MK25/A700 Need all new parts after 25 dives

[mainedvr]

While I realize that how gear holds up is directly related to the care and how it is used, I am just curious about the recent service (the first service of mine and my wifes SP regs).

We purchased our reg set last July, and have dove it around 25 times. When the dive shop tested it I was told it was just in spec. So what I get from that is it is with in tolerances (I am assuming reg specific tolerances) but close to being out.

So being that it is what keeps me supplied with breating gas while a hundred feet underwater I said ok do what needs to be done. Now, we have the prefered parts so the parts should be free and they were, the service was a bit on the costly side I thought but that is what it is.

My question to scuba pro is, if the reg was set up correctly fromt he beginning and we took care (which we do very well) of the gear, we rinse it after every dive even if on a boat while still charged with fresh water and let it soak after the day of diving is done in warm water. We do not just throw them in a gear box or bag we keep them from harm as much as humanly possible. Why would such a quallity made reg set be even close to out of spec in 25 or less dives?

I am in a mechanical field so I know instruments and equipment made with closer tolerances can need more care and tuning to keep them with in those tight tolerances. But I still can't wrap my head around the 25 dives if it were 50 dives maybe then it would not be so hard to swallow. What concerns me is this coming year well a year starting from now I am looking at hopefully 100+ dives am I going to need my gear tuned every few weeks?

This is a bit of a concern, and really is making me consider ditching these regs and going with something else that first you can learn to service yourself, but also boast 100+ dives before the need for service.

Thanks

 

[James R]

Couple questions:
1) Can you share what exactly "all new parts" entails - specifically what parts did they say had to replace?

The MK25 & A700 service kits include o-rings, seats, and so on. If they referred to those as the "all new parts" then it's a completely normal service.

I've had to replace the piston in MK25 first stages a couple times because it was nicked a tiny bit and caused the IP to creep. That can happen to brand new reg just as easily as one that is 10yrs old. If something like that happened, it's not anything to worry about. Just be glad the tech found the issue and replaced it. ​

2) What do you mean by "

we rinse it after every dive even if on a boat ​

while still charged with fresh water

and let it soak after the day of diving is done in warm water?"--

I service my ScubaPro MK17/A700 and my girlfriends MK11/S555 every year. I average 150-200 dives a year on that reg set, and she does maybe 50-60. I've never had to do anything more often than my annual service. To be honest they could easily go further, but I want to keep my parts warranty. I am not overly cautious with them, but I don't mistreat them either.


I know some people have reg sets that they bought new but were never tuned properly before the customer left the shop. One example was a guy I met at a dive site with the same MK17/A700 reg set I have complaining about how poorly it breathes compared to his old regs. I asked him if I could take a look and immediately could tell it wasn't tuned properly - it wouldn't freeflow on max setting when purged and very hard to breathe off of. He then tried mine and was blown away at the difference. The difference is 5min of time to check/tune a reg before the customer leaves the shop with his new reg. It's a pretty minor adjustment that can make a big difference for the owner.


​

 

[mainedvr]

Couple questions:
1) Can you share what exactly "all new parts" entails - specifically what parts did they say had to replace?

The MK25 & A700 service kits include o-rings, seats, and so on. If they referred to those as the "all new parts" then it's a completely normal service.

I've had to replace the piston in MK25 first stages a couple times because it was nicked a tiny bit and caused the IP to creep. That can happen to brand new reg just as easily as one that is 10yrs old. If something like that happened, it's not anything to worry about. Just be glad the tech found the issue and replaced it. ​

2) What do you mean by "

we rinse it after every dive even if on a boat ​

while still charged with fresh water

and let it soak after the day of diving is done in warm water?"--

I service my ScubaPro MK17/A700 and my girlfriends MK11/S555 every year. I average 150-200 dives a year on that reg set, and she does maybe 50-60. I've never had to do anything more often than my annual service. To be honest they could easily go further, but I want to keep my parts warranty. I am not overly cautious with them, but I don't mistreat them either.


I know some people have reg sets that they bought new but were never tuned properly before the customer left the shop. One example was a guy I met at a dive site with the same MK17/A700 reg set I have complaining about how poorly it breathes compared to his old regs. I asked him if I could take a look and immediately could tell it wasn't tuned properly - it wouldn't freeflow on max setting when purged and very hard to breathe off of. He then tried mine and was blown away at the difference. The difference is 5min of time to check/tune a reg before the customer leaves the shop with his new reg. It's a pretty minor adjustment that can make a big difference for the owner.


​

What I mean by rinsing while still charged is when we return from a dive we use fresh clean water to rinse off the regs while they are still under pressure of the tank. Especially with salt water.

The parts were parts kits and I realize that is annual service, but it seems that after 25 dives the regs should not need much service. I guess I am just a bit disappointed with the cost of maintaining them versus what I have been told other regs tend to cost, as well as the short period of time.

Live and learn I suppose, I think the parts warrantee is good but if your not diving many dives a year may be more costly than its worth IMO.

Thanks

 

[RonFrank]

Your first mistake is assuming the regs needed service. They likely did not.

You can have the cracking pressure adjusted without servicing the reg. That is what should have been done.

I have my regs serviced every 100 dives rather than on some timeline.

 

[SCUBAPRO Harry]

maindvr, send me a private post with your name, location and the name of your LDS. I am also surprised that the reg needed servicing so soon.

 

[mainedvr]

The tech at the shop stated that they were just "in" spec, and asked me what I wanted to do. And as you said my mistake was assuming something, and I figured well I have the prefered parts card ( which I seem to miss understand as to mean it needed to be serviced every year to keep it) so what maybe $75 bucks x2 (wife and my set up) labor at 45$ an hour labor. When the bill was 3 hours labor (including the spg) I was very shocked?

I am going to talk to the LDS today and find out a bit more maybe they have something I am not aware of but for something to be an issue with both reg sets maybe but IMO not likely.

Your first mistake is assuming the regs needed service. They likely did not.

You can have the cracking pressure adjusted without servicing the reg. That is what should have been done.

I have my regs serviced every 100 dives rather than on some timeline.

---------- Post Merged at 01:56 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 01:44 PM ----------

ok so I spoke to the LDS and basically when we spoke before service was done the regs were just in spec. So thinking that this is life support I would rather it be in best working order it can be. I as RONFRANK pointed it did make an assumption which was my fault and never would have guessed it would be 45 bucks per stage as it was stated for labor. Anyhow, as I said live and learn. I love the regs they breath great just am still in shock I suppose.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[kevincasey]

We purchased our reg set last July, and have dove it around 25 times. When the dive shop tested it I was told it was just in spec. So what I get from that is it is with in tolerances (I am assuming reg specific tolerances) but close to being out.
...
What concerns me is this coming year well a year starting from now I am looking at hopefully 100+ dives am I going to need my gear tuned every few weeks?

If your gear was at the edge of spec, and knowing that you wanted to do a lot of diving in the next year, could it be that your dive shop suggested a full service to ensure that you have an excellent (and uninterrupted) diving experience? Also, what kind of diving do you do, and what kind of diving are you planning on doing?

Kevin

 

[eelnoraa]

A few thought.

$75 for labor servising a set of reg (1st + 2 2nd) is kind of norm. I doubt it take more than 1 hours to do it, but most shop I come across price by the set, not by the hour. To me, since labor cost dominate the reg service cost, the part for life warranty does NOT make sense if you only do 25 dives a year.

Then the annual service warranty thing, if you want to maintain your prefer part card, you need to do service annually regardless the number of dives per scubapro policy. It is not your reg needs service after 25 dives.

 

[mainedvr]

After my talk with the tech at the LDS I do feel a bit better ( still feel the lightness of my wallet ), as he explained to me and what I guess I already started to figure out after I posted, and what several of you have pointed out. The down side to the parts warrantee is to keep it you need to have the gear serviced on annual intervals, so I have to decide do I want to spend the money to keep the parts warrantee or if I do not dive more than 25 times a year have it serviced as needed like every other year. I definitly want my gear in the best working order it can be so where do I go to become a tech so I can work on my own gear .

Well I hope to dive enough that my gear will have a 100 dives or more a year on it, thanks for all the input.

 

[drbill]

While I've never used the Mk25 first stages, my many Mk10s are nearly bullet proof. I do not service them annually (no free parts for life if I did). I've only had one fail on me in all the years I've used them and it was an easy fix by the LDS' tech. In the past I've done as many as 300-350 dives in a year. Of course I don't recommend the same long service intervals to others. I only do so because I dive with backup.