Fri Jan 27, 2017 8:22 pm
If they have been maintained, these regulators are very simple and therefore very reliable.
Just be aware that their first stage is a non-balanced piston regulator. That in itself is not an issue and it actually has a side benefit from a safety point of view. They get harder to breath as tank pressure drops. If the diver is aware of that, it can become a nice warning system that will not let you forget that air pressure is going down, with good advance warning.
The only concern with the non-balanced first stage is that the design incorporates a relatively small volcano orifice in the first stage. The small orifice design is used to reduce the amount the intermediate pressure (IP) changes as the tank pressure drops. The undesirable side effect is that the smaller orifice can restrict the flow rate under certain circumstances (Very deep, hard work, low tank pressure).
The first stage orifice size is designed to be large enough to accommodate the flow rate required by most divers at recreational depths and with a reasonable work load. The flow rate may feel restrictive as depth increases (probably well past 100 ft) and if it is in combination with high work load increase (from swimming into current, etc). If at the same time the tank pressure is lower, the increase work of breathing can become very noticeable.
I am sure the Aquarius has been to 130 ft a number of times and if the diver is not working hard, etc. any work of breathing increase probably went un-noticed.
Just be aware of its limitations.
Luis
Buceador con escafandra autónoma clásica.