Vintage Healthways Double Hose Reg

[herman]

With a little bit of TLC they do look good . They first appeared in 1959View attachment 114900View attachment 114902

According to Fred Roberts in "Basic Scuba", a book all DH divers should have by the way, this reg was introduced in 1957 and was replaced by the deluxe in 60.

Well, that just stinks. It does have the Hope-Page mouthpiece. What's the value of something like this if I want to try to trade up to something that I can use? I note that the serial number is 13XXX. From the digging I've done on the net, the number is lower than the other pictures I've seen on the net, so it may be a little older than some of the others. Not that that means much.

You still have some value. Most of the time I see these go for in the $135 range on ebay. DAs and Mistrals tend to go for slightly more and occasionally less, they on the other hand are great reg to restore and dive. Unless you want to hold it for a future restoration- it will never be a good breather-I would keep the mouthpiece and sell the rest. This is one of the few DH regs that I don't intend to ever restore.

 

[regulator bj]

Thanks Herman stand corrected on release date as 57 not 59 was being lead by "Skin Diver" mag which I have posted for more information .

 

[herman]

Interesting, seems the 2 sources have a different date. Based on the 1960 Healthways catalog, 1960 was the year the "new and improved" version that dropped the odd exhaust system was released. Doesn't seem logical that they would keep a reg just one year then do major changes to it. In any case, it was late 50's/early 60s and the early model is a pain in the rear to restore....by the way, the 62 and later Gold Labels are great regs since the reproduction diaphragms were released. I was lucky enough to get one of the diaphgrams prototypes and put a lot of dives on it, including a bunch on Bonaire, some to over 100ft.

 

[simonbeans]

Healthways produced three and maybe four double hose regulators. The one we have been discussing, the SCUBA, was from 1957-1960. Single stage, wierd exhaust:

The second model was the SCUBA DELUXE. It had the same single stage parts, but used a mushroom-style exhaust. It ran from 1960-1962:

The third model, (1962-67) also called SCUBA is recognized by a gold label. Again same internals as the previous models, including the exhaust of the SCUBA DELUXE, but with a venturi nozzle. It also utilized a captive nut in the yoke as compared to the usual screw.

There was a fourth, the SCUBAMASTER, advertised as being available in June of 1965. It was a two stage with a piston first. Also high and low pressure ports were on this model. However, it seemed to never make it to the consumer. As far as I know, noone has ever seen one. What happened?

 

[regulator bj]

Found a couple pics of internals of the de-luxe scuba and the unique yoke screw

 

[John C. Ratliff]

First, let me say that the Healthways SCUBA regulator you have was my first regulator in 1959. It breathed smoother and had a better mouthpiece than the USD Mistral. This regulator is still viable, and can be easily restored. Basically all commercially available models of the Healthways Scuba regulator (the SCUBA original, the SCUBA Deluxe blue label, and the SCUBA Gold Label) are in my inventory.

Here are a couple of recommendations. First, do not sell this regulator, but instead restore it. If yours has the duckbill inside, see whether it can be preserved. If not, don't worry. All you need to do is get a new duckbill and cut it down to fit inside the exhaust chamber.

The internal parts of the Healthways SCUBA are either nylon, stainless steel or chrome-plated brass, and very durable. The seat itself may need to have a new O-ring, but that's about it. This is a very easy regulator to maintain. The seat is also reversible.

Most times, the diaphragm is still in good shape because it is made of rubberized nylon. Conditioning it with a coating of silicone grease is about all you need. The new silicone diaphragm may be a good investment, but is probably not necessary. This is because this is a bigger diaphragm than almost any other double hose regulator, and therefore is quite sensitive to water pressure and easy to breath.

The one inch hoses are available, but not on the scuba market. They are used in Powered Air Purifying Respirators and some SCBAs (self-contained breathing apparatus--fire department breathing apparatus) by 3M, North and Scott:

3M

Be sure to get the neoprene rubber hoses, and not the plastic ones. They will work better underwater.

The Hope-Page mouthpiece is much to be desired. It was one of the first mouthpiece to have non-return valves, and it is still viable as a mouthpiece. You can get Mares silicone mushroom valves for their single hose regulator that will work with the wagon wheels of the Hope-Page mouthpiece.

My Healthways SCUBA original model was in the pool last weekend, and it is a nice breathing regulator. It was dived in open water last spring, and that was a great dive.

Concerning the exhaust system "defects," it is a design problem that was overcome by using the duckbill. The diaphragm that is inside the can works pretty well, except in a head-down position where it allows water into the hose. This is the "balance" problem that Fred Roberts discusses. The rubber band can simply be a rubber band--a very easy fix. With the duckbill in the exhaust chamber, the rubber band is not necessary (but mine has one).

The second generation Healthways SCUBA also has an exhaust problem--the mushroom valve can be sealed by the diaphragm if there is no non-return in the mouthpiece. This is because pressurizing the regulator pushes the diaphragm into the mushroom valve. The Healthways second and third generation mouthpieces were poorly designed, in that the wagon wheels were too small and increased breathing resistance. The intake mushroom valve increases the resistance of the mouthpiece system. But this caused the sealing of the mushroom exhaust valve in the case. The Gold Label overcame this with a metal tab welded into the case which created a space between the diaphragm and the mushroom exhaust valve. You can change the second generation SCUBA box to have this space by gluing a nut onto the case.

In short, you should try keeping this regulator, and not sell it.

SeaRat

 

[herman]

We will most likely have to agree to disagree on this one John. Most of the HW diaphragms are stiff and some are down right crunchy. Not worth messing with if you intend to restore the HW to a good quality diving reg as opposed to a just passable reg. Then the exhaust on this reg takes more than a cut down duckbill and a rubberband to acceptably return it to diving status. Sure you can make it somewhat servicable but with the original diaphragm and half done exhaust parts it will never be anywhere close to as good a reg as the Gold Label with a reproduction diaphragm and a good set of USD or Voit hoses and mouthpiece. All this assumes the HP seat is servicable, some are and some are not. There are a few NOS replacements around but are a little hard to find as opposed to the USD regs for which all the necessary parts are being reproduced. With all the odd problems is reg presents, it is not a good choice for a first time restorer, on top of that, it will never be more than a passable reg to dive once restored.

 

[simonbeans]

Nine, definitely Greek.

 

[1969ivan1]

If you want to restore it or at least get a good repro silicone diaphragm for it pop on over to WWW.TheSCUBAmuseum.com . I have only seen one diaphragm in a HEalthways that was worth diving and PLEASE never slather your diaphragm in silicone grease or anything similar. That is potentially dangerous. Drowning will ruin you day.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Herman, I'll agree with you and Ivan about replacing the diaphragm. But note that these diaphragms, which you state are "stiff and downright crunchy" have always been this way. This was how they were manufactured, and being made of rubberized nylon they react differently than do the diaphragms for USD and Voit regulators. Does this affect their breathing? Probably, but not as much as with their early single hose regulators. That is because they are much larger, and therefore have a much greater surface area for the water to act upon. Concerning using silicone grease to restore these diaphragms, an ample coat on the diaphragm, left on them for about a week, allows for restoring the original rubber. It is then wiped off before being used on the regulator. I've been doing this for decades, without incident. The idea is to restore the rubber, not to "lubricate" it. Wiping off all the silicone before using keeps that from happening. New neoprene or silicone diaphragms will have the same "slipperiness" because the natural oils are still present.

Concerning using the USD hoses on a Healthways SCUBA Gold Label regulator, my experience is that there is significant "blow by" into the exhaust hose when the levers are set at maximum height. The venturi of the Gold Label is quite powerful, and that is why Healthways put the baffle plate into their mouthpiece. I have very good results by using the original Healthways mouthpiece, with this baffle plate in place, and with the wagon wheel removed (it has to be cut out) from the nylon holder (and smoothed by using a pocket knife to make sure no parts of the wagon wheel remains in the intake part of the mouthpiece. I use a silicone non-return on the exhalation hose and it is quite a nice breathing regulator, without blow by. These statements only hold true for the third generation Gold Label Healthways SCUBA.

Simonbeans: Εννέα,σίγουρα ελληνική.

SeaRat