Pictured below is Ole Number 7, battle axe of all my regulators. All reproduction parts for the DA series gets tried out in this beauty before they go any further. After diving the 1st day at Lake Wazee I developed a hole in one of my favorite tight accordion original hoses. Unfortunately this happened when I loaned the regulator to Jerry Mossman after bragging to him how well it breathed! Sorry Jerry! So when I got home I decided to give it a good going over.
I am not saying this is the only way to do it……Nor am I recommending that you do it at all…….I’m simply sharing some of the steps I use in refurbishing Royal Aqua-Masters. There is an Excellent copy of the US Divers factory repair manual for the Royal in the downloads section of my main site. As we go through this please feel free to comment and ask questions.
1st you need a few things to get it done right. A basic set of good hand tools including open end and Allen wrenches. Don’t use cheap or worn out tools! You will screw up your regulator and could possibly damage expensive parts.
2nd you need a few other parts and tools to do the job right. A parts kit, intermediate pressure gauge, regulator cleaner and if you are going to do a lot of regulator work I highly recommend a high pressure nozzle assembly tool that is made by our own Tom (Captain) Madere.
Lay the regulator on a flat surface and start taking it apart. Use the manual as your guide. Do it SLOWLY so you can remember the way the parts go back together. Take digital pics so you can review each step you do. Remember to disassemble the high pressure diaphragm and nozzle assembly carefully as they are under spring tension. Parts could go everywhere! (don’t ask how I know this….)
When the regulator is completely apart I soak all of the metal parts for a few hours in regulator cleaner. It’s the best stuff I have found for taking off years of salt water corrosion and other crap that gets on these regulators. Follow the directions...don’t soak your painted label in this stuff, it might fade them. Other cleaners I have used with some degree of success are Simple Green and household vinegar.