So there I was... Regulator in question is a "made in France" DA Aquamaster. I cleaned and rebuilt it to original configuration, cycled the second stage on a cylinder a few hundred times while watching TV, then put it on a 300 psi cylinder and set the IP per the instructions. Next week I brought it on a trip, took it in the pool for a test run, everything was fine. Next morning I set it up on my aluminum 80 doubles, turned on the air, it locked up hard. Nothing coming out at all, I had to use a wrench to remove it. I dived with my royal Aquamaster instead. Fast forward a few weeks, I did some research, figured the first stage main spring was shot, ordered a new one and an HPR. Received them, put both in, repeated IP adjustment, breathed great. Back in the pool, all is well, back on the boat. In the water, pulling my way along the line to the down line I could feel resistance increasing. I hit the deck of the wreck I was diving @ 100 ft deep, like breathing thru a straw. Body position, etc, ok. Returned to the surface, back on the boat the regulator would hardly deliver air. Swapped to a mistral and had a great dive.
I've looked around and most (all) issues I've seen with first stage failure & troubleshooting seem to deal with free flow, IP creep, etc. my next step is either a Phoenix or cyclone for this, but I would like to get it right in it's original configuration first. Help!!
Thanks,
Mark