Broken Front Plates on Mares Protons

[Greg Barlow]

That is very interesting. It appears as though the bond between the various parts of the cover has literally failed. I wonder if the regs were exposed to high temperatures for an extended period of time? The Mares dealer should consider sending those covers to Mares HDQ in Italy. I have never seen anything like that before. Thanks for the pictures.

Greg

 

[Afishianado]

I have one that did this also and I have seen another one that did it sitting on the LDS bench.

Are any of the other front covers a direct fit replacement? the proton metal? proton ice?

 

[Phillip Forster]

I know this is a very old post now but I am just getting back in to diving after a six year hiatus due to health issues and was very disappointed to find out that the first time I checked my gear my 2 Proton Octos failed in exactly the same way... Did you ever find parts that work? Id love to find some Proton Ice Metal covers for my 2 Octos.

BTW my gear was fully serviced and stored in a climate controlled environment.

Thanks

 

[lairdb]

Necroposting FTW!

That is very interesting. It appears as though the bond between the various parts of the cover has literally failed. I wonder if the regs were exposed to high temperatures for an extended period of time? The Mares dealer should consider sending those covers to Mares HDQ in Italy. I have never seen anything like that before. Thanks for the pictures.

Same issue on 3 Protons here -- it's not separated, it's that the flexible part has literally split at the highest stress point, just outside the purge button perimeter at the first perforated ring. It also appears the yellow is much more prone to this.

Anybody found a source?

 

[BOHUNTER]

Interested in new posts or sources for this part.

Steve

 

[lairdb]

I could not find one, so I made one out of TPU 85A

...which actually worked fine for several dives -- following which the main case began to crumble.

Get a new second stage.

 

[JackD342]

My Mares parts list from fall of 2018 lists 3 possible Cover Assembly options that may still be available in US parts inventory:
46200632, Proton Ice Extreme, retail ~ $90
46200525, Proton Metal (and plastic?), retail ~ $25
46200413, Proton Octo (yellow), retail ~ $60

Yes, one of those items sounds like the pricing is suspiciously low compared to the other two. Just reporting what I read.
So if you have a Mares dealer LDS, let them go to work for you checking to see if any of these are available for order, what their price will be for you, and whether or not they are all interchangeable on the 2nd stage cases you own. (There is some difference in the purge cover assembly designs.)

And these items were only ever available as an assembly with 4-7 different parts, so don't expect to be able to buy/replace just the broken part and move over the button, springs, retainer, etc.

And another note - when I have worked on Protons, I have noticed that they do not purge as quickly/forcefully as most other 2nd stages. It is possible that part of the breakage issue is the tendency for the diver to push the purge harder and deeper attempting to drain the pressure faster after turning off the tank, when what this item really just needs is a bit more patience instead of leaning harder into the purge button. Food for thought.

 

[lairdb]

If they don't won't sell the gasket (rubber part) alone, then the assemblies (ring, button, sticker, gasket) are
46200416 for the Proton
46200415 for the Proton NX
46200413 for the Proton Octo

Let us know if you find they're actually available. (Though it's just curiosity for me at this point; after both of my Proton bodies decomposed, I went with Atomic.)

ETA: Ah -- JackD342, I see what you're saying. (Just noticed the p/n match on the octo.) Are the ...632 and ...525 compatible with the Proton body?

 

[JackD342]

If they don't won't sell the gasket (rubber part) alone, then the assemblies (ring, button, sticker, gasket) are
46200416 for the Proton
46200415 for the Proton NX
46200413 for the Proton Octo

Let us know if you find they're actually available. (Though it's just curiosity for me at this point; after both of my Proton bodies decomposed, I went with Atomic.)

ETA: Ah -- JackD342, I see what you're saying. (Just noticed the p/n match on the octo.) Are the ...632 and ...525 compatible with the Proton body?

The first two on your list are correct part numbers, but are not listed on my most recent Mares US parts spreadsheet. From past experience I don't tink they have ever had a part in stock that wasn't listed. The opposite occurs sometimes, that an item is on the list but not available.

Regarding interchangeability, as I already wrote, that should be asked of the Mares technical team when checking for parts availability. The assembly 46200525 is the PN listed in the diagram for the Proton Metal, but the current spreadsheet description says metal/plastic, so I think that may just work both ways.

The service guys in Florida also sometimes have other options known to them that are not found in existing documentation.
(For some reason I seem to recall a relationship between the Mares Proton and their Dacor Eagle. Perhaps in a pinch a Proton cover could fit an Eagle 2nd stage, but DO NOT quote me on that!! And if so, I would not want to substitute the other direction because the Eagle had a "flair" on either side of the cover plate that would protrude on a Proton.)

 

[BOHUNTER]

So the actual theory is they don’t make or have this part in stock anymore. Just buy another reg?