Deep dives with Argonaut Double hose (305ft)

[Luis H]

Here's the cheap (price and quality) version:

Wetsuit Formal 3mm Neoprene Surf Surfing Dive NEW | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Wetsuit Formal 3mm Neoprene Surf Surfing Dive NEW at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Saddam designed his own wetsuit and had it custom made.

I am sure he paid a bit more than that... wow.

 

[tbone1004]

A few questions about your non-standard configuration choices... Was there a specific reason you chose break with the common convention of rich (gas on the) right and lean left (i.e. your bottom gas on the left and deco gas on the right)? Also, if I wanted 2 tanks for trimix and 2 deco gasses, I'd probably opt for manifolded doubles with the Kraken on the left post and a long hose on the right post and side mount my Nitrox on my left and O2 on my left; but I guess a twinset might be hard to get in Dahab, right? Was your choice of lower than "standard" helium percentages (per O2 percentage) a cost choice or just based on availability in Dahab? Also, what was the need for the 20/20 travel mix on the 13/50 bottom mix dives; couldn't you have still used the 32% down to 110' where it is perfectly safe to switch to 13/50 (PPO2 = .55)?

I wouldn't exactly call left lean right rich "common" practice, at least not in modern configurations with the VAST majority of divers and instructors putting all gases on the left. I am unaware of any agency that advocates for this practice and only aware of agencies that forbid it because it entraps the long hose in backmount, disrupts the prop wash on a DPV, and has not proven to have any safety benefits. @grantctobin are you aware of any?

On your comment about the tank configuration, with the exception of the guys that only use short hoses and Lamar Hires who is really the only person I know who still dives long hose left, the paradigm with sidemount is to keep "left tank is mine, right tank is yours". This follows with the old backmount convention.
The problem with long hose left is that unless you have a lefty regulator for the short hose you are trading a hose crossing in front for one that bows in the front and hangs from your mouth instead of being supported by your neck. I will not dive in a team with a diver using the long hose on the left because it reduces the effective length of the long hose by almost a foot and because it's being fed across your body, it increases the torque on the mouthpiece which not only makes it extremely uncomfortable but also increases the risk of it ripping out of your mouth. Compound that with the fact that most hoses float and can catch on all sorts of things if you are in relatively tight passage I have always argued it is an unsafe configuration if you ever have to air-share and like I said, I will not dive in a team with someone who is using a left-side long hose because of the issues above.
I am curious to why you don't want the hose crossing your chest but more importantly why you feel that is more important than the safety and comfort of the diver in front of you during an OOA issue.
To combat the hose crossing across my chest *which I don't like either*, I use a Poseidon on my long hose which lets me feed from the left but flip it "upside-down" during an air-share so it doesn't cross under the diver. It does require a slightly modified air-share procedure for me where I have to grab the regulator and rotate it along its horizontal axis instead of its vertical axis to air-share, but that's fairly inconsequential.

 

[Luis H]

Back to our regularly schedule programing…
And don't worry... I will dive with you even you follow "unsafe" practices... just kidding...

Here is a sneak preview of my exhaust silencer 3D printed exhaust can.

This is the regulator I normally use, but I changed it to DIN fitting, removed the octopus, and added the cross-over LP hose.

The exhaust silencer is made from 1000 tiny holes (OK, only 999 to be exact).

The sum of the exhaust gas flow area is several times that of the cross-sectional area in the exhaust hose or any of the exhaust gas path. So, I have done lots of calculations and lots of testing (properly instrumented and otherwise) and the flow impedance from this modification is barely measurable (or actually not at all).

The exhaust is broken down into tiny bubbles, which quiets it down to a much lower sound than the intake noise. I don’t have the instrumentation for acoustic testing, so all I can do is comparison testing.

I will have a lot more info to follow, including some inside pictures. I made some really nice changes to the inside valve area also.

The regulator on the right is my primary regulator. These are my two working prototypes.

More to follow. Note, the back cans are the original injection molded.

 

[mdwalter]

Here's the cheap (price and quality) version:

Wetsuit Formal 3mm Neoprene Surf Surfing Dive NEW | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Wetsuit Formal 3mm Neoprene Surf Surfing Dive NEW at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Yeah, I saw that, too, when I did a search for "tuxedo wetsuit" but unfortunately the eBay seller(s) only have this in a (chinese) size "L" which is about a US size "S". To get one that fits a full size adult man you would need a chinese 2XL or 3XL. I found this same model and a similar (slightly less cartoonish) version on a few other sites, available in the full range of sizes for about $65, but these are some sketchy online stores that I don't really trust with my credit card number. The one place I found these that I thought I could probably trust (enough to use PayPal) lets me add the items to my cart, but when I try to check out it tells me the store is not running right now and then forwards me to eBay where this seller is not selling this wetsuit. I think the urge to have something like this has finally passed, though if I ever do see one more like the one pictured in this thread, I'm gettin' it.

 

[James79]

Yeah, I saw that, too, when I did a search for "tuxedo wetsuit" but unfortunately the eBay seller(s) only have this in a (chinese) size "L" which is about a US size "S". To get one that fits a full size adult man you would need a chinese 2XL or 3XL. I found this same model and a similar (slightly less cartoonish) version on a few other sites, available in the full range of sizes for about $65, but these are some sketchy online stores that I don't really trust with my credit card number. The one place I found these that I thought I could probably trust (enough to use PayPal) lets me add the items to my cart, but when I try to check out it tells me the store is not running right now and then forwards me to eBay where this seller is not selling this wetsuit. I think the urge to have something like this has finally passed, though if I ever do see one more like the one pictured in this thread, I'm gettin' it.

Think I'm in about the same boat...

 

[Fibonacci]

The regulator on the right is my primary regulator. These are my two working prototypes.
More to follow. Note, the back cans are the original injection molded.

Looks good Luis!
How do you propose to make the 999 fine 'diffusion plate' holes via injection moulding vs 3D printing?

The appearance is similar to an auto door trim speaker grille which uses a forest of tiny pins in the tool to make the holes... a nightmare to get the holes in the line of die draw without getting weird oval shapes in some areas.
The pins create much more resistance to resin flow so injection parameters usually need reworking, leading to flash or new distortion in other areas of the main moulding. Does my head in...
Usually the speaker grille is an insert in the main door trim substrate tool so it can be removed for tuning and maintenance... those pins are fragile and often need replacement.
An alternative could be to use a custom shaped and laser perforated thin sheetmetal plate that is co-moulded or ultrasonically welded to the B side of the can. B&O typically do this for their high series auto speaker designs.
Titanium

 

[Luis H]

I posted this in another forum, but it applies a bit to your interest in production.

The holes are designed at just under 40 thousands of an inch, but the 3D printing is not that precise. Therefore, there is a lot of post processing after I get the printed can from a commercial vendor. I have miniature drill bits that I have to use to clean some of the holes.

I also have to use some filler material and do some sanding to get a super smooth surface for the exhaust valve and a reasonable smooth surface to clamp down on the diaphragm.

At the end, I am extremely pleased with my design performance, but I am not sure it can be produced in any quantities at a reasonable cost.

I have to find a picture of the inside.

Keep in mind, this continues to be a hobby for me. I like designing this stuff. I try to design stuff that can be produced, but I am not the one producing anything.

 

[Luis H]

Here is a picture of the inside of one of the cans. I think the lighter color can.

The filler material I used is clear so you can see a lot of the 3D printed imperfections. But the final surface that clamps the diaphragm is all filled in and is sanded smooth.

I re-designed the exhaust valve to have a much wider landing to make it easier to fill and sand into a very smooth sealing surface. I also tilted the valve surface down 2 more degrees (away from the diaphragm) than before, and you can see the diaphragm stops.

The exhaust support spider is also different.

I am also having to use a sealer on the tube and sand that smooth.


The tiny holes look a lot bigger than they are because the 3D printing doesn’t do sharp edges. And I have to clean many of them with a tiny drill bit.


An interesting issue: the black can on the left is the last 3D printed can I will work on black. The material is so incredibly shiny and dark that it is very hard see what I am doing.

I like the one on the right the best, but I have not head back from the vendor that produced that can.

It has been over a year since the last time I was actually working on these cans and this project.

I have two more printed cans that I put aside for a while, but I need to finish sanding and finishing them. It is not a lot of work, but I have to put time to do it.




The other huge improvement (IMHO) is my new DSV flow diverter and the amount of venturi assistance I am able to adjust into my HPR second stage... stay tuned...

 

[Fibonacci]

Keep in mind, this continues to be a hobby for me. I like designing this stuff. I try to stuff that can be produced, but I am not the one producing anything.

My apologies, I had it in my mind you were VDH's chief Design Engineer responsible for the Kraken and DSV initial development and final production?

 

[tbone1004]

My apologies, I had it in my mind you were VDH's chief Design Engineer responsible for the Kraken and DSV initial development and final production?

designer ≠ producer
development ≠ production
Luis ≠ Vintage Double Hose