very easy breathers, but they are diffrent. The Stream Air and Mistral are the same with only the venturi nozzle being impreved with the Mistral. Most Stream Air regs were converted to the Mistral nozzle back in the early 60's.

 

[herman]

To some extent it depends on what you want. For simplicity, then keep the Mistral. It is very simple and reliable. As Pete pointed out, it is pretty much the same as the Airstream but the Airstream will sell for a little more....more money to fund the restoration. Diving the Mistral is a little different than the DA or Royal, being a single stage (no IP) they make a strange sounds and the breathing effort shifts a good bit as the tank pressure changes. They do not play well with tanks over 2500 psi...they work but not well until the pressure drops. They are great old regs and certainly worth restoring and diving but they are different beast.

The DA's are somewhere in the middle, not bad regs and are certainly work horses in their own right but them more common of the regs you have. From a diving perspective they are very close to the Royal.
The Royal has a balanced first stage and similar to what you are already diving, they do nicely with 3000 psi tanks and the internals are the same as a Conshelf or Titan so parts are easy to come by.

What would I do? Keep the best Mistral, DA and the Royal and sell the rest. I would have all 3 restored and a Phoenix added to the DA. That way you have the best of all of them. Then learn to dive DH regs with the DA/Phoenix because it is the most like what you are accustomed to. They do dive different and having someone who understands them giving you pointers will help a lot, don't expect to just put them on our tank with your regular BC and have the outcome be good. You won't die but odds are you will not like them either without some guidance diving them.
The old DH regs have become my reg of choice but you need to understand them and how they are different to really appreciate them.

 

[captain]

What Herman said.
However if you do decide to only keep only one, keep the Royal Aquamaster

 

[Nemrod]

If there can only be one, it can only be the Royal Aqua Master. N

 

[John C. Ratliff]

If there can only be one, it can only be the Royal Aqua Master. N

Nemrod is correct, the Royal Aquamaster is the most complex, and latest of those listed. But both the Mistral and Stream Air are very good, very simple regulators which can easily be maintained in the field. This is why the Cousteau team used the Mistral for many years after switching from the original Aqualung regulator. If you are looking for the overall performance and upgradability, it is the Royal Aquamaster. But if you are looking for a reliable, long-lasting regulator with very easy maintenance, it is the Mistral/Stream Air.

SeaRat

PS--Nemrod, your personal mail file is full; I can't send you a PM right now.

 

[Gilldiver]

1) Keep the Mistral and sell the Streamair to fund the new rubber.

2) Upgrade the Mistral and Royal with all new rubber - the yellow hoses with black mouthpiece show great in photos.

3) Redo the second stage of the DA and put on the pheniox nozzle.

Or, keep all of them as the start of your collection - you never can have just one.

 

[Nemrod]

PS--Nemrod, your personal mail file is full; I can't send you a PM right now.

Sorry about that, for being the Scubaboard Super Troll that I am I get a ton of PMs, hard to keep up with them all. I cleaned them out, I should be open for business

Nem

 

[Double Diver]

I recently acquired several double hose regulators at auction. There are 4 Aqua-Lung DA "Aqua-Masters", 3 Aqua-Lung DW "Mistrals", 1 Aqua-Lung DW "Stream Air" and 1 Aqua-Lung "Royal Aqua Master" left. I already sold a Voit.

I'm going to keep one for myself and sell the others. But, I was wondering how the regulators compared to one another for performance, quality and price in their day for my own understanding of their history and impact on the advancement of diving technology.

You are a lucky man to have to make such difficult decisions.
Being a scuba hoarder myself, (maybe I'll get my own reality TV show) I would keep and rebuild the best looking Mistral, DA & Royal, and if you don't need the extra $100-$175 you'd get from the Stream Air keep it to just to round out your burgeoning collection. The money you get from selling the others will more that cover the cost of parts. And if you are the least bit mechanical you can do this your self, I'd start with the Mistral it only has about 6 moving parts. Then move on to the DA. Later you can easily up grade it to a Phoenix if you want to get serious and then do the Royal, it's the most valuable of the DH regs and a un-rebuilt one just sold on Ebay for over $400 so you can't loose. Heck you might even like this vintage thing.
In the mean time as you have seen we all like to help and volunteer opinions.
Good luck!

 

[olkev]

To some extent it depends on what you want. For simplicity, then keep the Mistral. It is very simple and reliable. As Pete pointed out, it is pretty much the same as the Airstream but the Airstream will sell for a little more....more money to fund the restoration. Diving the Mistral is a little different than the DA or Royal, being a single stage (no IP) they make a strange sounds and the breathing effort shifts a good bit as the tank pressure changes. They do not play well with tanks over 2500 psi...they work but not well until the pressure drops. They are great old regs and certainly worth restoring and diving but they are different beast.

The DA's are somewhere in the middle, not bad regs and are certainly work horses in their own right but them more common of the regs you have. From a diving perspective they are very close to the Royal. The Royal has a balanced first stage and similar to what you are already diving, they do nicely with 3000 psi tanks and the internals are the same as a Conshelf or Titan so parts are easy to come by.

What would I do? Keep the best Mistral, DA and the Royal and sell the rest. I would have all 3 restored and a Phoenix added to the DA. That way you have the best of all of them. Then learn to dive DH regs with the DA/Phoenix because it is the most like what you are accustomed to. They do dive different and having someone who understands them giving you pointers will help a lot, don't expect to just put them on our tank with your regular BC and have the outcome be good. You won't die but odds are you will not like them either without some guidance diving them.
The old DH regs have become my reg of choice but you need to understand them and how they are different to really appreciate them.

THIS!
The Phoenix Nozzle: Is a balanced first stage assembly that will convert your unbalanced DA Aqua-Master into a Phoenix Royal Aqua-Master... Will afford you the option of using modern high and low pressure accessories with no permanent modification to your regulator. Precision CNC machined from a solid billet of naval brass and then chrome plated for years of trouble free service................. Has 3 HP and 3 LP ports that allow you the freedom to attach as many (or as few) accessories as you desire..Since the nozzle is screwed into the regulator main body, multiple HP ports are provided to guarantee that at least one port will end up in a usable position. ............... Uses Aqualung Conshelf and Titan parts (including the replaceable volcano orifice) for ease of service far into the future.