Disassembling the DA Aquamaster

[wcleeuwenburg]

I'm just getting around to disassembling my recently aquired DA Aquamaster for inspection. Hoses, mouthpiece & wagon wheel / rubber check valve assemblies look fine. There is a noticeable build up of foreign material on the inside of the hoses and mouthpiece. I'm thinking a good soap and water soak for these components.

Any advise from anyone on how to safely remove the retaining clips on the can without damaging the outer surface. Need to open to inspect the diaphragm.

Thanks!

Charles Leeuwenburg
Morehead City / Wrightsville Beach, NC

[Bryan]

Topic from the Technical Section of the website forum titled Removing/installing C clips

Click Here

From the front page of the website under care and maintenance cleaning hoses information.

Click Here

[Herman]

I use a large pair of side nippers like Bryan uses (see thread above). Lowes sells the pair I use- Kobalt brand. It is important to note that the clips must be rocked off from the rear to the front. I highly recommend you do not replace them but rather replace them with a band clamp. It makes taking the reg apart a lot easier and encourages you to open it up from time to time to keep it clean. The cost is not much more than buying and modifying a pair of vise grips to reinstall the clips.

The mouthpieces, hoses and wagon wheels may be ok but I would suggest at a minimum, you not reuse the mushroom valves. They will likely work but even new they are a lot stiffer than the silicone replacements. That increases your breathing resistance quite a bit. Don't skimp on the internal rubber goods, new silicone ones will last many years and more improtant they will make a big difference in the way the reg performs.

[wcleeuwenburg]

Thanks all for your advice. As my Royal Aquamaster has a band clamp, I was thinking that this would be a nice retrofit for my DA. I've been looking online without success - Can anyone point me to the a source?

Thanks!

Chaz

[Bryan]

I realize there are over 400 items in the website store but it is broken down in sections so you can easily find what fits your regulator. There is also a search box on the store pages that allow you to enter search terms like DA or band clamp or exhaust valve and it will pull up everything that matches the key words that you enter. I woild suggest you start with parts for two stage regulators and look at all 6 pages to familiarize yourself with the dozens of parts currently available for your regulator. Band clamps have been for sale here for the last 7 years.
You could even do a Google search and it would bring you to this page. Hope this helps get you started.


http://vintagedoublehose.com/index.php? ... ort=normal

[wcleeuwenburg]

Thanks! Found it and placed an order.

Charles Leeuwenburg