Mark X Dual Balanced Lever Height Issue

[NotSure]

I was rebuilding a Mark X Dual Balanced second stage and found that I have a lever height issue. For those not familiar, the Mark X is just a European version of the Balanced Adjustable with some cosmetic differences. This being my third Balanced Adjustable rebuild I assumed everything would be just like the others, but apparently there is something slightly different. After screwing out the orifice 2 turns the lever height is too high and as I screw it in it seems to disengage the poppet. . From reading the thread on lever height I see that the lever I have is the one most commonly found in Balanced Adjustables. The old poppet was the gray one with a rivet in center of the seat and the new one is the blue fixed plastic seat type. Should I find a different lever or try and make a new seat for the gray poppet. If I do go the new lever route, which lever is most likely to fix my problem?
Thanks for any suggestions,
NotSure

 

[Zung]

Check my pics to get a rough idea of where the lever should be. But since you have the grey poppet, forget about the blue one and punch your own seats. I'm ready to bet 2:1 it'll work fine.

 

[Couv]

Pictures? .....I don't see no stinking pictures.....

 

[halocline]

Probably need a photo or two, but for starters, if this is a balanced/adjustable 2nd stage, you need the s-wing poppet with the rivet-style seat as found on the G250 or S600. NOT an actual rivet in the seat center. If this reg is adjustable but not balanced, then you'd use the simple puck seat, and at least in the U.S., the 'duro' poppet found on the G200.

Once you get the poppet/seat situation straightened out, you can work on lever compatibility, and that does seem to be a bit of a crapshoot. But, I've never seen a current G250 lever not work well with the s-wing poppet in the 109 or b/a, so getting one of those is a sure bet.

If the reg you're talking about is different than the 109/b/a, then this info might not apply. Good luck!

 

[redacted]

The surest solution is to go for a new lever. The first time I ran into that situation, I did some bending of the lever feet in spite of Harlow's warnings not to try that. I got lucky but I doubt I would not do it again. That is also what lead me to my adjustment technique of starting with the orifice quite loose and initially adjusting the reg with the cover off. That lever was 1/4 inch or more above the case rim. It adjusted OK with the cover off but took quite a few turns of the orifice after the cover was installed. By then, the spring must have been sufficiently compressed that cracking pressure was ridiculously high.

Good Luck.

edit: Yes, you really should bypass that old (NOS) blue poppet and get the current S-wing poppet with replaceable LP seat.

 

[Couv]

I think the OP is referring to a poppet not often seen-at least not by me. Brother Zung took a few photos a while back of a poppet that was a cross between an old style blue poppet and a duro poppet. The "rivet" is actually the device that holds a puck style (replacible) seat in the poppet. The seat has a hole in it and the gas passes through the rivet and poppet to the balance chamber. This sounds like a great idea to me…..balanced poppet with an Awap seat.

 

[Zung]

Pictures? .....I don't see no stinking pictures.....

Bro, I see a whole bunch of pics, and they're odorless... But lemme repost them here:
And btw, I think the "rivet" is a real rivet.

 

[NotSure]

Pictures? .....I don't see no stinking pictures.....

Here are some pictures showing the things unique to the Mark X.

The cover plate is satin chrome and says "Mark X Dual Balanced" though it's hard to read. The screws for the clamps face one up, one down.


The knob is also different from a BA.


The gray poppet with rivet is the original.


I believe this is the common BA lever but could be wrong.



Exaust tee is hard plastic.

 

[NotSure]

I now see that my issue is not so much lever height as it is lever contact with the new poppet. The shoulder where the lever engages the poppet appears to be very slightly longer on the gray poppet. I think for now I will take Zung’s advice and make a new seat for the gray poppet since I have some new hockey puck seats on hand. Eventually I would like to upgrade all of my regulators to the newer G250 poppet, but at $48 apiece on Ebay that won't be happening any time soon.
Thanks for all the help,
NotSure

 

[NotSure]

I haven’t had a chance to try my newly modified gray poppet yet due to using up all of my scuba air playing with other regulators, just wanted to get any thoughts on what I should expect. The G250 style seat is slightly thinner that the original, but could probably be shimmed if necessary.

Disclaimer: Don't try this at home kids, any person attempting this modification should first seek psychiatric help as there is a good possibility that you are suicidal or completely insane.