Scubapro MK17 Evo 2 Brand new with Massive IP creep

[kdlv]

What an interesting day.
Just picked up delivery of my brand new MK17 Evo 2.
A friend of mine purchased one last month and I was pretty happy how much smaller and lighter it is compared to the MK17 Evo.

My MK17 Evo that is 1 year old and used since new for about 20 dives only has always been holding IP pretty well. I just had to adjust it once couple of weeks ago and drop the IP to about 135.

But then decided, hey... why not get the latest Evo 2.

Got it out of the box, hooked it to an IP gauge and witnessed the weirdest behavior of a first stage I have seen to date (and a brand new one).

Tank pressure: 150 bar, Initial IP 140-ish. Several cycles, always starts back at 140, but keeps creeping until it reaches 150, then rapid creep to 155 and it sort of slows down there. Haven't left it long enough to see where it stops completely. My adjustable 2nd stages tolerate well the 155psi IP, but still... this is not right.

Depressurized several times, cycled around 30-40 times, more or less the same.

First Q is rhetorical: what happened to SP's Quality Control.
2nd Q: Do I take it apart, reassemble and sacrifice a HP seat or start a customer complaint with the store I purchased it from and let them deal with it. Downside is that I bought it all the way from Italy and wanted to use it for a dive trip abroad next week, which is not happening probably.

 

[lexvil]

Still have you old 17 than your good for the trip just bring it too. I would hope the EVO settles down with more cycles but I would lodge the complaint with the seller now, go dive it and see if it settles down, switch it for old reliable if it doesn’t then return it and ask for a new one.

 

[BoltSnap]

2nd Q: Do I take it apart, reassemble and sacrifice a HP seat

I definitely wouldn't do that.

start a customer complaint with the store I purchased it from and let them deal with it.

This is EXACTLY what you should do NOW, don't wait! I am surprised that the store you bought it from didn't check everything before they shipped it to you. When I had my store, I checked everything on the brand new regulators my clients bought from me, including IP, cracking pressure, etc., before I handed them over to the client. I have a comprehensive checklist I used (my service technicians used) for this purpose. We kept the original on file at the store, and we gave a copy of it to the client when they took their new equipment home.

Still have you old 17 than your good for the trip just bring it too. I would hope the EVO settles down with more cycles but I would lodge the complaint with the seller now, go dive it and see if it settles down, switch it for old reliable if it doesn’t then return it and ask for a new one.

Excellent advice!!

 

[kdlv]

Raised the concern with the seller they will take it to Scubapro Customer Service and will come back to me once they have an update.

I decided to unscrew the environmental cap and see if slight adjustment under pressure may normalize this behavior. Adjusted to 135psi at 150bar and now after the creep it stays around 150psi with very slow creep so it is tolerable. Still not happy, but let's see if it seals well after some usage. I will take my trusted MK10 with me as a backup during the trip.

The trans-piston now has a metal cap and it was also rattling when not pressurized. There was a similar observation in another topic. I suspect the silicone cap was not installed under pressure during assembly. Also the Allen key size of the spring screw seems to be unusual size, I was able to find one in my tools cabinet though.

Installing the silicone cap under pressure eliminated the rattling. I am curious why it was installed unpressurized to start with. The MK17 Evo came with properly installed silicone cap from the factory.

 

[BoltSnap]

Raised the concern with the seller they will take it to Scubapro Customer Service and will come back to me once they have an update.

Did you ask them why they didn't check the regulator before they shipped it to you?

 

[kdlv]

Nope, but I did now and will update with their response

I would assume they ship directly what came in the box without further checking - the set is a std configuration box: C370 + MK17E2, and they rely on QC of the manufacturer. I also expected a bit more from Scubapro.

Also I am pretty sure large gear resellers like Decathlon don't check how Aqualung and Mares regulators they sell are setup. (I may be wrong).

 

[tridacna]

We never gave the customer a reg out of the box. Always set it up and tested IP and cracking, then adjusted as necessary. Hard to believe that any shop would do that to you. Pretty disappointing.

 

[BoltSnap]

I would assume they ship directly what came in the box without further checking - the set is a std configuration box: C370 + MK17E2, and they rely on QC of the manufacturer. I also expected a bit more from Scubapro.

Also I am pretty sure large gear resellers like Decathlon don't check how Aqualung and Mares regulators they sell are setup. (I may be wrong).

No, that's not how it should be at all. Everything should be checked, and each store should have a qualified technician to ensure proper execution of the work. Things happen, and things get out of whack randomly. The authorized dealer should be the last line of defense before this "life-support" equipment is handed over to the client. Blaming the manufacturer is just escaping responsibility. Handing over dive equipment in boxes without setting it up properly, checking its performance, and ensuring that it performs according to specifications is unprofessional and irresponsible. When you buy a bicycle from a professional bike shop, not a toy store, the bike is set up for you and adjusted before you take it home. Dive equipment is no different; it's even more necessary.

 

[kdlv]

@tridacna, @BoltSnap, in your experience selling brand new Scubapro regulators, did you experience a lot of poorly tuned, or any with serious IP creep out of the box? If this is a sensitive topic, please drop me a pm, I will not quote it anywhere. Just trying to calibrate my understanding.

I find it hard to believe that a reputable company like Scubapro will allow such a unit to pass quality checks and enter the reseller network, but it seems to be the case.

And I personally don't blame the store. I have 2 options: get it from the local reseller at 30+% markup or buy it online from a large volume reseller with a discount. The local reseller may or may not have checked it beforehand and may or may not honor my claim and I cannot blame them for that.

After all, the regulator is functioning, nothing broken, it breathes well... A regular user/diver without any knowledge, special tools, measuring instruments and/or (official) training will not be able to differentiate this unit from a perfectly tuned one with rock solid IP. Therefore I am left at the goodwill of the manufacturer or reseller to engage with the issue. None of the EU Customer Protection Acts will be applicable here.

This is about EU market however: one of the most (if not the most) reputable diving gear manufacturers, plenty of history, experience, own manufacturing facilities, standards to comply with (or exceed), and my sense of frustration with yet another company that is trying to boost sales with Instagram videos and not sticking with the quality of assembly process.

 

[Pearlman]

My MK19 Evo rattled out of he box too I guess from when it was brand new. I dived with it some 50 dives without issue. I only discovered the rattle when I did the training class to service my own gear last year and serviced it. Yeah pretty strange for it to pass QC from such a reputable manufacturer.