Picked up some old US Divers gear and am looking for some input

[jacked_72]

Over the weekend I picked up a USD DW-Mistral (with original rotted yellow hoses, good mouthpiece and good diaphragm). It has the W. Pico address on it and a straight mouthpiece. It looks to me like its early 60s since the later catalogs show a curved or angled mouthpiece in later years. It has HP leak and needs a duckbill and hoses. Found an interesting thing on the inside can -- a wagon wheel check valve (just the rubber part) in with the duckbill. It had dried out and stuck to the can. I can see no reason why it is there and I'm guessing it just got forgotten when it was put together. Picture below. When you clean these regs, do you remove the name plate? I don't think the ultrasonic cleaner will be good for the plate.

Also picked up two USD tanks, both steel. One is stamped 1960 and the other tank is has its original hydro in 1970. When were the tank liners used? The outside of the later tank has a heavy vinyl coating. It would be nice to get they back into service, but I understand the liners degrade and you can't use them.

Also picked up an original Calypso in pristine condition. This is the kind with one HP and one LP port and tire-type tightening wheel.

Also in the lot was an Conshelf XI with the light yoke. This is kind of an interesting reg because the secondary looks like the standard Conshelf XIV, but it has an old screw-on exhaust tee. I've never seen one of these before. I think I read they were only offered 1971-72. This reg is also in very good condition. Both the Calypso and Conshelf don't leak from the secondaries, which is amazing to me. I usually see the poppet seats go bad. I doubt that either saw salt water.

 

[Nemrod]

Nice. Yes, gently remove the plate by bending the tabs the very minimum needed to pop it off.

The wagon wheel valve, who knows, extra parts?

The duckbill, I would replace with a DBEV.

The diaphragm, I would replace with the new vdh silicone super flex type.

It may need a new seat, hopefully, that will fix it, if not the volcano orifice is at issue and that is not a good thing, not replaceable.

I would replace both the hoses and the mouthpiece and you will find the curved style much more comfortable, most do anyways.

Band clamps are much more convenient than the clips.

N

 

[DaleC]

The mistral is a nice simple reg. As Nemrod suggests, there are great new parts from VDH:

 

[herman]

I will disagree with Nem on one thing DO NOT remove the label. There is no reason to. You will get way with doing so once, maybe twice if you are lucky but it is brass and it will work harden. The tabs will break off after a couple of bends, then you are stuck glueing it on. There is no need to remove it unless you intend to rechrome or otherwise coat the reg. If the duckbill is stuck to the can, which is quite common, esp inside the horn. Remove what you can by hand then soak the cans in denatured alcohol over night. I have not had any issues with the alcohol cutting the label paint but still I try to tilt the cans so only the horn and as much of the can as necessary is submerged to remove the duckbill. That will pretty much disolve the DB and it will come out. For a heavily stuck hardened one, it sometimes needs 2 soakings with a good scrape in between, use a wood or plastic item to scrape with to avoid scratches. Small areas near the label can be cleaned by painting on the alcohol to loosen the bits there. A US cleaner will not hurt the label but I do turn them label side up just to keep it from rubbing. That particular lid looks pretty good, I would just scrub it in soapy water with a brush and not use the US cleaner. While a vinegar/water solution works well, it will cut chrome. No need to subject the cans to it unless necessary, it does not appear necessary from the photo.

If you intend to dive it, go ahead and replace the mouthpiece. Even if it looks OK, it will be a lot harder than a silicone reproduction. Which mouthpiece you get is up to you but I much prefer the curved ones, they are smaller in size and fit my mouth better. If you don't mind not being reg approperate, the hourglass Voit reproduction is the most comfortable IMO, that is what I use on all the DH regs I dive a lot. As for the other rubber parts, while they may look OK, the diaphragm is no where near as soft as the new ones so to get the best out of it, replace it.
Once you get the HP stage apart you can determine why it's leaking. There may be some junk inside that has the seat not moving easily. I have seen pristine looking regs on the outside that were solid green inside...not sure how that was accomplished. The HP seat can be polished off and reused if it is not in bad shape or new reproductions are also available, either method is fine.
While ordering parts, I would also suggest a set of hose clamps. Many times the originals are brittle and will break when you go to reinstall them. This is esp true if they are the older style that does not have a nut - the screw threads directly into to plastic. A new set is inexpensive and you save the time and postage of ordering a set later.

 

[Nemrod]

I will disagree with Nem on one thing DO NOT remove the label.

He mentioned ultrasonic cleaner. Mine will take the paint off those plates. If he is not going to dunk it in a solvent, vinegar, ultrasonic cleaner or other possible mayhem causing agents used in removing the remains of the duckbill or verdigris then I would agree not to remove the plate, rechroming aside, which may or may not be part of his plans.

N

 

[jacked_72]

Thanks for the input guys. Soapy water seemed to have cleaned it up enough, so I avoid the U/S cleaner and solvents. I've got my parts on order from VDH and should be good to go in a few days. I'm waiting on ordering a new mouthpiece, though. Going to lump it for a while like it was 1961.

I also found out from another post and finding the right USD catalog that the 1970 US Divers steel 72 tank does indeed have an interior coating. Of course there is debate over what to do with the lining. The outside coating is THICK. There is still about 500 psi in the tank from 1976, so it might not have a problem....

 

[ams511]

I've got my parts on order from VDH and should be good to go in a few days.

I picked up a mistral off ebay. What parts did you order?

 

[herman]

VDH has a single stage kit to start with. I would add a HP seat, duckbill (or install a duckbill eliminator), hoses, hose clamps, mouthpiece, mouthpiece valves, diaphragm and a band clamp. Even if they look OK, the hoses are a lot stiffer than the reproduction silicone ones, same goes for the mouthpiece. Unless you want to keep the reg original, you have a choice of mouthpieces. Of the USD ones, I much prefer the curved one but I use the reproduction Voit hourglass ones on all my regs that I dive but don't care if they are original, they are my mouthpiece of choice. You can get by without a band clamp but they make life much easier.

 

[Nemrod]

Mistral:

Proper position of double hose regulator:

N

 

[jacked_72]

I picked up a mistral off ebay. What parts did you order?

Hoses, clamps, gasket, check valves, duckbill. The old mouthpiece with work for a while and I resurfaced the seat. It locks up very nicely. As they say, there are very few parts in these regulators.