New Argonaut Kraken Owners Post

[swimjim]

Have a good laugh at my lack of video editing skills......Argonaut Rules!

[video]https://youtu.be/bbWdiCypsog[/video]

Nicely done Bryan. You've got the divers coming to the camera which makes for a pleasant presentation. The color balance is pretty good too. It shows of the red hoses nicely, not to mention the trick red screen in the cans. Nice touch!

[refrat]

Hi everyone.
Here are two pics of me using my shiny new Kraken rig near the wall about 600 yards in front of our house on Grand Turk a few days ago. I have been the Kraken for most of my dives over the last few weeks and it has worked very well. On the cons side the cracking pressure and inhalation flow are less than optimal in my typical horizontal diving position and I feel that it may benefit from a bit of fine tuning. The other annoyance is the mouthpiece, it appears to be a reproduction of a design from the sixties and it doesn’t fit my mouth or bite well so it’s uncomfortable and allows a trickle of water in around my lower lip. I don’t really feel the need for a DSV but the same unit one piece silicone with a modern mouthpiece bite design would be great.
Other than the above points it has exceeded my expectations, particularly in terms of approachability to marine life. It’s strange because I can still hear exhaust bubbles but the fish don’t seem to be bothered by them the way they are with a single hose reg- I would say I get about 80% of the value of diving closed circuit when it comes to seeking up on fish for video or photography! You can see in one pic that I am looking at a flounder and a minute later I was literally nose to nose with the fish without it showing any inclination to flee- excellent!
Cheers
Colin Vance

[refrat]

Flounder pic!

[rhwestfall]

A couple times now, I have had small mouthed bass attack their reflection in my mask when diving my Kraken. The only way this happens with a single hose is by taking the regulator out of my mouth.

[Bryan]

Thanks for the feedback Colin. Updates and improvements are underway for the items you mentioned. Please watch the forum for new information coming soon.

[Herman]

The easiest way to back off the cracking pressure a little would be to reduce the IP. I would start with maybe 10 psi as see what that does for you. It's very easy to do and if you don't like the results simple to put back where it was and not mess up any of the other setting.
Another thing you can try is to adjust the orifice. If you notice, there are 3 dots on the reg by a slotted screw, the reg should be set with the slot aimed at the center dot. With the center dot up, you can reduce the cracking pressure by moving the slot to the left dot or increase it by moving to the right dot. DO NOT move it past either of the 2 outside dots, at most this is an 1/8 of a turn from one extreme to the other. DO NOT TURN THE SCREW PAST THE DOTs. I suggest you hold the valve open by reaching into the cans and pressing down on the diaphragm with the blunt end of a pencil or similar item to reduce the chance of cutting the LP seat when you move the screw. And if you don't like how the reg responds, it's a simple thing to move the screw back to the center. Again, this is a SMALL adjustment, never turn the screw more than between the dots. Any larger turns and you start grossly detuning the reg or worse.

As for a mouth piece I prefer the reproduction Voit hourglass ones. The repro curved is a little larger than I like. I use the Voit on any reg I don't care about being "correct" and dive a lot.

[refrat]

Thanks Herman, I might try adjusting the orifice just slightly, maybe 1/3 of the way from center dot toward the left hand dot, and then see what happens. Just to be sure, the left dot is the one on my left with the dots facing up and the port on the end facing toward me (so the yoke is behind the adjustment screw)?

[Bryan]

http://www.vintagedoublehose.com/vdh-ma ... _rev-4.pdf

[Herman]

I forgot about those photos, they should help.
It might be easier to say rotate the screw clockwise to increase the cracking pressure and counter clockwise to decrease it but in any case, KEEP THE MOVEMENT BETWEEN TO 2 OUTTER DOTS. What you are wanting is to look like photo #2. You should never have to move the screw more that a small part of a turn, this is a very slight adjustment but has a big impact so go easy. I don't mean to harp on the small adjustment but I want to make it clear that this is a fine adjustment and more is def not better. If you need more range than this adjustment gives you, then I would suggest you change the IP. That involves opening the cans but still is very easy to do (and restore) as long as you have an IP gauge and use it.

[Bryan]

Let's wait till Luis has the opportunity to post later tonight please.

[luis]

In the next few days I am hoping to put together some information and recommendations on how to fine tune your Argonaut. I am planning on starting a new thread on the subject of fine tuning, but it is going to take me a bit, please be patient.

One of the features that I am most pleased about the Kraken design is all the range of potential adjustments that I was able to incorporate in the design.

The cracking effort (initial vacuum needed to initiate flow) can be easily adjusted to a very low stable level. It can easily be adjusted to be too low (I have adjusted it to 0.2 inWC, which is way too low).

The venturi flow can also be adjusted to be more or less aggressive.

I will provide more details soon.

[Herman]

I may have misunderstood/assumed something incorrectly. For whatever reason,I assumed you wanted to increase the cracking pressure. If that's not the case and you want to decrease it, then everything I said is backwards.

[refrat]

Thanks Herman, Bryan and Luis for the responses.
Adjusting the cracking pressure and venture assist (not to mention lever height) sounds like something I could mess up and get the reg out of whack, at least until I am 100% clear on the procedure. So I'll wait for Luis's up-coming instructions on that and I am happy to dive the way it is at present.
Bryan- regarding the mouthpiece. I know you are working on a DSV with interchangeable mouthpiece capability but if that is not practical is there a possibility of producing the current curved unit with a more modern mouthpiece bite design? I am not really fussy about these things but the old style has a very wide orifice and the bite tabs are very small. In fact one problem I have is that the bite tab on one side coincides with a single missing tooth and this is enough to result in the bite being unstable. Almost any modern mouthpiece bite and tabs would suffice for me!
As for the DSV- I secretly cut up one of my wife's flip flops to form a plug that I keep on a clip on a shoulder strap- on surfacing I unclip, plug the mouthpiece and throw the hoses over head- no problem!

[Creed]

It might not be optimal airflow, but you could replace the hoses and mouthpiece with 1" hoses and a Hope-Page mouthpiece. I believe that Rob sells valves for those if you can track one down.

[Bryan]

Adjusting the cracking pressure and venture assist (not to mention lever height) sounds like something I could mess up and get the reg out of whack, at least until I am 100% clear on the procedure. So I'll wait for Luis's up-coming instructions on that and I am happy to dive the way it is at present.
I think this is the best approach as well.
Bryan- regarding the mouthpiece. I know you are working on a DSV with interchangeable mouthpiece capability but if that is not practical is there a possibility of producing the current curved unit with a more modern mouthpiece bite design?
I'm not interested in re-hashing previous designs. The new ideas we are working with will result in a mouthpiece that measurably improves performance, allows for fine tuning and gives the user many options for bite tab choice.
This information is covered in it's own thread if you want to follow it.