Finally got a double hose reg....but

[WeldonDowd]

It's a Dacor and I'm not sure I'll ever find parts. I have had my eyes out for a long time looking for one and I came across a storage unit filled with some cool vintage stuff and aquired it all. It does breath but not easily. The diaphrams are both hard and crispy for a lack of better words and the mouthpiece is a US divers but in great shape. One hose has a few leaks but the other looks newer. I really want one that I can dive so if I can't find parts I guess I'm still looking for an aqualung or something I can get parts for. Anyone know where to begin my search for diaphrams or better yet someone who can get it divable?

 

[sander8]

Vintage scuba.com and vintagescubasupply.com might be helpful. Contact them by email for parts and service.

 

[herman]

At this time, parts for Dacors are hard to come by and any you do find will be either used or NOS and may or may not be any better than you already have. I would do one of 2 things with it. Hold on to it for a later rebuild when/if you can find parts and keep it as a wall hanger for now or IMO the best option, sell it on ebay and find you a good US Divers or Voit reg to dive. You can get pretty much any part you need for them with a few exceptions.

 

[WeldonDowd]

That's pretty much what I thought. Thanks. It does look good rested on a Dacor tank next to some other antiques. When I saw it I was hoping it was a Voit or Aqualung but no such luck. Oh well, searching for one is kind of fun. I know they are constantly on eBay but I'd like to come across one somewhere else. I'll send an email to Vintage Scuba Supply this week just to see. According to vintagedoublehose.com's website, he cannot repair Dacor double hose regs. I knew that when I found this one but the stuff was practically given to me.

 

[james croft]

I would have bought it too if the price was right. I see Dacors selling on eBay for what I consider to be a fairly high price as they are hard to get parts for. I would have to agree with what the others said. I would either sell it and buy a Mistral or DA Aquamaster which you can restore better than new with all the nice replacement parts available or just set it keep it to display.

It would not surprise me at all if someone did not get a wild hair and begin to make diaphrams or other parts like seats or valves for Dacors one day. I never thought I would see new parts for Healthways but there are diaphrams available now for it.

I own dozens of regulators and only have one Dacor. It just does not seem that Dacor had the following that other regs such as the Voits and US Divers have had.

 

[herman]

To some extent it's a matter of scale. Getting the molds made and paying the setup cost makes reproducing a part fairly expensive unless you can sell a lot of them. Because USD and Voit are for the most part the same regs with the same parts and the highest volume sales in the day, it makes sense to start with them. I know some of the guys that have went out on a limb and made some of the parts have taken a hit on some parts. Also, the USD/Voit diaphragms are fairly simple and the rubber section can be used on any of them with just a slight change in the metal center as opposed to the Dacors which are a lot more complex and require 2 or 3 different diaphragms per reg depending on the reg which increases the cost a lot. The Healthways were the next logical choice since there are a lot of them and 1 diaphragm will fit all 3 of them. Hoses and mouthpieces for them are still not likely to come too soon due to the expense of production but we can hope. The up side is the HW hoses would work on the Dacors as well. For the time being, all my regs end up with USD or Voit hoses and mouthpieces for that reason...although for my most dove regs, they will get the Voits just because I like the way they feel the best.

I also have one of the Dacors under the bench waiting to restore. I got lucky and found some very good NOS parts this summer. I plan to do a photo essay on the restoration this winter if I get around to restoring it (it's behind a Voit Trieste, a Nemrod and some custom regs). It will be on VDH if/when I get around to it.
For your first DH reg, go with a DAAM or RAM as your first choice. They are fairly easy to find, everything you need in the way of parts is available and there are a lot of us who have a lot of experience restoring them so help and advice is easy to come by. Other brands are a lot more difficult to find parts for and frankly I don’t know of anyone I would consider an expert on them so you are pretty much on your own for technical support. While I am on the soapbox, when you do get a reg ready to dive, find someone who is an experienced and active DH diver to help you along, DH regs are different animals and if you try to dive one with a modern BC and in a modern style I can promise you , you will not like it. Not only does it need to be properly adjusted, it has to be worn and dove properly to get the best out of them.

 

[Ed Palma]

I've got a perfect method to make that Dacor breathe better:

1. Detach the USD hoses
2. Attach to a DAAM

Presto!

In all honesty, I too have a Dacor reg which I acquired even after I got 2 DAAMs (converted to Phoenixes) and a USD Mistral. The price WAS right, and they actually kinda look real cool. I bought it knowing fully well that I'd probably never get it to breathe well even without major modifications (mine is a model one - without the dial-a-breath system). I did try futzing around and making my own improvised diaphragm and lever system and got it to a state where breathing from it wasn't as bad a work-out as before. whi knows, maybe in time Dacors will have its day in the sun again.

 

[SwimJim]

Not meaning to pile on, but..... I own a Diving Lung 2nd generation with Dial a Breath, a C3 Clipper and an R-4. The C3 breaths okay. After a lot of futzing, I got the R-4 to work okay as well. My lung? Well, if you lay on the bottom and watch fish, you might be okay. My DivAir Model B will smoke all three of them hands down. But for an easy reg(relatively) to get back into service that you will actually enjoy diving, get an original Mistral, DA Aquamaster or a Royal. The Healthways Gold label and Deluxe regs are really good too if they are coupled with a USD hose set.

Jim

 

[John C. Ratliff]

A couple of thought on your Dacor regulator are appropriate. You can see a long discussion on the Dacor Model One at this website. It is an okay regulator, and if this one of yours is a Model One Dial-A-Breath, chances are that the diaphragms can be restored. We have a discussion on how to do that diaphragm restoration at this link. Even if the outer diaphragm is not restorable, chances are that the inner one is okay, and can be restored. You have the option of going to one of the sites above and getting a duckbill valve to replace the outer diaphragm. This regulator will never be as good as a DA Aquamaster or Royal Aquamaster or Mistral. But you can get it going enough to see how you like it. You can disassemble this regulator with a pliers and a screwdriver.

SeaRat

 

[WeldonDowd]

Thanks everyone! Real good info and links, I appreciate it. Herman, are you the owner of Vintage Double Hose? I need to join your forum. I have read alot of threads from the site. I have been diving without a bc and like it, so I think I'll make a pretty good transition into a double hose reg. I have also aquired three steel 72's, two of which have j valves but I need to bend some rods for them if I can get a good look a one for a template. I also found in my lot a realy cool nemrod tank j valve nos that I want to put on one of the tanks. Oh, and i just bought a used freedom plate too, it should be in the mail. I have a vintage mask in great shape, several sets of fins, and a few cool gauges, I've posted about a couple of them but I do have some more. If anyone has a daam, mistral, or voit for sale (reasonable) let me know, but I may have to wait till after Christmas. I still have to get those 72's hydroed. I haven't been a "certified" diver that long but I've been interested in the older dive gear since I can remember.