Argonaut News and Update

[Bryan]

Adding the mouthpiece medallion

[14020]

[Bryan]

SWAG tag that will come with all 1st series Argonaut Kraken regulators and to all the Fundable backers.

[ScubaLawyer]

All these teasers remind me of a few apt Gollum quotes:

"We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious."

"So bright... so beautiful... ah, Precious."

"We swears to serve the master of the precious. We will swear on... on... the
precious!"

[rhwestfall]

so, how close are we? Are things on schedule? The teasers as well as the blog have been enjoyable, but like a kid waiting in total euphoria for Christmas, the "Mall Santa" and the "Christmas TV Specials" are just a "stirring of the pot".....

[Ron]

Yeah, because Bryan loves it when people pester him... Ask me how I know lol.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk

[Bryan]

When there is something worth reporting I'll report it....Till then all I can do is thank everyone for their patience

[Bryan]

Argonaut Kraken regulators will come with thumbscrews on the regulator can side making it easy to remove the hose loop for cleaning, travel or storage. Luis has done all his regulators this way for years and I thought it would be a useful feature on the new regulators.

[sitkadiver]

Bryan,

This is a great idea, right up there with the no-lose hardware. You are paying serious attention to detail - which is what everyone expects from you I suppose. Only thing left to do is add a "like" button to the forum.

Thank you for turning out such great products. I'm looking forward to the day when you release the Kraken.

Dave
Sitka, Alaska

[luis]

If you notice the threads on the thumb screws are intentionally long (under the black rubber cap). This is by design and it follows the “no-loose hardware” philosophy. The idea is that you can loosen up the clamp enough to slip the hose under it without ever unscrewing them all the way.

I have been doing this for years and I never have to unscrew the nut all the way out. Again, it follows the no-loose hardware concept.

The little rubber cap does come off when I back the screw all the way, but the cap is not critical. If you lose the rubber cap, it is not a big deal, you can still dive. Just replace it when you get home. The cap just slips on the threads. It is very secure and it is not hard to keep track of it.

I remove the complete hose loop as an assembly (I rarely disconnect the mouthpiece clamps) when I travel or when I am done diving for the weekend. I always rinse the complete hose assembly and use a blow dryer (in cool setting) dry the inside of the hoses.

Note: I always put the thumb screws on the back side of the regulator with the head of the screw up and the threads with the rubber cover facing down. This keeps them out of the way, protecting the screw and I think it looks better.

[Bryan]

From day one Luis and I planned for the yoke to be removable on the Argonaut as it is much easier to store and travel with.
As I have mentioned before my OCD kicks into high gear sometimes and I can't rest until I have a solution that my loco brain considers satisfactory.
When you remove the yoke you leave the threads on the body exposed and the O-ring surface more unprotected than it would be with the yoke installed. This part was not a problem as I was able to source nice silicone caps to slide over the threaded area of the 1st stage...Problem One....the caps are a lot longer than I needed and unless I would purchase 5000 of them the company would not make a custom size.....

20140530_101950.jpg

Problem Two....When you trim the caps to length with scissors, no matter how sharp the scissors or how careful you are there is always a slight curve to the caps where they are trimmed. This just won't do.....

I sent Herman an E-mail asking him to make me a mandrel out of nylon with a groove cut in it so I could put the cap on the mandrel shaft and run a razor knife around in the groove and it would make the cut even on the bottom...Problem solved....That is unless you are Herman.....
What you see below is in its own small way pure genius! Herman made me a tiny lathe to trim all the caps....It's complete with crank and a replaceable razor blade.

Herman trimmer.jpg

I never thank him enough for putting up with Luis and I on this project and for helping us find solutions to problems big and small and even the ones that are not really a problem but keep me up at night worrying about them

[rhwestfall]

soon to be marketed for: Brit milah

[swimjim]

Pretty slick Herman!

[Herman]

I had not heard if you liked it so I am pleased you do.
Not only will it cut the caps but it can be used to cut almost any round rubber tube/cap. I designed it so that all that is needed for a different project is to unscrew one mandrel and install another. It will handle pretty much any size from 1/2 to over 3 inches with a trimming width from 0 to more that 2 inches. The razor blades are common craft store items so getting replacements is easy as long as you have a Walmart or Micheals around.

[sitkadiver]

Sweet tool Herman.