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EHowe
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First Name: Edward
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Vintage looking Poseidon

Wed Dec 10, 2014 9:53 pm

I just aquired what I think is an old Poseidon Cyklon 300. Price was right (free) Can anyone tell me if these are any good, or if parts are available. The Octo it came with looks much newer then the 2nd stage. If the rest of it is junk I may have a use for the octo.

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luis
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Re: Vintage looking Poseidon

Wed Dec 10, 2014 10:20 pm

The Poseidon Cyklon has not changed much since 1957.

This was my favorite regulator in the mid 70's.

If the first stage has multiple port, then it is the Cyklon 300 (designed for 300 bars).
The newest Cyklon built today is called the Cyklon 5000 (designed for 5000 psi).

The parts of the second stage have not changed much in over 50 years and they are totally supported.

These are great regulators that are very reliable and they breath extremely well if they are properly adjusted.

Those are all the good news.

Now the bad news.

The first stage is not balanced and a bit annoying to adjust the combination of first and second stage set. You have to adjusted with a specific tank pressure like all non-balanced first stages, but this one is a bit more particular. Very doable, but requires a bit extra patience.

The second stage requires a much higher intermediate pressure than any other regulator I know of. They work at about 170 psi to perform well.

I really like the second stages, but they don't do well as octopus with other regulators that run on average from 125 to 145 psi.

Parts for the first and second stages are available, but very few dealers carry them and they can be hard to find and sometimes expensive.

The hose fittings are metric and you have to use conversion fitting if you mix with other regulators. You do have to use Poseidon LP hoses. The second stage fitting is unique and there ir no conversion.

I actually have setup two regulators using Conshelf first stages running at about 165 psi IP with Poseidon Cyklon second stages. They Conshelf can easily run at that pressure and since they are balanced the IP is constant at any tank pressure. This makes adjusting the second stage easier.

Eliminating the first stage gets rid of some issues and I preserve the performance and feel of the second stage.

If you need service manuals, they are easy to find on the web or I can email them to you.
Luis

Buceador con escafandra autónoma clásica.

swimjim
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Re: Vintage looking Poseidon

Wed Dec 10, 2014 10:34 pm

I too like the Poseidons. These are not for the average fellow to tinker with though. I would suggest Roger Van Frank. If you ask nice and he's not too busy with a million other things, he may rebuild it for you. I can rebuild most anything......... except Poseidons. They are a whole different kettle of fish. YMMV

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luis
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First Name: Luis
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Re: Vintage looking Poseidon

Wed Dec 10, 2014 11:17 pm

swimjim wrote:I too like the Poseidons. These are not for the average fellow to tinker with though. I would suggest Roger Van Frank. If you ask nice and he's not too busy with a million other things, he may rebuild it for you. I can rebuild most anything......... except Poseidons. They are a whole different kettle of fish. YMMV
I probably have to agree with that. They are amazingly simple, but they are also amazingly touchy.

To me, servicing them was just a matter of being very patience, but I started doing it in the dive shop back in the 70's. I have lost a lot of patience and that is part of why I don't bother with their first stage anymore.

Installing a new second stage diaphragm it its assembly is a totally different experience. I own one of the specialized installation press and even with that very special tool it requires some tricks. It is a good thing that once the diaphragm is in its assembly, there is no need to disassemble it to service the rest of the second stage.
Luis

Buceador con escafandra autónoma clásica.

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EHowe
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First Name: Edward
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Re: Vintage looking Poseidon

Thu Dec 11, 2014 6:51 pm

Thanks for the reply guys. Given what you guys said and the fact that I had no luck finding service kit I'll probably just pay it forward and give it away to someone who wants or needs it. At the end of the season I set up twin 50's with a VDH plate and a sel-pac manifold (has one center & one side outlet), I looked at an older post of Luis's where he set up his doubles with the side outlet reversed so it could be used on the left side for his secondary reg. I copied that set up And I think I will use the cyclone octo (looks very new) with a Conshelf 1st stage as my backup. PM me if your interested in the rest of it (1st & 2nd stages)& I'll send them to you as a Christmas present :)

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antique diver
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Re: Vintage looking Poseidon

Thu Dec 11, 2014 7:45 pm

PM sent. :)
The older I get the better I was.

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