double hose regulators

[herman]

Nice diagrams Luis, don't recall seeing them before. Tuned up my Phoenix HPR and Pegasus for Bonaire today.

 

[1978davidw]

Vintage Voit Swimaster TRIESTE Serial 7210 w Swimaster Pressure gauge Attached | eBay anyone know anything about this on ebay? Looks like it already had HP and LP ports built right in.

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im also looking at this one as well. http://www.ebay.com/itm/160831941303?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

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and finally this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/170864536493?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

[herman]

Vintage Voit Swimaster TRIESTE Serial 7210 w Swimaster Pressure gauge Attached | eBay anyone know anything about this on ebay? Looks like it already had HP and LP ports built right in.


Treiste are somewhat of a pain to restore, the HP assembly is a little more difficult to deal with and even with reproduction diaphgrams, they are difficult- impossible actually- to get to perform as well as either a DA or RAM unless you custom make some parts for the reg. Plus, odds are it will sell for a good bit more than a DAAM or RAM and you will still need to purchase about the same amount of rebuild parts.
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im also looking at this one as well. Vintage AMF Voit NAVY Double HOSE REGULATOR | eBay

The Navy is the Voit version of the DAAM. Internally they are the same, just a little differnt top can. Good choice but like I said in my previous post Voits tend to sell for a lot more than the USD version of the reg . The amount it will likely sell for is about what a DAAM AND restoration parts will cost.

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and finally this one Vintage Spain Nemrod SNARK III SILVER Divers Scuba Diving 2 Hose Dive Regulator | eBay

Nemrods are nice regs but are restoration 201. Parts are hard to come by and they have some oddities in the design that can be problematic, not one you want to start off with. I am unaware of anyone who comercially restores Nemrods.

I don't mean to rain on your parade, just trying to help you with honest, experienced information. I have been working with a Trieste for a while and had my first Nemrod apart recently just to see what parts I need to find or make. Dacors are even worse. Healthways are OK if you get the Deluxe or Gold Label, the original “SCUBA” should be avoided unless you really want a challenge. All of the HW regs are single stage so LP ports are not an option and I am unaware of any yokes for them that you can use a banjo with.

The reason Voits tend to sell for a good bit more than their USD counterparts is 3 fold. First off, Voit was a smaller player in the dive gear market so there were less sold and therefore fewer to be had. Next comes Mike Nelson and James Bond, both used Voits in the TV show and in the movies so there is a little more demand to have the reg Mike or James dove. Basic supply and demand. The Voit Navy itself is great but I just don't see spending as much for a Voit Navy as you would buying a DAAM (which is identical internally) and all the parts to restore the DAAM....and you will still have to buy the same parts to restore the Navy. As a 3rd or 4th reg or if you can get it for about the same price as a DAAM- or if price is not a issue, then I would jump on it, but as a first reg, your money is better spent on a DAAM or RAM and upgrades like a Phoenix and/or a HPR nozzle.

 

[1978davidw]

no im thankful for the input.

 

[macado]

Everyone here has already given you great advice but I figured I would throw my 2 cents in..

As a person who has rebuilt 2 Voit Triestes and constantly tinkering with them they are nice regulators but not the best breathers. It is a regulator that suffered from a few design flaws. Nice regulator but they will never breath as well as some other regulators without heavy modifications. I don't recommend them at all for your first double hose regulator.

For your first double hose regulator, I would probably recommend a DA Aquamaster or Royal Aquamaster. Both can use LP accessories such as second stages and LP inflators. The cream of the crop would be to buy a Phoenix nozzle and convert your DA Aqumaster or Royal to a Phoenix Aquamaster.

The Phoenix nozzle is a first stage replacement for the DA Aquamaster or Royal Aquamaster developed by Luis and sold by Vintage Double Hose. It is a fully balanced first stage that features 3 HP and 3 LP ports so that you can use your double hose regulator with all modern accessories.

If you want to start even simpler, look at getting a Aqualung Mistral, the easiest double hose regulator to rebuild out of them all. It is a single stage regulator with no LP or HP ports. Extremely reliable and easy to rebuild. While you can't use it with LP accessories, you can use a banjo adapter to attach an SPG.

Right now my go to regulator is a DA Aquamaster. I dont own a Phoenix nozzle but I will probably buy one the next time they're in stock. With my DA Aquamaster, I use a banjo fitting to attach an SPG (or forgo an SPG and simply dive with a J-valve). I use the hooka port with an LP port adapter and run an LP inflator for my drysuit and/or wing. With this setup, you could use a LP port splitter and attach an octopus but I find DA Aquamaster is reliable enough that I don't normally dive with another second stage.

 

[Luis H]

im also looking at this one as well. Vintage AMF Voit NAVY Double HOSE REGULATOR | eBay

That I a nice looking Voit Navy, but it is already at $177 and it still has two days to go…

 

[KD8NPB]

Welcome to the world of DH diving.
To KD8's list I would add a duckbill and hose clamps. I can about promise you the duckbill is shot in any reg you get. Unless you know exactly who the seller is, don't believe any of the "I hooked it up to a tank and it's in prefect working order" BS. Unless it has been gone through in the past few years I can pretty much promise you it's not in diving shape. To my knowledge, there are only 2 places in the US that still service the old regs so I also don't believe the " it was checked by a LDS and its good to go".

Thanks herman!

Omitted due to poor memory, not intentional "Yeah man, that part will be fine".

...although I used zipties instead of the clamps.

 

[herman]

I occasionally use zipties and I have also used the ratched plastic hose clamps. Both work but just don't look as good as the correct ones. The ratcheting hose clamps are nice for a reg you use a lot, makes taking the hose off a lot easier.

73 de KA4HAM

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Vintage Voit Swimaster TRIESTE Serial 7210 w Swimaster Pressure gauge Attached | eBay anyone know anything about this on ebay? Looks like it already had HP and LP ports built right in.

---------- Post Merged at 09:07 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:06 PM ----------

im also looking at this one as well. Vintage AMF Voit NAVY Double HOSE REGULATOR | eBay

---------- Post Merged at 09:10 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:06 PM ----------

and finally this one Vintage Spain Nemrod SNARK III SILVER Divers Scuba Diving 2 Hose Dive Regulator | eBay

The information that Herman and Macado gave above is correct on the Trieste; it had design defects which keep it from breathing to its potential. I have written about what I did to mine over about a 20 year period to get it to breath wonderfully, but this is a major design change on several fronts (you can do a search and probably find my earlier writing about it).

If I were to choose between these three regulators, I'd take the Voit Navy. I'd then, over time, convert it with Luis' Phoenix first stage and his new second stage, and have a whole new regulator. I'd simply put it into use as it is for a while to get an idea of how it performed in its original state, then over a period of a year or two make the conversions to Luis' modified regulator. It can also be converted back to its original state in the future if desired (though I don't know why you would do that). This way you would come up ultimately with a very high-performing regulator with all the modern features, and a variable venturi to boot.

I did note that this Voit Navy had a pretty dirty mouthpiece, and without looking at it closely it may need some replacement parts for the hose/mouthpiece system.

One of the reasons the Voit double hose regulators are more expensive is because they look really nice...they are PURDY! USD made their regulators mostly for working divers, and had some later chromed models which were nice, but did not have that nice design on the bottom box. The round label USD regulators (Royal Aquamaster and later DA Aquamasters) never got to the level of design delight that the Voit regulators (very same regulator) put on display. It is now at $190.50, and just less than a day left in the auction.

SeaRat

 

[Nemrod]

The Voit regulators are kind of pretty too with slightly different cover designs and decals. My Phoenix/HPR Voit Navy is the pride of my current fleet but the regulator I dive the most is a nearly identical RAM (Phoenix Gen I 006) with all the latest stuff but my favorite is my yellow hose square label RAM. I may put an HPR in it as I am becoming increasingly love struck with the HPR.


I told my wife I do not have that many regulators, when asked, and then I found another box of them while finishing the basement I had forgotten about, maybe I do have a bunch of regulators.

N