What Double Hose Regulator Should I Buy?

This is probably the question I get most often and the one with no easy answer.  I guess my first response would be...Don’t buy the first one you see.

Buying your first double hose is just like buying anything else for the first time and if you are smart you will do your research first.  If instant gratification is all you require then I’ll be glad to equip you with the newest and best double hose setup made to date and you can go diving.

Rarely do double hose divers just have one regulator and I hope by providing information over the next few weeks you will be able to make a more educated buying decision.  The information I’ll be sharing is not intended to be a history or historical timeline of regulators.  Phil Nuytten, Ed LaRochell and several other much more qualified than I are the best resources for that kind of information.  

Since double hose regulators have been available since the early 50’s there are quite a few to choose from. 

Note:  Just because it’s old does not make it good or bad...Nor does it make it valuable or rare.

If you are a collector then you will want one of everything and every model. The same applies if you only collect trophy shelf queens (regulators you polish and talk about but never use).  If you are looking for a regulator to dive with then the field narrows down very quickly.

The two key players in the double hose world were always US Divers and Voit here in the US. They made millions of regulators and many of the parts used on the first models were still used in the last ones.  The advantage here is that most parts are still available as NOS or have been reproduced and in many cases improved. La Spirotechnique in France (parent company to USD) also made millions of regulators whose parts were virtually unchanged through their years of production.

While you are perusing the internet and other places you will no doubt run across manufactures such as DACOR, Healthways, Sportsways and Nemrod just to name a few.  Parts may or may not be available and if they are they may be difficult to acquire. Some models were made in very limited numbers and some were just bad breathing regulators when they were new.  Some of the hard-core double hosers enjoy a challenge and have taken these brands and made some really good diving regulators out of them. But when looking for your first double hose I would not recommend them.

I hope you still have your wallet safely in your pocket….. Next you need to decide what type of diving you are going to do with you double hose.  Are you interested in historical correctness, down to the period correct dust cap on your 1st stage and the fillister head screws on your mouthpiece clamps? Are you a devil may care, mix and match modern and vintage gear, go with the flow diver? Do you dive mainly in cold water in a dry suit or dive only in the tropics in just your swimsuit?  None of these have to be set in stone as double hose regulators are very flexible but it’s easier to decide on gear if you know your diving style to begin with.  

Once you decide on what regulator you want your search can begin. You can buy from established online websites, E-bay, Craig’s List, or local contacts to name a few.  Don’t get caught up in a rush to buy or the euphoria of winning an auction.  You will likely end up paying too much for too little and still need to spend quite a bit to get your regulator into diving condition.  Research past auctions and sales on the web and watch the message forums for regulators that pop up for sale.

Once again 90% of the regulators you would use for diving are neither rare nor hard to come by and you are more than likely going to own more than one in a short period of time.

I do offer refurbished regulators on VDH that are of a grade to which I can guarantee.  They don’t last long on the site and I don’t do many at a time.

Once that you have your twin hose jewel, you will most likely need to get it serviced.  Most regulators are more than 50 years old and are in need of a complete service.  This is not an area to shortcut or to try to shave off a few bucks.

Get your new to you regulator in the absolute best condition you can to start with, maintain it properly and it will give you years of trouble free diving.

Unless you buy your regulator from someone willing to guarantee it to be in excellent working condition and can provide proof of service with a warranty you are on your own!  Buyer Beware.

Many people choose to rebuild their regulators themselves and all the factory service manuals are in the download section of the website, parts are available on line and the website forum has an extensive database and search engine to return answers to most every question you could ever ask about servicing a double hose regulator. If you have experience servicing regulators or are simply good with mechanics then there is no reason you can’t do it yourself.  I would strongly suggest if this is your 1st regulator you service and you foresee yourself doing a lot of it in the future then you should definitely pick up a copy of Regulator Savvy  It will help you understand WHY and HOW a regulator does what it does.

Rebuilding a regulator does not mean taking out all the parts, flipping over seats, greasing up old parts, re-installing them and calling it rebuilt...This is a scam and fraud in my opinion. NEW reproduction parts for these regulators have been available for more that 10 years now. Unless you get your old parts back with your just rebuilt regulator you got the shaft.

I am not saying by any stretch that VDH is the only place that can rebuild a regulator; far from it.  I have dozens of peers in the community that I would trust with my personal gear. I also know a few that, as well meaning as they might be, I wouldn't trust to put my regulator on a cylinder valve correctly.

If you hear, Oh I know how to service Brand X and these simple old things are beneath my regulator service god’s skills…. Walk away….Just let it go….Simple they may be, but double hose regulators like all other mechanical items have subtle nuances and a knowledgeable person who understands this will get it right the 1st time.

Next we start talking what’s what about actual regulators.

I appreciate your comments and feedback.

Getting Started in Vintage Equipment Diving

Getting Started in Vintage Equipment Diving

Areas highlighted in BLUE are links..Please click on them

Please read carefully…..Over the years VDH associates have been guiding divers in this area and by following this outline it will save you a lot of grief and speed up your evolution into Mike Nelson.

First things first…..DO NOT GO OUT AND BUY A BUNCH OF OLD GEAR! Biggest mistake you can make.  There is nothing on the internet or an auction site that you would actually dive with that cannot be found year round and in several places.

Ok, now that you have put your wallet away you need to set down and think long and hard about yourself as a diver. Ignore your ego and look deep.

When was the last time you went diving?  Has it been years or weeks? If it has been a very long time I would suggest taking a refresher course or at the very least taking the gear you have and doing some pool work and some re-reading of SCUBA BASICS.  If you are not proficient and comfortable with the gear you originally learned to dive with, then Vintage Equipment will not solve that!

More than once I have witnessed a diver, new to the group, joining us for an event decked out head to toe with amazing vintage gear. But from the moment they start assembling and putting on this equipment, they are struggling. Once they get in the water they struggle even more and after a brief uncomfortable and non-enjoyable dive they end up thinking...What the hell did I get myself into this for?... It’s because they did not take the time to insure that their basic diving skills were up to par.

.If you can’t be honest with yourself at this point and do what is necessary to get yourself to Basic Competent and Safe Diver level, don’t go diving! (Take up golf!!) You could harm yourself or worse, another diver.

With that said and moving on…..The skill that many divers going vintage struggle with most is diving without a BCD.  Some were never taught basic weighting skills to begin with.  Take your gear to the pool, and some extra weights as well.

Once you are in the water get all the air out of your BCD….ALL OF IT.. Get comfortable in your gear and relax. You are going to work on obtaining NeutralBuoyancy.

With your lungs full of air you should be able to float on the surface comfortably with your head out of the water.  As you exhale slowly you should notice you start to sink slightly. Not like a rock but your body will start to slowly sink under. You will need to add or remove weight till you get this part right. FORGET YOU HAVE A BCD ON.

Once you have accomplished this at the surface you will find that you will have to swim down the first 10 or 15 feet but then you are close to neutral for the remainder of your dive.

Next obtain Neutral Buoyancy with only your snorkeling gear and wetsuit on. When comfortable practice doing  Kelp / Pike dive or Head-first surface dive.  You may need to use your arms to pull yourself lower until your fins get under but it’s practice that makes it perfect here. You are getting used to descending without being pulled down by excess weight for which you compensate with a BCD.  In the future you will ditch your BCD all together and dive like a Manfish. Neutral buoyancy with your wetsuit and snorkeling gear will be very close to neutral when you put on minimal vintage gear and only minor adjustments to perfect your weight should be needed. 

Another good exercise is Ditch and Don...You may ask yourself why in the world would I take off my gear underwater?…...You may never need to do it but it is a great confidence builder and for decades was a requirement for passing all scuba courses. Give it a try; it’s more difficult than you might think especially wearing a wetsuit.

A pool or other shallow confined water spots are good places to task load and challenge your skills. Look at some of the diving manuals of the past and concentrate on the basics, mask removal and clearing, or swimming without a mask. There are dozens of skills you can and should practice that will elevate your comfort and confidence level and get you ready to move on. Spend time getting to the core diver in you. Practice what you are not comfortable with until you are. Doing this will make your transition into the Vintage Equipment Diver world much easier, more comfortable, and safer.   

Photos courtesy of 1976 Jeppesen Sport Diver Manual.  Great resource material for double hose divers.  I have a few copies available on VDH CLICK HERE

Next up...........What Double Hose should I buy?

New ideas for the blog

Right off the bat lets establish what’s what about this blog…..

1. I’m not a writer….I don’t play one on the internet.  Much of what you see in on these pages will be the OPINION of myself and others.  There will be a lot of factual information but I won't let that cloud up the fun and entertaining stuff.
2. I am not an expert…..I don't play one on the internet. I try to share my experiences and observations in hope that you will learn or at least laugh at them.
3. This blog site is available to EVERYONE.  I hope I get a gazillion Emails from folks wanting to contribute to the blog in the form of articles, opinion, previous experience etc. NO ONE will critique your writing style or content...With that being said, I am not going to publish your thoughts on politics, religion, bird migration, My Little Pony etc….If it’s about Diving and specifically double hose diving then send it on in...I expect all of you to contribute so it will be successful and something people look forward to reading. Listening to my boring nonsense gets old pretty quick!
4. Technical details and discussions belong on the VDH Website Forum where people can ask questions and learn things.  Social Media in general is good for pictures, brief comments and a place people act like idiots….Blogs are places to share more lengthy stories or events that don’t really need discussion. If a topic gets a lot of responses we can move it to a forum post and talk about it at length.   I think you will get the idea as we go along.
5. Help is available if you need it.   Just ask me and I’ll do what I can or find someone who can answer your questions.

If you would like to share an article here please contact me by E-mail

Why vintage equipment in scuba diving anyway?

One of the things that many of us run into when we dive vintage equipment is a rather simple sounding question:

What is the appeal?

On the VDH forum this very question invokes passionate responses. I would like to humbly provide my personal reasons for why I enjoy diving vintage equipment, and for what specifically got me into diving old scuba gear.

For me, diving vintage scuba gear started out with a simple idea. I wanted to learn how to service a scuba regulator. It couldn't be that hard, right? As it turns out, it really isn't if you have some mechanical aptitude and some basic academic knowledge. I began servicing my Aqualung Conshelf XIV regulator set, which was fun, simple, and a great confidence builder. No longer was I beholden to the dive shop for getting my regulator set serviced. One day, while I was looking around on Ebay for another used Conshelf regulator, I stumbled across the Aqualung Conshelf VI. This was the first regulator of the Conshelf line, manufactured and released by Aqualung in 1965. I simply couldn't believe that it was only 30 dollars for a complete first and second stage. It seemed like a real piece of history. Heck, it pre-dated the personal computer. I purchased it, bound and determined to see what made old regulators tick on the inside.

Remarkably, a Conshelf VI from 1965 is almost identical to a Conshelf XIV from 2010 on the inside. You can literally use the same parts kit for a modern regulator to rebuild the first stage of a conshelf made in 1965. For me, the voodoo was gone. After purchasing a copy of Regulator Savvy, and learning a little bit more about what made most regulators tick, I realized that regulators in general are not particularly difficult to service with the right tools and a little patience. It made me wonder if I could realize value in other components of my diving. I had a mint condition regulator, freshly serviced, and I had invested maybe 50 dollars total. Could I extend this to other areas of my diving? At the time, I was in graduate school and money was a real issue. I wanted to dive, but I wanted enough ramen to last until payday as well. I realized that since older dive gear is junk to some people, that I could acquire it rather cheap...and sometimes for free.

This lead me into examining the scuba gear of the 1960's in its totality. This also lead me to the important realization that while masks, fins, booties, wet suits, knives, and other gear looked similar to what I had seen in dive shops that people did not wear buoyancy compensators in the old days. How was that even possible? My instructor said that a BCD was "life support equipment." If that was the case, then how was everyone, children included, diving without one for the first 30 years of the history of sport diving?

This lead me to assemble a complete representative set of 1960's dive gear, and to resolve to learn how to use it. To make a long story slightly shorter, after a bunch of reading, some mentoring, and a little practice, I too was flying through the water like Jacques Cousteau did on TV. I realized that, for me, diving is a heck of a lot more fun when you do it with less gear. My wife, minimalist that she is, also really loved diving with less gear as well. We began to dive vintage equipment whenever we could, because it was really fun. It has that sense of adventure to it that is lost in an era where people will carry your equipment up a mountain for you, and four dollar coffee is on every corner.

Why dive vintage scuba equipment?

-It is a way to save money
-It is a piece of diving history
-It looks really cool
-You can learn to maintain your own gear
-It is really fun, and feels like an adventure


Stay tuned to the Argonaut Blogspot, as we continue to talk about vintage equipment diving. Don't forget to visit Vintage Double Hose, where we continue to maintain and advance the sport of vintage equipment diving. We are the makers of the Argonaut Kraken, the world's first modern production double hose scuba regulator!

The Latest from the Argonaut Kraken Dev Team

As Vintage Double Hose continues to grow, we plan on using our Argonaut Kraken blog as a sounding board for new ideas, new modifications, and new ways to advance the sport of vintage equipment diving. Please continue to follow our blog, which is now linked to our new VDH Google+ business account, to keep up with the newest ideas in vintage equipment diving as we wargame them around the shop.

ARGONAUTS IN AUGUST!

Regulator bodies and yokes will ship from the plating company to me on Monday.  It will take me a few days for inspection and setup and then I'll start the assembly process.  Please bear in mind that I'm only one person and there are only so many hours in the day.  I'll work as quickly as I can but I will not send out a regulator that is anything less than 100% ready to dive.
I will be away at the Legends of Diving event in Portage Quarry Ohio for 5 days but despite that I see no problem getting everyones regulator to them by the end of the month.

In the meantime could you do two thing for me please

Send me an E-mail letting me know what color hoses you want shipped with your regulator  Bryan@vintagedoublehose.com
Please put HOSE COLOR in the title so it's easy for me to find.

And Second, CLICK HERE  To fill out your Argonaut Kraken wavier.....BE SURE you use the address on your waiver that you want your regulator shipped to.  This is the address I will use to make the FedEx packing label.   As soon as FedEx scans the label it will automatically send you tracking information via E-mail from pickup to delivery. 

If you have any questions please send me an E-mail.

Thank you

Gentlemen welcome to the ranks of the Argonaut Kraken owners.   Please subscribe and or bookmark this blog as it is the 1st place updates are made on the project.  It is also where I share information that I may or may not publish on the website or anywhere else.  Please grab a cold one and start from the beginning of the blog and you can read about the trials and tribulations that it took to get to this point.  
I am shooting for August 31st delivery for everyone.....Don't waste your time E-mailing me asking to get yours on August 30th.  If the machine shop gets done on time.....If my inspection of the parts is good.....If the engraver gets them stamped on time.....If the plating company gets them done on time and finally back to me for assembly we will have no issues.   Thank you very much for jumping in with both fins!  I know you will love diving with the regulator.  Plus I can guarantee it will draw a crowd no matter where you use it.

Since you are now owners you may use the coupon code Argonaut Owner when you check out of the VDH website store and it will automatically give you a 10% discount on your total.

While you wait and if you have not already please take time to get your backplate/wing squared away. The breathing of the regulator is phenomenal but if it is setup and positioned wrong on your back it will be a disappointment right away.  Do it right and you will never want for another regulator.

Feel free to E-mail me or call me if you would like to consult on this.......And or read the website forum as there is a lot of great information and most of your questions will be answered.