Phoenix #12-122 Up and running

[fishnbeer]

I bought Phoenix #12-122 from Bryan a couple of months ago and finally got it put together on my DA Aqua-master several weeks ago. The pin length was spot on and all I did was replace the hi pressure diaphragm, 2nd stage seat, and Bryan sent me extra nozzle gaskets.(Thanks Bryan) Well I took it on a maiden voyage with my triple tanks and WOW! What a great breathing regulator. I took it down to 35 feet in the Feather River in NorCal and it performed awesome. My new friend will be my go to reg on dive boats and vacation trips. I guess now I will have to also get an HPR & DBE to go with it. I have to admit though, my favorite reg is still my Mistral, as it was my first reg when I started diving in 1969. Anyhow I just wanted to give my 2 cents worth on the Phoenix, it is awesome!

[Herman]

The HPR will make more of a difference than the Phoenix did, both in ease of setup and breathing performance. A reg with both installed are hard to beat. If you have not already done so, install one of the latest diaphragms in your Mistral, it will improve it's performance considerably.

[SurfLung]

- Congratulations on your Phoenix. I have three... A beautiful rechromed one I bought from VDH, my high school DAAM that VDH converted to Phoenix, and a DAAM I converted myself. I have to admit I had a similar feeling toward my Mistral... I didn't feel THAT much difference in breathing effort.
- Next, I added an HPR and new sensitive silicone diaphragm. I still didn't feel like it made THAT much of a difference.
- Then I simply adjusted the HPR to block one of the secondary ports on the venture nozzle... Holy cats what a difference. I now have two Phoenixes with HPR and one DAAM with HPR. I can distinctly tell the breathing difference between these regulators and the Mistral... They're also distinctly better than a non-HPR DAAM.
- I think lung fitness (as in swimming for fitness) may play a role in how much difference you can tell in breathing effort. When I was 20, I didn't even think about breathing effort regardless of whether I was using a single or double hose reg. If your breathing muscles are strong, I think you're probably less likely to detect a difference, too.