Scubapro D300/D350/D400

[tzeyap]

I have a SP D300 and D350; both of which I like very much. I took my regs to the Scubapro dealer for service and found out that the regular tech who used to service my stuff has left.

I was then told that I ought to upgrade my regs tp D400 at a cost of about $100 a piece. I hesiteated becos the guy I know is no longer there. I finally tracked him down and told him about my regs. He told me that there is hardly any difference between those 2nd's and that I would do better upgrading my 1st. stage .

I never liked the SP dealer ( they are the only one within 300 miles !~) as I always felt that they held the customers on ransome and tend to trust the tech guy more. can anyone enlighten me on this ?

 

[dbg40]

I have all 3, and my favorite is the 300. I can tune it better than the others, although the diference is small. I would NOT install any non original parts to any of them as they have a good following now, and only likely to get better. The D300 is almost a
"vintage" reg at this point, and I believe will only gain in price if kept in good condition.
I have never "up graded" past my 300-400 regs as I have never found another reg able to out breath it. Take care of it, and be happy you have a top of the line breather. Parts are still made for them thanks to SP designing a product that will last as long as you want it to. Try looking on the SP site for a dealer near you, and get away from the one you are using now. I dont dont like SP because I own it, I own it because it works like a dog for me.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I am normally a big fan of SP ugrade opportunities, but in this case it does not make a lot of sense.

D300's already breathe very well and given that they use the same poppet and can use the same diaphragm as the D350 and D400, annual servicing will not be a problem.

All D300's and early production D350's use a different case than late production D350's and all D400's. So if you ever crack the case on your D300/older D350 you will end up with a new case (as the old ones are no longer made) and will also need a new cap for the new case assembly. At that point, upgrading to D400 status may make sense.

Other than the case, the difference between the D300 and D350 comes down to the use of a slightly longer lever in the D350 and a different dive/pre-dive switch. The longer lever does allow a little more mechanical advantage but it is not something that is noticeable in the water and the dive/predive lever is cosmetic.

The D400 differs from the late production D350 in having a lever made from thicker diameter wire and consequently requires a larger lever linkage on the diaphragm (included with any new diaphragm). It also requires a new poppet housing, which is the most expensive part of the upgrade (at a dealer cost of about $45.00) and a new set screw (which comes in the annual service kit anyway).

One downside if upgrading from a D300 or D350 to aa D400 is that the new D400 housing will use a replaceable plastic orifice rather than a integral brass orifice. This is nice if you ever have to replace the orifice as it is much cheaper than a whole new housing, but the plastic orifice is not as sharp as it's brass predecessor and it makes the reg harder to fine tune.

Sp no longer stocks D300/D350 parts, so if you break something, you will most likely end up having to upgrade. But otherwise I would not consider upgrading a D300 or D350 unless I was forced to due to parts availability.

 

[tzeyap]

DA,

Thanks for the really incredible input !!! I don't think it would have been possible to get a more illuminating and definitive response.

I love the SP products but somehow have always been not too happy with the
sp dealer. They refused to supply the service kits to their former employee (now my friend) despite knowing full well that he is very competent. He now engaged by other reg brands to conduct reg maintenance courses.

does anyone know of a reasonable source of supply for these parts ?

 

[dbg40]

I contacted SP directly, and was told that they do still supply parts, not only for tne 300,s, (not the case ) But also for my old MK VII. I was told by a rep that if the dealer is unwilling to order the parts to send the piece directly to them for service.

 

[dbg40]

I will say this though, DAaquamaster sure knows his way around SP stuff! Why don't you come over here and open ashop where I can bring my gear for an honest to god tune-up. Im tired or getting it back only to have to crack it and re- tune to my liking!

 

[tzeyap]

the shipping costs would rule that option out for me. guess that info would be useful and open up an option for someone in the US.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I contacted SP directly, and was told that they do still supply parts, not only for tne 300,s, (not the case ) But also for my old MK VII. I was told by a rep that if the dealer is unwilling to order the parts to send the piece directly to them for service.

Yes, with the exception of the case and the cap, the D300 uses current D400 parts as the larger D400 lever linkage, etc will work in them.

 

[craydive]

Hi,
I know this thread is old but I want to discuss the D series second stages, and it is best to keep everything together. Just my ocd side of things I guess.

I have been reading about servicing the D400 reg and there is talk of a Magnehelic gauge being used for the setting of the cracking pressure. I see there are a number of manufacturers of these gauges on the net, and I was wondering what your thoughts are on them. I have found a North gauge and Manometer gauge, both digital. There is also a Dwyer Magnehelic analog gauge coming up in searches. Are the digital jobbies ok to use?

Are there other ways of measuring the cracking pressure that is convenient.

Also, is the interface plug on the magnehelic gauge specific to scubapro or is there a universal one?

cheers
stevet

 

[buddhasummer]

The gauge is used to measure not set but that's probably what you meant.

You can make a simple manometer using a board, ruler and some tubing, I'm sure there are vids on YouTube.

You can also use the sink of water method, placing the reg mouth piece up and seeing, by measuring depth before it cracks.

Personally I use a Dwyer 0-3" inhalation only model as I cannot alter exhalation didn't feel it necessary. You can buy them from ScubaTools but I'm sure you can find cheaper elsewhere. Good luck.

If I were to buy one again I'd choose one with a smaller range as it's easier to get a more "precise" reading but in reality it doesn't matter much as it's not measured with pinpoint accuracy anyway.