Neighbor Gave Me a BC and Reg, LDS Says Toss 'Em

[Joris Vd]

I can’t be positive that first second-stage I tried was a 109, but it sure breathed easy. I like the “idea” of using vintage equipment, and I already have this. I hear nothing but praise about SP and their parts/service life. After reading these replies, I’m leaning more towards the option of offloading the Mk1 and getting a Mk5 or Mk10. With the parts availability, it seems like an interesting project.

It always saddens me that dive shops would call 109's old trash, but still be willing to sell you a r195, which is basically a 108 ( a less sophisticated reg) in plastic with a venturi ... It says more about the dive shop owner's knowledge of regulators than anything else. It is true that modern regulators have bigger exhaust valves, which is nice for exhalation resistance, but I've yet to meet a person who had 'issues' with the exhalation resistance of any 108,109 or balanced adjustable.

The 109 has been officially paired with the mk10 in the past, that's why I'd suggest getting that one, to increase the chances a dive shop would be willing to service it. The mk10 is also the oldest regulator that's still officially supported by Scubapro if I remember correctly, so parts and kits will be on hand.

 

[rhwestfall]

@Rico R. : For Sale - Scubapro Mk10 with 3000 PSI yoke first stage in beautiful condition!

This would go fantastic with your 109 (maybe upgraded to a 156).

 

[Rico R.]

Oh, that looks great! I think right now I've settled on a Mk5 from another board member, but it sounds like having more than one setup isn't uncommon. I do like what Joris Vd said, about the Mk10 still being officially supported and paired with the 109.

What qualifies as upgrading to a 156? I was looking on VDH, I see the balanced adjustable kit and the dura poppet, I bought the latter at VDH's recommendation. Are either of these considered part of that upgrade?

 

[rhwestfall]

Your purchase is an "update" vs. an "upgrade".

The conversion to a 156 (balanced second stage) is a new "s-wing" poppet, spring and balance chamber. The s-wing is completely different.

There is nothing wrong with the update you have bought parts for. The duro poppet is just a non-balanced second stage.

To make it a 156, It would basically be this:

Scubapro G250V G260 Service Kit With Poppet For Second Stage （Update Version) 4048336096959 | eBay

and this:

Store | Vintage Double Hose

With a couple parts left over and the possibility of a lever change.....

 

[rhwestfall]

For your learning:

Dropbox - Scubapro poppet changes.pdf - Simplify your life

 

[emoreira]

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The power inflator looks to be missing it's sleeve. Is this replaceable?

The BCD seems to be an early version of the I3. Those BCDs do not have an inflator of the common type, but a valve in the left pocket. It works in a different way than a normal inflator.

 

[Rico R.]

For your learning:

Dropbox - Scubapro poppet changes.pdf - Simplify your life

Oh this is perfect, thank you for it! Wonderfully organized.

Those BCDs do not have an inflator of the common type, but a valve in the left pocket. It works in a different way than a normal inflator.

Interesting, I’ll have to keep that in mind when getting a new inflator hose. I should have asked more questions when we tested it. I do recall the inflator hose slipping on, then a small lever that would go up or down to inflate/deflate. Is this a universal basic function or could indicate the type of inflator?

 

[halocline]

I would probably upgrade the 109 to the balanced poppet; I think it will hold a tune a little better. But it will work fine with duro poppet and the old heavy spring. One advantage of leaving it unbalanced is that you can stamp your own seats out of EPDM, buy some bulk o-rings, and have lifetime rebuild kits for under $10. And that's if you live a very long life!

Oh yeah, you might want to take the LDS's response as confirmation that they don't know very much about regulators.

 

[Zef]

I don't think the dive shop is totally off base. The amount of money the OP will spend on parts and labor to overhaul that reg set will be at least one third to half way in cost to basic new reg set. If parts are not readily available the shop will need to spend time finding the parts to maintain it and that time equates to a cost that may make it uneconomical to have a shop do the work. Explaining all that in detail takes time and can sometimes result in a back and forth with the client that just chews up time for the shop.

The same for the BCD....replacement weight pockets could probably be found if one looks long enough for them on ebay but the likelihood of the shop being able to obtain replacements is fairly nil....the fact that the BCD holds air is good but it does not fit properly. The shop is most likely not advising what will or won't work at the bottom of a backyard pool but looking at things from a safety and comfort standpoint for open water diving.

I don't see this as a money grab so much from the shop but instead as economical cost (money and time) recommendation for the OP.

Of course the BCD may be usable, and the reg set rebuildable as some here have a hobby of doing that kind of work. There are plenty of divers who are into fixing and using vintage equipment...but those folks tend to have a good deal of background knowledge, know what to look for, what questions to ask, how to troubleshoot, etc. For someone new to diving, there is a steep learning curve to overcome if one is going to buy used vintage gear and work on it oneself and safely use right out of the gate. Not saying it can't be done, just not the most recommended thing for a new diver to do.

-Z

 

[SlugLife]

Your purchase is an "update" vs. an "upgrade".

The conversion to a 156 (balanced second stage) is a new "s-wing" poppet, spring and balance chamber. The s-wing is completely different.

There is nothing wrong with the update you have bought parts for. The duro poppet is just a non-balanced second stage.

To make it a 156, It would basically be this:

Scubapro G250V G260 Service Kit With Poppet For Second Stage （Update Version) 4048336096959 | eBay

and this:

Store | Vintage Double Hose

With a couple parts left over and the possibility of a lever change.....

Would you happen to know if I can use those exact parts to upgrade a G200? to a G250 equivalent? The insides of my G200 and G250 looked awfully similar (other than the poppet) when I disassembled them completely.