Scubapro 1st Stage Servicing Questions

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Hijacking my own thread: Does ScubaPro have any ambidextrous 2nd stages, similar to the G250? Perhaps something I could pick up off the used market, adjustable, and which would pair well with a MK10. It appears my G200, G250, and S550 are not ambidextrous.

edit: It looks like the D420 might be ambidextrous according to this link, but there are few used ones on the market. Is the D400 also ambidextrous, balanced, and a good regulator?
 
Pilot & AIR 1 are ambidextrous.
 
R195, R095, G260 all do it according to their website. The G260 service manual suggests you can swap it over without any additional parts, its an evolved version of your G250 and is a fantastic reg. If exchanging your firstborn for regulators seems excessive perhaps an R190 will do the trick? Slightly less performance (unbalanced, non-adjustable) but well priced second hand.
 
The only “adjustable” one is the G260, the D420 can be modified to be somewhat adjustable. Pilot and AIR1 are the easiest, just switch the cap, D420 is next and the G260 is a little more involved.
 
No, I was waiting until I got the cleaning solution(s) for the ultrasonic, before I put the other MK10s back together. This wasn't the one from Herman either (I'm sure he'd be annoyed if I dunked it on the 2nd dive, hah).

Having so many MK10s is confusing! Now I'm remembering more clearly which MK10 this is. This is one I had not taken apart yet, nor did I test the IP myself. The seller claimed it had new o-rings and 135 or 140 IP.

Is this the MK10 that I sent you as a trade for your MK15?
 
Is this the MK10 that I sent you as a trade for your MK15?

No. I knew you'd ask. The MK10 you sent is still safe and working great, and is allocated as my left-sidemount-regulator.

The short story is I put my pony-regulators on a pony bottle, which had the yoke-din insert removed. I entered the water before turning on the pony bottle, because I allowed myself to be rushed (several lessons there).

With the pressure-creep I'm seeing, do you think it's probably the HP seat? The seat is somewhat scuffed up. It's hard to photograph.

20210711_214236_HDR - Copy.jpg


R195, R095, G260 all do it according to their website. The G260 service manual suggests you can swap it over without any additional parts, its an evolved version of your G250 and is a fantastic reg. If exchanging your firstborn for regulators seems excessive perhaps an R190 will do the trick? Slightly less performance (unbalanced, non-adjustable) but well priced second hand.

The only “adjustable” one is the G260, the D420 can be modified to be somewhat adjustable. Pilot and AIR1 are the easiest, just switch the cap, D420 is next and the G260 is a little more involved.

The purpose is for side-mount, and I'd be breathing off it 1/2 the time. It looks like my best option is to look outside Scubapro. The G260 & D420s are practically non-existent on the used-market.

I suppose I'm looking for:
  • Ambidextrous air-inlet.
  • Balanced, adjustable
  • Can be self-serviced (parts kits available, or can DIY the kit with o-rings)
  • Available relatively inexpensive on the used-market.
 
IP creep in a MK10 is always an issue with either the seat or the piston edge. There is no other possible cause for it. You can inspect the piston edge for a nick or scratch with a magnifying glass. If it's badly scratched or you see any imperfections on the edge, you can restore it. RSingler has a nice how-to thread about doing that. Usually they're ok. Considering I can see the groove in your seat from the photo even though it's not a very clear close up, you definitely need a new seat. You should take that one out, turn it over, and see what is engraved on the back. It's either a +, I, or II. Try to replace it with a seat that has the same markings, unless you know that you want to either lower or raise the IP from where it was before.

Did you put a yoke regulator on a convertible valve without the plug installed? I bet that didn't go too well when you turned on the air. Or was it a DIN regulator installed correctly but just submerged while not pressurized?

I'm not sure why you are looking for a left hand 2nd stage. Nobody uses those for sidemount any more, maybe some people did at first, but now it's typically a 7ft hose on the right tank and a 24" hose with a fixed 90 degree elbow on the left tank, routed behind your head. But, you seem to want to experiment in your own way, so have at it. I have seen left hand 109s, but they are fairly rare and probably expensive. I was going to buy one from a friend around the time I started sidemount, and then an expert sidemount instructor told me exactly what I just told you about the hose routing.

Other than finding a left hand 109, your only SP options are pilot, Air1, or something new like the G260. And I don't think you'd have a lot of success with the pilot or air1. They are difficult to work on and finicky. I love my pilots but I do not use them in overhead situations, only recreational single tank diving.

I'm glad that the MK10 I sent you is working well. When the MK15 arrives here (it's listed as late) I'll let you know how it works out.
 
1) IP creep in a MK10 is always an issue with either the seat or the piston edge. There is no other possible cause for it. You can inspect the piston edge for a nick or scratch with a magnifying glass. If it's badly scratched or you see any imperfections on the edge, you can restore it. RSingler has a nice how-to thread about doing that. Usually they're ok. Considering I can see the groove in your seat from the photo even though it's not a very clear close up, you definitely need a new seat. You should take that one out, turn it over, and see what is engraved on the back. It's either a +, I, or II. Try to replace it with a seat that has the same markings, unless you know that you want to either lower or raise the IP from where it was before.

2) Did you put a yoke regulator on a convertible valve without the plug installed? I bet that didn't go too well when you turned on the air. Or was it a DIN regulator installed correctly but just submerged while not pressurized?

3) I'm not sure why you are looking for a left hand 2nd stage. Nobody uses those for sidemount any more, maybe some people did at first, but now it's typically a 7ft hose on the right tank and a 24" hose with a fixed 90 degree elbow on the left tank, routed behind your head. But, you seem to want to experiment in your own way, so have at it. I have seen left hand 109s, but they are fairly rare and probably expensive. I was going to buy one from a friend around the time I started sidemount, and then an expert sidemount instructor told me exactly what I just told you about the hose routing.

4) Other than finding a left hand 109, your only SP options are pilot, Air1, or something new like the G260. And I don't think you'd have a lot of success with the pilot or air1. They are difficult to work on and finicky. I love my pilots but I do not use them in overhead situations, only recreational single tank diving.

5) I'm glad that the MK10 I sent you is working well. When the MK15 arrives here (it's listed as late) I'll let you know how it works out.
1) I didn't know about the markings! I see markings on my various removed HP seats, but none on the ones I received from: Store | Vintage Double Hose . The service-kit is relatively inexpensive, but would you happen to know where a non-service-tech could get just the seat or numbered-seats?

2) "Did you put a yoke regulator on a convertible valve without the plug installed?" Yes, and it went exactly as expected.

3) I saw it in the solo-setup on one of the sidemounting.com training videos. It's not really that important to me, I was just curious to try it, if I could find an inexpensive option. The longhose config works just fine & is better for buddy-diving, and swapping my config back-and-forth would probably be a pain.

4) Thanks for the list. 109 would give up balanced. Pilot and Air-1 appear to be designed to work as octos, and G260's price is higher than I care to spend for an experiment. I'll probably just stick with the long-hose, unless I can find a good/cheap option from another brand.

5) USPS sure loves to act like it's USPS. So much for "priority-mail."

So you are looking for a sidemount left-handed AR-15? I think Stag is your only option.
AR-15s are great, and you can never have enough. You need every barrel-length, caliber, redundant AR15s, one for each family member & pet and then a few more just to be safe. I could ramble on, but I'm reminded I'm on scubaboard.com and not AR15.com.

I'm not finding this "Stag" regulator.
 

Back
Top Bottom