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Discussion of diving methods and equipment available prior to the development of BCDs beyond the horse collar. This forum is dedicated to the pre-1970 diving.
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Goodlifedivers
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NE Divers Sportsways

Tue Jan 26, 2016 12:59 am

Hey all,

I picked up a really nice NE Divers double hose and was able to source a couple of parts for it. I got a new diaphragm from Rob at TSM and a HP Diaphragm from Bryan (US divers). I also got a HP seat for it but it wont work in the NE divers.

A couple of questions for anyone that has tried working on one of these before.

First I'm confused as to which sportsways reg this is. From research, it should be a re-branded Hydro twin but from all the pictures I could find online it looks like it actually is a Hydro twin II. (I'll post pictures tomorrow when I get back home)

Has anyone used a US divers LP seat for this reg? seems like it should fit?

I got the reg to seal well and breathe very well. I Checked the IP though and had some creep. Can this be attributed to the HP Diaphragm not taking a seat yet?

Any info anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated!

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Bryan
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Re: NE Divers Sportsways

Tue Jan 26, 2016 9:14 am

Goodlifedivers wrote:Hey all,

I Checked the IP though and had some creep. Can this be attributed to the HP Diaphragm not taking a seat yet?

Any info anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated!
Unstable IP is most often a symptom of a worn HP seat or the volcano orifice/mating surface in the regulator body. In a balanced 1st stage it can be caused by a problem with the balancing chamber O-ring or backup washer and or the chamber itself. If the HP diaphragm is bad it will leak air all the time and a stable IP will never be reached.
Doing it right should include some common sense, not just blindly following specs and instructions. .Gary D, AWAP on SB

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Goodlifedivers
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Re: NE Divers Sportsways

Fri Jan 29, 2016 10:59 am

Thanks Bryan.

I got in touch with Seahunt Jerry who was able to give me tons of advice about the reg and now have a new HP seat on the way. Hopefully that should take care of it.

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Ron
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Re: NE Divers Sportsways

Fri Jan 29, 2016 7:11 pm

Would you be willing to share that information here for the next guy please?


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Goodlifedivers
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Re: NE Divers Sportsways

Tue Feb 02, 2016 12:56 am

Sure, I suspect though its mostly pretty straightforward stuff to the guys whom have rebuilt tons of these regs though.

Rebuilding this reg was pretty straight forward. It was VERY clean and these things are made like tanks. The diaphragm was shot though but maybe some diaphragm gurus out there could have restored it but I decided to just replace it (Thanks to Rob!)
IMG_6901.JPG
I was surprised to learn that NE Divers relabled the entire line of the Sportsway regulators. Including the Dual air, Hydro twin and Hydro twin II. I have a Hydro twin II which is a balanced 2 stage reg. the Hydro twin is an unbalanced and the dual air is a tilt valve. Again this is all old information for most people but I'm just condensing it all into one spot for the new guys like me. You can tell the version of Sportways regulator you have by the HP area. If it's the short one with a hex key insert it's the Hydro twin II.
IMG_6902.JPG
the Hydro twin II has a LP and HP port and breathes really well. I'm kinda surprised they didn't do better than the US Divers since it's a pretty sweet reg and had the ports for all the accessories. Working on this reg was incredibly easy, just the parts are almost non existent (except for the parts that Rob and Seahunt jerry may have).

Replacement parts:
It takes 1in hoses that are pretty much the same as Healthways ones or you can just use the US divers ones. From research it looks like a healthways diaphragm will work with the reg too. I didn't check to see if a reproduction US divers single stage one from VDH works but it may. There may be more HP seats still out there and they are not the same across all three regulators. The Hydro Twin II has a special HP seat. I reused the LP seat since i don't have another one, I just flipped it over to the unused side. It looks like a US divers one should fit. All the O-rings are pretty standard ones and I replaced them with viton O-rings that were 90 duro rather than the 70 since thats what I had on hand. The exhust valve is the perfect size for a VDH mushroom valve and the HP diaphragm was replaced with a US divers one with a hole drilled into it (Thanks russell for making the youtube video about the dual air) Everything else on the reg is pretty solid and didn't need to be replaced.
IMG_6914.JPG
I thought the HP seat I had would work but once everything was put back together there was a slow and sometimes fast HP leak that wouldn't resolve with flipping the seat. Which I forgot to take a picture of. Its very important not to damage the seat with a hard metal when you try to take it out of the reg. Jerry suggested using a cut off q-tip which worked well. Also, don't forget to replace and lube up the small o-ring in the balancing chamber like I did. Oh, and don't forget that there is a little pin in there when you flip the reg over to work on it or you will be crawling around your floor looking for a tiny piece of metal. I have found working on carpet to be better for me since I drop every crucial/non-replaceable piece while I'm working on it.

I set the lever on the 2nd stage by raising it until it free flows and then backing off until it stops and compressing the cans to make sure there are no leaks. Setting the IP was straight forward and after installing the parts I got from Jerry tonight, reg holds steady at 150 and breathes really really nice and smooth.

Overall this was a straight forward rebuild and in my opinion easier than rebuilding any of the 2 stage US Divers and way easier than a Nemrod. Too bad the parts are not as readily available. I was told you can get spare parts from sportsways single hose regs since its the same thing though. So, I'll be keeping my eyes open on ebay too.
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Ron
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Re: NE Divers Sportsways

Tue Feb 02, 2016 11:58 pm

That's an awesome write up, thank you :) We kind of forget about SW and HW regulators, so it is nice to hear about them. The hydro twin 2 is a regulator that I would like to rebuild someday as well.


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Goodlifedivers
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Re: NE Divers Sportsways

Wed Feb 03, 2016 12:01 am

I'm kinda thinking this one and my PRAM will become my go-to double hoses. It's a shame its not a very common reg. I feel like I'm ruining it by even talking about diving it. I just don't see the sense in a wall hanger.

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Ron
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Re: NE Divers Sportsways

Thu Feb 04, 2016 1:27 am

We are like minded. I don't own anything I don't dive.


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1969ivan1
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Re: NE Divers Sportsways

Sat Feb 06, 2016 3:50 pm

Nice write up Daniel. I love the Sportsways stuff. They made really awesome double hose regs and great tanks and valves as well.

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Goodlifedivers
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Re: NE Divers Sportsways

Sat Feb 06, 2016 9:06 pm

Got this puppy into the pool today. I may have tuned it alittle too aggressively since even just thinking about going into a heads up position or anywhere near the surface without tucking the hose under my arm would set this thing free flowing like crazy.

I guess I'll be buying a DSV for this reg too, cause it breathed way too nice to tune it down anymore.

SeaHuntJerry
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Re: NE Divers Sportsways

Sun Feb 07, 2016 2:07 pm

Hey Glad you got it working !
KC :D

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Goodlifedivers
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Re: NE Divers Sportsways

Sun Feb 07, 2016 2:42 pm

Yes thank you very much Jerry!


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SnarkIII
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Re: NE Divers Sportsways

Thu Feb 15, 2018 7:58 pm

Great information in this write up. I responded to a craigslist ad this week for some old tanks. While I was there the seller brought out " a box of junk". The first reg I pulled out of the box was one of these N.E. Divers/ Sportsways regs. I've always wanted a N.E. Divers reg since that's where I bought my first setup in 1974 and got certified in 1975.

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