HP seat upgrade on MK16

[halocline]

Right, the old one is a strange sort of taper fit, the current one is a pretty standard cone orifice and flat seat.

 

[stevenq99]

Thanks for the pictures. I looked at the old parts and it was the old style that came out last year.

 

[Luis H]

Thanks for the picture. It is always interesting to see the parts of regulators I have not worked on.

The old seat looks like something Poseidon would use in their regulators or like the old Mares Ruby. I have never been impressed by the IP lock on Poseidon first stages, but I have heard that the Mares Ruby was very reliable first stage.

My personal experience with one Ruby was that the IP lock was excellent. I rebuilt it, but the HP soft and hard seat did not need replacement and were not part of the rebuilt kit.

The Mares Ruby seat actually looks very much like that old seat except that the hard surface is out of an artificially produced Ruby semi precious stone (at least that is what they claimed). It is a clear red hard crystal.

 

[Kupu]

Thanks for the pictures. I looked at the old parts and it was the old style that came out last year.

Glad to help a fellow cheesehead. I was born in Madison, and spent many summers helping out on my grandparents farm in Lone Rock and enjoying life at the lake house on Lake Wisconsin.

 

[Kupu]

I have a 2nd set of identical regs and have never had to rebuild them but if needed I will have that set worked on when I get back from my trip.

If you are interested in learning the basics on your reg, buy or make an IP gauge, which would allow you to check your 2nd regulator set and determine if the MK16 1st stage needs to be serviced. The gauge connects to your BC inflator hose and would allow you to see if the IP is correct, and also if it creeps up.

If the IP is stable but not in the necessary range of 125-150 PSI, it is easy to adjust on the MK 16 using an allen wrench (I set mine at about 140-145 PSI). If it is not stable, time for the upgrade. I would be happy to email you a bit more info if you are interested. You might prefer to leave this decision in the hands of your repair tech, I just figure it is nice to know how things work.

I had some problems with my S550 second stage slightly freeflowing during the first couple years, and I was told I needed to replace the HP seat on the 1st stage to fix the problem. I paid for the service and the problem was fixed. But this would happen only 20-30 dives after annual service, which really seemed odd. Which led me to want to understand how this could happen, and how to fix it. I wish I could have hooked up an IP gauge and seen the result for myself back then.

I now suspect I could have made a simple adjustment to the second stage to fix the problem vs a full rebuild on the 1st stage. Since learning how to make the adjustments, I have put over 300 dives on the MK16 with the old style rebuild kit. Even after that, the IP was steady at 140 PSI, I just felt it would be a good idea to service it before the next dive trip. So although I am sure the new upgrade will be an improvement, I think the old style HP assembly is decent.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

My advice is to upgrade soon. Historically SP has provided the parts for these backwards compatible upgrades in the annual service kits basically for free - but only for a couple years. After that they expect that warranty covered reg owners will have gotten the reg serviced and they then scale back the parts in the kit to just the parts that need annnual replacement. Consequently, if you miss the boat, you'll end up having to pay extra for the upgrade and the LDS may have to order the parts from SP.

 

[stevenq99]

I have wanted to dissect my regs from the day I bought them but I have resisted the temptation. I am also one who likes to know how things work. I have watched as the guy tested and tried to adjust my IP. I have thought about making a IP gauge but have not gotten around to it yet.

If you are interested in learning the basics on your reg, buy or make an IP gauge, which would allow you to check your 2nd regulator set and determine if the MK16 1st stage needs to be serviced. The gauge connects to your BC inflator hose and would allow you to see if the IP is correct, and also if it creeps up.

If the IP is stable but not in the necessary range of 125-150 PSI, it is easy to adjust on the MK 16 using an allen wrench (I set mine at about 140-145 PSI). If it is not stable, time for the upgrade. I would be happy to email you a bit more info if you are interested. You might prefer to leave this decision in the hands of your repair tech, I just figure it is nice to know how things work.

I had some problems with my S550 second stage slightly freeflowing during the first couple years, and I was told I needed to replace the HP seat on the 1st stage to fix the problem. I paid for the service and the problem was fixed. But this would happen only 20-30 dives after annual service, which really seemed odd. Which led me to want to understand how this could happen, and how to fix it. I wish I could have hooked up an IP gauge and seen the result for myself back then.

I now suspect I could have made a simple adjustment to the second stage to fix the problem vs a full rebuild on the 1st stage. Since learning how to make the adjustments, I have put over 300 dives on the MK16 with the old style rebuild kit. Even after that, the IP was steady at 140 PSI, I just felt it would be a good idea to service it before the next dive trip. So although I am sure the new upgrade will be an improvement, I think the old style HP assembly is decent.

 

[Puffer Fish]

Thanks for the picture. It is always interesting to see the parts of regulators I have not worked on.

The old seat looks like something Poseidon would use in their regulators or like the old Mares Ruby. I have never been impressed by the IP lock on Poseidon first stages, but I have heard that the Mares Ruby was very reliable first stage.

My personal experience with one Ruby was that the IP lock was excellent. I rebuilt it, but the HP soft and hard seat did not need replacement and were not part of the rebuilt kit.

The Mares Ruby seat actually looks very much like that old seat except that the hard surface is out of an artificially produced Ruby semi precious stone (at least that is what they claimed). It is a clear red hard crystal.

Sorry for being a little off topic, Ruby and Sapphire are both Aluminum Oxide(or Corundum).. put a tiny bit of chrome (or Iron) in and you get Red. it is a very easy material to make.

 

[Kupu]

I have wanted to dissect my regs from the day I bought them but I have resisted the temptation. I am also one who likes to know how things work.

You are smart not to dissect the regulator, especially if it is working fine. I learned that concept as a kid, taking apart the new electronic toys I got for Christmas, only to realize I could not figure out how to put them back together so they would work. :depressed:

I started out buying a couple of beat up regs off Ebay. Since I only had a small amount invested, it didn't really matter if I could make them work or not, just wanted to see what they looked like inside, and attempt to put them back together. I gleaned a lot of valuable info reading the posts here on SB by the DIY crowd. I pay my respects to the guys who have put so many helpful posts on here...In particular DA has been an incredible source of info on SP regs, his posts have been a goldmine, and many others who have helped me learn how to tune and repair. Turns out a small handful of tools, a repair manual is helpful, and a bit of knowledge is all it takes to do the job.

Anyway, it has been fun participating in your thread. Thanks for listening and good luck on your upcoming dive trips.