Question Thoughts on Mares Setup

[Rego]

Hello!
I am currently trying to stock up my gear for some deeper cold water dives and came across a very cheap layout I wanted to gather some thoughts about.
The 1st stages would be a Mares V16 SCS Titan and a Mares MR 22 T.
The 2nd stages could either be a combination of 1x Mares Proton Metal plus 1x Mares Prestige 12s or just 2x Mares Prestige 12s.
I don't have very much expirience with mares and the "older" stages the did.

Any thoughts about general handling, fatigue, cold water, maintenance, etc?

Thank you for every comment!

 

[BoltSnap]

@lowwall


This is your specialty

 

[Rego]

Thanks for mentioning @lowwall. I read his guide, which cleared most questions, even though I still do not really know the cold water abilities and/or how I can see if there is a "cold water kit" installed.
And if anyone has used this stages, any hands-on report is appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[lowwall]

Nice. Are you diving doubles? I'm asking because you mentioned 2 different first stages. If it's a choice between the two, get the MR22.

I dive Proton Metals for my second stages. The metal is nice because it retains a little of the moisture in your breath when you exhale and you get it back on your next inhale. It also has a decent sized heat sink on the hose connection to help prevent freeze-up in really cold water. Finally, it's a physically small stage, so less fatiguing especially in a current.

There's nothing wrong with the Prestige second. It was their workhorse reg for 15 years. It was only recently replaced on the lineup by the Dual which is very similar. Mares thinks enough of the basic Dual to include it in their XR tech diving line.

How cold is the water you'll be diving? Both the 22 and 16 should handle 40-45F without a coldwater kit. Below that and you might want to think about adding one. The coldwater kit seals off the ambient chamber. It's the same as the environmental seal option on most diaphragm regs. It looks like a cap on the top of the first stage. If you search on the Mares Navy 2, the first stage is an MR22 without the black plastic band but with the Coldwater kit.

What do you want to know about maintenance? There's nothing special. Rinse well, let dry, store in a dry space - temperature controlled if possible.

Will you be doing your own servicing? Either way, I'd start with Couv's checklist to see if any of the stages need a service or if the service was done correctly. Regulator Inspection and Checklist (Rev-8)

If you want to tackle tuning either the Proton Metals or Prestige second stages, I recommend reading this post:

Needed a pony reg, was this a good purchase? (older MR12 off ebay)

Going to be picking up a pony bottle, saw this was listed strangely so that when you searched for "Mares MR12" it didn't come up. For $52 shipped I think I did OK, others may disagree. Mares Scuba Regulator | eBay I am trusting a hunch that "stable IP with no free flows" means ready to use. You...

scubaboard.com

I can give suggestions on where to get service kits and parts if you need them.

 

[Rego]

Hi,
Thank you very much for the reply.
I do dive doubles, but will take the MR22 (I just found out it is in fact the MR22 T) since I apparently can only get one for now. I dive in cold water lakes so it can get pretty cold (down to 40F could be a possibility). I think I will consider getting the cold water kit.
I have to get a certified tech to do my maintenance since I am not certified myself. I have to get certification so my insurance will cover if anything should ever go wrong while diving or teaching.
It is good to double check though, so thanks for the guides!
And to do your own tunining it's always a good know-how
Thanks again for the insights!

 

[lowwall]

You might want to read this thread first: Mares Abyss in cold water

This is all outside of my experience so I'm not going to make a recommendation one way or the other. I know @Zef has used his 22 in colder water, so maybe he can come in here.

I can say there are 2 cold water kits. The original one had to be filled with silicone oil. It was developed for the Navy setup and features a blue seal on the top (part# 416851). They later made a version called the Dry kit (part# 416855) that doesn't require the oil. The dry kit is no longer being made, although you might be able to find one and you avoid the PITA of dealing with the oil. The Navy kit is still in production because Mares can't update that reg without losing its approval for military use.

 

[Zef]

I have used my MR22 1st stages, without cold water kits, down to 2c on a regular basis with no problems. The only thing I recommend when diving in water that cold is to either switch to a double tank setup or a single tank with an "H" or "Y" valve so one can mount 2 x 1st stages...then have the wing/bc inflator hose routed to one 1st stage and the drysuit inflator routed to the other.

If you feel you must have a cold water kit installed, then I definitely recommend the Dry kit as @lowwall mentioned. It can still be found if you search around, here is one site that still has them, though they are a bit pricey:

CWD Dry Kit - 22/12 first stage

You can contact Scuba Support for service, repair and modification of all your diving equipment.<br /> From replacing the battery of your dive computer or repairing

www.scubasupport.nl

The V16 is also a good reg set, the V16 can be updated to an MR16 by changing the SCS seat and HP poppet to the current volcano orifice and current poppet design...once the update is done the MR16 is nearly identical inside to the MR22.

-Z

 

[Rego]

Perfect, that's all I wanted to know. Thank you both for all that input. I will get the MR22 for my setup and use the Proton metal with that. As you mentioned I dive Y or H Valve and will get me another stage to complete the setup and/or use the V16 with the changed scs interior.
Thanks!