Mares Abyss Mr22

[gaudencio]

Hi to all you board members out there,

I have seen the mares abyss mr22 here in a local dive shop. But there seems to be 2 version of it. What the difference between the two. Are there two version of it. What's the latest version. the pros and cons between these two.

Jimmy Tan

[bottomrunner]

hi
i have the first generation
it is a good reg
only if you damage the orfice that was built as part of the first stage body the reg was done
then I THINK the sequence went to replaceable orfice then to a ruby orfice
the second generation is a good idea
my down fall with the reg was the special second stage hose and the din wheel was not made strong enough
i bought the reg in 95 and still use it with a yoke setup
hope this helps

[Viscya]

Hi to all you board members out there,

I have seen the mares abyss mr22 here in a local dive shop. But there seems to be 2 version of it. What the difference between the two. Are there two version of it. What's the latest version. the pros and cons between these two.

Jimmy Tan

Jimmy,

As far as I know, there is a very old version (5+ years) and the current version (turbo flow). I have not seen one of the old ones, except in pictures. The new one is great. I have had one for three years, and love it. There are a few techs here that can give you details. (Greg barlow is very informative). Go to the maresusa.com web site for the current configuration.

Great reg hope you like it.

[rescuediver009]

There is an older version and the newer one. It has also been reduced in size a little on the second stage. I am not sure that they still use the Ruby seat in the current model as I have not taken one apart.
Not too much performance difference though.

[Viscya]

Now that rescue diver mentions it. There is the MR-22 Ruby, and the MR-22 Abyss. The ruby was first. I have not seen them on the Mares web site, but you do still see them for sale. I belive the Abyss is the more popular.

[aquaoren]

There was the first generation MR22/Abyss with a dark plastic cover and the new ones came out in 2000 with the "Turbo Flow" cover.
I bought the second generation when it came out on the market and diving it since then without any problems. It is a great breating reg. Regardless how deep or how cold it is, it will breath the same. Very good for cold water and the current record holder for deep dive.
According to the information of the LDS that sold me the reg (In Germany), the design was so good that they changed only the cover to make it look nicer. All the internal parts and the performance are supposed to be the same.
As the other said, there were couple MR22's. They have the Ruby, Abyss and an Abyss Titanium too. The Titanium had the old cover.
Hope it didn't get to confusing

[Greg Barlow]

The second stage on the Abyss has never undergone any real internal mechanical changes. The cover was changed to break up water flow that could result in a free flow situation if the flow were to directly push on the diaphragm. The exhaust housing also received an internal baffle that protects the exhaust diaphragm somewhat. The original design could encounter the lip of the diaphragm being raised from quick rotation of the second stage. The Voltrex and Abyss both received the new style exhaust tees.

The design has worked so well that it really hasn't needed many upgrades. The only downfall is that you can't easily adjust the second stage due to lack of a service port. I also prefer being able to disassemble the second stage without any tools.

The simplicity of the design has been its real strength. The reg's cracking effort can be set at 1.2" of water according to its case geometry. When adjusted to such levels, it is very stable and offers flutter free performance at all depths.

The first stage originally came with an orifice that was cast as an integral part of the block. Sure, you could damage it, but short of poking into its recess with something it is unlikely. The Ruby utilized the spherical core seal design that is found in "V" designation first stages like the V16, V32 or V12. The ruby poppet was too hard, and wore the polymer seat material too rapidly. This sealing system has proven to be an excellent design. It allows the poppet and technopolymer seal to be replaced. Most techs report that the SCS system is lasting in excess of 100 dives, with many still offering stable IP after nearly 200 dives. The V32 is essentially the same as the MR22. The excess brass has been removed, but the case design is still strong enough to use with 300bar cylinders. The titanium version of the MR22 was a standard brass design that was coated with a titanium alloy.

I use several MR12 first stages for my technical diving needs. They serve admirably as deco/stage regs, and I even use them on doubles. Even though I like the 12's design, the hose routing is not as good as that found on the 16 and 22 series.

My favorite Mares second stage is the discontinued Akros/Epos series. They were essentially a polymer design with metal inserts. They offered the large exhaust tee and were very easy to service. I own two Protons. They are very small, and have less parts that just about any reg on the market. There drawback is bubble interference. When swimming horizontally and moving forward they are fine, but like so many regs with a small tee, they don't work well when diagonal or vertical.

Greg

[gaudencio]

There was the first generation MR22/Abyss with a dark plastic cover and the new ones came out in 2000 with the "Turbo Flow" cover.
I bought the second generation when it came out on the market and diving it since then without any problems. It is a great breating reg. Regardless how deep or how cold it is, it will breath the same. Very good for cold water and the current record holder for deep dive.
According to the information of the LDS that sold me the reg (In Germany), the design was so good that they changed only the cover to make it look nicer. All the internal parts and the performance are supposed to be the same.
As the other said, there were couple MR22's. They have the Ruby, Abyss and an Abyss Titanium too. The Titanium had the old cover.
Hope it didn't get to confusing

Thanks Aquaoren,
Now I know the new abyss series with the "turbo Flow" cover. Our local dive shop even didn't tell me the difference between the two, maybe so they can sell their older models to me by mistake. So that's why the new design was labeled NT 2000 in the box unlike the other model.
But I have one more question for Greg. Does the design of the first stage the same for all series MR22 which only differ for the Ruby (which has a Ruby poppet. Meaning to say that the Ruby , is it more durable than the ordinary MR22 which has a steel poppet inside. Or which is better?

[Viscya]

Greg can probably answer this better, but my understanding was that they have discontinued the Ruby because "the ruby poppet was too hard, and wore the polymer seat material too rapidly".

The current production MR-22 comes with a removable steel popet seat. This is the best MR-22 design out of the box. However, many people (myself included) are replacing the steel seat with the spherical core seal (SCS). These are found in the V series regulators. I have had one of my current popets breakdown and start an IP creep, but it was after a 150 dive season.

Again, I'm sure Greg can give you more details.

[Greg Barlow]

Thanks Aquaoren,
Now I know the new abyss series with the "turbo Flow" cover. Our local dive shop even didn't tell me the difference between the two, maybe so they can sell their older models to me by mistake. So that's why the new design was labeled NT 2000 in the box unlike the other model.
But I have one more question for Greg. Does the design of the first stage the same for all series MR22 which only differ for the Ruby (which has a Ruby poppet. Meaning to say that the Ruby , is it more durable than the ordinary MR22 which has a steel poppet inside. Or which is better?

The standard MR22 has the updated design of the seat being replaceable. The only Mares first stage that originally came with the replacable orifice (seat connector) was that of the MR16. This reg came with the same HP poppet as the 12 and 22, but used the replacable orifice. The Ruby was the first model to reverse the pattern, and to utilize the soft seat as being the routinely replaced part. As far as "better" goes, on any of the regs that don't have the integral orifice you can replace the poppet with the one from a V16, V12, or V32. Larry from scubatoys.com has done this with several regs that have come in for service. He reports, as do others (including myself), that the SCS system generally goes twice as long between servicing.

Okay, now that you're ready to pitch your original MR22....Mares now has a more durable HP poppet. It uses a polymer that reportedly is similar in composition to that of what Apeks and AquaLung use. The first that I saw was in the Dacor line, and are now being incorporated in the Mares regs. These should last longer than the standard poppets, and will hopefully be much less likely to delaminate.

I've still got a load of standard HP poppets in my parts inventory. I will use them on my personal regs until the supply is depleted. I will then order the new variety.

Hope this helps...

Greg