scubapro Air II - Gen 2

[Wolfie]

OK,
Zung, You have the greatest contribution to us morons, while never lettting us feel stupid. Your fine advice has always been spot on. I truly believed my question would have a response of "fill the sink with water and put the regulator in". So here it goes.
I asked about an

Magnehelic guage and you gave a description of a "fine manometer for 2 bucks". I am very positive you know what your doing and that I don't know what I'm doing. So What is it good for and how do you use it?

Sorry.....​

 

[Couv]

Sensei Zung is probably asleep right now. He's a sensei because he not only DIYs his regulators, but some of his tools as well. At any rate: altimeter, barometer, spg, depth gage, pneumofathometer, manometer, magnehelic gage, and probably a host of other items are all instruments to measure pressure and/or pressure differential-they just use different "units of measure." A manometer and a magnehelic gage use "inches of water" as their unit of measure. They measure the same thing but use different methods. You are correct that using a sink or bucket of water would suffice. It's just not as convenient or accurate. However using a scale in a bucket or sink while immersing the second stage works just fine. Hold the mouthpiece up or in some cases remove the mouthpiece and install a bit of plastic tubing in its place. As you immerse the regulator, measure how far below the water's surface the center of the diaphragm sinks. 3/4" to 1 1/2 inches is usually acceptable. 2.0 inches is for the shop tech's benefit. He can adjust it that high to prevent fewer customer complaints of freeflow-but this is the DIY section where such practices are eschewed.

 

[Zung]

What an encyclopedic explanation, Bro!

I'm usually way too terse, sorry about that.

The sink method works wonderful, but for me there are 2 catches: estimating where the center of the diaphragm is, and not to spill water all over The Wife's dining table (my workbench).

The manometer requires a bit more investment: steal a ruler from a kid, and buy a yard or so of clear platic piping for a buck. Put some distilled water in it, stick the long side of the piping (right in my pic) in the corner of your mouth, suck on the reg and see how low the column of water goes. Multiply the value by 2 (there are 2 columns actually, and it's the difference that counts), and you have a near direct reading in inches or millimetres of water. The resolution is about a millimeter, which is a bit better that the sink method. It works the other way too (exhale).

And yes, our main reg's are slightly below 1 inch, and that sort of comes naturally; and I (de-)tune our octo's to about 1.4".

 

[Wolfie]

wow, and now I find another new use for water. You guys are the best.


BTW walked into my LDS looking for o rings and telling him what I'm up to..... He was laughing his a** off saying something about how I should be b*^?ing my wife more.

 

[Zung]

And if you wanna get fancy, try to clone HenrikBP's master piece:

 

[akdeepdiver]

If you want, I am pretty sure I have some SP Air 2 service kits. I am out of town until next week, but when I get back I can look and quote you a price if I have them. PM Me, or email me at tanktest@gmail.com
Myles

 

[Wolfie]

Have a kit, while he was laughing so much about my grand scheme he forgot all about the "don't let customers touch their gear" thing.

 

[TXreefer]

1. It sure seems like the spider tool is a pretty big deal with the reassembly. Can I get around that purchase with a little patience?

I bent an old fork and made my own. Still have it after 10+ years!

 

[Couv]

Have a kit, while he was laughing so much about my grand scheme he forgot all about the "don't let customers touch their gear" thing.

Update, Man.....a DIY project with no posted end result is worse than a "sold" classified not closed out.

 

[DavidSchnider]

farm equipment lights are really useful