Manifold Help

[Andy Bloss]

Hoping for some TDF wisdom.

My twinset (12l flat bottomed Euros with BTS manifold) is in for test. Aside from it annoyingly need shotblasting, the test centre has back and said that the manifold and one of the valves have got bent and need replacing.

Sadly, there appears to be a national shortage of manifolds for twins 12s, with Apeks saying over a month and MDE quoting a longer timeline. Places in Europe seem to have stock though, and I wondered anyone could tell me whether there's any difference between the manifold sets below (not sure which one I need) and the ones you'd get in the UK? I don't want to order something to find it doesn't fit!

https://www.gidivestore.com/intl/en/...12-liters.html

https://www.gidivestore.com/intl/en/...ers-204mm.html

I have a friend who flies to the Netherlands weekly with an address there and has no problem with me getting these delivered to him for onward UK passage..

Any other suggestions also appreciated!

TIA

Andy

[Paulo]

They are the same as you will get in the UK. The difference between models is the spacing. Ask the service centre what size you need.

[notdeadyet]

First thing I'd say is check the shop actually has them in stock before ordering. Online dive shops are horrendous for not holding stock and only ordering stuff as orders come in. If that's the case then you're even more screwed because you're waiting for a shipment to reach the Netherlands and get back here.

The simplest thing to do would be to measure the spacing of the old manifold assuming this is still available. But... you also need to know what made the old set fail. If there is a mismatch between the spacing of the bands and the size of the manifold then you're setting yourself up for it to happen again. Some bands are not very well thought out. I bought a set second hand last year that I can't find a manifold that works with the spacing without risking bending the manifold. The set ends up just wide enough that one size of manifold is too small and the next size up is too big.

Anyhow, the safest thing to do is get them set up in the bands and measure from the centre of one cylinder neck to the other and buy whichever fits. 178mm seems very small for twin 12's though.

[sjmusa]

The dimensions they quote relate to the cylinder diameter. I think the manifold itself is described as 7" for tall 12's and 8" for 15's and dumpy 12's.

[Andy Bloss]

First thing I'd say is check the shop actually has them in stock before ordering. Online dive shops are horrendous for not holding stock and only ordering stuff as orders come in. If that's the case then you're even more screwed because you're waiting for a shipment to reach the Netherlands and get back here.

The simplest thing to do would be to measure the spacing of the old manifold assuming this is still available. But... you also need to know what made the old set fail. If there is a mismatch between the spacing of the bands and the size of the manifold then you're setting yourself up for it to happen again. Some bands are not very well thought out. I bought a set second hand last year that I can't find a manifold that works with the spacing without risking bending the manifold. The set ends up just wide enough that one size of manifold is too small and the next size up is too big.

Anyhow, the safest thing to do is get them set up in the bands and measure from the centre of one cylinder neck to the other and buy whichever fits. 178mm seems very small for twin 12's though.

Thanks for the advice, I think I didn't tighten up the bands enough when adjusting them on the tanks and they ended up out of true. "User error".

you're right about stock as well, I contacted the shop at the links above and they don't actually even have any at the moment. I think it might be a case of finding where has stock! Go dive have a good price but I'll need to wait and at least they're clear about that.

A

[Andy Bloss]

The dimensions they quote relate to the cylinder diameter. I think the manifold itself is described as 7" for tall 12's and 8" for 15's and dumpy 12's.

My tanks are the 12l flat bottomed Euros, so just one size I would imagine..but will check with the dive centre.

[graham_hk]

Bent manifold - don’t stress … it didn’t explode before. It might mess with your ocd though

[Dylona]

My dive buddy has a brand new manifold, he bought a twinset from beaver less than a year ago and used the cylinders for sidemounting.

Never been wet

I can put you in touch if keen

[MarkP]

My tanks are the 12l flat bottomed Euros, so just one size I would imagine..but will check with the dive centre.

The manifold length is dependent on both the cylinders' diameters and the twinning bands. Older school bands such as the hideous spot welded Custom Diver abominations had a football pitch or two between cylinders, whereas Highland Mill kept the cylinders as close together as possible.

I suspect it's likely that Euros will use a more modern manifold. For what it's worth, my flat bottomed Euros have V4Tec bands and the (just measured) spacing between valve centres is 185mm. OK, so according to the vernier it's 184.88mm, but that might just be how I measured...

[Andy Bloss]

Bent manifold - don’t stress … it didn’t explode before. It might mess with your ocd though

According to the test centre it won't go back together once it came apart for testing...