old regulator

[CrawfishDiver]

I have an old scuba pro from back in the 80's I think it was a top of the line in its day. it has a low air weezing goose sound if you get low on air. I had it misadjusted so it was weezing at class for advanced diver SSI. My LDS is trying to get me to buy a new fancy one with them but I just dont have the money. Would it be better to buy a cheaper new one than keep an old one that is regularly serviced?

 

[DA Aquamaster]

It sounds like a Scubapro Mk 7.

It is an old reg but none the less offers decent performance, although problems with the honking side of the reg are hard to resolve as parts are no longer made for it. The business end of the reg is a Mk 5 and annual service parts are still made for it.

The downsides of a Mk 7's are the lack of a suitable number of low pressure ports and the fact that it weighs a ton.

I'm not sure what second stage you have on it but it is mostly likley an Adjustable, Balanced Adjustable, Air 1, D300 or D350. All but the Air 1 are still supported by Scubapro and all of them would breathe as good as or better than just about any second stage you could buy now.

The octo used most often on them was the 080 "High Performance" unless the original owner spent big bucks and put on an octo that was the same as the primary. HP's are still supported and use R190 annual service kits.

If it were mine and had an Adjustable, Balanced Adjustable, D300 or D350 second stage, I'd just buy a new Mk 17 first stage and continue using the old second stage and octo.

If you have an "Adjustable" second stage, you can inexpensively upgrade it to the "Balanced Adjustable". The upgrade requires a new spring and balance chamber in addition to the normal G260/S600 annual service kit. The extra parts needed cost less than $5.00. If you upgrade it, it will give performance equal to the S600, just without the adjustable flow vane that no one adjusts anyway.

D300's and D350's can also be upgraded to D400's but it is not worth the cost asall three models already breathe exceptionally and equally well.

 

[redacted]

I have an old scuba pro from back in the 80's I think it was a top of the line in its day. it has a low air weezing goose sound if you get low on air. I had it misadjusted so it was weezing at class for advanced diver SSI. My LDS is trying to get me to buy a new fancy one with them but I just dont have the money. Would it be better to buy a cheaper new one than keep an old one that is regularly serviced?

I picked up a Mk 7 "Honker" as a novelty but like to use it as the extra weight helps my legs heavy trim problem. As long as it has the heavy yoke, it is perfectly usable. Mine goes to honking at 400 to 450 psi and basically scares the hell out of everyone around. It is not supposed to be adjustable but I believe you could raise it a bit by adding more SS washers on the HP sensor but I would not advise it. The honking mechanism can be a little finicky. If your SAC is really low, it might not honk at all. After studying the honker mechanism, I got to thinking that if HP gets low enough that LP gas delivery to the primary 2nd might be cut off. So I took it way down in the pool a couple weeks ago and, sure enouigh, when it quits honking it stops delivering enough air. But you can switch to the alternate 2nd and it will be fine. If you are diving with a buddy, make sure he/she understands what happens when the music stops.

 

[CrawfishDiver]

wow thanks for the information. my second stage is adjustable a feature I have enjoyed so far. I sent it to the shop because of non stop honking but it sounds like I will be getting it back. thanks for the info

 

[redacted]

Sounds like the plunger that is pushed forward by the HP gas has stuck in the "in" position. While the gas supply is > 500 psi, it sticks out and holds the oscilator out of play. A good indication that it needed a servicing. This is a drawing of the oscilator chamber that I made to help me understand how it worked. I'm not sure it is uploading.

It didn't. Sorry.