Aftermarket Scubapro Seats

[superstar]

Who makes the seats for SP?

 

[redacted]

Who makes the seats for SP?

I'd bet a number of people on this board do know; but I doubt if they would tell you.

 

[Texfrazer]

awap, I think you've mentioned it before, but do we know exactly what the seats are made of?

You've mentioned that the Trident ones weren't giving as long a lifespan, so that could be an issue of product composition.

If we could determine exactly what they're made of, we might be able to go the way of the epdm sheets for lp seats and make our own. The tool and dye set-up would not be difficult, just the need for some precision.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

awap, I think you've mentioned it before, but do we know exactly what the seats are made of?

You've mentioned that the Trident ones weren't giving as long a lifespan, so that could be an issue of product composition.

If we could determine exactly what they're made of, we might be able to go the way of the epdm sheets for lp seats and make our own. The tool and dye set-up would not be difficult, just the need for some precision.

In terms of high pressure seats, when Scubapro came out with the Mk 15 and the similar concave seats for the Mk 10 and 10 Plus, they had significant issues with seat life and went through a variety of seat materials in short order before they got one that actually worked well. If they are hesitant to talk, I would not blame them, since they spent a boatload of money $ developing a workable concave seat.

 

[redacted]

awap, I think you've mentioned it before, but do we know exactly what the seats are made of?

You've mentioned that the Trident ones weren't giving as long a lifespan, so that could be an issue of product composition.

If we could determine exactly what they're made of, we might be able to go the way of the epdm sheets for lp seats and make our own. The tool and dye set-up would not be difficult, just the need for some precision.

As I see it, HP seats are the biggest problem and it probably would not help us (DIYers) much even if we knew exactly what they are made of. My personal interest in HP seats is focused on Mk5/7/10 and I don't mind using the older style flat faced seats that I suspect were replaced because customers objected to the noise they caused. It was really nice getting two usable sides. The newer style HP seats used by Scubapro in the Mk10+/20/25 as well as the somewhat different Mk15 are just going to be a problem as Scubapro seems to be the only user.

I don't think there is really a problem for us as far as LP unbalanced seats go. I have been making and using my own for over a year. Probably lots of alternatives on material and hardness as long as it is flat and good quality.

And I still have hopes the Trident "rivet style" seat will give us a viable alternative for most balanced 2nds. But it still comes down to DIYers finding sources. At least we will have more alternatives.

 

[Couv]

My bet on the material would be (hedging my bet with 2) TFE-Teflon (PTFE) or Kel-F 81. Teflon has an oxygen index of > 95% where, say Nylon 66 has a very low oxygen index of 21% Teflon is a bit softer than Nylon 66, but Kel-F has approximately the same hardness (Shore D90) If I’m not mistaken, Kel-F is used in liquid oxygen applications, so the usable temperature range and compatibility with oxygen should not pose any problems. I would be comfortable using a Kel-F hp seat if it were machined to the same dimensions of the seats currently available. Just looking through the old seats I have in my junk bag tells me there have been a few different material SP has used over the years with relative success.

c

 

[superstar]

I freshened up my old mk5 tonight and used a Trident hp seat in it. To judge the results of the performance of the Trident hp seat and not the o-rings I used the o-rings from the last SP service kit that I had. The initial IP reading when I turned on the air (2000 psi) was 165 but after 3 or 4 purges of the reg it droped to 145 and after another 50 purges it settled in at 140 with a few seconds float to lockup at 143. So far so good.

 

[Zung]

... Bottom line is my source is not ready to offers these seats for retail sales. He does plan on talking to Trident so maybe there is still a ray of hope...

I ordered some Trident A242 HP seats on March 9th, waited a long long time and finally received them on May 12th. The LDS (in LA) said they were back ordered. The ones I've got are pure white, whereas the catalog shows yellow/beige ones. Do you guys have the white ones or the beige ones? Is there any chance they changed the material in the mean time?

 

[redacted]

I ordered some Trident A242 HP seats on March 9th, waited a long long time and finally received them on May 12th. The LDS (in LA) said they were back ordered. The ones I've got are pure white, whereas the catalog shows yellow/beige ones. Do you guys have the white ones or the beige ones? Is there any chance they changed the material in the mean time?

Mine was a white one. I have it in one of my Mk5s but don't use that reg very often.

 

[superstar]

Mine was also white. The somewat LDS had them in stock. I have not dove the reg yet. Soon I will report.