Conshelf vs Mk5

[halocline]

One of these days I'll buy a conshelf, every once in a while I look on ebay and they seem to be a little pricey, like over $50. (I'm a tiny bit on the thrifty side, hehe......) so I can only comment on the MK5. I can't get mine to creep. I've got one that's probably been at least 5 years since the last service and it still locks up perfectly. Unlike my MK10s, which sometimes do start creeping after a few years.

Anyhow, I like the hose routing of the MK5, I can point the turret down and use the end port for my long hose. For someone using the 'standard' over the shoulder recreational routing for the primary 2nd stage it wouldn't matter.

 

[oldschoolto]

My conshelf 14 first stage went 37 years without a overhaul before it failed... de-laminated seat.. My second stage is still going strong with a seat flip..

Jim...

 

[oldschoolto]

Buy used conshef 14's on ebay is a game... lot's of junk that have not been taken care of... You need to blow up the photos and really look for tell tail signs... When you find a good set.. I will go to $125....

They still make the Conshef 14 supreme and 1st stage second stage is like $765 bucks... Amron International Inc. - Everything Under Pressure

Jim...

Edit to add.. They are on sale today for $688...

 

[Fishpie]

One thing I've never understood is why the XIV first stage is regarded as the Conshelf pinnacle when the 21 and 22 have distinct advantages in having more ports and potentially better hose routing (when using a BC inflator hose).

The XIV when mounted on tank with ports angled down leaves the HP port above the BC hose port, not a problem, but it just would make more sense to have the HP port as the one on the bottom.

Like several others my prefered choice is a Conshelf 21 or 22 pared with either a SP balanced second stage or Mares II ..... (it has to have the RAF roundel purge though).

 

[Luis H]

Interesting question.

Keep in mind that the Conshelf XIV and the Conshelf 14 are not the same regulator.

Numerically they seem to be the same, but the Conshelf 14 is the modern re-incarnation of the classic. I know it is mechanically the same as all the other Conshelf, but I do not know how many ports or the port configuration of the first stage.

The second stage of the Conshelf 14 has the access port on the left side of the case, that makes it convenient to adjust the lever lock nut.

I don’t know much else about the Conshelf 14 , but I hope it has better LP port configuration on the first stage.

Here is a Conshelf 14:

Aqua Lung Conshelf XIV Regulator 1st Stage 2nd Stage 1081-00

The specifications of the Conshelf 14 shows different ports than the vintage Conshelf XIV:

• 1 High Pressure and 4 Low Pressure port
• One - 7/16 in. High Pressure and Four - 3/8 in. Low Pressure ports

The Conshelf XIV has 3 LP ports and the HP port is also 3/8 inch (in most if not all of the XIV)



The Conshelf XIV is a vintage classic regulator that was built in huge numbers and therefore it is the easiest to find in the used market. I would call it a classic, but I am not sure I would call it a pinnacle.

At first impression the first stage LP port geometry looks very awkward to the modern dive configuration. But you have to remember that when the Conshelf XIV came out the BC LP inflator hose location was not standardized. At the time US Divers BC inflator hose was attached directly to the bottom right of the BC with a quick disconnect fitting. This was the case with both their horse collar BC and their BC jacket.

Next to the inflator hose was a lever with a pull string that opened an air dump on the right shoulder.

There was a separate oral inflator hose on the top of the left shoulder, but there was no power inflator attached to it.

US Divers sold that BC configuration for a number of years and I personally thought it worked well, but it did not catch on since most of the other companies (not all) were attaching the power inflator at the end of the oral inflator hose.

The Conshelf XIV was designed and worked well with the hose routing configuration that US divers was using at the time.

BTW, their configuration put the octopus on the bottom left port. The idea was to hand the octopus to a diver in front of you or on your left side (you could then swim side by side).

 

[Fishpie]

I've seen 14's with 2 different port configurations.
Most common is just like the XIV but with a 7/16th HP port, and much, much less common is a 14 with 4 plus 1 set up just like a 21/22 (just seen pics never had one in hand).

....getting a bit trainspottery here....
Identifying a XIV and 14 first stage is best done by looking at the milling around the ports. XIV's and 14's it is arch shaped, all others are round.
(The model name / number on the yoke knob is a good clue but it is not unheard of for knobs to end up on the wrong reg).

Louis. Very good point about running the octo on the left. Here's a question.....did those very first USD BC's have the power inflator hose route under the arm drysuit stylee ? In which case it would make perfect sense for the LP port to be pointing down.

 

[Luis H]

Luis. Very good point about running the octo on the left. Here's a question.....did those very first USD BC's have the power inflator hose route under the arm drysuit stylee ? In which case it would make perfect sense for the LP port to be pointing down.

Yes, that is what I was referring to with the power inflator on the lower right side.

If you go to the VintageDoubleHose.com website and down load some of the old US Divers catalogs you can see the configuration. For example on page 31 of the 1975 catalog (only horse collar in 1975). In page 16 of the 1980 catalog it has a lot more details of the inflator on the lower right.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I have a Conshelf 21 that was free. I had a next door neighbor for a while who was a diver in the past but was too old, fat, and out of shape to dive anymore. So one day we walked over and handed me a bag full of miscelaneous dive gear and told me to take it, that I could maybe make use out of it being I was a diver and all. I said hell yeah! Thanks buddy!! A diver NEVER turns down free dive gear!!
Inside were several reg sets, but the one that caught my eye was the Conshelf. I always wanted one and was contemplating going on ebay to start my search, then I got that score. Amazing what happens when you mock up a thought or an idea and then it happens seemingly by magic. Same thing happened to me with steel 72's, and metal second stages. I put it out there then forgot about it and next thing I know I'm swimming in the stuff.
Anyway, that Conshelf has become my favorite reg for just about all my diving. Super easy to service and bullet proof. I also like the configuration of the 21's port locations and sizes. I guess I really lucked out.

 

[oldschoolto]

My point is... The conshelf 14 or XIV is so well made and breaths so good, That it is still made today for military and commercial divers... And in the AMRON catalog it is called a Conshelf XIV... Parts will be here till way after we are all gone.. My grand kids will be diving my conshelf XIV supreme 50 years from now... THEY ARE THAT GOOD...

Jim...

 

[Luis H]

What is very interesting to me is that in the 70’s and early 80’s US Divers catalogs, they presented the balanced flow through piston Calypso as their top of the line regulator. They were shown on their own page.

The Conshelf was down with the Aquarius (non-balanced piston). The Aquarius was a good budget regulator, but the Conshelf was just in the middle. And that is how I remember them when I worked at my LDS back in the 70’s. At least on my LDS the Conshelf didn’t get to much attention.

We sold Scubapro and US Divers and out of all the regulators we sold, the Conshelf probably got the least amount of attention. It was in the middle of the pack of our second line of dive gear. I know I sold many more Aquarius than Conshelf. Sold a few Calypso’s, but the Scubapro Mk-5 was our best selling regulator.

Now, 40+ years later you hardly see any Calypso’s and the Conshelf is my top choice for a single hose first stage.