Healthways

[swimjim]

It's a crappy day in Wisconsin. It's right at the freezing point and the snow is changing to rain and then back to snow. Lake Michigan is really rough and is brown as far as the eye can see.
I spent some time in the shop completing a rebuild on a DA. With a little help from Bryan the reg is ready to rock.. I can't wait to try it out.
I pulled out my Blue label Healthways Deluxe. As I have a fresh batch of Bryans cleaner in the shop, I disassembled the reg and put a few parts of it in the cleaner. The crud on it was very minor so I only let it soak for an hour or so and then I pulled the parts out, rinsed them and dried them off.
I reassembled the reg and decided to try and tweak it a little to see if I could boost the performance a bit. I messed with the adjustment a bit and it was about the same in the end.
I don't expect alot from this regulator. It is what it is. But I was wondering if any of you on the board may have some secret tips on this one that would improve it's performance. Other then replacing the OEM hoses and mouth piece with those from my DA or Mistral I really can't think of anything that would help.

Thanks

jim

[jamiep3]

I Other then replacing the OEM hoses and mouth piece with those from my DA or Mistral I really can't think of anything that would help.

Thanks

jim

That was suggested to me by another Diver. I think I'm going to try it this summer, since I finally am getting a collection of parts.

[Creed]

Yes, there are two things I did that greatly improved the breathing. The first thing I realized was that the air came out at 90 degree angles to the lever. I had a machine shop drill and tap two more holes in the body, such that the lever mounted with the air being directed towards the inhalation hose. Then, I made a restrictor plate from a washer. Drill two holes for the mounting screws, then make two cuts, and bend the resulting flap up. This directs almost all the air directly at the inhalation port. Here's some photos of the plate and new holes. The next step in my experimenting is a new set of cases(so that I can use one of Bryan's silicone diaphrams), but real life keeps intruding and sucking my free time away.

[swimjim]

Yes, there are two things I did that greatly improved the breathing. The first thing I realized was that the air came out at 90 degree angles to the lever. I had a machine shop drill and tap two more holes in the body, such that the lever mounted with the air being directed towards the inhalation hose. Then, I made a restrictor plate from a washer. Drill two holes for the mounting screws, then make two cuts, and bend the resulting flap up. This directs almost all the air directly at the inhalation port. Here's some photos of the plate and new holes. The next step in my experimenting is a new set of cases(so that I can use one of Bryan's silicone diaphrams), but real life keeps intruding and sucking my free time away.

Interesting. My fiddling in the shop seemed to indicate that without modifications the air came out in sort of an X pattern from the levers as that was it's only avenue for escape. I was thinking today that drilling a hole or three in the lever channel towards the exhaust horn may help things. Your restictor plate looks like the icing on the cake. I'll bet I could make that up out of sheet metal and drill holes for the oem screws to go through. As long as I'm cutting and shaping, maybe I could make up a plate that would have the restrictor/deflector plate on one side and a tube one the other to act as a venturi that fit over the holes in the channel. I could either form the tube out of sheet metal or perhaps silver solder something together. Hmm. Looks like a project. I'll post a few pic's if I have any resaonable results.

Jim

[duckbill]

Note:

There is a balance of how much "venturi" you want pointed down the horn versus an airstream into the can itself. You do NOT want ALL of the air pointed down the horn. I tried taping over the side holes on a Mistral venturi tube to see what it would do, and voila----instant and powerful freeflow (upon inhalation). The can does need some back pressure to keep the diaphragm fairly balanced with just a minor amount of vacuum. The balance is fairly critical if you are striving for top performance.

In fact, be EXTREMELY careful when experimenting with these single stages. It is of utmost importance to follow the rule of having a hose and mouthpiece on the horn while testing by inhaling, -even more so when all of the air is directed down the hose! I was lucky nothing happened to me before Nemrod pointed this out to me many moons ago. (Thanks again, Nemrod)



-DOTD

[swimjim]

Point taken Duckbill. Thanks. I've read, probably your post, re: not breathing directly off the horn. I'll take a peek and look at the parts blow up of my Mistral. I wish I had my Gold label Healthways. Sold it some time back. A mistake as it was a very clean, very functional specimen. I liked that reg if for nothing else it's funky yoke. That had a venturi in it simular to the Mistral. It couldn't touch my Mistral for performance though. Thanks.

jim

[Creed]

Point taken. My approach was to have a "flat" airflow, for lack of a better term. Without a tube or channel for a tight venturi effect, it doesn't freeflow.

And, yes, do not breath out of a single stage directly, unless you like lung damage.

Note:

There is a balance of how much "venturi" you want pointed down the horn versus an airstream into the can itself. You do NOT want ALL of the air pointed down the horn. I tried taping over the side holes on a Mistral venturi tube to see what it would do, and voila----instant and powerful freeflow (upon inhalation). The can does need some back pressure to keep the diaphragm fairly balanced with just a minor amount of vacuum. The balance is fairly critical if you are striving for top performance.

In fact, be EXTREMELY careful when experimenting with these single stages. It is of utmost importance to follow the rule of having a hose and mouthpiece on the horn while testing by inhaling, -even more so when all of the air is directed down the hose! I was lucky nothing happened to me before Nemrod pointed this out to me many moons ago. (Thanks again, Nemrod)



-DOTD

[Nemrod]

That is some good looking work.

Please--NEVER--stick your mouth on the port of a single stage (ore even a double) and try to breath directly. The venturi could easily cause a fatal embolism--and has.

James

[Creed]

It's always fun to revive an old thread. Last night, I rebuilt my Healthways as a balanced single stage:

The bottom row are the original Healthways internals. The top are slightly modified Conshelf internals, along with a USD Titan orifice.

[luis]

Hi Creed

That Healthways seat looks almost identical to the Sportways first stage seat. I wonder if they are truly the same?

Again, I am not surprise that the parts basically fit since the ID of approximately 1/2 inch is driven by the tank valve.

How is it working so far?

Another issue that I was thinking of after our last PM is that it may easily go into uncontrolled free flow. The mechanical advantage of the lever linkage is design for a stiffer valve mechanism. The mechanical advantage of the linkage would probably be hard to change, but you may be able to try stiffer springs (if needed).

Some analysis (calculations) could help in determining a spring size, but trial and error also work.

Be careful with it, a free flow could be quite a bit more violent that usual since it looks like even the volcano orifice is larger.

Have fun.

[Creed]

So far, so good. I've only had a chance to try it on land so far, and I haven't seen any issues. It breathes well at every pressure I've tried.

I hope to have it and my Voit conversion in the water next week. It depends on the weather.

[Emilio Largo]

I'm cleaning up an early Healthways SCUBA double hose regulator and hope to get it in diveable condition.
Does anybody have a source for Healthways duck bill valves, or can a USD duck bill be modified to fit?
Thanks!

[Creed]

I'm cleaning up an early Healthways SCUBA double hose regulator and hope to get it in diveable condition.
Does anybody have a source for Healthways duck bill valves, or can a USD duck bill be modified to fit?
Thanks!

I've trimmed a USD duckbill. It doesn't work great, but it was usable.