Vintage Double Hose

It is nearly time for a visual on my twin 50s. They have the vintage US Divers/Aqualung cirular logo on both tanks. My LDS has a new teck guy. The previous one was into vintage gear and we talked a lot and he went the extra mile for parts, etc. I am hearing that it is almost impossible to line the tanks up when they are installed on the manifold so the decals are both facing exactly back. Is this true or is there some secret to getting them to line up?

Thanks,
John

If you have 3/4" valves, like those used today, they should line up each time, if torqued correctly. That is assuming they were torqued correctly, when the decals were first applied. Most torquing is incorrectly done with a rubber mallet, so there is not a lot of science to it.

If you have 1/2" taper threads it is nearly hopeless. I would suggest you do as I once did, and use a hair dryer to remove the decals and have Kinko duplicate them. Then just re-apply them. You can usually move them once with a hair dryer removal unless they have dried out too much.

If you want, email me at [email protected] and I will email back with an attachment of the decal that you need for US Divers tanks (5", black on yellow)

The other alternative is just don't worry about.

If the manifold is 3/4", be sure to mark one tank and the manifold fitting on that same tank and explain that you want them put back together the same way.
One time, a dive shop put my newly acquired twins back together and the Healthways logos weren't lined up. When I pointed it out, the man swore he tried it both ways and that this was the best he could do. Well, when I got home I drained the tanks, dissassembled and reassembled them properly with no trouble at all. The guy was full of s--t, but I didn't make a fuss. I just used a cheater bar with a tank checker attached and bled 300 psi back into them from a full 72. Then I waited a while and took them in for filling. Had I made a big stink about it, there would have been friction between us (nobody likes being called a liar) and he would have been more likely to notice that a correction had been made. Then he would have required another visual because I had drained and opened the tanks, and would have kept his eye on me from then on. Sometimes it's better to lay low and just get it done yourself.
So, after all that story telling, I suppose yours are 1/2"!?

Oh, yeah. I almost forgot! They look pretty darned good in my avatar, don't they!?

Yeah that avatr looks real cool. Me I jus6t finished galvinizing the tanks, will tale them in to be re-asembled, when they come out, I will apply two brand new stickers to them so I know they will line up. I may put a witness mark on the valve and tank so I know where they line up.

Hi,
My manifold is 3/4". I will mark the manifold and one tank for alignment and see what happens. If they are not lined up when I get them back, I will try doing it myself or removing the decals and replacing them as suggested. Does one need a special holder or something to attached tanks to the manifold?

Thanks,
John

Duckbill,
Your tanks look very nice - I have changed my avatar to show my set.

John

Logic would dictate that if the tanks are currently lined up, they can when being re-assembled be lined up again. New O rings also help, as when they were twinned up, they were probably new and had new rings. Older rings that have been compressed would re-align differently.

treasureman wrote:Logic would dictate that if the tanks are currently lined up, they can when being re-assembled be lined up again.

Yes.
John, don't remove your labels except as a very last resort. And I'd still think twice about it unless they were very much misaligned. Your tanks look really nice. I hope all works out fine for you. Just be sure to explain to the shop what the marks are for and that you want them put back together the same way.
If you have to do the switching yourself and you don't have a cylinder clamp, you may find it helpful to put a backpack on one cylinder to help hold it while turning the other one. Just use care.

I don't think this is correct procedure but non pipe valves have an Oring. It is not critical as a result for sealing to torque the hell out of it. If they were lined up once I would install the tanks to the assembled manifold realigning them to your marks or whatever it takes to get your decals reasonably centered. Once you put air in them they will not tend to move or turn. In this statement I am assuming that your decals or approx centered or approx 1/3 turn off etc. Taking it tight and then backing off to align should not cause an issue. ALSO----it may not be apparent--always mark your tanks left and right and put them back that way.

James

A big bird sent me some samples of some reproduction early black and yellow USD labels that will soon be available just like this one from 1958....Stay tuned for details!!

Over the years there Were suttle differences in the similar Decals, like shown here from the one above. If you measeure them, you will also see distoratiion from shrinkage too. One measured 5 & 3/8s by 5 & 11/16s. But none are Oval. It is from shrinkage. I do hope the Facts about what years they were used can come out as well. William

Another Aqua-Lung Decal