Getting started in vintage diving

[DaleC]

Now I have another project to work on...

I just recieved my nylon hose clamps from Bryan which makes taking the hoses off a lot more efficient. I like the idea of marking the cans and diaphram as I check and recheck the position over the lever about 3-4 times when reassembling rookie

I also think you should hold off on the rechroming for a bit Ed. One problem with making the reg too nice is you may be less tempted to actually dive it. That suckers meant to get wet! There will be time enough for museum pieces when you're old and grey

 

[Ed Palma]

Oh, the cans on my reg are a bit more...tired - compared to the one in your photos. The pretty new label has to sit in some pretty fresh cans. But first, I'll see how much it costs to get it rechromed. I'm not to sure if they charge by the piece, by size, or weight.

As to diving it... well, I intend to sell my singles reg. Then like burning a bridge, I'll be forced to use it for my singles diving (as long as I don't cannibalize my doubles rig and stage).

As for my USD plate, the explorer just about fits even with the tank (LP72) really low - as long as I don't use the banjo. I think that with an 80, there just might be enough clearance for that as well.

 

[DaleC]

The sirens call has you deep my friend

It was snowing last night so I bailed on the ocean (1.5hr's) and hit the lake instead. Test dove the Mistral I recently bought and refitted.

I dove it old school with just a LP whip off the pony for my DS.

Come on in the waters... friggin cold (39*F).

 

[Ed Palma]

Dale, the coldest I've ever been was water that was 24... centigrade (75F) And I felt cold! I get chills looking at your pictures.

Yep. Warm water wuss. That's me.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

The sirens call has you deep my friend

It was snowing last night so I bailed on the ocean (1.5hr's) and hit the lake instead. Test dove the Mistral I recently bought and refitted.

I dove it old school with just a LP whip off the pony for my DS.

Come on in the waters... friggin cold (39*F).

At least you don't have to worry about the double hose freezing up.

 

[elan]

At least you don't have to worry about the double hose freezing up.

Its amazing how they handle cold water.... this reg is probably the best option for cold water. After a rebuid my RAM had the seat breaking in and it started leaking air slowly in the beginning and more quicker once the tank was getting empty I was diving it in a 34F water in Lake Ontario for 40 mins 2 times untill I have adjusted the lever and although it was leaking the air it never froze !!! and never free flowed, that's amazing. I bet any modern reg would start flowing in few minutes but this guy held it very well

 

[Ed Palma]

As promised, here's my initial review of my recent acquisitions. 3 weeks after taking the plunge to try out vintage equipment diving:

"Basic Scuba" by Fred Roberts.

I got my 1963 2nd edition. I would say its in very good condition considering the age of the book.

As to the content, initially, I would wonder as to why it was considered as a "bible" for vintage equipment enthusiasts. Well, after glancing the content, I can definitely say that I agree completely that this is "THE" book to get.

If this was "Basic Scuba" back then, I wonder what "advanced scuba" was?

________

VDH Explorer:

My new toy

Naturally, I needed to try out my new label on it:

Fits like a glove.

As can be seen, what I got was a satin chrome regulator, so I guess the Pico blvd address on the plate is ideal. The regulator comes with a whole host of things. When I was communicating with Bryan from VDH, he said that it was a very basic set-up. I asked to him to elucidate further and actually the components of the reg are top notch. First of all, remember that the Explorer is a used DAAM. On re-build, Bryan uses new materials to give a top working order DAAM.

The diaphragm is made of very responsive silicone. The hoses are EPDM rubber for durability, the mouthpiece is new reproduction silicone and nice and soft. Wagon wheels and valves are the updated versions. The duck-bill is soft silicone as well. The reg is held together by a new SS band clamp, thus making access to the internals easier.

The regulator comes standard with a long yoke. Mine also came with a tire-style yoke screw. You can also see that there is an installed hookah port adaptor which will enable you to attach either an octo or a LP inflator - or both of you purchase a splitter from your LDS (see one of Dale's photos above).

The banjo is likewise made of stainless steel. The worksmanship is top-flight. It comes standard with a 3/8" to 7/16" adaptor so you can choose between your vintage SPG or a modern SPG.

All the data of the individual components can be seen on this page of VDH, as well as the other pages of the individual parts

When you browse through the section and you add up all the components, the price asked for the explorer is a steal. I would not hesitate to say that this is probably the best way to satisfy anyone's DH curiosity.
___________________

Pool tests tomorrow, followed by a show-chrome for the cans Time to represent vintage equipment diving in this part of the woods.

 

[Ed Palma]

The sirens call has you deep my friend

I know!

Heck, my desktop wall paper is a photo of a reg that sold on eBay last month!

I'm trying to get my reg to look like this.

 

[Ed Palma]

Pool tests done!

Most underwater pool fun to date. Using an LP72 filled to 2500 PSI, I started out with a regular BP/W. Got the reg sown as low as I could on the plate. Just some slight stiffness initially when facing head down, but when swimming, it was fine. Was initially wimpy and brought along an al40 with back-up. Eventually, I ditched that, and after getting rid of the weight of that thing, I found I needed no air at all in my wing.

The next logical step therefore was to remove it.

Now because my back-pack is not the ideal type of pack, I decided to remove the banjo as well to get the reg as low and as close to my back as possible. At the time, I was wishing I had hurried up and rebuilt my J valve... anyway, underwater...

it was pure bliss.

and as the tank pressure went down to 2K, and with the reg between my shoulder blades, it breathed like butter

It was just, tank, reg, pack and harness. Mask. Fins. Exposure protection.

And that's it.

ZKY, you may be on to something with minimalism.


I will say this, though. I'm really a NMOF, but after that pool session, it wouldn't have felt right putting my mask around my neck... I went MOF

Video review to follow.

 

[Ed Palma]

Here it is. Next stop for the regs: Show Chrome!



Everything worked great! The capillary depth gauge was sure fun to compare with my digital depth gauge

Oh, I've got to post a photo of the webbing on this pack. For some reason, it just kept slipping at the shoulders, that's why I threaded it through the D ring.