Anyone familiar with ScubaPro MK3?

[NAUIwowee]

I recently purchased a vintage SP reg that I'm planning on using as a pony bottle reg. When I purchased it, I thought it was a 70's era MK2/R108; but I've now determined that it is a late 70 - early 80's MK3/R108. It appears the main difference between the MK2 and MK3 is that the piston head diameter is smaller in the MK3. Does anyone know if you can still get an annual service kit with the correct size piston head o-ring for an MK3?

 

[Luis H]

Yes, the only difference between the 1970’s MK-2 and Mk-3 is the size of the piston head.

I don’t think that Scubapro makes kits for the Mk-3, but it should be very easy to size the O-rings and buy them from any O-ring supplier.

Good luck

 

[h2onutz]

Please, before your next dive is your last dive, don't try to repair a regulator yourself. Unless your certified as a Scubapro Repair tech and your using Scubapro repair kit don't mess with the regulator, your life is not worth the risk you would face if you didn't repair it correctly.

 

[8dust]

Please, before your next dive is your last dive, don't try to repair a regulator yourself. Unless your certified as a Scubapro Repair tech and your using Scubapro repair kit don't mess with the regulator, your life is not worth the risk you would face if you didn't repair it correctly.

??????

you do know where you are, yes?

 

[Luis H]

Please, before your next dive is your last dive, don't try to repair a regulator yourself. Unless your certified as a Scubapro Repair tech and your using Scubapro repair kit don't mess with the regulator, your life is not worth the risk you would face if you didn't repair it correctly.

This is not the DIY (Do It Yourself) section, but it is the vintage section… which is very DIY friendly. IMHO vintage equipment and DIY are often tied together.

I appreciate your concern, but IMHO your advice belongs in more of a beginner diving area.

The Scubapro MK-3 is so incredible simple that anyone with minimal mechanical competence could service it. The worst thing is that it could end up with a leak… if someone scratches a sealing surface.

 

[NAUIwowee]

Thanks for the concern and advice. The main reason I asked the question was to determine if it will be easy to service the MK3 on a regular basis, or would I be better off trying to locate an MK2 first stage instead. Thanks!

 

[herman]

Please, before your next dive is your last dive, don't try to repair a regulator yourself. Unless your certified as a Scubapro Repair tech and your using Scubapro repair kit don't mess with the regulator, your life is not worth the risk you would face if you didn't repair it correctly.

This is the wrong place to try using that kind of scare tactic. I see you are new to the board so a little reading in this and the DIY section would be useful. I don't mean to be rude but when you use the tired old phrases like "life support" and "last dive" you quickly lose any credibility. Contrary to what most LDSs want you to believe, regs are not some mystical magical device that only the most trained wizards can do magic on and there is nothing special about most of the parts in them. This is especially true of regs like the MK2/3 and the 108, they are very simple in design, to service and to outsource parts for. Sure they need to be serviced correctly and the parts need to be suitable for the job but there is no reason the average diver cannot do his/her own service or source parts from other places than an LDS. If you send some time reading the DIY and vintage areas of the board you will soon discover that a lot of the reason many of us service our own gear is the poor quality of the “professional” service that is all to common in the dive industry. There are some very good techs and some very good repair shops to be sure but there are a lot of poor ones as well.

 

[redacted]

Please, before your next dive is your last dive, don't try to repair a regulator yourself. Unless your certified as a Scubapro Repair tech and your using Scubapro repair kit don't mess with the regulator, your life is not worth the risk you would face if you didn't repair it correctly.

Do you really believe that nonsense

 

[NAUIwowee]

I used to own an MK2/R190 that I used to service myself, and you're right Luis, they are extremely simple to rebuild. Very few parts. This is the first time I've run across an MK3, though. I like it's compact size compared to the MK2 and I think it would work great as a pony reg. Plus, I like the shiny chrome, old-school R108 second stage :cool2:.

I found out just how reliable the old SP regs are last night. When I got this reg, it had not been used or serviced for SEVERAL years. All of the chrome is in good shape and I did not see any evidence of green corrosion anywhere (might have been used only in freshwater), but the second stage had dried mud caked in several areas. Just out of curiosity, without doing any disassembly or cleaning, I hooked it up to one of my tanks last night and it breathed great! No freeflow and almost no breathing resistance. It seemed to perform almost as well as my MK25/G250V, but with not as much air-flow (which is to be expected). I later tore it down, cleaned all of the mud out of the second stage, and examined the first stages internals. Other than the o-rings being a little dry and stiff from age and an nice circular indention in the seat, everything looked in good condition. Now I just need to find the proper size piston head o-ring so I can re-build it.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

SP does in fact still sell Mk 3 kits. I bought a few not too long ago to replace the ones I had used servicing customer regs.

Given that it uses the same seat and piston stem 0-ring as the Mk 2 and the piston head o-ring is a common size, so I don't see SP discontinuing the Mk 3 annual service kit as they already still make all the other parts for current or still very common models ad or can easily source them from any o-ring supplier.

I also agree that the Mk 3 is a dirt simple reg to service - almost as easy as pouring water out of a boot, except you do not need to read the directions on the heel.