USD Pro 1st stage

[Ed Palma]

Hello!

I bought a second hand USD pro regulator that was functional, but not very well maintained (the sintered fikter was green!). I took it apart, and sure enough there was some corrosion on the inside. I've read in other sites that white vinegar is a good substitute for chrome-safe cleaners. Most manuals say that before using the solutionm you have to remove all rubber parts, as they night get damaged, however I met a dive instructor who used to own an LDS, and he said that it was okay to immerse the entire thing without disassembly. Is he correct?

Also, does anyone have a link to where I can find a USD Pro maintenance manual? I'm not sure what IP to set it to, and might just use AL Titan values.

Thanks!

 

[Creed]

Hello!

I bought a second hand USD pro regulator that was functional, but not very well maintained (the sintered fikter was green!). I took it apart, and sure enough there was some corrosion on the inside. I've read in other sites that white vinegar is a good substitute for chrome-safe cleaners. Most manuals say that before using the solutionm you have to remove all rubber parts, as they night get damaged, however I met a dive instructor who used to own an LDS, and he said that it was okay to immerse the entire thing without disassembly. Is he correct?

Also, does anyone have a link to where I can find a USD Pro maintenance manual? I'm not sure what IP to set it to, and might just use AL Titan values.

Thanks!

I assume that you are referring to the pro diver? If so, I think you can just set it like a Titan.
I use white vinegar for most of my cleaning. Sometimes steel wool as well for really tough bits.

 

[Ed Palma]

Thanks Creed!

I did that, and here are the partial results: on the left is the picture from ebay, on the right is the semi-cleaned reg (its cleaner now than can be seen in this picture thanks to a good long soak in vinegar). I use 800 to 1000 grit wet sand paper. another manual said it was good for removing minor scratches.

Oh, would you know if there are any parts still available for this reg considering it is no longer manufactured? most of the shops here wont touch the thing because they don't have parts.

Thanks again!

 

[airsix]

Oh, would you know if there are any parts still available for this reg considering it is no longer manufactured? most of the shops here wont touch the thing because they don't have parts.

Thanks again!

I still dive the sealed version of that regulator. My local shop had no problem servicing it as recently as this spring. They told me that it shares parts with enough other USD/AL regulators that they can piece together what they need.

-Ben M.

 

[nwbrewer]

I may be wrong, but I believe that they share most of the internal marts with the AL Titan regs. From what I've been told the Pro diver is just another name for an AL conshelf reg. You could try sending a PM to DA aquamaster, I'm certain he could tell you for sure.

I haven't had mine serviced yet, but I was told by my LDS that it wouldn't be an issue to service it when the time comes.

I suspect your LDS wants to sell you a new reg set....

 

[Creed]

Yeah, it takes a standard Conshelf/Titan rebuild kit from what I've seen. You shouldn't have a problem getting parts for it. Probably won't need to do anything but adjust the 2nds. Replace the plastic 2nds with nice brass units and you'll be doing better

 

[Ed Palma]

Yeah, I was amazed at how good the brass second looked internally! I just had to redo the diaphragm cover plate because some of the original plating was gone, and short of having it replated, I thought "why not paint?"

 

[Ed Palma]

Oh, by the way.. would anyone have an ide as to how old this reg is? I tried googling it to see if I could find a site about it, but no luck. I've heard people say that its a relatively simple balanced diaphragm, and that because of its simplicity, its relatively bulletproof.

 

[airsix]

Oh, by the way.. would anyone have an ide as to how old this reg is? I tried googling it to see if I could find a site about it, but no luck. I've heard people say that its a relatively simple balanced diaphragm, and that because of its simplicity, its relatively bulletproof.

Mid 1980s. It was a big deal in it's day. Today's regulators have lower 'work of breathing' ratings (many are right around 1.0 joules), but it's still a great regulator. In the late 80s there wasn't anything better & I still dive mine. See quote below.

-Ben M.

Many different tests are quoted as a bench-mark level, but the most widely regarded is the US Navy test. It involves both manned and unmanned tests of regulator performance. The US Navy set 1.4-joules effort as the maximum inhalation effort. In order to qualify for the top level, category A, the regulator needs to meet these criteria at 62m at moderately heavy work rates. In the last test performed by the US Navy only six sport diving regulators qualified as category A. Two models were from Aqua Lung, the US Divers SE2 and the US Divers Pro Diver.
These same two regulators came first and second respectively in
the manned tests. These models have since been improved with
the advent of the Titan and Legend series from Aqua Lung.

 

[Ed Palma]

Thanks everyone! I kinda like the thought of diving something that's proven to be reliable.
On another note, have any of you ever tried getting your old regs replated? doesn't it change the tolerances on the threads?