Zeagle Flathead XI

[nrh]

I don't know if I should be sticking this question here or in the "ask the manufacturer" forum, but I figured I'd give this a try first. I just mailordered two (one for me and one for hubby) new Flathead XIs from the Scubatoys guys. I was really excited about them based on what I'd been reading, but when I hooked them up they breathe a whole lot harder than my old Conshelf SE2 (which is tuned really loose). I called the Scubatoys guys and they said to bring them on in and they'd stick them on the bench and retune them more to my liking. Mega kudos to them BTW... this is my first experience buying from them and I'll never buy anything anywhere else. What a great shop - I only wish they were local - it's a long drive from Houston to Dallas - but worth every mile (or $ of shipping as the case may be!)

Anyhow, to make a long story longer, I'm just curious to know if any of y'all have any experience with these regs. Out of the box, in dive mode, with the tuning knob open as loose as it will go, mine breathed hard. Is it just me? Am I spoiled? I'm hoping I didn't make a mistake, although I'm sure they'll let me exchange them if they can't tune them loose enough to make me happy. Just curious for any input y'all might have. Thanks!

 

[Zeeman]

I have a set of DS-V's, marginally harder to breathe than the flathead VI according to the spec sheet, but I find that they breathe really well, and usually have to keep the knob turned in to make it harder to breather - otherwise it just force feeds air into my lungs.

Did you switch the tab on the reg to "+" as apposed to "-"?

the Flathead VI is one of the best performing regs period. So it is a little hard to imagine they would be hard to breathe, unless there was some sort of tuning issue...

Z...

 

[Halthron]

Do you have the same problem with the octos? The Zeagle regs I ordered about a year ago seem to have had an issue with the hose. When I swapped the hose, the reg breathed really easy. So, if the octo breathes fine, swap its hose with the one for the Flathead and test the FH again.

 

[nrh]

Nope to both trouble shooting questions/ideas, but thanks for suggesting! I even double checked the manual to make sure that I was backwards on predive vs. dive mode and which way to turn the tuning knob to make it breathe easier or softer. The octos breathe just as hard as the primaries. I realize that my Conshelf has been custom tuned for me and I like a really loose breathing reg, but these feel like sucking through a straw. I'm just surprised that they're that tight from the factory. Keep your fingers crossed for me that they'll be able to tune them for me to my liking, because other than this one issue, I believe them to be darn fine regs. I'll keep y'all posted on anything new that comes up and if anybody else pops in with something we've missed please speak up. Thanks again.

 

[BigWhiteSquare]

Not trying to be smart but are you doing your testing and adjustment in the water? They don't breathe worth a darn when they're dry.

 

[scubanatic]

I have been using the flatheads for almost 3 years now and thoroughly enjoy using them. As an intructor I get about 100 dives between services and the customer service I receive from Zeagle is 4 star. Enjoy the regs, I think you made a good choice.

 

[dulldiver]

My zeagle envoy does the same thing. I had it, and my old conshelf20 in St Croix recently, and I must say the 22y.o. conshelf beat the new "top rated" envoy hands down in its ease of breathing. It's as if the Zeagle 2nd has a smaller diaphragm or something....

 

[nrh]

Bigwhitesquare... Hate to say it, but no, I haven't put them in the H2O yet. If they breathe this hard at the surface, I'm not sure that I'm going to want to keep them and if I get them wet, I'm pretty sure I can't return them. Hence my take 'em in the back yard and toss 'em in my pool to try a wet run problem. I did hook the conshelf up to one tank in the living room and the flathead up to another (both completely full tanks) and switch back and forth and back and forth. The difference was significant and really surprising considering the ratings.

Dulldiver...seems to me we might be on the same page. If I can't get the new regs tuned to my specs I don't know what I'm going to do if they ever stop making parts for my old ones! Thank goodness I'm fanatical about maintaining my stuff.

 

[stoddu]

I'll second what BigWhiteSquare said. When I breathe them dry at home, they sort of honk when inhaling, in the water they breathe great.

 

[nrh]

Scubanatic... I hope you're right. I've heard nothing but good things about them. That's why I'm making the 4 hour drive up to Dallas to give the Scubatoys guys a chance to tune them to my liking. I'm going to bring a couple of my old regs for them to throw on the test bench so they have something to compare things to. If I didn't have a solid amount of faith in Scubatoys and Zeagle, I would have already tossed them in a return box and been trying to figure out how to nurse a few more years out of what I've got if I couldn't find something better!