Need: Parts advice for reconditioning Royal Aqua Master double hose regulator

[John C. Ratliff]

I have both, the band clamp and the clips. The band clamp wins hand-down. I have had band clamps from USD for many years on several regulators. I also agree with Luis that they (the clips) are a "cheap" way to hold the cans together--technology from the 1940s that still is here. That said, the clips are not that difficult to deal with, which is why they probably stayed in the production. Other companies (Healthways, Sportsways) never had the clips, and used band clamps exclusively.

SeaRat

 

[captain]

If it is a regulator that you have spent hunderds of dollars to re chrome then a clamp ring is the way to go. I use both, I use the clips if I want to stay cosmeticly original such as my Voit VR2, or non mag, otherwise I use the clamp rings.
I have made the tools and developed the ways of removing and installing clips with very little to no damage to the cans. If you are just using screwdrivers and pliers than go with the clamp ring.

 

[FlyernDiver]

Those band clamps just look too flimsy for my tastes. Also, I don't particularly like the possibility of a single point failure from a clamp that cracks/tears or just doesn't hold properly to begin with. If that clamp doesn't do it's job there is no purge button to get air from on demand; whereas one could probably lose a clip or two and not know it. (I realize that leaks can develop elsewhere that will give the same result, but we're not discussing replacing seven fasteners with one in those other scenarios.)

To be fair, I have not ever examined one of these myself, I am going purely on the appearance of the part on the VDH site. It appears to be made from very thin gauge material and there appears to be a lot of stress at the tight-radius compound bends for the screw ears. This concerns me greatly. Now if it were made from the same gauge material as the cans themselves, I'd be game for sure. They don't appear to be though, they look thinner than a worm-drive hose clamp.

In short, although the clamp is "easier", it doesn't seem to be "better"; "better" doesn't always follow "easier" in my book.

All of that said, I just realized there are only six clips on my reg, so I'll need to get some more clips--maybe I'll get a clamp too--for inspection purposes only, of course.

Thanks again for all of the input...

 

[herman]

Do what you like, but there are a bunch of us that have been using the clamps for a good many years with no problems. IMO nothing beats time in service as a test method and so far so good.

 

[FlyernDiver]

Hey, are these clamps steel, or stainless steel? VDH says they are steel, but some posts in their forums say that they are SS. Anyone know what the current stock is made of?

 

[captain]

Be aware that band clamps are a reproduction of an original U S Divers optional piece, not an after thought. They were used back in the day. Cost more than anything is why U S Divers used the clips rather than the clamp ring. Actually the Le Spirotehnique regulators, the French equivlant of US Divers used the clamp rings

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Voit, Healthways and Sportsways also used band clamps; USD had them available via special order. If there is a question, I think it would be very apparent when first putting the clamp on that it did not fit or was not working, as the boxes would be able to move, when they should be tight.

Concerning the single point of failure, unless the clips are placed correctly, and tightened well, they could be a bigger problem. You need to put the clips on individually, tighten the top ones, then work bottom left and right toward the top. Then you probably need to re-tighten the top ones again, and maybe some of the others too. No clip should move after the process is complete. As one is tightened, others may loosen. In contrast, the clamp is tightened using the screw, and tightens the boxes together symetrically as the screw is tightened. If you were us use this same analogy, then most of the single hose regulators produced in the 1980s and 1990s would not work, as they used (on the metal second stages) clamps almost exclusivery. With either method, you can use a suction test to see whether a seal has been achieved, simply by sucking on the mouthpiece after it is assembled, and seeing whether a suction is achieved without a hissing leak. Both are pretty well-proven technologies.

Searat

 

[herman]

Hey, are these clamps steel, or stainless steel? VDH says they are steel, but some posts in their forums say that they are SS. Anyone know what the current stock is made of?

The original VDH ones were SS, the current ones are chrome plated steel and I suspect the SS ones will be available again soon. The one issue some of us had was the chrome plated ones tended to rust some when used in salt water. Not a structual issue but a cosmetic one. The reason for the change to chrome plated steel (vs SS) was the chrome plated ones looked more like the original chrome plated brass. For many of us who use them a lot on salt water, we will overlook the "less original" look of SS for the corrosion resistance of SS. There was a good discussion about this at the last Sand Dog.

 

[captain]

The original VDH ones were SS, the current ones are chrome plated steel and I suspect the SS ones will be available again soon. The one issue some of us had was the chrome plated ones tended to rust some when used in salt water. Not a structual issue but a cosmetic one. The reason for the change to chrome plated steel (vs SS) was the chrome plated ones looked more like the original chrome plated brass. For many of us who use them a lot on salt water, we will overlook the "less original" look of SS for the corrosion resistance of SS. There was a good discussion about this at the last Sand Dog.

A bar of jewler's rouge and a buffing well will make SS look like chrome.

 

[halocline]

Those band clamps just look too flimsy for my tastes. Also, I don't particularly like the possibility of a single point failure from a clamp that cracks/tears or just doesn't hold properly to begin with. If that clamp doesn't do it's job there is no purge button to get air from on demand; whereas one could probably lose a clip or two and not know it.

Oh man, you can't be serious...failure point? The clamp holds fine, probably much more securely than the little clips that are bent back and forth every time you take the cans apart. Add to that the soft hoses, plastic clamps on the hoses, and you're worried about the cans coming apart?

The main thing is the convenience; MUCH easier to deal with for adjustment of the 2nd stage, cleaning, whatever. As much as I have the cans on my regs apart, I could not deal with the clips.