Vintage Double Hose

First samples of the reproduction diaphragm covers and exhaust T's arrived today. Have been sent out to the usual suspects for review. I think with a minor change in durometer on one part they will be A+ and help to get a lot of classic Scubapro regulator back in the water.

This looks great.

With new silicone rubber parts, your great-grand-kids will be able to dive these second stages. Or better yet, they will be able to use them as an octopus on their Argonaut (which they might have inherited from their great-grand-father).

After seeing how many people used to poo poo vintage single hose regulators, it warms my heart to see that there is enough demand for vintage singe hose stuff. Many of these regulators are awesome in their own right.

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Vintage? They were still being sold in the 90's....

Oh crap, that was over twenty years ago......

Thanks for helping me feel old, but more thanks for letting me keep my favorites going. I have over a dozen 109/156 seconds. Some on modern MK-17 firsts, some on Mk-2 firsts for stages, and some on MK-5 & Mk-10 firsts that were my first regs.

I am in the process of trying to get one Cerakoted in "Savage Red" to be an octo with my Kraken. It just seems so right...

...

So awesome! Some custom VDH limited run octos would be awesome to accompany that Kraken...just saying. You also raise a fair, albeit melodramatic point: Things become vintage as time passes. Heck, in ten more years my 2003 GTI will be a classic in Florida. It is all a moving target. At this point, many 80's single hoses could be considered vintage depending on who was arguing about it.

sure, I ask you if you want to do the Cerakoting, and you say no....
bastard!!!! (please take this with humor). I'm jealous (and I want an emblem to put in mine if I can ever get it done).....


edit:

knee jerk reaction - I see that it isn't a 109........ still trying to make it happen.....

very nice though

What happened to the store listing for the Tees and covers? They seem to have disappeared. I'm hoping that means they're about to be relisted for sale...

jim66 wrote:What happened to the store listing for the Tees and covers? They seem to have disappeared. I'm hoping that means they're about to be relisted for sale...

http://vintagedoublehose.com/index.php? ... ort=normal

Just paid the invoice. Historically they run a much more predictable schedule than the machine shops do.

rhwestfall wrote:sure, I ask you if you want to do the Cerakoting, and you say no....
bastard!!!! (please take this with humor). I'm jealous (and I want an emblem to put in mine if I can ever get it done).....

I don't and won't be doing any custom color Cerakote work at all.....I made a promise to three folks in the Fundable campaign that they would get a special Argonaut Kraken red backplate with their package.
Machine shop in Vermont that cuts the plates said it would be no problem to anodize them in any color I wanted.....So I said fine, I want PMS 109393B....They replies...Duuuuh we mean our red....It's awesome and sparkles...I had to punt on that idea..... Cerakote corporation wanted $1500.00 to do a custom color match even though I knew the PMS number....So I hammered the local shop for weeks and brought them various metal parts to try color combinations they could mix up in the shop without a custom color charge and they finally came up with the color that is sprayed on the Conshelf 2nd stage in the picture. I also cut down the exhaust T so it would fit closer to the shoulder harness where it attaches. I thought about doing some custom 2nd stages in Kraken red but then decided that shoving a hot nail in my eye would be less painful.
I really really like Cerakote but am finding out that it's not one size fits all and it it not perfect for every application.
The results on the custom engraved Kraken backplates is A+ though

I've just received and installed 12 sets (not mine) and I have to say they look great. The covers are an exact match of the classic 109 covers and in my opinion more aesthetically pleasing than those currently available from a ScubaPro dealer. I'll attach pictures below so you can judge for yourselves.

The new covers were a little more difficult to install than the part I replaced it with, however when compared to a new old stock part I found the level of difficulty about the same. This is to be expected as time and pressure tend to compress the rubber parts. Old shoes are easier to put on than new ones too.

The exhaust tees are equally impressive. They look great and fit the exhaust flange very well. They install much easier than the ScubaPro universal tees. At first I was concerned they may fall off too easily; however, after pulling and tugging on them, I don't think that will be an issue. I've not test dived any yet, and to be sure I will pass a string through the tees and attach to the hose for the first set of dives-but again, I don't think there will be a problem. As I write this I think the easier to remove and install tees will have the advantage over the hard rubber models in that one can remove them and dry the flange and case after a day of diving to help prevent corrosion.

Kudos to Bryan for his perseverance in getting these parts manufactured and for making them available to us lowly owners of classic diving gear.

Long live the 109!

Couv

Convert your rotten old 109 from this:


to this:




In the above photo the new silicone cover and tee is on the left, the older SP models in the middle, and the new style SP on the right.



Tee on a 108

I received two of the black tees, along with two of the diaphragm covers. The first thing that I did was to closely compare them visually to the originals. They are cosmetically faithful reproductions in a vastly superior material.

I installed one set on a rebuilt Mark 5/109 combination, and found that they greatly enhanced the appearance. My tee fit snugly, and I will be surprised if it inadvertently becomes dislodged. For those who are concerned about such things, you might want to consider adding a small piece of "skateboard tape" to the flange. I am willing to bet that a 5X10mm piece would work great.

Thanks, Bryan, for creating another great product for the vintage single hose fans.

Greg Barlow

Great to see! Diving my trusty old MK5 regularly that I had reconditioned by VDH last year. Still love it! Keep up the good work!

Update:

Over the past two weekends I've had the opportunity to test dive my new VDH exhaust Tee. I made a couple of trips to the scuba parks in my area and gave the tee every opportunity to escape. Attached to my favorite Balanced Adjustable in and out of my duffel bag it went several time. Then it spent few hours in the water jostling around performing its duty. Next, it spent time hanging from a D ring unprotected by my most enviable square jaw. The Tee passed all test with no assistance of a rubber band or other device keeping it secure. However, I did have a string looped through it should it decided to free itself in the murky waters.

When I first received the Tee, I was concerned because it installed and removed with such ease. In typical SP fashion what was a design concern can now be viewed as a feature.

I do believe it’s time to cut the cord.

Thanks for the follow up Rob! I have sent quite a few of them to new homes. Hope they help get a lot of 109s back in the water

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