Scubapro MK16 R390 help..

[DA Aquamaster]

I just did one Sunday, I should have taken pictures...but I can show you what parts come out and what ones go in and post those after I get home tonight.

 

[stevenq99]

I have 2 of the mk16 -r390 regulators. One has been flawless in 4 years of service. The other mentioned in the thread in the last post. Had them down past 100 feet with no issues.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

The springs, orings, backing rings, etc are all the same on both the Mk 16 and Mk 17.

What is different is the seat and orifice.

On the Mk 17, it uses a "soft" seat bonded to a metal stem, the seat then rests against a metal orifice.

On the Mk 16, the stem is essentially the seat and rides inside a plastic guide, and then rests against a "soft" plastic orifice.

The earlier Mk 16 system had some issues with long term relaibility and less than perfect seat alignment that were resolved with the changes in the Mk17.

 

[Couv]

How does a MK16 with TIS compare with the MK17? Or is it the same?

Thanks,

Couv

 

[Kupu]

After reading DA's post, I was wondering the same. After the upgrade the only difference in the MK16 and MK17 is the external body shape / hose routing?

 

[halocline]

The MK17 has a fully sealed ambient chamber, while the MK16 does not. I'm not sure what the TIS would be for the MK16, or if it exists. I guess it would be a coating on the spring.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

The Mk 17 has a sealed ambient chamber while the Mk 16 still uses an open ambient chamber. Thatr said, the chamber is very open with excellent heat transfer and the TIS system works very well in the MK 16. I know a lot of divers who used them, and still use them, for ice diving. So the Mk 17 is superb in terms of extremely cold water diving, but the Mk 16 is still very, very good.

So at the end of the day, an upgraded Mk 16 is a very capable regulator by any standard.