I do remember those days, Hat, Badges, Beard, Bernie Woods
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The piston unit is not one of the cast units by USE but a brass affair with flywheel. It works perfectly well with all the lids open, taking about 70 seconds to inflate the bag, however, once buttoned up, nothing. Once the twist caps were released, there was a rush of air in or out, depending on how I tested the setup, then it would work.
I am proceeding with a water tank, but making no alterations to the model just yet. If I can get the air system working, great, if not, everything is removable anyway and I have more than enough bouyancy to accomodate weight variations in the internal layout.
When I started this project, the aim was to get back into the underwater mind set. I am glad I didn't start with a tube system, which would probably have been relatively trouble free. This project, setbacks, chaos, leaks, tech problems, loving it. Must be mad