PICTURE HEAVY. New Diver that scored big on craigslist. Help ID. Scubapro.

[scubastingray]

Thanks for the responses guys. I checked out vintage double hose. They do have the manuals for both the 1st stages and the second stage. I am not sure about that octo I have, and am trying to decide if this is worth keeping as a second reg set, or if I should sell it. They had parts kits for the first stage (which definitely seems to be an mk5), but told me they didn't have anything for the Dacors and didn't seem interested in helping me figure out which other parts kits might work.

As a new diver....I wouldn't risk my life on antique reg and spg unless I was expert at rehabbing those items or was original owner...you can get new for reasonable costs. ESP as primary rig...solo diving ? Relatively new to diving ? You want dependable for your life support. If SPG fails that alone could kill you. Can't shade tree mechanic at 80 ft and low on air. Murphy is a diver. ESA ought to be last resort not a regular part of diving. By all means learn to fix old gear and maybe get into the antique Scuba sub culture if it turns you on but at 0 to 24 dives don't use ancient gear except in swimming pool.

When did i say I wanted to do solo diving? did you read that I'm doing shallow dives to begin with?
Should I appease the scuba marketplace and drop a few grand on all new gear?

Just because something is older doesn't inherently make it worse. There's also sort of a sensationalist "YOUR GEAR WILL KILL YOU" mentality that I can't understand. I've been told Regs are designed to give too much air when they break, not the other way around.

Thanks for stopping by :wavey:

 

[tracydr]

When I started diving, I purchased gear that was probably 15 years old and slowly replaced it as it wore out. The MK 5 is a great reg. Some people just have to buy new.

 

[rhwestfall]

Don't give up on that second.... It is very generic. Mares aquired Dacor before closing them, and much of the older stuff is still possible through the generic parts....

See if Herman (or others) might be able to lead you the right way....

P.S.- when I started, my "new" regs were already 20 years old...... still have them now (add 25 years more), and they are still working as good or better than a lot of regs out there...

 

[herman]

The lp seats in the Dacors are the generic ones that fit darn near every second stage of that type...the ones VDH has for all of the 2 stage double hoses and USD Conshelfs will do nicely. The exhaust valve is simple....measure it's diameter and order that size, VDH has a fairly good selection.. The only real PITA is they are listed in mm's so you need to measure them in metric. Odds are the diaphragm is fine, those regs are young enough that they are silicone. If you need one, they show up on ebay fairly often.

 

[milbournosphere]

The Luxfer tank should be fine if it passes hydro with the extra eddy current test. If it passes the test it should be perfectly dive-able; remember that any load cracks form slowly and should be caught if the tank is inspected regularly. I dive a Luxfer bottle made in 87. It's had regular hydros and yearly VIPs. It looks like yours has a birthday from 1992? It looks like it's been taken care of.

 

[herman]

The Luxfer tank should be fine if it passes hydro with the extra eddy current test. If it passes the test it should be perfectly dive-able; remember that any load cracks form slowly and should be caught if the tank is inspected regularly. I dive a Luxfer bottle made in 87. It's had regular hydros and yearly VIPs. It looks like yours has a birthday from 1992? It looks like it's been taken care of.

While you are absolutely correct, fact is most shops in Fla refuse to fill pre 90 aluminum tanks and don't care if they are in hydro and vip or not. The 92 date is a second (or 3rd) hydro, you can see but not read the original hydro on lower on the tank- where Luxfer always puts them. Since he lives in Fla, odds are very high no shop around him will fill them which makes them worthless for scuba. If no one will fill them, they are either scrap or you have to have your own compressor.

 

[milbournosphere]

If SPG fails that alone could kill you.

A bad gauge is merely a reason to end the dive; I've had it happen to me before.

In the "best" case, the gauge floods, the needle freezes, and you turn around/begin deco. If you've been watching your gauge and have been watching your air consumption per proper training, you'll be fine.

In the worst case, if the HP line were to rupture or the connection to the SPG were to fail in some way, it's possible (albiet with complete access to the reg a la sidemount. Here's a video of somebody doing just that: Burst High Pressure Hose - YouTube) to just feather the reg and complete your deco, or get air from your buddy's octopus. They leak very slowly; the 3000psi is moving in an incredibly small diameter hole. A burst low pressure hose, now those you have to worry about. Those can vent an entire AL80's worth of gas in a little over 45 seconds or so.

 

[scubastingray]

While you are absolutely correct, fact is most shops in Fla refuse to fill pre 90 aluminum tanks and don't care if they are in hydro and vip or not. The 92 date is a second (or 3rd) hydro, you can see but not read the original hydro on lower on the tank- where Luxfer always puts them. Since he lives in Fla, odds are very high no shop around him will fill them which makes them worthless for scuba. If no one will fill them, they are either scrap or you have to have your own compressor.

Yep, the tank is an 83. I wasn't planning on getting a tank anyway, so I'll scrap it for its weight.

Thanks for the suggestions on the regs. I guess I'll have to see what type of sales are run over black friday, and see if the cost of parts & energy of service are worth it.

 

[diversteve]

They leak very slowly; the 3000psi is moving in an incredibly small diameter hole. A burst low pressure hose, now those you have to worry about. Those can vent an entire AL80's worth of gas in a little over 45 seconds or so.

Here's a little video Scubatoys did showing what happens when they deliberately cut both a HP and LP hose in 1/2 in their pool. Starting with a full tank, it took 35mins. to drain on the HP side, and 2 mins. on the LP side. Their test employee was breathing on it the whole time. Cutting a Divers Hose

If you wanted to replace the hose, they're less than $30. https://www.divegearexpress.com/regulators/hoses_rubber.shtml

---------- Post added November 1st, 2013 at 09:47 PM ----------

I'd suggest watching our classifieds for reg deals also. Most people who post there are divers who've taken care of their gear. The exception being that occasionally someone posts there about gear they've inherited but they're usually not divers.

Although some of us have an inflated idea of what our used gear is worth.

I'm not a fan of Craigslist or eBay as the origin/maintenance on a lot of that gear is unknown or suspect.

 

[lamarpaulski]

+
A recent prominent death on this very SB listed an inaccurate SPG as a possible contributing factor to a dive fatality...I know all it does is gauge the pressure and wont even drain your tank very fast but thinking you have more air than you do can kill you imho.