Cousteau upgrade

[deepsixed]

The regulator I currently dive with is an Aqua-Lung Cousteau with an early style S.E.A. plastic 2nd. I've never had a safe second on this regulator mostly because Aqua Lung has never produced anything that I couldn't resist buying, until now. The new Legend LX Supreme cold water version is just what I've been waiting for. However, I only want the 2nd stage and hose, which would then allow me to demote my current 2nd stage to octopus duty. My concern though, is that the newer 2nd may actually perform somewhat poorly as it was intended for the OVERbalanced Legend 1st stage rather than the other normally balanced Aqua Lung 1st stages. Any thougts out there about this marriage.

 

[pescador775]

One has to wonder what is meant by "overbalanced". I take it to mean that the first stage mechanicals are designed in such a way that the regulator intermediate pressure is not constant as in most regulators. That is, as the diver goes deeper the intermediate pressure increases more than merely necessary to maintain the IP at its preset gauge pressure. One way to do this would be to incorporate a first stage diaphragm which is slightly oversized.

I suspect that this feature is irrelevant to your ends. If the regulator 2nd stage will work at the surface IP pressure it will work just as well at any sport diving depth. If there is a discrepancy between the Cousteau IP and the pressure spec'd for the Legend it is very easy to adjust the Cousteau IP. One precaution, you might find that the thread sizes do not match up. Compare the Legend hose end thread to the Cousteau LP ports. I don't know if Legend uses the Apeks style 1/2" inch connection.

One more thing. The Cousteau uses its own positive pressure breathing gimmick and I'm not sure exactly what this is. It seems to boost air flow when in shallow water and moderate it at depth. Probably a venturi type arrangement. Should not be a concern., however. With the Legend second stage you will have a situation where both units are adjustable. This bodes well for finding a happy compromise.