Old regs, worth playing with?

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deadly_risk

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Location
Corpus Christi, TX
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I bought a tank from a guy off craigslist and he threw in these regulators (apparently his dads) for free. I don't know anything about regs, have never serviced one, and have never opened one up.

I think it would be fun to try and recondition either of these but am unsure if it would be worth it due to parts availability and information. Any information or links to places I can find information on these regs, and if it would be worth tinkering with would be greatly appreciated.

One is a Aqua-Lung Aquarius, the other a Viking 40 by AMF Voit.
 

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I can't say anything about the Voit as I've never had one. But I can tell you that the Aquarius is a great little reg. It's simple, reliable and bulletproof. The downstream first stage has only one moving part and that is the metal piston. About the only thing you might have to replace during servicing are O rings. I have three of them. The second stage uses the same parts as most current Aqua Lung second stages.

I think slonda828 here on the board even sells complete service kits for the Aquarius. You might want to contact him. As far as servicing the first stage, it's a very simple design and easy to work on.

The Aquarius is an unbalanced reg. It breathes very well at full tank pressures and until the pressure drops to about 750 psi, then it becomes noticeably resistant. This can be a plus as it serves as reminder that your air is getting low.

If you don't want yours, I may buy it from you if the price is right.
 
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I'm really digging that Voit Viking and would love to learn more about it from one of the old salts around here. If I lived closer I'd make an offer too.
 
For anyone who finds this thread via search, manuals can be found here: FilesAnywhere

Thank you for the info so far, I will be looking for more information on these things.

Thanks Paladin954 for the contact, I will PM slonda828 and ask.
 
Ok, so with the manual I found, I took apart the Aquarius first and second stage. Granted I have no experience to base this on, but with the exception of the plate on the diaphragm and inside the first stage body where it looks like some chrome has worn off, everything seems to be in really good shape.

There was some sand around the edges of the second stage diaphragm, and that was all the foreign debris I found.
 

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The Voit Viking 40 was the Voit equivalent of the US Divers original Calypso. It had virtually the same parts, and you can use the same manual to repair it as the original Calypso. I know as it was my second single hose regulator. The interesting thing is that this was the first balanced diaphragm regulator developed by USD. You could make quite an outstanding regulator by taking the second stage off the Aquarius and putting it onto the Voit Viking 40 regulator. Since I have two of the original Calypso regulators, I would trade you a working original Calypso for that Voit Viking 40. The only difference, other than coloring and name plate, between the two is that the Voit version of this regulator had an angle built into the mouthpiece tube, rather than having it come straight out. Hannes Keller took that US Divers Calypso to 1000 feet in his record-breaking multi-gas dive in the early 1960s.

SeaRat
 
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Now that you've got that Aquarius apart, soak all the metal parts in white vinegar for about twenty minutes to a half hour, then wash thoroughly in hot soapy (dish washing liquid) water, rinse well and dry. Lightly coat the interior barrel, O rings and piston of the first stage with SCUBA type, food grade silicone grease and reassemble. The grease will help protect it against corrosion. When you reinstall the big base plug, just turn it 1 3/4 turns from the point where the threads first engage. This should put the face of the plug flush with the body of the regulator, which is where it should be. Screwing the base plug any further into the body will reduce your intermediate pressure and increase breathing resistance.

Check the face of the low pressure seat of the second stage. If the circular groove in the face is deep, the seat should be replaced. If you get a second stage rebuild kit, a new seat will come with it. When you get it all back together, leave the face and diaphragm off the second stage and put the unit onto a full SCUBA tank and turn on the air. Turn the adjustment nut on the second stage until it starts to free flow. Back off the nut until the free flow stops, then back it off about a 1/4 turn more. This should set your cracking pressure to about the right setting.

Good luck!
 
Paladin954 has a great description of cleaning the Aquarius, but I would limit the exposure of the parts to acetic acid 10% (white vinegar) to about 5 minutes. I've noted some eating of chrome by the acid in the past, and so limit the amount of time I soak regulator parts in vinegar.

The other thing about adjusting the interstage pressure is to be aware of the tank pressure. Since this is an unbalanced piston, I believe the interstage pressure is highest at high tank pressure (full tank). Therefore, do the adjustment that Paladin954 recommends on a full tank of air. (This is the opposite of an unbalanced diaphragm regulator--like the DA Aquamaster--where the interstage pressure climbs at low tank pressure and this adjustment should be made at about 500 psig.)

SeaRat
 
John,

If the base plug is installed with its face flush with the reg body (1 3/4 turns in), the intermediate pressure will be at the highest a particular Aquarius can be adjusted to but will still be within tolerances. If the plug is tightened further, the IP will be reduced and breathing resistance will increase. The Aquarius was designed to be field stripped and serviced without special tools or gauges and, as a result, the IP is whatever it is when the plug is installed as described. You can always put an Aquarius on a full tank to adjust the IP, if you want to be precise, but it isn't critical with the Aquarius like it is with most other regs. You simply cannot unscrew the base plug (which also adjusts the IP) far enough to get an excessive intermediate pressure. The plug will pop out before you can get to that point.

The whole idea behind the USD Aquarius was to produce a simple, inexpensive, reliable and virtually foolproof regulator that was easy to maintain and dependable to dive with.
 
I forgot to mention that if there is no green corrosion on the regulator anywhere, the vinegar bath is optional. The vinegar is to clean away any corrosion. If there is no corrosion then hot, soapy water is all that is needed for cleaning. Sorry.
 

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