Should I Buy These?

[kworkman]

I got the valves off just now. Pretty easy with the right tools. Now i just need to clean them and get the vinyl off, which I started and it is a PITA.

[kworkman]

Making progress. The earliest hydro date is '62 which appears to be the first year Voit offered the 50's. I was also intrigued by this triple protection - galvanize, scratch resistant primer and vinyl coating. The tanks are shiny but do have some spots of discoloration around the neck, which I assume are water marks left when the vinyl was removed for hydro stamping. While removing the vinyl, I did scratch some of the surface with my painters knife. Im hoping that was just the primer and not the galvanize finish.

[SurfLung]

- You are in it up to your neck NOW! Ha ha...
- Man those exteriors look to be in great shape. How do the insides look?
- The valves look mint... What a difference a clean-up makes!

[simonbeans]

Good luck getting those 3 piece manifolds to reseal. They are notorious for being a PIA.

[kworkman]

Ugh, they are going to need a tumble.

[kworkman]

I found a shop that will tumble them for $15 a piece. For that price its not worth my effort to attempt it when I dont know what Im doing. They will also do the visual for 14 and I can get them hydroed for 16. Not to bad.

[antique diver]

Good luck getting those 3 piece manifolds to reseal. They are notorious for being a PIA.

Don't be discouraged... most of those leaks are readily solved.

Often a leak on the reserve side is just caused by a poor seal under the removable
ball socket. Be sure to use a good nylon or even copper washer under it. I haven't seen a copper one come from the factory, but have used them myself when needed.

Leaks can also be caused by damage to the nipple end or the socket in either end of the manifold. I have a fine set of the Voit 50's with original valve that I obtained dirt cheap because the owner got frustrated trying to seal the manifold.

I solved that with some copper washers (see photos) that I shaped to fit the nipples. The soft copper will press into scratches and dents and seal a cantankerous manifold.

Let me know if you need some help.

[kworkman]

For those familiar with this type of manifold, how many turns should it take to open the valve? I'm getting one and a half. My USD single post that looks identical takes 4 and a half.

[gj1963]

Sounds about right. My double 38's that I dive with the most that have that manifold open 2 and 1/4 turns from closed to full open.

[antique diver]

That depends a lot on the thickness of the valve stem packing and also the mechanical design of various valves. You should be fine with your valve.

[kworkman]

I figured as much. The replacement packing is the same thickness as the old one. The valve is all put back together. Just need to get the tanks tumbled and a hydro.

[kworkman]

Ok guys what order should I proceed in with these. There is rust internally but I dont know how much is to much. Should I get them hydroed, then wire brush it and then get the viz done or try to clean them first before the hydro? My LDS's tumbler is down and after reading other posts on different sites, I dont think tumbling is necessary. I do want to get the viz done before I put the galvilite on though.

[captain]

The Galvilite should not be an issue for visual inspection but you might want to wait until all work is done just to minimize the chance of any handling damage by the hydro shop or tumbler job.

[kworkman]

Finally I got the tanks finished

[captain]

Nice job. Did you build the rack just for painting the tanks.