The Mystery of the Black Regulator......

[Bryan]

Now take a look at the yoke.....This one looks like a later model Conshelf yoke but it is threaded for the smaller yoke screw. It is also relief cut on the bottom to work on a DA style nozzle and body...4000 psi rated....This style yoke was used on round lable DA's in the 70's but they had the large yoke screw with the plastic style knob as is seen on the current Conshelf. Don't know what to think on this one.

You can see the MU trident stamped on the body indicating that it was tested at one time and certified to use in areas were low magnetic signature was required.

[TENNESSEE DIVER]

BRYAN, THIS IS TRULY A DIFFERENT ITEM, THE ONLY OTHER I KNOW OF IS DR. SAM'S,
WHEN HE GET'S BACK FROM MEXICO, WE MIGHT GET HIM TO LOOK AT HIS PART AND COMPARE THE PAINT AND INSIDE. HIS LABEL IS THE SAME. AND HE MAY REMEMBER WHEN AND WHERE HE GOT IT. WHICH IF MY MEMORY IS CORRECT AND IT IS NOT AS GOOD AS IT ONCE WAS, HE PICKED HIS UP AT USD .
THE H0SES ARE A NEW ITEM FOR ME ALSO, I HAD NEVER SEEN ANY LIKE THIS. I WAS TOLD BY SOME ONE, I THINK FROM USD, THAT THE LATER MILTARY UNITS USED THE STICK ON LABEL, BECAUSE THE MILTARY WERE REMOVING THE METAL ONES ANYWAY, AND WERE LESS EXPENSIVE TO MAKE.----HOPE THIS HELPS, DR. SAM MAY KNOW MORE, HE WAS AT THE FACTORY ABOUT THE TIME THESE WERE MADE.--RON MILLER-TENNESSEE DIVER-/-HILLBILLY

[treasureman]

The portion of the can with the exhaust holes, has been touched up. Look carefully at the colours, Od green and black overspray. The Od green would be a flat zinc chromate primer in use by the military as a surface primer and rust preventive coat, followed by the flat black. This was used extensively on our UH-1H when rust or battle damage was showing and needed to be repaired and repainted. The od zinc went on first followed by the appropriate main color.

All in all, a very interesting piece of kit .

[Bryan]

I'm glad you brought that up because I have been thinking the same thing about the OD overspray with black on top of it. Thanks for bringing it up.

[Bryan]

Inside

[treasureman]

Looks like non mag parts. A truly nice find

[Bryan]

I would agree......But on other Non Magnetic regulators all the internal parts are brass/copper....This is truly a mystery.

[treasureman]

Looks lie the Ip adjustment screw is a cast alluminum? or white metal?

Does not look stainless. If this were made at the height of the Vietnam war, brass was in short supply for the US as most went to casings for ammunition. Canada eneded up supplying the entire Us army with ammo, and is why today you find 45 acp casings with nato proof marks on them. canada took 30 cal cases (same case head as 45) and trimmed them to the corect length for 45 acp.

The lack of brass could explain other metals being used. They are not at a stress point

[Bryan]

You could be right on the mark as far as I know. The more I think I know about this thing the more I don't.

If it were not so valuable I would send the parts out for testing and send some regular DA parts with it so we could see the results side by side. But due to how rare it is I think we will just have to take it at face value and what we can get from the experts we know.

The way the 2nd stage lever supports are twisted to the extreme and the fact that the 2nd stage stem nut is staked and cemented in place lead me to be 99.9% certain that it's last rebuild was done by the branch of the service it came from.

The rubber cement on the 2nd stage stem is a trick told to me by an EOD guy. I think in civilian use the staking is overkill and ruins stems!

[treasureman]

A simple test would be to put a drop of vinegar on the white metal parts. If it turns a blackish grey colour it is white metal if it is alum, it will not do much but perhaps clean it a little.

[treasureman]

The mouthpice may or maym not be an enigma. When you have moulds for which there is a logo, any logo or nameplate is usually done on a separate pice which mates with the mol;d.. As a example when i manufactured 30 rd M16 mags out of composite, we had a space in the mould for a nameplate. If John smith wanted 100k of them, we would call them smith mags and put his name on it. It could stand to reason the button with the Aqualung logo was lose, or simply not set properly. Sometimes they take the logo portion out of a mould if a client wants sanitized equipment.

Further looking at the boxes shows indeed the overspray, but it would appear to be a matt chrome, not the highly polished ones .

The body itself is stamped, but no other parts.

I can only speak for canadian forces in that they used to go crazy stamping every little part with the C broad arrow to denote government acceptance. Any true "hard" piece of metal would have a proof mark or acceptance mark.

Now the cynical side of me shows.

Someone took a DAAM, hit it with the zinc chromate applied the black matt finish, installed the body with the correct markings and horsehoe which they had sitting in a used parts bin, and flogged it off on ebay.

I would much rather think no such chicanery took place, but this darn thing raises more questions than it answers.

[luis]

Looking at the mouthpiece makes me wonder, were there ever any unauthorized reproduction of double hose regulator parts made overseas (as in Asia)?

I have heard many stories of guns (and other mechanical parts) being duplicated with incredible details in some Asian countries. I never verified any of the stories, but some came from sources that I thought were reliable. Some of the stories were from servicemen having parts reproduced while overseas.

In the 80’s when I worked for military contractors, counterfeit hardware (coming from Taiwan, Korea, etc.) was an issue.

The yoke is another strange piece, with the small screw.

[Bryan]

Just to compare, this is what a typical Non Magnetic DA looks like inside.

THIS REGULATOR IS ONE FROM MY PERSONAL COLLECTION

Luis I think most of USD's stuff was made overseas by this time so conterfit parts are very likely!

[treasureman]

That non mag looks real nice. Now I know I got to get me one.

2007 is the year for the great non mag hunt. I will offer an ounce of 150 run to the great gods of the deep in that they protect me in this noble quest, and guide me to the holy grail ...the non mag

I really like the looks of that one

[William]

Hey fellas, I guess the Navy tanks are Asian too. Yea,right. I am looking at the pictures and asking "Why would someone want to take Non-Mag internal parts out and install copy-cat Asian parts into a Non-Mag regulator body". I think those Tanks are about as real as they could get and I am very sorry now,that I did not bid on them. I see no intelligent logic for someone to have the black regulator and "those" Navy tanks to try and use Asian parts in the regulator. Come on. I don't buy that logic. What it is factually, I do not know, but I think this forum will be the answer. Over time, discussion may lead to the answers from people who have Documentaion and Pictures of what the black regulator is comprised of, I am hopeing.