Voit Green Label - What Should I Do With This One?

[gj1963]

This looked like too much fun to pass up. I am guessing that at some point long ago it was converted to have DA guts and had grey hoses added. It has been the way it is for a very long time, with all its crunchy rubber and melted duck bill. It should have green hoses and green tinnermans correct? Should I put correct early two stage Broxton/Navy Approved guts in it? Or Keep what it has and add an HPR and Cyclone? I think it looks pretty awesome as it is, but I think green hoses would look better, and I intend to dive it soon.

[1969ivan1]

It is an easy restore IMO. You can make it into whatever you want now that there are good repro labels from A and D. You could make it into a Voit Navy or pretty much any other Voit if you like. If you want a diver I would suggest you get an old mistral and use it as the basis for what ever label and hoses you decide that you fancy.

[captain]

Because there are so few Voit VR2 2 stages around I personally would find the correct type body and internals (USD DA Navy) and restore it originality.

[Bryan]

What Captain's looks like after restoration .....If I remember correctly it was in even worse shape than yours when he got it.

[antique diver]

I'd go with Captain's advice on this one and try to make it original due to its relative rarity. It may not breathe very well compared to what's in it now, but that's just what divin' was like back then.

I'm a little biased toward the VR2 since that was the first regulator that I ever owned. I don't remember anything about that first reg's breathing performance, but really didn't think about that anyway... we were just happy as clams being able to breathe underwater! I'd still have gone diving if I had to suck a dimple in my forehead to get air. I have a nice VR2 now, and love diving with it in spite of its limitations. Actually it begins to flow easily enough, just gets harder if I try to breathe heavily. Don't do that much anyway.

[simonbeans]

What Captain's looks like after restoration .....If I remember correctly it was in even worse shape than yours when he got it.

And it worked great at the 2008 Sea Hunt 50 at Silver Springs:

[gj1963]

Cool! Back to original it goes. I enjoy my udt Broxton for diving, and have used it a lot, so I don't think I will mind how it breathes. Unless, by small odds, someone reading this has a spare Broxton/navy approved mechanism they would like to sell, I think finding one outside of getting a complete parts regulator will be rough. I have a few tricks up my sleeve though and will see what I can come up with. One question: on the tinnermans on these, were they painted a specific green to match the hoses, or were they the olive drab that some of the tinnermans on over pressures and some others were?

[gj1963]

Thanks to Bryan, I have the correct top box and mechanism. A good rebuild of the mechanism, and it is almost ready to go. I am waiting on springs from Mcmaster Carr that DB and slonda had looked up that are lighter replacements for the horseshoe springs. Then mechanically it will be ready to go. The whole thing will be due for a rechrome, but all the pieces should be together soon.

[SurfLung]

- Clean up looks great. That's going to be quite a prize when you get it all done.

[swimjim]

Smokin' hot project! Thanks for posting!

[captain]

Just an FYI, I began my diving career with that regulator and have worked on them all my life. I have never seen replacement springs that improve or even equal the originals. My choise is to alway used the original springs and only use replacements if originals are not available. Lighter springs usually end up with the horseshoe and/or IP too low in order to prevent free flow, both of which hurt performance. The first stage orifice is smaller than in the later DAM so you need to maintain as high an IP as possible to get enough volume of flow. You can rebuild one by the book and it will work but there are several ways to fine tune them.

[gj1963]

Here it is all together. It is assembled and working, but I need to contact Captain still for some fine tuning advice.

[Bryan]

Looks Great!

[crimediver]

Looks great. I have a Voit Lung that I need to get started on. Where did you score the Tinnermans?

[gj1963]

Thanks! This set of tinnermans I pieced and traded together over a long time. One here, one there etc. I had painted this set yellow and put them on a mistral with yellow hoses and mouthpieces. That mistral though was too late to have had tinnermans originally, I just wanted one set up that way. Later on I found an early mistral in original box with original yellow tinnermans. So the 'donor' mistral got back nylon clamps, and it didn't scream too loudly. I then stripped them and painted green to match. I think that they are on the right regulator now.