Guide to Mares regulators from 2000-2020

[jellycatsdad]

I’m gonna send off my MR42T/Proton Metal combo I grabbed off eBay years ago after I do my monthly dives for service - I’m stuck with the tri-material poppet, no retrofit to the current Mares ACT poppet? They breathe fine and dry. I’m concerned about the shape of the O-rings inside as well as the HP seat. There’s also an update for my octo, a MV Octopus as well - an improved exhaust valve.

Also, I dive once(maybe twice) a month - still have my regs serviced once a year? The MR42T is a bit of an orphan, so I plan on diving these until I can’t get them serviced anymore.

 

[lowwall]

I’m gonna send off my MR42T/Proton Metal combo I grabbed off eBay years ago after I do my monthly dives for service - I’m stuck with the tri-material poppet, no retrofit to the current Mares ACT poppet? They breathe fine and dry. I’m concerned about the shape of the O-rings inside as well as the HP seat. There’s also an update for my octo, a MV Octopus as well - an improved exhaust valve.

Also, I dive once(maybe twice) a month - still have my regs serviced once a year? The MR42T is a bit of an orphan, so I plan on diving these until I can’t get them serviced anymore.

The poppet in the MR42 is physically smaller than the one shared by all the other Mares diaphragm regs, so you do have to keep using its Tri-Material version.

It's up to you how long you go between servicing. Do you have an IP gauge? Run through Couv's checklist and if everything checks out, I'd be willing to push the interval out to two years. This is what Mares recommends for regs sold today.

Regulator Inspection and Checklist (Rev-8)

Discussion of this thread can be found here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/regulators/260452-regulator-checklist-inspection.html First off, I would like to acknowledge my friends who have done more than their share in developing this checklist. Due to my laziness and resistance to answering...

scubaboard.com

 

[jellycatsdad]

The poppet in the MR42 is physically smaller than the one shared by all the other Mares diaphragm regs, so you do have to keep using its Tri-Material version.

It's up to you how long you go between servicing. Do you have an IP gauge? Run through Couv's checklist and if everything checks out, I'd be willing to push the interval out to two years. This is what Mares recommends for regs sold today.

Regulator Inspection and Checklist (Rev-8)

Discussion of this thread can be found here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/regulators/260452-regulator-checklist-inspection.html First off, I would like to acknowledge my friends who have done more than their share in developing this checklist. Due to my laziness and resistance to answering...

scubaboard.com

I don’t have an IP gauge but I’ve done some of those checks before putting these regs into service. I’m sending them in for my peace of mind, and then I’ll think about servicing them every two years, as long as parts are available.

 

[diveKi]

Just one question, if I understood it correctly: can I use the mares service kit no 46201370 on mares 1st stages like MR12, MR22, MR32 or VX16, no matter if they have a tri material poppet or the older SCS still installed?
Or do I need to upgrade the HP valve seat first?
Thanks for clarification!

 

[rsingler]

@lowwall ?

 

[lowwall]

Just one question, if I understood it correctly: can I use the mares service kit no 46201370 on mares 1st stages like MR12, MR22, MR32 or VX16, no matter if they have a tri material poppet or the older SCS still installed?
Or do I need to upgrade the HP valve seat first?
Thanks for clarification!

That's incorrect. The SCS volcano orifice (Mares calls it a "poppet seat" or "HP seat") that originally came with the V series regs (V12, V16, V32 and the Ruby) is not compatible with any of the flat-faced valves (Mares calls it "poppet") such as the ACT or Tri-Material.

Mares has upgrade kits that contains a new HP seat, poppet and spring to convert the seating system from SCS to MR. The current kit is 46201386 and contains the latest Trimat 2k18 poppet. #46200705 is an earlier kit that will also work.

If you are servicing the reg and the spring is in good condition, you could just replace the HP seat with one of the MR seats such as #46201541. You'll get a new poppet in the service kit.

 

[diveKi]

Thanks for the clarification, I appreciate it a lot!

 

[diveKi]

Thanks for this great overview.
I would like to contribute some information about my newly acquired Mares VX16 that came as a surplus to the attached orbiter 2nd, which was my main intention for this purchase.
The VX16 Orbiter comes with an SCS valve instead the ACT valve the current X nomenclature indicates. of course, since ACT was far from being foreseeable when the VX16 was released.
It‘s Lay-out is very similar like with MR22 and MR32 and it also features a DFC connection, which is a bit cumbersome, since it demands a 3/8 inch hose like regular LP connections.
As far as I have read, it also matches US navy cold water requirements, but I can give no quote on this piece of information.
All internals are supposed to be identical to MR22, therefore it should be possible to be upgraded to ACT, fulfilling it‘s VX16 naming promises.
For me, it looks like a perfect companion for cold water diving. Put your main 2nd on the V(X)16 dfc Port and if it fails,another 2nd on an MR22 should give you that little extra of reliability to safely maneuver out of the situation.
When traveling for warm waters, I would connect both 2nds to the VX16 and enjoy the lighter weight, the more pleasant looks and the plastic cover protection when going on a guided tour.

 

[rsingler]

Hey, @lowwall , could you give us the quick definition of all these damned acronyms that Mares uses?
ACT, DFC, TBM, SCS, MR, HR, VX. It drives me crazy!
I could look it up, but you know this stuff way better than I do.
Or did you do this already, upthread?

 

[Zef]

ACT=advanced coating technology - this is Mares current 1st stage HP poppet with some kind of coating on the metal parts of the poppet to supposedly make it move smoother.

DFC=Dynamic Flow Control - this is the routing of air through the 1st stage via the port designated for the primary 2nd stage...it is suppose to deliver a higher volume of air than the other LP ports but in real world diving it has very little benefit. Mares used to machine a 1/2-inch port for the DFC designated port to further distinguish it from the other LP ports on the 1st stage...this was nuisance for some as it required what became a non-standard hose for the dive industry....not hard to find hoses with 1/2-inch fittings but not as ubiquitous as hoses with a 3/8th-inch male fitting to connect to the 1st stage.

TBM= Mares Technical Bulletin???

TBP= Twin balanced piston - this is Mares' current "innovation" for some (most?) of their diaphragm model 1st stages. It removes what was the main diaphragm at the top of the spring chamber and replaces it with an o-ring sealed piston that interfaces with the main spring and the piston transmitter of the environmental seal chamber. It differs from a piston type 1st stage as the the TBP 1st stages still use a "T" type HP poppet that controls the flow of air between the HP and MP sides of the 1st stage, where as a piston type 1st stage uses the stem of the piston to control the flow of air between the HP an MP sides of the regulator.

SCS=Spherical Core Seal (sometimes referred to as Spherical Conic Seat) - this was HP poppet and seat design where the seat (also called an orifice/volcano orifice) was replaced with one with a flat surface made out of a polymer material, the HP poppet was machined in as spherical cone design that interface with the polymer of the HP seat. The design was supposed to reduce wear and tear on these parts but appartently didn't. It was introduced at a time when Mares was having difficulty with the adhesion of the plastic polymer on the face of their "T" style poppets. The Mares Ruby was a variation of this where the HP poppet was machined from a synthetic ruby instead of stainless steel....the ruby had a tendancy to chip causing freeflow and expensive replacement or a switch to the stainless version of the SCS HP poppet. Mares discontinued this design and returned to the "T" style poppet.

MR= designation of Mares diaphragm 1st stages

HR= I have not found an definition for this accronym other than it is the current designation of some of Mares tech diving line of 2nd stages, often listed as XR HR, with XR meaning Extendeted Range.

VX= this was used on the VX16 1st stage. The "V" designation indicates the 1st stage has or orignally came with the SCS type HP poppet and seat, the X in this 1st stage model designation was to indicate that the metal part of the HP seat was made from titanium instead of stainless steel.

-Z