Rebuild a Conshelf XIV

[Green Frog]

The adventure seems to be nearing its climax. Rsingler DM’d me that my beloved Con XIV is in safely his shop now with only one other reg ahead of it In the queue. I hope to have good news soon.

Meanwhile, in my footlocker of old forgotten dive gear I found a complete Con-22 rig (that I do remember buying just as the recall was completed back in the early ‘90s) and most of a strange, earlier rig a friend gave me. This latter had remnants of a blue and silver label on the purge valve and a knurled sleeve on the hose where it attaches to the second stage… no nut that requires a wrench. I just unscrewed it with my fingers. Otherwise it looks just like all the other 1085 second stages I’ve seen. Will somebody please tell me what I’ve got? FWIW, it came with an “environmentally sealed” first stage that looks decidedly un-like the Conshelf firsts I have seen.

Does this all sound familiar or do I have to break out the camera? Regardless, thanks in advance!

Froggie

PS Bonus Question: I assume this isn’t a vintage item or I should have at least heard of it, but I keep seeing references on this board to a “BPW” or “BP/W”. Is this something I should recognize and have just forgotten? Thanks for your sympathy and patience with an old man!

 

[boat sju]

Maybe have one of the grandkids take a pic with their phone. (Sorry, I couldn't resist. But I'm up there with you too.)

BP/W is referring to a back plate and wing.

boat

 

[James79]

The adventure seems to be nearing its climax. Rsingler DM’d me that my beloved Con XIV is in safely his shop now with only one other reg ahead of it In the queue. I hope to have good news soon.

Meanwhile, in my footlocker of old forgotten dive gear I found a complete Con-22 rig (that I do remember buying just as the recall was completed back in the early ‘90s) and most of a strange, earlier rig a friend gave me. This latter had remnants of a blue and silver label on the purge valve and a knurled sleeve on the hose where it attaches to the second stage… no nut that requires a wrench. I just unscrewed it with my fingers. Otherwise it looks just like all the other 1085 second stages I’ve seen. Will somebody please tell me what I’ve got? FWIW, it came with an “environmentally sealed” first stage that looks decidedly un-like the Conshelf firsts I have seen.

Does this all sound familiar or do I have to break out the camera? Regardless, thanks in advance!

Froggie

PS Bonus Question: I assume this isn’t a vintage item or I should have at least heard of it, but I keep seeing references on this board to a “BPW” or “BP/W”. Is this something I should recognize and have just forgotten? Thanks for your sympathy and patience with an old man!

Regarding the random rig from a friend, pictures are needed to even try to ID it.
The Conshelf 22 would probably be a great starter for the DIY path, knowing you have a genuine RSingler rebuilt reg to fall back on!
And BPW is BackPlate and Wing.... a simple, modular option for a BCD that is sometimes associated with tech diving, but works well for most diving.

Respectfully,

James

 

[Green Frog]

Well duh, as much time as I spend on other fora, I should know better than to post a question like that without pictures!

The first picture shows remnants of purge button label, the second shows the knurled hose nut, and third shows the unidentified 1st stage… it has an Aqua Lung yoke nut, but of course that could have been changed. Notice the yoke is part of the body casting.

The 1st stage has no numbers or other identifying marks except “3000 PSI SERVICE” on one arm of the yoke… no serial number visible. It has a small diameter HP port.

The 2nd stage has SN 75 11720. Now what can you tell me?

 

[mcohen1021]

I have an old decor reg that none will touch. I attached it to a tank and the primary 2nd stage was leaking...

I'd love to get this thing working so I can use it as a backup for the lake work I do a few times a year...

 

[James79]

Well duh, as much time as I spend on other fora, I should know better than to post a question like that without pictures!

The first picture shows remnants of purge button label, the second shows the knurled hose nut, and third shows the unidentified 1st stage… it has an Aqua Lung yoke nut, but of course that could have been changed. Notice the yoke is part of the body casting.

The 1st stage has no numbers or other identifying marks except “3000 PSI SERVICE” on one arm of the yoke… no serial number visible. It has a small diameter HP port.

The 2nd stage has SN 75 11720. Now what can you tell me?

That is a USD Aquarius.... Bullet proof unbalanced piston 1st stage with a 1085 second stage (same as your Conshelf 14). I'd recommend using the bits I sent you to rebuild that second stage, and I'll look for a video on the 1st stage. It will need some O rings and the seat replaced, flipped, or resurfaced. As pistons go, it's one of the few with IP adjustable from the outside.

Best,

James

 

[Green Frog]

Thanks, @James79. I was told the Aquarius first stage had some sort of “environmental seal”. Supposedly this involved some sort of special lube or grease inside that of course required special sealing. I wonder whether it would be possible to remove that to simplify servicing(?)

On the second stage label I can read Aqua Lung across the top. Aqu-something on the bottom. Can I assume it originally said “Aquarius”?

Would it make more sense for me to simplify my service regimen by marrying the brass Aquarius second stage to my spare Con 22 first stage to build my second rig for my niece? (Or maybe give her my C XIV and use the Frankenstein my own self?)

One last question (for now, at least). On the serial numbers, are those isolated first two digits (such as (80 xxxxx) indicative of production year? (In that example, 1980?)

I hope you guys aren’t getting irritated by all these questions, but I still have a lot of catching up to do after my Rip Van Winkle-esque time off.

 

[James79]

Thanks, @James79. I was told the Aquarius first stage had some sort of “environmental seal”. Supposedly this involved some sort of special lube or grease inside that of course required special sealing. I wonder whether it would be possible to remove that to simplify servicing(?)

On the second stage label I can read Aqua Lung across the top. Aqu-something on the bottom. Can I assume it originally said “Aquarius”?

Would it make more sense for me to simplify my service regimen by marrying the brass Aquarius second stage to my spare Con 22 first stage to build my second rig for my niece? (Or maybe give her my C XIV and use the Frankenstein my own self?)

One last question (for now, at least). On the serial numbers, are those isolated first two digits (such as (80 xxxxx) indicative of production year? (In that example, 1980?)

I hope you guys aren’t getting irritated by all these questions, but I still have a lot of catching up to do after my Rip Van Winkle-esque time off.

Not going to bother me with questions, lol!

The Aquarius is not environmentally sealed at all.... so that's no factor. I know some Scubapro regs (the MK10 SPEC for example) would pack the ambient chamber with grease and put a rubber boot over the ambient holes to environmentally seal it, but I'm not aware of USD ever doing that. There are some versions of the Conshelf (labeled Supreme) that filled the ambient chamber with silicone oil and put a rubber cap over it for the same purpose, but those are a diaphragm 1st (where as the Aquarius or the SP MK10 are pistons). I'm actually putting time on a Conshelf Supreme that I packed with grease instead of oil as an experiment... working great, but will be a mess when I have to rebuild it.

If you don't want to DIY for the fun of it, I would marry up the brass 1085 to the Conshelf 22 as you mentioned... all Conshelfs are fundamentally the same (same rebuild kit) just different port layouts. Likewise, the 1085 seconds are all fundamentally the same (exhaust T differences and smaller exhaust valves on the really early ones... think 60's) regardless of the sticker on the purge button.

The mixed blessing if you want to dive the Aquarius 1st stage is that it is unbalanced... the IP gets lower as the tank runs down. The 1085 seconds are unbalanced... so they will react to lower IP by having a slightly higher cracking pressure (harder to initiate a breath). I call it a mixed blessing, because some prefer a reg to breathe the same throughout the tank and some like the idea of the reg breathing stiffer as the tank runs down as a secondary indication to the SPG.

And yes, with that era of 1085s the XX-XXXXXX serial number denotes year-number. So that would be a 1980 production in your example.

Best,

James

 

[Green Frog]

Thanks, @James79. i found the video for rebuilding the Aquarius first stage, and wow, does it look simple inside! The surface finish of mine has gotten very rough as the chrome has started to break down, so it will be a good candidate for me to experiment on/with. Long term though, I think it would be better for me to set up my second rig around the later Conshelf first and just steal and transplant the Aquarius 1085 second for the brass box. I’m going for consistency here to simplify things. I also think it would be encouraging to my niece if she was getting the same dive rig as “Uncle Froggie” is using. Long term, I need to get the nephew-in-law and the grands (16, 14, & 12 yo) interested in joining us, so the outlay for gear may get a little daunting for a retiree!

 

[Green Frog]

Got an update from rsingler. He finished servicing my first stage and in the pictures it literally looks brand new, inside and out. He plans to finish my second stage soon and my beloved old C XIV will be ready for the Bahamas. Life is good!!