Vintage Scuba: Servicing Vintage Regulators - S07E09
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- čas přidán 1. 07. 2019
- A divers favourite 40 year old Dacor Pacer 900 regulator needs servicing but the manufacturer is longe gone. Alec shows what you need to have and know before attempting to self-service a vintage regulator or send it to a professional.
Watch my "Alec Peirce at the Ranch" for ranch and home ideas. / @alecpeirceattheranch
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its enjoyable to see your passion for scuba, especially when you speak about the past ways. thanks for sharing your knowledge with the world
I appreciate that! Lots more coming.
A
I love your videos sir. You have a wealth of knowledge, a story tellers knack, and a great sense of humor. Thank you for sharing
Glad you like them!
My local Scubapro dealer does a great job keeping my MK 5 working Like new! I love the looks from the divemasters when I pull it out ! Nothing shines like that chromed brass!
Nice. The MK5 is an oldie but a goodie - like me!!!!!!
Alec
I purchased a set of two Dacor Viper 2nd stage regulators for $45.00
This video was helpful. Found the old Dacor service manual online, and parts are still available, but scarce.
Thank you Alec, great information.
Glad it helped and nice to have another working Dacor in the world.
A
Hi Alec, I enjoyed the Vintage Regulators Repairing. Theres a product called Fedron it is a Rubber Rejuvenator sold in gallon cans brown with white lettering. Used it in my business servicing photocopiers the feed rollers inside. It truly works. Yeah Dacor was huge 60s & 70s wasn't it Diving Accessories Corporation ? I enjoyed this Vintage episode, very cool. Hope the Fedron helps. 👍
I'll check into that. Thanks.
DACOR was started by Sam Davison in Evanston, Illinois in 1953.
He named the company after his own name - Davison + Corporation = DACOR.
Alec
Hi Alec, thanks so much for your efforts, I have learned tons of things about equipment old and new, and much else besides. I have more than a few bits of the vintage gear you profile, some of which I have even gone diving with back in the 80's. After a successful battle with cancer I am looking to get back in the game, and the water too, although I won't be quite as strong a swimmer these days I fear.
So, apropos a little help with moving around down below.....
The one item I haven't found you talk about is DPVs, and as I have inherited a Farallon unit in pretty good shape (but as yet untested) I would love to hear your thoughts on DPVs and on how & where to service them.
Keep up the good work, both you and Kevin, your expertise and real world experience is a fantastic resource, many thanks !
David
San Diego
A+ video
I'm an expert pro scuba equipment repair technician
I used Dacor back in the 80's
Thank you Dwight. Much appreciate another pro's feedback. I still have my dear old Dacor Pacer.
A
I love my vintage Scubapro MK2's and MK5's, Great thing I can still get parts for them. My vintage Aqualung Conshelf's are great regulators. But, getting harder to find parts.
It is getting harder to keep these famous and fun regs in working order. Keep looking and more Vintage Scuba to come.
A
great job
Nice, I used a Pacer 900 for years up in Massachusetts absolutely loved it. Dive Shop told me they could not find parts for it anymore. Also owned the old Posiden regulator, hinky thing and my fair share of US Divers gear.
The Pacer's were an excellent regulator back in the day. If you want it to dive, check out www.vintagedoublehose.com for parts or www.thescubamuseum.com/ to bring it back to diving standards.
Dear Alec, I love your video, learned a lot of stuff from you! I have the Dacor Pacer XL, do you know where I can but the service kit? I like service it myself, cause I am nowhere near CA/ US. Many Thank!
There are parts kits for the Dacor XL available online from a few sellers. Be sure the kit matches your regulator model and get the parts explosion list also (to help with assembly). Also suggest searching for the service manual that gives the step by step process for the service. Good luck sir.
I do own a Medi double hose regulator which was manufactured in former East Germany. I had a flat seal made and had the o-rings measured. I'm not diving it tough: I use it to suck Trimix out of partially emptied tanks by a compressor and store the stuff for re-use. Helium is expensive. In any currency.
Im new into diving and made my owd 29.05.19 in Hurghada. I watched nearly every video of you and try to catch every bit of knowledge I can get 😄 i want to become an instructor of course I need experience. I really really enjoy your videos and I hope some day we will dive together 👌 Greetings from Germany
I have lots of friends in Germany. Thanks for watching and good luck in your diving career.
Alec
Alec Peirce Scuba Thank you so much 😊
Once again, GREAT instructional video Alec! Recently I was able to purchase 2 DACOR regulators from a very trusted source - one is the DACOR-Extreme Plus, & the other is a DACOR-Extreme. Gorgeous regs & VERY well cared for! One thing I don't understand: Why isn't there a "serial-number" on either of the 1st-stages? Did DACOR "hide it" someplace inside perhaps?
Some early manufacturers didn't put any serial numbers on their regulators. Sometimes because they know it would only be sold for 2 or 3 years then replaced. There was no legal requirement to have them so why bother. Post that question on Scubaboard and someone will know the exact reason for those models.
Alec
Hey Alec a buddy gave me his 960 1st stage to look at. I only service regs part time as a hobby/side gig and don't have any Dacor experience as I only service Sherwood/Genesis, Aqualung/USD and Oceanic. I can't find a rebuild kit anywhere. Is he out of luck or is there another kit compatible w/ the 960 for a similar Dacor 1st? I have learned a lot from your channel, thank you.
There really is only one issue - the 1st stage HP seat.
All of the O-Rings can be replaced with generic ones, matching sizes of course.
The 2nd stage poppet seat is a standard rubber disc-style which you can get anywhere.
The filter & clip is the same as in almost any other reg.
But, the 1st stage HP seat is unique although some divers have been able to find a very similar that works.
And, unfortunately, as soon as you remove the filter and spring pressure, that seat has to be replaced.
Again, some divers have told me that they re-surfaced the seat using emery paper on a hard, smooth surface.
I have all of the DACOR service manuals and parts breakdowns available.
Email me privately for a contact of the only reliable supplier of NOS DACOR parts. - aleccpeirce@gmail.com .
Alex, I enjoyed the video. I have a half dozen Dacor regulators most are working fine, but some need some help. How do you go about finding existing kits to service these regs? I have had a lot of service from these regs and want to keep using them. Do you know of someone who will still take on a service job on these regs? These regs are dear to me and I hate to send them to the trash heap. Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Service kits for DACOR regs are not available anymore. I still get some from an old DACOR service mane but even that slim supply is running out. And getting service is hard as well. Any dive shop less than 20 years old would have no idea what to do and will likely, (rightly) refuse to help. Old DACOR servicepeople are hard to find and generally not interested in a couple of old regs.
It's too bad since they were great regs and I too enjoyed them for years.
Take care.
Alec
Hi there I have Décor purge 1st and 2nd stage from 2000 I never used it but our regularly once a year run water through it to make sure it was OK yesterday I would to look at it and the adjustable knob had deteriorated I called around to different days shops in Philadelphia and one arm and told me that it was no good and I would like to know what I be able to send my regulated to you and see if you can fix it and make sure it's still working and pay the difference Would you say just after school here to get a new one I only do recreational job Dive nothing series
Sorry Larry but I'm out of the service area as I sold off all my tools to younger guys who do self-service on vintage gear. Try Google for other sites or post on www.scubaboard.com to find someone who can do it. Dacor is a fine reg so try and keep it working.
I have a Dacor 950 first stage and cannot find anyone to service it. It was my husbands and probably only has about 5 dives on it in the mid-80's so needs to be cleaned and rebuilt...Do you have any recommendations? I think it is a beautiful kit and would to be able to dive it. Any recommendations?
Glad to know you want to keep it but I no longer have any parts or tools to service these. Welcome to watch my Vintage Scuba S07E09 where I serviced a Pacer 900 before selling off all my parts and tools. Suggest contacting my friend Rob at www.thescubamuseum.com. He sells parts and may service or know someone who can if you're serious about diving it again. Good luck and thanks for watching Laura.
Alex would you happen to know the parts kit #''s for a Dacor 950 and Pacer XL regulator. I have two complete sets I would like to rebuild but can't find part #'s for the kits.
DACOR, and most manufacturers, didn't have "Service Kits" for many years. Starting in the late 1980s or so, they started to make them up. It was a way to make more money. Dive stores often ordered only the very specific parts they wanted to service regs. Selling kits also encouraged service people to replace ALL of the serviceable parts in a regulator during service, a recommended process.
The difficulty you face is finding DACOR kits, or any parts in fact. These regs were very popular and after the company disappeared, remaining parts also disappeared pretty quickly. I know of only 1 good source and he is reluctant to sell to anyone other than personal friends. Otherwise you can only try dive stores, preferably old dive stores, in the hopes of finding one with some DACOR parts.
The Kits you need are Part #9680-15 (950) and #9680-03 (XL).
If you cannot find these kits, most of the contents of the kits are O-Rings which can be purchased at any Bearing store.
In the 1st stage, only the HP seat #0100-12 is critical, and very hard to find! It is possible to renew the original but I won't discuss that here with you. If needed, contact me privately for that information. You also need a new filter Part #FS112 or #0110-00. It's also a common item & available at any dive store.
In the 2nd stage, other than O-rings, only the LP seat is critical. It's the neoprene insert in the poppet assembly #0107-98. The same seat is used in many other regulators & can be purchased from any dive store, if they will sell parts. Otherwise, any store can order it for you from Trident Scuba. It's Part #A149 in the Trident catalog. The filter is Trident Part #AA71.
I assume that you have the DACOR Service Manual for these regs. If not, let me know.
Hope this helps.
Alec
Sir, have an older dacor first stage and the newer HP lines will not fit. Is there a place I can buy the older fitting hose, or an adapter to make the newer hose fit. Any help is appreciated. Still using my conchshelf’s as well. How about restoring a scuba pro decomp gauge? Do you know anyone who does this?
The threads changed from old to modern so a small adapter is needed. Your looking for a HP 3/8" Male to 7/16" Female adapter from Trident diving supply, part # AA51. Any dive shop can order it for you. For the gauge restore, contact Rob at www.thescubamuseum.com to see what can be done. Good luck.
A
Hi Alec, great video as usual. I'm in Ottawa and I have a late 70's US Diver Calypso reg & Octo that could use servicing. Do you still do that or can you recommend a shop?
Is it worth servicing if I'm not into vintage restoration as opposed to buying a new unit?
It's a good regulator but, there are few parts available & finding a service center prepared (or knowledgeable) to service it is a problem. Most are concerned about liability.
If you plan on doing a fair bit of diving, I'd suggest a new one. Try to swing a Trade-In deal. Ask for $50 towards a new reg. I used to do that all the time. Even if the old reg is garbage, it's a good idea for keeping customers happy.
Any name brand will do. Oceanic has some good basic regs at a decent price. The choice will depend on the diving you are hoping to do. For most diving, a $1000 regulator is not needed.
Good luck.
Alec
@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter Many thanks. I suspected that much. I have a new Legend LX with Oceanic pro plus 3 computer but I was thinking of using that old Calypso as a reg for shallow uncluttered "under the dock" type of work. I'll buy a recent second unit as per your wise recommendations.
Oh how I wish that my Dacor 950 pacer could be serviced.
It can Frank.
Read the comment from Diver Dave.
Alec
Need to learn how to make rubber parts in SCUBA equipment pliable again (restore them). Can you lead me to a tutorial on this please? Thanks!
Look in my Vintage Scuba playlist S05E12, Caring For Old Scuba Gear. It will give you tips to get started. Good luck.
A.
Thank you, thank you and thank you again for your support and fast reply. Best regards!
Where are all the open minded people go?? Some older stuff works better then the new stuff. Thanks for sharing that with us.
MOST older stuff works better than new stuff - without kicking and cursing.
At least we can take apart and fix older stuff. Try that with your new car engine.
Alec
Does anyone know how to service a DACOR Extreme/Extreme Plus first and second stage?
Contact my friend Jerrie Struble to see if he can or knows someone with the expertise. diver1969s@yahoo.com is his email address.
He is certified by most major equipment manufacturers and has been working double hose regulators longer than I have. He will be glad to service the following regulators using service parts and supplies from VDH.
US Divers
Over pressure Breathing, Stream Air, Jet Air, DA Aqua Master, Royal Aqua Master, Phoenix Conversions and HPR updates.
Single hose, Calypso, Conshelf, Titan
Voit, Navy and Single Stage models.
Scubapro MK 2, 5, 7 and 10
If you don't see your regulator listed please call or email him before sending it in for service or repair.
Hey alec could you service a dacor extreme plus first stage for me if you could.
Sorry Mark but I did my last Dacor service a year or so back (check Vintage Scuba) and sold off my last parts and tools. Check with WWW.TheSCUBAmuseum.com/ or the Facebook "Vintage scuba diving group" to see who could do it for you.
hey, you probably have more experience then i do so. I'm going diving somewhere known to have lots of jellyfish, can jellyfish sting you while you have a wetsuit on?
Nope! Even a t-shirt or lycra bodysuit will stop them.
Jellyfish sting with a thing called a nematocyst which is a very short apparatus that is triggered by brushing against it.
It can penetrate the skin but can't get through cloth, certainly not neoprene.
Have fun.
Alec
Do you service or could you recommend some one who could service my dacor pacer 900?
Contact VintageDoubleHose.com and ask Bryan if he services the 900. It's a great regulator and with proper service and care will last many years.
I have a Olympic Dacor 400.
That's one of my favorite regulator of all time. I refused to give it up for many years.
Besides, it saved me having to put so much weight on my belt.
Alec
@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter Hi Alec - Any tips on where we might find service kits for the Olympic 400?
I just bought some used ones ards they worth something
If they can be serviced and are safe for diving, yes, otherwise they are nice teaching aids to students or display items.
A
4:50 "scewdiver" always make me laugh... definitely not a pirate as you lost all your RRrrrsss
Sometimes my mouth can't keep up to my brain - and my mouth is pretty quick!
Take care.
Alec
creepy
Creepy?? As in 'Aliens' or as in 'The Munsters'?
Alec