Vintage Double Hose

While I wait for my new Argonaut Kraken to arrive I've been pondering the best modern double tank set up...

I like the idea of small twin tanks like the Faber 7L and these come up from time to time second hand with the usual double DIN K valve with isolator manifold. Centre of balance closer to your back than a large single tank and should be able to be positioned with the DH reg between your shoulder blades.
And of course they have the classic Sea Hunt look

Obviously these won't suit a DH regulator (Kraken or classic RAM etc) so just wondering what my options are apart from trying to find old Sherwood or USD one-piece manifolds and putting a kit through them. These of course would be yoke only vs the convertibe yoke/DIN modern valve designs and centre-to-centre spacing would probably be too wide for standard brackets to suit the small diameter Faber 7L tanks.

Thermo PVD seems to be the only modern version available (in Tacti-cool PVD Black too!) but they are 215mm centre-to-centre.
http://www.diverightinscuba.com/thermo- ... ifold.html

After a lot of web searching it seems possible that two Rebreather DIN valves could be linked but I cannot find a suitable single output crosspiece.
https://www.divegearexpress.com/dgx-pre ... -handwheel

I'm stumped!
Any thoughts gratefully received

Ive got AL63s doubled up with a USD solid bar manifold. Of course, I only dive yoke so its not a problem. Making a set of doubles with DIN might not be worth it, but Im sure someone has done it cost effectively.

Are you looking for din specifically? If not the us divers solid manifold is pretty nice and you can get it cheap


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

These are lp46 which are faber 7l tanks and standard blue steel bands with a us divers manifold

Aha!!

Thanks, that looks exactly like what I'm trying to assemble... stacks of room around the DH can too!
Do they handle OK being that far apart?
Which model Blue Steel bands did you use?

I've also since found a company called Undersea UK who are specialist commercial diving suppliers, their downloadable catalogue lists a multitude of valves and manifolds that could be suitable (including 0450 Centre Outlet with Isolation, and 4085 Twin Manifold with J Reserve... M25x2 threads not 3/4 inch NPSM though)

http://www.undersea.uk.com/cylindermans.html

I'm not really committed to DIN but having the usual Yoke/DIN spin out converter would make it more flexible for other non-DH regs...

Looks like I need to scour US eBay for a USD solid manifold

I spoke with a person from that company once before I decided to just go with the old USD solid manifold. If you ask they can make you any of their valves/manifolds in 3/4 NPSM for a smallish up charge since it's not stock.

This has some promise with the 300 BAR DIN on my Phoenix...

http://www.wmd.com.tw/products/item/283

Thanks for the link, there's some great stuff in there... I wonder if the double DIN crossbar would link two ordinary DIN K valves?
Edit: No because the knobs would of course be facing the wrong way!!!
Not enough coffee before posting...

Goodlifedivers and workman,

You probably use a rubber mallet to tighten your USD manifold on one of the tanks, correct? But how do you tighten the second tank? TIA.

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

for my USD Solid Bar, a strap/chain wrench has been more than enough....

On my USD solid bar manifold I just hand tightened the second tank, held onto it, then whacked the other end of the manifold with a rubber mallet a few times. Of course that was on a small set of HP 40s so my brute force damn the torpedoes full speed ahead approach may not work on larger tank sizes. You will know pretty quickly if it is leaking because it is not tight enough. Good luck. Mark

Redshirt77
I sent Undersea UK an email but sadly it seems they have changed policy and now only assemble from their standard catalogued items:
"I am sorry I have looked through all our stock and we do not have any NPSM valves left at all.
Regret we have been unable to help."

This vintage Sherwood double yoke manifold looks good for a DH reg in the centre and backup 1st stage + octo outboard:

That's a shame. The price they quoted me was way, way less than the crazy $700 price tag on the single outlet XS Thermo manifold.

Also, someone correct me if I'm wrong but the center-to-center distance on the sherwood manifold is a little shorter than the USD manifold, correct?

the above Sherwood manifold requires "vintage" bands to work. The center-to-center spacing is smaller than modern. Also, I have had issues with using that manifold with my Kraken where I couldn't get a small first stage (ScubaPro MK-2 IIRC) connected without significant interference from the horn on the DH on the center post. I really had to roll my Kraken. I stashed it away in favor of a solid bar, but need to revisit it....

Here's a link to an old post of mine showing a USD single bar manifold I overhauled. Works great!

Mark.

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