MK-5 vs. MK-10

[1erCRU]

My favorite SP reg, of the ones I've owned (MK2, 5, 7, 10, 20, & 20ul), for rough and ready diving, beach entries in remote places is the MK5 (btw the only SP reg I still own). I recon it is bullet proof, and it performance is legendary in rec dive conditions, no matter what you do to it. It was quite common in the day to see MK5s used as hammers around boats especially on boated live fish or shellfish, then back on a tank without a care. Even saw a diver use his on a wire wheel knockoff nut on his English car.

 

[Zung]

... For the people having trouble with the MK10's is this with the older style or the newer one?

A disclaimer is required here: I had 2 MK10Plus that gave me troubles:

The 1st one was reported here. It had a piston with a brass stem that wears quickly. Problem fixed with swapping, and I learned a lot about the mattmagic in the process. So it was actually a good thing.

The 2nd was a case of the early white seat that wears quickly. A replacement with a current seat and all is well. This was my wife's previous main rig, bought new, about 400 dives total, and only 20 dives after being "upgraded" to Plus in 2000.

So none of the issues I encountered are related to the design of the MK10 proper.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

We use Mk 10 pluses as stage and deco regs, so they see lots of use and I have had no issues with the current seats - even with a lot less frequently than annual service frequency.

Unfortunately the bad rep from the early seats never seems to go away.

The Mk 15 had similar seat material issues, and that was one reason for the change in model number to "Mk 20" after what were fairly minor internal bushing changes and minor external cosmetic changes.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Oddly enough the die hards back in the day did not regard the Mk 5 as being robust enough, so the Mk 8 was developed to eliminate the rotating port turret while still retaining 4 LP ports. They did the same thing with the Mk 10, creating the Mk 9 with 5 fixed ports.

 

[aquaregia]

Oddly enough the die hards back in the day did not regard the Mk 5 as being robust enough, so the Mk 8 was developed to eliminate the rotating port turret while still retaining 4 LP ports. They did the same thing with the Mk 10, creating the Mk 9 with 5 fixed ports.

You still see that today with the DS4/DST debates.