SP 109 vs (balanced) 250, my experience

[shurite7]

Over the years I've used, owned, and serviced the Adjustable, G250, G200B, G250HP, G250V, and G260. All worked great. All of them were reliable, easy to maintain, and easy to service; the HP was the most challenging to service.

Many people told me they didn't like the HP. Yet, I had really good luck with it; tropics and cold water in the 30s. During a trip to the Crater Dome it was tuned to breathe super easy. Wow, did it breathe easily. However, it was too sensitive, at that tuning, for cold fresh water mountain lakes. Of all these, I've found the G260 to be my preferred. With the adjustment screw and crown I can tune it to breathe easily for cold water and not fear free flow. It has a smooth flow when breathing in and when exhaling. The one thing I didn't like about the Adjustable is it didn't have a venturi control. .

 

[rockinrebel]

Thanks so much. I started with a Mark 7 / 109 reg in 1983. Loved that ol' honking Mark 7. Still have them both.

 

[buddhasummer]

How would these compare to the G260?

I think the G260 is a fraction smoother. If I had to give it a number I'd say 5-10% "better" than a G250, it's also more complex and heavier. I'm happy with either. Far flung location I'd take a metal 109/BA or G250/V over a G260.

 

[buddhasummer]

That's actually a lie I'd take and do take some Conshelf 14s, but you get my drift.

 

[Aloha Joe]

I think the G260 is a fraction smoother. If I had to give it a number I'd say 5-10% "better" than a G250, it's also more complex and heavier. I'm happy with either. Far flung location I'd take a metal 109/BA or G250/V over a G260.

Have you had any experience with an A700? Unfortunately I’ve got one on the brain

 

[buddhasummer]

Have you had any experience with an A700? Unfortunately I’ve got one on the brain

I've only used one a couple of times, no idea as to how well it was tuned but my G250s and G260s all breathed noticeably better. It's a very expensive proposition. FWIW I saw an ANSTI report once and it performed less than the G260 which scored perfect across the board and well into "muscle" reg territory. IIRC the A700 only scored perfect at the first depth test. Both were paired with a MK25. I'll see if I can dig up the article if you're interested.

 

[buddhasummer]

Found it:

The Best Scuba Regulators Under & Over $500 Tested by ScubaLab

Maybe the black coating reduces performance...(it's a joke) Given first stages are the same one can only assume the difference is in the second stage. One would hope they were equally tuned.

 

[Aloha Joe]

Thanks - I needed to hear that! =D. There’s just something about a metal reg, so I’ll keep working on my 109s.

 

[buddhasummer]

Thanks - I needed to hear that! =D. There’s just something about a metal reg, so I’ll keep working on my 109s.

As much as I like the BA my favorite metal reg is the late model Conshelf 14 with the side tuning port, almost impossible to break and super simple to service and tune with the aid of @herman tool.

Performance is less than a BA but not by as much as you'd think. Simple puck seat that can be flipped and only two external O rings. I've had mine down to around 45m and it was just fine.

 

[rhwestfall]

I'd speculate that the size of the second stage diaphragm played a major role in the difference in performance of these regulators... Likely a 156/G250/G250v would have done "well" too. But they will only test in-production models.