Conshelf fans welcomed

[ZzzKing]

We used to sell all 3 regs at the Koral Kings dive shop on Midway Island, the 14 has an all metal housing, the 20 and 21 were the first USD regs to have plastic housings, they orginally came out in the early 80's.

the 20 and 21 are also physically smaller than the 14 from what I remember.

My 21 is slightly larger in outside diameter than my XIV. Probably due to the strength of the materials (plastic v. brass). They use the same diaphram so inside they are the same diameter. They both breathe very well.

 

[ZzzKing]

A question for you old Conshelf Codgers:

I just acquired an NOS Conshelf XIV. It has 1 hp and 3 lp ports. The thing is, all 4 ports are the same size. You can thread your inflator hose or 2nd stage hose into the hp port. Of course you'd find out real quick as soon as you pressurize the system but I can deal with getting them in the right spot. The biggest problem is finding an hp hose with the same size fitting as an lp hose.

What gives? Ever heard of this? Is there a fitting that will convert from one to the other?

Thanks for the info!

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

I have 2 Conshelf SE2's. One is my primary and the other is my octo.

Jeff

This is my double setup... My single setup is S600 and S600 as the octo...

 

[Lone Frogman]

A question for you old Conshelf Codgers:

The biggest problem is finding an hp hose with the same size fitting as an lp hose.

What gives? Ever heard of this? Is there a fitting that will convert from one to the other?

Thanks for the info!

Yes there is a 3/8 by 1/2 reducer available. Correction 3/8 by 7/16

 

[Luis H]

A question for you old Conshelf Codgers:

I just acquired an NOS Conshelf XIV. It has 1 hp and 3 lp ports. The thing is, all 4 ports are the same size. You can thread your inflator hose or 2nd stage hose into the hp port. Of course you'd find out real quick as soon as you pressurize the system but I can deal with getting them in the right spot. The biggest problem is finding an hp hose with the same size fitting as an lp hose.

What gives? Ever heard of this? Is there a fitting that will convert from one to the other?

Thanks for the info!

Any vintage regulator (that had a HP port at all) used the same 3/8” fitting.

You can still get HP hoses with 3/8” fitting, but an adapter is a lot more common. Any decent dive shop should either have them in stock or can order it and have it in a few days.

To find a new hose with the actual fitting you may need to look in the vintage equipment message boards. There are suppliers out there, but I can remember who.

Here is one other source for the fitting:
3/8" Male to 7/16" Female Regulator Adapter (AA51) from LeisurePro.com

 

[ZzzKing]

Any vintage regulator (that had a HP port at all) used the same 3/8” fitting.

You can still get HP hoses with 3/8” fitting, but an adapter is a lot more common. Any decent dive shop should either have them in stock or can order it and have it in a few days.

To find a new hose with the actual fitting you may need to look in the vintage equipment message boards. There are suppliers out there, but I can remember who.

Here is one other source for the fitting:
3/8" Male to 7/16" Female Regulator Adapter (AA51) from LeisurePro.com

Thanks to Lone Frogman and Luis H for the info and the link.

Of course if I buy from Leisurepro I won't get free parts for life.

 

[sndt1319]

Well,

My Conself14s showed up and passed the tech inspection. The Oct was a plastic US Dives second stage and it had some cracks in the housing where the LP hose enters. It doesn't leak though so I should be able to use it for a little while. (Is there any harm in putting a little epoxy in the cracks to help patch the problem before it starts leaking?)

I dove the set last night and they worked great. I had WAY too much weight and struggled the first dive a lot. We had a long surface swim and I had to work my ass off to stay stable at the surface with my BP/W setup. The second dive I got my weight much closer to being correct. It made life much easier. Although my back hurt so much after the first dive I had trouble sleeping last night.

Over all I am really happy with my $165 investment.

 

[DoubleHoseDiver]

I recently returned my 1982 Conshelf XIV back into service and noticed that on my doubles setup that the two LP hoses are hitting the tanks and I am unable to hook the first stage up without stressing those hoses. Has anyone experienced this before? Tim

 

[Luis H]

I recently returned my 1982 Conshelf XIV back into service and noticed that on my doubles setup that the two LP hoses are hitting the tanks and I am unable to hook the first stage up without stressing those hoses. Has anyone experienced this before? Tim

Some pictures would help.

The Conshelf doesn't have the greatest hose routing, but the biggest issue I have is that the extra LP ports tend to point up and the HP port points straight to the left, not down.

 

[DoubleHoseDiver]

That's odd Luis. On mine the reg comes straight out off the right shoulder and the HP to the SPG is straight out off the left shoulder. My problem is the two LP ports point down which is not a problem with a single tank but is in the way on my doubles. It would be better if the LP ports did face up and out of the way. Tim