I have this R109 in very good to excellent conditions, the chrome is still intact, no dings, no nicks, just some fine scratches.
It was serviced in Nov. 2000 by a store in LA, and has been sitting in my nephew's closet until last year when I liberated it.
I was EXTREMELY disappointed the 1st time I dove it: this thing is a DOG! It breathes about as horrible as the AL LPO (Low Performance Octopus). Back to the closet it went, my closet this time.
I pulled it out last week, adjusted the orifice best I could, and put it through the manometer: 42mm/1.65" of water. We're getting somewhere, but we're not there yet: all of our G250's are in the 25mm/1" of water range.
Time to open it up: everything's shiny like new inside, but the seat is deeply marked. And so for the kick of it, I introduce a lot of variables to void any attempt at scientific before/after comparison and/or repeatability:
- A single o-ring older balanced poppet
- A slightly oversized o-ring: 2.5x1mm instead of 2.2x1mm
- A Trident after market seat
Now the manometer reads 22mm/.87" of water, about on par with the rest of our corral.
On land, the thing breathes quite pleasantly, real smooth, but without the "kickdown" effect of the G250's venturi.
I've got some questions:
- The lever seems to engage the poppet correctly, but it sticks out about 1/2", like awap reported before
- When I put the cover on I have to adjust the ortifice quite a bit more to stop the freeflow, maybe half a turn or so
Does it matter?