HOW TO: SHORTEN A LOW PRESSURE HOSE

Have you ever bought a new low pressure hose as the one you had before was too long?  Imagine you’re setting up your very first twinset and you have plenty of spare regulator and/or wing/BCD hoses?  A standard regulator hose is 29” where a ‘DIR’ style backup hose is generally 22-24” (depending on first stage).  If you were to use the standard hose you would be left with a large loop that may snag.  I had the same problem when I was setting up my twinset and again this weekend when I was rebuilding the wife’s twinset.  To save yourself some money and recycle some of your existing hoses you can modify one with an AP50B from AP Valves; it allows the shortening of standard diameter low pressure hoses by cutting to length and screwing onto the end

The following guide is designed for a standard 3/8” UNF fitting for a standard first stage.  It has not been tried with the older style 1/2" Apeks fitting.

WARNING; THIS IS NOT TO BE USED WITH A HIGH PRESSURE HOSE

You will need the following:

1. Existing LP hose.
2. AP50B*.
3. A sharp knife.
4. 2x adjustable spanners.

*If you call the friendly Alison at AP Valves on 01326 561040 and part with £10.24 of your hard earned (or maybe not) money you’ll get one in the post the next day.

Cut off the old 3/8” UNF fitting ensuring the cut is completely straight.  To do this I measured the appropriate distance (in this case 22”) and marked it with a paint pen.  To double check it was the correct length I then donned the twinset, put the regulator in my mouth and got my wife to confirm where the hose met the first stage (ensuring I had a full range of head movement).

Unscrew the 2 parts of the AP50B and screw the outer all of the way onto the hose ensuring the end of the hose is flush with the inside of the fitting.  It takes a little bit of an effort as the screw thread needs to bite into the hose so bear with it.

Using both spanners; one to hold the outer in place and one to rotate the inner, screw the inner in place.  Again this takes a small bit of effort.

Once finished it should look similar to the one on the left.

Thanks for reading; hopefully this is of some use. 

rectotec take no responsibility for any injuries caused by incorrect fitting of this part.

The boring bit!

All opinions expressed in my articles are my own and may differ to other instructor’s and agency guidelines; by no means are they wrong and I would not wish to disrepute any of them.  This article is for information only and should not replace proper training.

Safe diving!

Timothy Gort

BSAC, PADI and SDI/TDI diver training
l Mob: 07968148261 l Email: tim@rectotec.co.uk l

SINGLE CYLINDER WING AND SINGLE TANK ADAPTOR: HALCYON V LIGHT MONKEY

After being lucky enough to get a sweet deal on a Light Monkey single cylinder wing and single tank adaptor (commonly known as a STA) for the wife I thought I should compare it to my Halcyon Equivalent.  Both are ‘DIR’ style wings so they should work with any standard backplate.  A few specs are as follows:

	Halcyon	Light Monkey
Lift Capacity	30lb	28lb
Shape	Donut	Donut
Outer Construction	1680 denier nylon	1680 denier nylon
Separate Inner Bladder	Yes	Yes
Dumps	Left kidney	Left kidney (no toggle)
LPIs	Shortened plus 2 innertube lengths	Shortened plus 2 innertube lengths

Some comparison pictures can be found below (the spine weight and the trim weight pockets on mine are extras).

Un-inflated from the front.

Inflated from the front

 Inflated from the rear.

LPIs.

STAs from the front.

STAs from the rear.














Overall, both are very similar in appearance and both seem to have a similar build quality.  The Light Monkey has no toggle (although these are often removed off the Halcyon anyway) or no rear grab handle however the joins of the LPI to both the wing and power inflator are shrink wrapped.  The Halcyon has the option of a 3kg spine weight and both can take trim weight pockets as an optional extra. 

If I had to make one complaint about the Light Monkey it would be that the cam bands on the STA appear a little cheap (the Velcro is removable) however if this bothered you replacements are cheap.  But for less than half the price of the Halcyon it is excellent value for money and if I were buying again; either for me or for my student kit I would be hard pressed not to buy the Light Monkey.  It really does look like top kit but time will tell; it’s yet to get wet!

The boring bit!

All opinions expressed in my articles are my own and may differ to other instructor’s and agency guidelines; by no means are they wrong and I would not wish to disrepute any of them.  This article is for information only and should not replace proper training.

Safe diving!

Timothy Gort

BSAC, PADI and SDI/TDI diver training
l Mob: 07968148261 l Email: tim@rectotec.co.uk l

HOW TO: ATTACH A TEKNA KNIFE TO A GOODMAN HANDLE

Like most divers who dive a ‘DIR’ style setup, I have cutting device mounted on the left side of my harness; my personal favorite being the Trilobite Eezycut.  Additionally I also have one mounted to the wrist strap of my dive computer however as I find myself increasingly using my trusty bottom timer instead I’ve thought about how I can add a redundant cutting device.  I could add a second to my harness however I’ve seen an increasing amount of divers adding tekna knifes onto the goodman handle of their primary light so I thought I’d give it a go.

I purchased the knife from Deep-Ideas on Sunday afternoon and it arrived first thing on Tuesday morning.  In addition to the knife it came complete with a bolt kit and securing o-rings.  Finally it came complete with a complimentary chocolate bar.  Next day delivery and free choccy.  How’s that for service.  Cheers Colin!

I’ll now try to explain how to fit it.  Although fitted to a Halcyon, it should fit most goodman style handles with a flat base similar to those found on Salvo, Light Monkey, Light-For-Me and Agir-Brokk. 

You will need the following:

1. Tekna knife.

2. Nut, bolt and small washer (if not supplied then big enough to fit through the pre-drilled hole in the knife).

3. HP swivel o-ring (BS003).

4. O-ring similar to that found by an Apeks 2^nd stage heat exchanger (AP1267) *optional*.

5. Selection of tools (depending on bolt type).

6. Drill.

Ensuring there’s enough room for the knife to fit drill a small hole on the left hand side of the goodman handle (so you can access the knife with the right hand). 

From this point onwards the goodman handle can still be fitted to the torch however I chose to remove it so I can fit the optional securing o-ring (see later).

Remove the key-ring (if fitted) and place the bolt through the knife and roll the o-ring over the top.  The o-ring works 2 fold; it allows you to tighten the bolt by absorbing some of the pressure and preventing the knife case from cracking and secondly it allows a small stand-off between the knife and the handle to allow the knife to twist.

Place the knife on the inside of the handle, add the nut and tighten.  It should be tight enough to remain in place but loose enough to allow a rotation of the knife.

Add the optional securing o-ring.

And fit the handle back onto the torch.

Nearly there; check to make you can still fit your glove through the handle.
















And finally like any other knife add a small amount of grease to prevent the blade from rusting.














And that’s it; job done.  In my opinion the tekna knife is an ideal backup but I wouldn’t use it as my primary cutting device.  Nothing can beat the Trilobite Eezycut.

Just remember, if transporting your primary light in your hand luggage when flying remove the knife first!

The boring bit!

All opinions expressed in my articles are my own and may differ to other instructor’s and agency guidelines; by no means are they wrong and I would not wish to disrepute any of them.  This article is for information only and should not replace proper training.

Safe diving!

Timothy Gort

BSAC, PADI and SDI/TDI diver training
l Mob: 07968148261 l Email: tim@rectotec.co.uk l