Mistral DH Reg (~1959) and modern tanks

[James79]

I have a whopping 2 hours on my DAAM with Cyclone and HPR... and a 10 y.o. who already said he prefers it over single hose regs! Another DAAM and a RAM on the workbench in progress, and may have accidentally bought another DAAM. Plus the original nozzle and second stage from the first DAAM, that if I can come up with a spare body and body ring will become a DIY special (plan on printing a set of cans / otherwise fabricating the rest). This stuff is an addiction!

 

[Perryed]

I have a whopping 2 hours on my DAAM with Cyclone and HPR... and a 10 y.o. who already said he prefers it over single hose regs! Another DAAM and a RAM on the workbench in progress, and may have accidentally bought another DAAM. Plus the original nozzle and second stage from the first DAAM, that if I can come up with a spare body and body ring will become a DIY special (plan on printing a set of cans / otherwise fabricating the rest). This stuff is an addiction!

"Accidentally bought"!? Love it!!

 

[James79]

"Accidentally bought"!? Love it!!

The DAAM on the bench now was an "accidental buy".... through out what I thought was a lowball offer on the bay, and the guy took it. My wife was not pleased. This one, I set myself a limit on bidding that I didn't think would get it..... but it did. I was more prompt about telling the wife.... she's not so displeased!

 

[Perryed]

I have lost track of how many time I`ve thrown out a lowball bid and had it accepted. I like it when that happens. Still holding out hope to get the chance to check out my DAAM in Bonaire in July!

 

[captain]

For the record. The US Navy began ( early 1950's) using 3000 psi tanks long before they became common on the commercial market. They used the USD DA Navy as the standard regulator on these tanks.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

One thing to note is that it isn't the yolk to be concerned about, but rather the seat. The U.S. Divers Company Mistral (not the Aqualung New Mistral, which is an entirely different regulator) has a seat which is upset by a pin pushing against it. There is huge mechanical advantage of the lever system against this pin, as it must overcome a small spring plus the tank pressure. Unfortunately, the metal disc that the pin pushes against is "floating" on the nylon on the actual seat. At very high tank pressures (3000 psig) the force required to push against the seat can cause this metal disc to move, be displaced or completely fail. Therefore, for the original Mistral (and Stream Air, Jet Air and Overpressure Breathing) regulator, I will not use it on a tank filled greater than 2475 psig. I did destroy a seat by mounting a Mistral on a three thousand psig tank.

SeaRat

PS, at all pressures, the Mistral will out-perform both the DA Aquamaster and Royal Aquamaster, and is especially "sweet breathing" at around 500 psig. This is because of its unique Venturi orifice.

 

[captain]

If I had to pick one regulator for utter reliability it would be the Mistral.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

If I had to pick one regulator for utter reliability it would be the Mistral.

Gotta agree with Captain!

I love my Kraken but I probably use one of my Mistrals more often.

 

[JamesBon92007]

I got my DAAM yesterday and tried it out in the pool. It delivers very little air unless I'm in an upright position (tank had about 900 psi). I found instructions for adjusting the LP seat and it does not seem to want to behave as it should (tank was about 300 psi), but at least it's a similar process to adjusting most of my single-hose regs. In 2012 herman recommended in a thread to send it to VDH for a rebuild, and not to attempt to do it myself on my first double-hose. What do you guys think? I've worked on lots of single-hose regs, valves, gauges, etc but this seems to be a different kind of beast. I compiled a shopping list for the upgrades so it looks like I'm going be be waiting for my Stimilus Check before proceeding--the purchase price was only a down payment

All-in-all it's in pretty good shape and has new hoses and mushroom valves and no corrosion inside. There are no dents in the can or any other visible damage. After opening and closing the can, one of those new-fangled band clamps is high priority

 

[James79]

I got my DAAM yesterday and tried it out in the pool. It delivers very little air unless I'm in an upright position (tank had about 900 psi). I found instructions for adjusting the LP seat and it does not seem to want to behave as it should (tank was about 300 psi), but at least it's a similar process to adjusting most of my single-hose regs. In 2012 herman recommended in a thread to send it to VDH for a rebuild, and not to attempt to do it myself on my first double-hose. What do you guys think? I've worked on lots of single-hose regs, valves, gauges, etc but this seems to be a different kind of beast. I compiled a shopping list for the upgrades so it looks like I'm going be be waiting for my Stimilus Check before proceeding--the purchase price was only a down payment

All-in-all it's in pretty good shape and has new hoses and mushroom valves and no corrosion inside. There are no dents in the can or any other visible damage. After opening and closing the can, one of those new-fangled band clamps is high priority

With what I've gathered of your mindset/experience, I think you'd be fine. Read up on VDH, ask questions when you have them.
Respectfully
James