have been reading a lot of comments on purchasing new regulators etc. unbalanced/balanced etc. I was looking to get into a relatively inexpensive REG but still something with good performance and reliable. I have been looking at the MK2/R190 by ScubaPro. I understand its not balanced and piston style can be a bit of a pain to clean when diving salt water. Also most of my diving consists of vacation, lake, quarry, pool (dive at the local aquarium clean the tanks/pool to get more diving time and for fun). I do enjoy a deep dive (never past rec limits) once in a while. Any ideas? I heard this is a good REG.
ScubaPro REG
- Thread starter lobo
- Start date
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
It is a good reg, for an unbalanced design. I have two I use on deco tanks, but I would not use one for a primay regulator. Pistons aren't hard to "clean". You just have to soak them for awhile in fresh water and rinse.
IMO Scubapro has cost effective models you would be happier with.
MD
IMO Scubapro has cost effective models you would be happier with.
MD
Only concern I would have is the ScubaPro's tend to freeflow (freeze) in cold water. They have a published procedure for fixing this problem. Thing I don't understand about them is why would they make and sell something they knew had a problem. Personally, I would not use a ScubaPro for anything other than warm water shallow diving.lobo:
rescuediver009
Contributor
If you are going to be cleaning fish tanks, etc., you may want to consider something that does not have an open port design, as your dive environment will consist of light to moderate sedement. IT will gum up pretty nicely. I don't want to take you away from Scubapro, but from what I understand the higher up models are a little bit more expensive. If you like this design and construction and value, have you looked at the sherwood lineup specifically the magnum? Just a thought. They keep the crap out of the first stage and perform quite well in your type of environment.
brianwl:
I've had my Mk20s in 36 degree water for over an hour and over 200 feet at slightly above that temp without any problems. Any reg will tend to freeflow in very cold water, not just pistons. SP also makes diaphram models I believe.
MD
brianwl:
The Mk 25 has a tendency to freeze in very cold water and ther eis a service bulletin out that addresses this.
However the MK 2 and the Mk 16 have no issues in cold water and both are routinely used in this area for ice dives.
A Mk 2 Plus / R190 would be a very relaible, easy to maintain and service reg offerring adequate performance to 100 ft and to 130 in low demand conditions. A Mk 16 is a balanced diaphragm design and would offer better overal performance for about $30 more than the Mk 2 Plus, making it a real deal. You can get a MK 16 / R190 but the dealer will have to order it that way as the two stages are not normally marketed together.
The smaller cased R390 second stage is about $70.00 more than the larger R190 but both are identical internally and offer identical performance.
Similar threads
