vintage regs

[cvol]

Hi all, My name is Christine from sunny Gainesville Florida, we are a magical City (protected from hurricanes by some lovely force.
I have two vintage regulators that I can't find any info on. I would like to sell them to someone that appreciates thier value, so that I can get some new gear for myself. I just got my open water certification. Here they are.

1) Voit Swimaster Titan II, serial no. 00957, single hose regulator. ( at least 1967). stage 1 & 2, with pressure and depth gagues.

2) Scuba pro , single hose reg, serial no. 111698, pressure gague, stages 1&2, no ports on first stage.

any one with value info, or who might be interested, my # 352-870-9246, or email cvol@cox.net.
Thanx all.

 

[scubajoe]

Welcome to the board!

Can you post pictures of them?

Joe

 

[cvol]

Absolutely, But Not For A Few Days, Technically Challenged. Any Info On What They Are Worth?

 

[DandyDon]

I'll ask a Moderator to move this one of the two to Regs forum.

 

[Scubaroo]

Look on eBay for similar regs, will give you an idea. Also a good place to dispose of them.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I'll ask a Moderator to move this one of the two to Regs forum.

Consider it moved. It probably should go in the clasified's but I think it will find more interest and a better audience in the vintage forum.

 

[seahunter]

Quite right! Leave them in vintage.
These regs are NOT for the average diver who might be tempted to use them or incorrectly assume they are for regular use. They really do belong here for lovers of 'old scuba' to see. It's more likely you'll get a better price anyway.
There is a large number of serious vintage collectors who monitor eBay daily for old regs (myself, turtleguy, dandalin, wm2050, etc). It's a good place to sell them but you won't necessarily get more money. These guys know what's valuable and what isn't.

Unfortunately the older single hose regs except for a very few models are not yet considered collectible. Just a few years ago double hose regs were readily available and cheap but that has changed (sorry - partly my fault). In a short while the value of older 1 hose regs will climb but it may take a bit of time since there is not so much of a physical difference between them and current regs. Certain models (Airflo, Rose Pro, some Sportsways, etc) are becoming valuable but the average 1 hose regulator in decent shape will seldom sell for more than $50 even to serious collectors.

 

[Bob3]

... Just a few years ago double hose regs were readily available and cheap but that has changed ...

Actually, about 4 - 5 years ago double hose regs were going for $100 - $200 MORE on ebay than they are going for now, one of those things where supply & demand falling into line with more folks selling stuff on ebay increasing the number of items available & driving down prices.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I find it very interesting that the Swimaster Titan II is considered "vintage" and therefore not usable except by someone from that time or with special training. The Titan II and MR-12 share the same internal mechanism in the first stage, and the second stage is essentially the same. I have used the MR-12 for years, and feel it is a great regulator. These are balanced diaphragm first stages, with downstream second stages. The breath quite easily too.

I did a comparison of today's Mares regulators, and some of these of yesteryear. What has happened is that the performance does not seem to have improved at all. What the manufacturers have done is to test them in metric units, and report them in this way. They therefore do not directly compare their older models to the newer ones, as they have changed the testing protocol and reporting units. But, if you go and change the units to inches of water pressure, or cm of water pressure, you will see that they are comparable to the MR-12 and Titan II performances. Some of todays are actually worse than the Titan II. But they need to change them, so they make it difficult to compare the two.

If you really think about it, a conventional design with the exhaust valve on the opposite side of the regulator from the diaphragm will require about a 1 inch to 1.25 inch head of water in order not to free flow in certain positions (when the exhaust is higher than the diaphragm). So, if your regulator meets this criterion (doesn't free flow in certain positions) and is conventional in design, your regulator is not breathing any easier than the Titan II, except perhaps at extreme depth (say over 120 feet). And again, perhaps not. The MR-12 spec sheet shows a breathing pressure of about 5 cm of water at 200 feet (inhalation) and 8 cm of water (exhalation). Translated into the EU units, this is comparable to today's regulators.

John

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I serviced an old US Divers first stage with only a single LP port and an HP port for a freind a week or so ago and I was very impressed with the design. The quality was first rate and it used a plastic backup ring behind each dynamic o-ring similar to what Scubapro does now with the piston head o-ring on the Mk 25. It was very much a design ahead of it's time and if it had more ports, it would be entirely practical for everyday use.

My reg of choice for deco bottles is a Mk3 with a Balanced Adjustable second stage. Both those stages have their design roots in the 60's. In fact one of my BA's was updated from a late 60's vintage Adjustable and is still very current in terms of performance and internal design.