I doubt if many will remember, but back in July I posted a thread on my wet-breathing Abyss regulator: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mares-just-add-water/193984-wet-breathing-abyss-regulator.html
In any event, Phil Mintz and the nice people at Mares had me ship it back to them, but could not recreate the problem. Nevertheless, they did a complete overhaul, in hopes that the problem would be solved. I have not had the opportunity to dive since July, until my recently-completed Norwegian cruise to Cozumel and Grand Cayman. 2 dives in each location.
Unfortunately, the problem is still there, apparently unchanged. I took both the Abyss and the Aeris ATMOS Sport reg that I picked up last summer. I dove the Abyss on the first dive in Cozumel, a drift dive at Yucab. Maximum depth was approximately 55 feet. Darn it, the thing still breathed wet, both when rotating to the 9:00 position, as well as head down. The head down was a real problem, because I was underweighted on the first dive and spent most of the last 1000 psi with my feet straight up toward the surface, fighting to complete my safety stop. I will say this: I have really developed the talent of breathing and spitting seawater at the same time! I was joking that the water level around Cozumel had dropped because of the amount of seawater I had taken into my lungs. Ugh.
After that, I dove with the ATMOS Sport exclusively, with 3 comments. First, use of the ATMOS seemed to result in better gas consumption. Second, the ATMOS did not seem to breath as easily as the Abyss. Third, the ATMOS did breath dry in all the positions where the Abyss was VERY wet, suggesting strongly that this is a regulator problem, and not a diver problem. I also note that the second Cozumel dive -- at Paradise -- was essentially identical to the Yucab dive in depth and drift tendencies; it was an awfully good head-to-head comparison with the first dive at Yucab using the Abyss.
At this point, I really am at the end of my rope with this Abyss reg. I have had it looked at numerous times, had the cap replaced and the reg overhauled at least twice [once by the mfgr itself]. I'd like to have a properly working Abyss, because I have always liked the ease of breathing [other than the wet part!]. I mean, I can use the ATMOS, but it just doesn't seem as good as the Abyss. I simply can't afford to buy a new Abyss at this point in my financial life, though. Would Mares have any interest in taking my Abyss [and/or the ATMOS] in trade for a new one [or a certified rebuild -- something that actually works right]. Does Mares have any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance for everyone's input on this.
In any event, Phil Mintz and the nice people at Mares had me ship it back to them, but could not recreate the problem. Nevertheless, they did a complete overhaul, in hopes that the problem would be solved. I have not had the opportunity to dive since July, until my recently-completed Norwegian cruise to Cozumel and Grand Cayman. 2 dives in each location.
Unfortunately, the problem is still there, apparently unchanged. I took both the Abyss and the Aeris ATMOS Sport reg that I picked up last summer. I dove the Abyss on the first dive in Cozumel, a drift dive at Yucab. Maximum depth was approximately 55 feet. Darn it, the thing still breathed wet, both when rotating to the 9:00 position, as well as head down. The head down was a real problem, because I was underweighted on the first dive and spent most of the last 1000 psi with my feet straight up toward the surface, fighting to complete my safety stop. I will say this: I have really developed the talent of breathing and spitting seawater at the same time! I was joking that the water level around Cozumel had dropped because of the amount of seawater I had taken into my lungs. Ugh.
After that, I dove with the ATMOS Sport exclusively, with 3 comments. First, use of the ATMOS seemed to result in better gas consumption. Second, the ATMOS did not seem to breath as easily as the Abyss. Third, the ATMOS did breath dry in all the positions where the Abyss was VERY wet, suggesting strongly that this is a regulator problem, and not a diver problem. I also note that the second Cozumel dive -- at Paradise -- was essentially identical to the Yucab dive in depth and drift tendencies; it was an awfully good head-to-head comparison with the first dive at Yucab using the Abyss.
At this point, I really am at the end of my rope with this Abyss reg. I have had it looked at numerous times, had the cap replaced and the reg overhauled at least twice [once by the mfgr itself]. I'd like to have a properly working Abyss, because I have always liked the ease of breathing [other than the wet part!]. I mean, I can use the ATMOS, but it just doesn't seem as good as the Abyss. I simply can't afford to buy a new Abyss at this point in my financial life, though. Would Mares have any interest in taking my Abyss [and/or the ATMOS] in trade for a new one [or a certified rebuild -- something that actually works right]. Does Mares have any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance for everyone's input on this.
