Scuba Pro R 108 and R 109's

[mksmith713]

I remember both my OW and AOW instructor on both trips to Roatan using a R109 with a MkV.
If it's good enough for him to do upwards of 1000 dives a year, it's probably a pretty good setup.

 

[Couv]

Pray for him. Pray that he sees the light and uses those dangerous objects as door stops or paper weights.....never let him buy another. (unless it's one of mine, they are the only safe ones.)

c

 

[halocline]

I remember both my OW and AOW instructor on both trips to Roatan using a R109 with a MkV.
If it's good enough for him to do upwards of 1000 dives a year, it's probably a pretty good setup.

If you took your classes at coconut tree, I was probably the one responsible for that. When I showed up to do my DM there, I was crafty and pawned off 109s to two instructors who weren't smart enough to use new and improved regs. Suckers!

 

[Couv]

Matt,

Before you give another one of those bombs away...better make sure I have had a chance to check it out.

c

 

[halocline]

Actually, I think you gave one those to me.

 

[mksmith713]

So those 109's the guys at CTD are currently using aren't as good as the Dive Rites they switched from?
Hmmmmm, I wonder why they don't switch back if the 109's are such a horrible reg?

 

[Couv]

I guess they just have not figured out that for regulators, plastic is much better than metal. Looks better, less cotton mouth, last longer, better for cold water and as our fellow suspect AWAP likes to point out the only disadvantage to plastic is you can not drive nails with it.

I am looking forward to the day when first stages are also made out of plastic.

MKS....I hope you have figured out that Matt, AWAP, DA, Luis and a few others including me are really big fans of the 109/BA metal SP....just a bit of tongue in cheek going on in this thread. If you have a 109 hang on to it. The 108 is a pretty nice second stage too.

c

 

[mksmith713]

The main reason I'm so turned on to these regs is that they'll last forever with parts readily available.
I'm diving Seac Sub Sorius Nitrox regs currently and have no idea where I'll find parts when it comes time for a rebuild.

Another question.
If these regs are in good condition as they are right now and can be dived without any problems, why would I upgrade to a R156 or 200 balanced?
Is there any reason why I shouldn't keep them as they are?
What about the R108?
Is there anything special about this reg that I should know about?

Thanks all for the wonderful info.

 

[Couv]

The balanced regs breath just a little bit smoother because the spring pressure is lighter after the initial cracking pressure has been overcome. Additionally, because it has a lighter spring, you will see a little less engraving of the lp seat. One plus that you can no longer count was, that you could just change out the lp seat on the BA and not on the unbalanced adjustable; but now there is a new poppet for the unbalanced adjustable and a simple hockey puck seat fits right into it.

There is no reason that you MUST convert the 109 to a balanced, in fact AWAP might argue the point otherwise, so it is no big deal. I suggest you get the parts to convert 1 of them and see how you feel about it.

The 108 is a classic downstream design, very dependable and probably takes the same soft seat as the 109.

c

 

[Shunorlax]

I also use a MK5 R109 setup and the only difference I see compared to the newer scubapro's is the weight of it. Other than it being pretty heavy, it breaths as great at new ones. I love it!