Desperate for Carbon 42 regulator service in Canada

[satwar]

The Carbon 42 regulator seems to be a real bear to get tuned properly. Neither my local dive shop nor dealer I bought from can get it tuned. Both shops say the regulator is very tempermental to tune. Subsequently ownership has become a nightmare for me. Is there a factory facility that I can send to ? Canada preferred, but if I have to ship to Italy, so be it. I just want the thing to work properly, I'm not a happy customer and very dissappointed.

 

[TN Traveler]

Can't imagine why it is a problem to tune one. The 1st stage is a MR42 and the 2nd stage internals are standard just like every other Mares regulator. I have a set and they were no trouble to tune or keep in tune.

Sounds like you have a bad Tech. :depressed:

 

[satwar]

I haven't had any luck with any dealer, with this reg so far, and I trust the opinion and honesty of my local shop, he has a lot of experience. Everyone gets into a mess, it never is 100 %. I've owned it for 2 years

It took some searching but I finally noticed that Mares has some Lab Tech Dealers listed in my province. I'll tell the Lab Tech dealer my disappointment with getting this reg tuned and see if they're willing to take it on.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

Three Mares dealers in Ont. that I have dealt with are
Travel Sports Equipment, London Ont. (my lds) 35 years exp. Welcome to Travel Sport Equipment
Dan's Dive Shop St. Catherines Ont. (37 years exp.) Ontario Scuba Diving Courses| Scuba Diving Equipment| Technical Diving Courses| Snorkeling Equipment Canada| Learn to dive scuba dive classes padi
Dive Tech Mallorytown, Ont. Dive Tech Training Centre - Home Page

 

[satwar]

That's what I was looking for, thank you. Good list of shops.

I'm trying to get a hold of Divetech. I told them my story and am waiting for e-mail reply. A lot of dealers won't touch the thing, it's relatively rare and many dealers haven't worked on one yet.

 

[Zak OHara]

Hi,
I am not sure why there is difficulty in tuning this specific regulator. As TN stated above, the 1st stage is an MR42 and the 2nd stage is similar in design to all Mares regulators. While the material is different, tuning should be the same as all Mares regs.

I can appreciate they are not the most common regs out there, mostly due to the price point, it still should be a very straight forward tuning process.

I'm confident you will have success with an authorized Mares Lab tech.

Best,

 

[satwar]

Good news, Dive Tech is willing to take it on. Now all I have to do is ship it to them. They've got my business for life if they can make it work without compromise. I'm not sure if they're Mares Lab Tech though, but they've been with Mares for a long time.

 

[Greg Barlow]

Good news, Dive Tech is willing to take it on. Now all I have to do is ship it to them. They've got my business for life if they can make it work without compromise. I'm not sure if they're Mares Lab Tech though, but they've been with Mares for a long time.

I, like Zak, am at a total loss as to why any Mares tech would have a problem in rebuilding the Carbon 42. The V/MR42 has been on the market since its original configuaration with the Limited Edition. The Carbon second stage is serviced in the same manner as the Abyss.

Greg

 

[Ouvea]

@ Greg Barlow

Not to hijack the thread, but I use the Mares Limited Edition Metal Proton regulator. The first stage looks like exactly like the current model MR42. Are there any differences inside the first stage between the current line and the LE line?

@ Satwar

Could you describe the issue that has plagued your regulator? Does it breathes with difficulty?

Claude

 

[Greg Barlow]

@ Greg Barlow

Not to hijack the thread, but I use the Mares Limited Edition Metal Proton regulator. The first stage looks like exactly like the current model MR42. Are there any differences inside the first stage between the current line and the LE line?

@ Satwar

Could you describe the issue that has plagued your regulator? Does it breathes with difficulty?

Claude

Claude,

Yes, your LE first stage uses the rebuild kits for the V42, rather than the version for the current MR42. The LE/V42 used the SCS (Spherical Core Seal) system in the HP assembly. In this configuration, the HP poppet has a hemispherical shaped head. It seals against a dimpled synthetic material in a "doughnut" shaped assembly.

The MR42 uses a minature version of the tri-material HP assembly. Here, the HP poppet has a flat head with the synthetic material attached. This poppet seals against a volcano shaped metal orifice.

Both systems work very well. Mares decided to make all of their diaphragm first stages in the MR configuration. I have serviced many of the SCS regs such as the V12, V16, V32, and V42. I have found the SCS system to be very reliable. I use two V16 first stages on my cave/tech rig. I use another V16 on my warm water system, and a V42 on my cold water rig. My warm water system uses standard Proton second stages. The doubles and V42 use Proton Metal second stages.

The LE/V42 first stages cannot be converted over to the MR HP system. However, parts will be available for a long time. My own V42 has nearly 100 hours on it, and the intermediate pressure is perfectly stable with no creep at all.

Greg