ScubaPro MK2 Plus/390
- Thread starter reiskash
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
JKSteger
D/M Wannabee ! ! !
I dove with a MK2 / R190. Pretty good regulator. I never had a complaint. That being said, when my tank dipped below say 500-400psi I could tell that there was a increased effort in breathing. Nothing that every bothered me or irritated me, as a matter of fact it was almost like a backup indicator that I needed to turn the dive as I was low on air.
Funny story. I got so used to this little "indicator", that when I purchased my current MK20 I was trying it out in the pool and wanted to see what the MK20 felt like when the pressure fell low in the tank. One breath was full, just like I had a fresh fill, the next breath lasted about 1/10th of a second! The tank was empty!
Even though I have both a MK20 and a MK2, I still dive several dives a year using my MK2. Especially if it is a cold water dive.
Jeremy
Funny story. I got so used to this little "indicator", that when I purchased my current MK20 I was trying it out in the pool and wanted to see what the MK20 felt like when the pressure fell low in the tank. One breath was full, just like I had a fresh fill, the next breath lasted about 1/10th of a second! The tank was empty!
Even though I have both a MK20 and a MK2, I still dive several dives a year using my MK2. Especially if it is a cold water dive.
Jeremy
As Jeremy indicates the most noteable trait will be the early warning of low tank pressure. With an unbalanced reg like the Mk 2, the inhalation effort will increase slightly at low tank pressures.
When I started diving I used the very similar Mk 3 and at the time many of us dove without SPG's and relied on the increase in effort to advise us it was time to head up. It sounds bad by today's standards but it was more reliable than a J-valve, which could be inadvertantly tripped during the dive.
In terms of air delivery the Mk 2 has a flow rate of about 90 SCFM, although that also falls off a bit at lower tank pressures. It is enough air flow for diving within recreational limits (to 130') on air or nitrox. I also know a couple cave divers who use the Mk 2 at much deeper depths on helium mixes, which flow through the reg much easier than air.
The R190, R290, R380, R390 and R295 all share the same basic downstream poppet poppet design and just differ in case dimensions and features like flow vanes, anti-set switches, etc. They all deliver the same basic performance and all of them can be tuned for better performance than they usually come with out of the box thanks to EU freeflow standards that result in a general detuning of the regulator.
Many divers like the Mk 2 R190/R290R390 combinations while others like the increased performance, smoother gas flow and slightly lower inhalation effort offerred by a balanced first stage design such as the Mk 17 or Mk 25 when paired with a balanced second stage like the G250HP, S550, S600 or X650.
For most divers it comes down to personal taste, what they have dove with before and how easy breathing a regulator they prefer. I have found some customers just prefer a slightly harder breathing regulator and they will prefer a Mk 2 to just about anything else.
One advantage with the Mk 2 is that it is incredibly simple and is as bullet proof as a first stage design can get. If I were stuck on a deserted island with unlimited compressed air but only one regulator and no spare parts, I'd want that reg to be Mk 2.
When I started diving I used the very similar Mk 3 and at the time many of us dove without SPG's and relied on the increase in effort to advise us it was time to head up. It sounds bad by today's standards but it was more reliable than a J-valve, which could be inadvertantly tripped during the dive.
In terms of air delivery the Mk 2 has a flow rate of about 90 SCFM, although that also falls off a bit at lower tank pressures. It is enough air flow for diving within recreational limits (to 130') on air or nitrox. I also know a couple cave divers who use the Mk 2 at much deeper depths on helium mixes, which flow through the reg much easier than air.
The R190, R290, R380, R390 and R295 all share the same basic downstream poppet poppet design and just differ in case dimensions and features like flow vanes, anti-set switches, etc. They all deliver the same basic performance and all of them can be tuned for better performance than they usually come with out of the box thanks to EU freeflow standards that result in a general detuning of the regulator.
Many divers like the Mk 2 R190/R290R390 combinations while others like the increased performance, smoother gas flow and slightly lower inhalation effort offerred by a balanced first stage design such as the Mk 17 or Mk 25 when paired with a balanced second stage like the G250HP, S550, S600 or X650.
For most divers it comes down to personal taste, what they have dove with before and how easy breathing a regulator they prefer. I have found some customers just prefer a slightly harder breathing regulator and they will prefer a Mk 2 to just about anything else.
One advantage with the Mk 2 is that it is incredibly simple and is as bullet proof as a first stage design can get. If I were stuck on a deserted island with unlimited compressed air but only one regulator and no spare parts, I'd want that reg to be Mk 2.
halocline
Contributor
I think it's a great first reg; you can dive with it as long as you want, then at some point if you want a higher performance reg you can keep the MK2 as an extremely reliable back up, or if you ever go nuts and get into deco diving, it makes an excellent stage bottle reg.
reiskash:
We use them as our rental regulator. They're excellent!!! Very reliable and durable. They're easy to work on, and they have an excellent warrantee.
Similar threads
