Question about servicing - Scubapro 1st & 2nd Stage MK16/S550 - Octopus R380

[hawksbillturtle]

I have owned Scubapro regulators 1st & 2nd Stage MK16/S550 - Octopus R380 for ~10 years and have been very happy with them, no problems so far.

They were last serviced 2 years, 3 trips, and approx 60 dives ago.

My question is: Could the new service be due, how often do they need to be serviced?

 

[herman]

This is one of those often debated questions and there is no one good answer IMO. What I would do is inspect your regs based on the suggestions in this thread http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/regulators/346813-regulator-inspection-checklist-rev-7-a.html and then make up your own mind. Personally, I check mine often and service when it needs it or every 4-5 years which ever comes first....and most of the time it's the 4-5 years. To do the inspections properly you need an IP gauge. These can be home made or there are inexpensive ones that just clip on to your BC hose for quick checks. The $17 one works great as a quick check and is perfect for a take along dive tool kit. IP Gauge Checkers

Welcome to the board.

 

[Zung]

+1
If they were my regs, I'd do what Herman says.

But f you REALLY want to play it safe, you'd want to do it:

• Every 100 dives: this deals with the wear on the soft parts inside
• Every 3 years: if you dive only occasionally, this'll prevent the lubricant inside from drying up, especially the oxy-safe variaty.

With the recommandations above, you get a safety margin of better than 50%.

 

[hawksbillturtle]

Thank you guys for the suggestions.

I have been a veteran follower of Scubaboard over the years but had not contributed much so far. There's so much useful info and a lot of fun in these forums...

 

[DA Aquamaster]

In terms of free parts support, annual service is required and while you used to be able to rehab that program if you exceeded the annual service period, by payong for parts that year to qualify for that program next year, the window on that is closing. If you can still establish youare the original owner and bought it from a dealer, you may want to take it in this year, and dealer permitting, get it entered into the new computer tracking system now as SP is only allowing a 2 year grace period to get old regs in.

----

Otherwise 2 years and 60 dives is enough and an annual service isprobably a good idea. this is especially true if your MK 16 has not yet been updated with the more reliable and better performing MK 17 internal parts (seat and orifice). It should have been done two years ago, but many dealers still had the old MK 16 annu service kits on hand and may not have installed an update kit. Better to get it now for basically no extra charge than pay more later once the "update" is no longer part of the standard service kit.

 

[halocline]

I didn't know that the s550 was around 10 years ago. Maybe only in Europe?

Anyhow, it's up to you. One thing about being in the UK is that I believe you are legally entitled to purchase parts yourself, is that correct? That does make you less dependent on the dealer for service, which IMO is a good thing. If it were my reg and parts were easily available at a decent price, I wouldn't worry about the free parts warranty. It sounds like with your diving habits (60 dives in 2 years) annual service might be more expensive even without the parts cost than occasional servicing by an independent (but competent) service tech who has access to the same parts as SP dealers. Of course the appropriate interval between servicing is largely dependent on two factors: 1) how well you care for the reg, most importantly thorough cleaning after salt water dives, and 2) how well was the service done. I have a friend with a MK25/D400 that he bought from our resident SP expert; that reg was still performing flawlessly several years and about 150 dives down the road. At one point I thought about servicing it for him; but on inspection it looked and acted like a brand new reg. Conversely, I saw a MK20/G250 that looked horrible and leaked like a sieve after one season because it was not rinsed well after saltwater dives and probably had not been cleaned all that well at the prior service.

The upgrade to the MK17 internals is an excellent idea, if your reg has not already had it.

 

[hawksbillturtle]

Thanks for the info
You're right, I checked my records and I had bought MK16/S550 in 02/2003, so 8.5 years ago...
I also found an old service receipt from 05/2008 and it says it was serviced with "Repair/Updating kit MK16/MK18", does that mean it has been updated with MK18 parts??
Last time I had it serviced I paid for the labour and parts. Unfortunately there are not many authorised SP dealers/service centres around where I live.
One note about regulator care, especially rinsing with fresh water: I tend to go for liveaboard trips, and we have to leave our kit on the dive boat rather than taking them off after each dive to rinse. It must be putting some extra stress on the kits.

 

[halocline]

The update kit applied to the MK16 and 18, which are the same regulator except for the movable turret on the MK18. I strongly suspect that your regulator has been updated. If you think you might have let yours dry with salt water on it, I'd get it serviced and in the future make sure to rinse it thoroughly. On liveaboards there is typically a rinse tank where you can dump your reg between dives, or at the very least dunk it for a few minutes. Make sure it gets a good soak at night.