Mk5/10 seats

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aquaregia

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Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
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Location
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My Mk10 hit 145psi IP today so I figure its teardown time. Once I take it apart, can I reuse the HP seat, or will it have settled? I ask because I haven't yet managed to get ahold of a Mk10 service kit.

Similar question on my Mk5, but less important cause I've got a pair of those seats now :)
 
If you are having IP stability problems, it is probably time to change the seat. If you have Mk5 seats, you have Mk10 seats - they are the same. I assume you probably have the older style flat (2-sided) seats that you are referring to as Mk 5 seats. I believe the flat seats are prone to be a bit noisier than the cave cone seats but I still use them in my Mk5/7/10s.

Now, hitting 145 is not necessarily an urgent alarm. If you were solid at 140 and it is now creeping to 145 you could probably push it a bit further. Or if you are initially locking up at 140 and now drifting to 145, you could try a good cleaning and lube and see what you get. If you are going to reuse that seat, leave it in the seat retainer so it may not have to cut another ring.

But if you were running an IP of 130 and are now creeping 10 or 15 psi, that seat is probably not going to last much longer with satisfactory performance.
 
I've got solid lockup. One of my Mk5s takes a second, but the Mk10's as instant as I can tell with my eyes. I left it pressurized for ten minutes and the IP doesn't move, on any of them. I thought I set it to 140 when I did it a year ago, on the other hand I might have been using a 72 for it and the IP is around 140psi when I hook it up to 2200psi now. shrug?
 
You do not need a service kit, you can buy o-rings and have your lds order you a Trident hp seat for the mk5/mk10. I think your IP and lockup is fine.
 
My gauge might be off as well. I just tried with a Mk25 and it had an IP of 145 but a 4 second lockup. That seems a bit not great right?
 
A little creep is not uncommon after some period of use. A few seconds and a few psi may be OK for years. I start to get nervous when I see creep pushing 10+ psi. And if lockup is still good with no flow from a 2nd, a good cleaning may well reduce the problem to something more tolerable, like within 5 psi.
 
Is creep really that big of a problem if you are breathing off the reg. It would only rise during exhale for a few seconds. It may be a bigger problem if you open the tank valve and let it sit pressureized as you motor to the dive site allowing ample time for the creep to rise.
 
When you say your MK10 hit 145 today, do you mean that the IP was previously lower? If you are checking it at significantly higher tank pressure, that could account for some of the increase. I would just make a note of it and when you rebuild, pull a shim out or use a taller seat. You might also consider a 90 duro o-ring for the HP piston; I usually use polyurethene, but EPDM or viton would be fine as well. You can also have a close look at the piston stem where it contacts the o-ring; if there's a glaze on it, you can break it up with very very fine sandpaper. I use micromesh; it starts at 1500 grit and goes all the way to 12000. Touching up the piston shaft with maybe 1800, 2400, 3200 will really remove that glaze and allow the piston to retain grease a little better under the o-ring. This cuts down on friction, which of course is higher at really high supply pressures.

MK25s with the composite piston and a new seat should lock up extremely well; every one I've seen has a faster lock up than any of my MK10s. My MK10s tend to creep a little bit with a brand new seat, wear into a good quick lock up after a few dives, and if they sit for a few months, maybe creep a few PSI until I dive with them again.

Regarding whether the creep is a problem considering you're breathing off the reg every few seconds, that is a fair question to ask, and some manufacturers seem to specify that a certain amount of slow creep is acceptable. To me, I don't want my regs to creep at all. I do think incremental creep can be an indication that something is not right and it's probably time to rebuild. It's amazing how small an imperfection in either the seat or piston edge can cause pretty serious creep.
 
Is creep really that big of a problem if you are breathing off the reg. It would only rise during exhale for a few seconds. It may be a bigger problem if you open the tank valve and let it sit pressureized as you motor to the dive site allowing ample time for the creep to rise.

The problem with creep is it rarely gets better on its own. And if left unchecked, it will get to the point where it will overpower some overpressure valve and start to leak slightly. Still may well not be a reason to abort or even shorten a dive but it is only going to get worse from that point. When you want to step in and deal with it is up to you. Are you feeling lucky? .... Well, are you?

I guess as long as you have a spare, you might want to see how far you could push it. I've never really tried.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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