Did I get the right regulator? D420 vs g260

[Ciguatera]

No and no.

I also suspect that you could get your aeris regulator working fine again, but I couldn't be sure about it. Based on your comments, I would venture a guess that this dive shop was much more interested in selling you a regulator than fixing yours. What you are buying is a much higher end regulator, in either case. Don't worry in the slightest about the MK17 being an older model. It's still much newer and fancier than anything I use for cave diving, and I'm still alive, and still cheap!

Seriously, the hype around regulator sales is kind of nutty. I guess dive shop owners have to make a living too.

Actually there was nothing wrong with the aeris kit, it was from 2014, well maintained, everything worked great, kinda wish I didn't trade it in now to the shop, but was told it was a safety issue since the service kits aren't available.

I'm a cyclist and the gear discussion is really similar to shinano dura-ace vs ultegra vs 105. Marginal gains for big price differences and endless perseverating over "did I make the right decision?"when they all functionally do the same thing and just cause one's brain to hurt and a million open chrome tabs with reviews. Hell, I think the HOG kits seem like a pretty good deal after doing some reading here.

I talked to another shop tech at a different store that said the d420 wasn't selling as well as SP hoped and was concerned about replacement parts in a few years. I left a message for the dive shop about switching for the mk17/g260, it's within the return period and unused, hopefully they don't get too angry

 

[rsingler]

I'm sorry I'm late to the thread! Oh, well!
My 2 cents is that
1) the Mk19 EVO IS a performance enhancement over the Mk17EVO, on top of the turret. But it's machine stuff, and you won't feel it underwater.
2) I own and dive both the G260 and D420, and the D420 breathes easier. I CAN feel that, even when they're both tuned identically in terms of cracking effort. I made it my go-to reg for doubles and my bailout reg for rebreather.

Having said that, neither are as bombproof as a simpler regulator.
More important, the D420 is both new to the market, and very unfamiliar to any technician who has not been servicing for more than 5-10 years. A G260 build is a standard design, and is very easy to service, because internally it's so similar to 75% of the balanced seconds out there. It's better, IMO, but it's still very similar.
The D420 is also VERY easy to service, but only if you used to work on D-series regulators. Unfortunately (again IMO) Scubapro wrote a piss-poor manual which was then poorly translated from Italian, leaving the young service technician with little to go on. On top of that, I think there's an error in the tuning steps prescribed.

So much as I personally believe that the Mk19/D420 is one of the best reg combinations on the market today, it's neither bombproof nor familiar to local dive shops. You made the right decision trading it for something more familiar to the service community.

 

[CT-Rich]

I have the MK25/g260 and have more than 150 dives on it with no issues. Switching away from the Aeris was probably not a bad decision, always better to get out on your own terms.. The SP MK17/g260 combo will be around for a long time and a tiny difference in performance and weight is not going to be worth $300. Amongst top end regulators, much of the debate is going to be focused on how finely the hairs can be split, nothing a casual user is going to notice without a test lab.

 

[Centrals]

How long has G260 been around?
I have been diving the same Apeks TX50 over 24yrs. And if I ever need to replace it with another brand......G260.

 

[shurite7]

If you were in my shoes, would you go back to the MK 17 evo/g265 and save the $300 or stay with the mk19 evo/d420? Is there any compelling advantage to staying with the mk19 evo/d420?

The main question you need to answer is how important is the $300. If you felt you purchased a good product at a fair price with value then keep the Mk19/D420. If the $300 is important then go back to the Mk17/G260. Both sets are very good regs with excellent performance and reliability.

When I went to pick up the regulator, he mentioned it had to be extensively tuned out of the box.

All new regs should be tuned when pulled out of the box. When I first became a technician I was told I could tune better than the manufacturer. At first that didn’t make sense, but after gaining more experience I learned new regs leave the manufacture set with in the acceptable range, meaning a second stage isn’t finely tuned to the IP of the first stage.


One thing I learned about those who owned a D series second stage is they LOVE it. One of my customers was broken hearted when I informed her the reg had worn out so much that a certain part had to be replace, however, I the part was no longer available. Initially I offered her a C370 and ordered it for her. She was a repeat customer and I had serviced her D300 over the years prompting me to gamble. I hopped on eBay, found a D400 and ordered it, using my personal funds. Luckily it was in decent condition and I serviced it. The owner was so happy she and her husband left me a huge tip and he upgraded his R380 to the C370 that I had ordered.

Re: diaphragm vs piston, my understanding is similar price of servicing and maybe more durability for diaphragm since corrosive elements aren't getting in the first stage

The cost for the service kit between a piston or diaphragm is different with the latter costing more. Regardless of which one you go with, maintain it properly to avoid unnecessary issues. I’ve opened up diaphragm first stages only to find lots of verdigris inside.

 

[SlugLife]

Initially, I purchased the mk-17 evo/g260 combo, but after a little bit of research, I saw this was an older model and had him switch to the mk19 Evo/d420 at his recommendation. This ended up being about $300 more...If you were in my shoes, would you go back to the MK 17 evo/g265 and save the $300 or stay with the mk19 evo/d420?

Wait, did the scuba-rep up-sell you? Or do you own both regulators? I don't know what this "it had to be extensively tuned out of the box" nonsense the rep was telling you. My vote is save your money.

Personally, I use Scubapro MK10s for everything, including my backmount, side-mount, and pony regulators. I have a MK17, which I have no complaints about, other than the lack of swivel makes it slightly less nice for side-mount.

As far as the 2nd stages, you can't go wrong with a G260 (you wrote G265, but I think you mean G260). I have several older G250s and they work great.

 

[Ciguatera]

Wait, did the scuba-rep up-sell you? Or do you own both regulators? I don't know what this "it had to be extensively tuned out of the box" nonsense the rep was telling you. My vote is save your money.

Personally, I use Scubapro MK10s for everything, including my backmount, side-mount, and pony regulators. I have a MK17, which I have no complaints about, other than the lack of swivel makes it slightly less nice for side-mount.

As far as the 2nd stages, you can't go wrong with a G260 (you wrote G265, but I think you mean G260). I have several older G250s and they work great.

Initially went to the store just to get the Aeris reg serviced, was not expecting to get a new regulator that day. I hadn't really done any research on regulators at that point. Shop owner said Aeris service parts wouldn't be available and offered me a $50 credit to trade it in. I looked at the MK 11 and c370 as well. My friend who I was with at the store is a dive Master and teaches locally, her school uses the mk17/g260 so I went with that. After leaving the store and going to research about regs online, I called the shop owner and asked if the mk25/620ti combo would be a good upgrade and he recommended mk19 evo/d420 would be a worthwhile upgrade in functionality and breathing ability, so I went with his suggestion. So I wouldn't say I was upsold as much as I was thinking, I'm going to have this a long time and wanted something on the higher end of reliability. The information I got here on this thread has been really helpful, thank you all so much.

 

[scrane]

I have and love an older, but similar D400. But I always carry a spare second stage just in case. If you only carry one regulator reliability and ease of maintenance is important. I'd stick with more conventional designs.

 

[gqllc007]

I might be able to help here. I have the Mk19, the G260, the 620ti and the D420/Mk19 tuned by rsingler. Rsingler did not tune the G260 or the 620ti yet only the Mk19/D420. By the way if you keep the Mk19/D420 then have rsingler service them...there is no better...anyway I also have the Mk25 evo that is a backup first stage. The Mk19 with the swivel is great for me for hose positioning. I dive a 48" long hose primary under my arm and a necklaced 22" Octo 620ti. I started with the D420 as my primary and it is a sweet breathing regulator. However I replaced it with the G260 as my primary. There were a couple of reasons for this. One my wife literally just got certified and she uses an Atomic ST1 as her primary. The D420 "confused" her with air sharing due to the unconventional shape and her being a complete newbie. The other reason is my Mk19/G260/620ti is my travel regulator and if there was an issue any SP tech would know how to work on it compared to the D420. There is another thread on here about a D420 and scuba toys.com working on it. The reg still lightly free flows. So he is sending it back. With regards to ease of breathing I found the D420 to be a 10 out of 10. The G260 was a 9.8 and the 620ti was a 9 out of 10 for ease of breathing. For my kind of diving the G260 is perfect. If I was going to go back to technical diving which I won't be then I would dive the D420 as it seems to provide the greatest ease of breathing. The 620ti was ok but not as easy as the G260. I suspect I could send it to rsingler for him to tune it. At some point I will just send him my MK19/G260/620ti in another year or two when service is needed.
So for me the Mk19/G260 was the ticket.

 

[rsingler]

I don't know what this "it had to be extensively tuned out of the box" nonsense the rep was telling you.

MK15/20/25/19 How about that?