Free Flowing Scubapro

[ScubaMichael]

Hi: I have a Scubapro Regulator MK16/550 and have some problems with free-flowing. After around 6-8 months and 30-40 dives the reg starts to free-flow. My dive shop is saying that it is absolute normal because the reg "is asking" for the yearly check-up. Do you agree? Any advise? I am concerned and I am thinking about buying another reg. Thanks

 

[jeraldjcook]

Is it a major or small free-flow. I had a problem with IP creep on my Mk16 less than a year after I bought it. Find the correct size allen wrench and give it a couple of degree turn counter-clockwise. That might fix the problem.

 

[Henryville]

That is a terribly unsafe reg and you should send it to me immediately to keep yourself out of trouble.



Just kidding. Are you talking about slight bubbling from the second stage or a real free flow? If it's the latter, the advice sounds like hogwash to me. A regulator that is good for 30 dives between rebuilds? Unless you're just doing a couple of dives a year that can't be. If it's the former, I have noticed that my G500 and G550 regs need to be rebuilt more frequently than my G250s, but not in 30 - 40 dives.

The guy you want to hear from on this board is DA Aquamaster. I have found him to be an encyclopedic source of information on scubapro regs.

 

[DennisW]

The guy at the LDS is full of it. The regs need a little adjustment. They may be adjusted to breath a little too easy. If this is the case, after the seats break in, the regulator will tend to free flow easier. And I agree, DA Aquamaster has much more experience than I do with regulator repair and diagnostics.

 

[Scottri]

That's not normal. It's probably just out of adjustment. If you were doing 100 dives I'd say it needs to be serviced. Ask him for the parts when he services it and have him explain what the problem was. My Atomic starts to leak from the HP seat after about 150 dives and I get it rebuilt at that piont but only because I use it a lot. My old Oceanic gets used about 20 or 30 times a year and does not leak.

 

[redacted]

If this is the shop you bought it from, I'm surprised that they didn't simply fix it in 5 minutes with no charge. If it is another shop than the one you bought it in, I would have expected them to adjust it for a nominal charge although some would have done it for free. In either case, I'd go looking for another shop that is not so clearly interested in sticking it to you. You should not need a full service until it is a year old. Even then, the main reason you should need it is to maintain the warrenty.

 

[Couv]

Hello SMichael,

You should consider getting (everyone should) an intermediate pressure gage and measure your first stage's IP to see if it is within the usual parameters (usually 135 +/- 10 psi) with no creep. If the IP is creeping up, you of course have a problem in the 1st stage, if not, probably just need to tweak the second stage or perhaps a second stage soft seat. As AWAP (another SP guru) suggested, the shop where you bought it from should be happy to keep you as a customer and comp this.

Here is a link that tells you how to make one or buy an IP gage. http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?p=2925792#post2925792

couv

 

[DA Aquamaster]

If the free flow is slight but immediate when the reg is pressurised it is probably due to an excessive seating groove in the second stage seat. If the freeflow starts a few to several seconds after the reg is pressurized, it is probably a leaking high pressure seat.

The shelf life for a first stage is basically indefinite as long as the o-rings do not dry out as the mainspring lifts the seat off the orifice. A second stage however tends to age as it sits as in most cases the spring holds the seat against the orifice and some engraving of the seat occurs.

Given that most regs sit in the warehouse for a month or so before shipping and then sit in the shop, several months can pass since they were built and adjusted before being sold and a seating groove will have already begun to develop. In my experience, SP regs tend to need servicing, or at least adjusting, to compensate for the seating groove that develops and if the reg were not readjusted when sold, encountering problems 6-8 months/30-40 dives after the sale is not a real surprise.

That said the reg should have been flow checked and adjusted at the time of sale and at a minimum you can still expect a full year of reliable service. The shop where you bought it should adjust it or service it under warranty at no charge.

 

[ScubaMichael]

Thank you so much for all the answers. I will print it out and will discuss it with my dive shop. Hopefully they can fix the problem after reading all of your opinions. By the way the free flow is small but constantly and it takes away atleast 10 minutes from my dive time. But most of all it makes me really nervous. Thanks again.