Opinions re: Mares Proton v12 Regulator

sytech:

Am considering the Mares Proton v12 Regulator for tropical diving. I also like the compact size of the 2ns. stage.

Anyone have any experience with this regulator?

Thanks in advance,

Sy

Click to expand...

Greg Barlow:

I have owned two different Mares Proton regs for the last few years. They are a great value, and offer "US Navy Class A" breathing performance. If you are looking for a non-adjustable second stage, they are tough to beat. The V12 first stage has a removable high pressure seat, while the standard MR12 does not.

As far as service issues, I rebuild both Mares and Apeks regs, and the Proton series is my favorite to work on. They have very few parts, and are simple to properly adjust.

BTW, I bought a Proton for my wife, and she is very pleased with it.

Greg Barlow
Former Science Editor for Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine

Click to expand...

sytech:

Hi Greg,

Thanks for your comments.

What is the pro and con of "a removable high pressure seat"?

Click to expand...

The pro of a removable seat is that if it is damaged, it can be replaced. Otherwise, you must replace the entire first stage body. But, I have only seen one damaged HP seat in a Mares regulator after servicing them for nearly 10 years. So it isn't a real serious concern.

Is there any "meaningful" advantage to the Mares MR 12 Rebel or the Mares V16 Proton XL?

Click to expand...

The V16 first stage does have superior hose routing for single tank diving. It also offers a higher gas flow than that of the MR12. Either one will give great breathing at recreational depths. I use two MR12 first stages on my cave/tech diving rig, and they offer very stable, consistent performance whether at 60' or 130'. If helium based mixes are used at greater depths, they would breathe even easier due to the decrease in mix density.

These model numbers and names can drive ya nuts!

Click to expand...

The Mares regs are all diaphragm first stages, with the exception of the unbalanced piston R2 model. The R2 has the lowest gas flow, the MR12 is next, with the V16 in the middle, and the MR22 series having the highest amount of gas flow. Remember that a second stage is the limiting factor in a reg's performance. The Mares second stages have a flow rate of between 50-70cfm of air (dependent on model). The MR12 has a flow rate of around 130-140cfm, so it can easily handle two second stags at a heavy flow.

The 16 and 22 series (includes V32), will have less drop in intermediate pressure than the 12, but this is not a great factor in recreational type diving. All of the Mares first stages use a port that leads from the back of the diaphragm to the IP area. This is called the DFC (dynamic flow control), and it goes to one port that is marked. Testing has shown that it does indeed work in lowering the IP drop. AquaLung, and some other brands now use it in some of their first stage diaphragm designs.


Greg Barlow

Click to expand...

sytech:

Hi Greg,

Thanks for your comments.



The pro of a removable seat is that if it is damaged, it can be replaced. Otherwise, you must replace the entire first stage body. But, I have only seen one damaged HP seat in a Mares regulator after servicing them for nearly 10 years. So it isn't a real serious concern.



The V16 first stage does have superior hose routing for single tank diving. It also offers a higher gas flow than that of the MR12. Either one will give great breathing at recreational depths. I use two MR12 first stages on my cave/tech diving rig, and they offer very stable, consistent performance whether at 60' or 130'. If helium based mixes are used at greater depths, they would breathe even easier due to the decrease in mix density.



The Mares regs are all diaphragm first stages, with the exception of the unbalanced piston R2 model. The R2 has the lowest gas flow, the MR12 is next, with the V16 in the middle, and the MR22 series having the highest amount of gas flow. Remember that a second stage is the limiting factor in a reg's performance. The Mares second stages have a flow rate of between 50-70cfm of air (dependent on model). The MR12 has a flow rate of around 130-140cfm, so it can easily handle two second stags at a heavy flow.

The 16 and 22 series (includes V32), will have less drop in intermediate pressure than the 12, but this is not a great factor in recreational type diving. All of the Mares first stages use a port that leads from the back of the diaphragm to the IP area. This is called the DFC (dynamic flow control), and it goes to one port that is marked. Testing has shown that it does indeed work in lowering the IP drop. AquaLung, and some other brands now use it in some of their first stage diaphragm designs.


Greg Barlow

Click to expand...