SCUBAPRO MK5 + 109 (BRAND NEW)

[elZub]

Hello Folks,

A friend founds in grand parents house an original box with Warranty, manual and a complete scubapro set first and second stage, never used.
HIs grandpa was a scuba diver passed away last year.
my friend knew I am a scuba diver and asked me about this box, if he could sell or throw away.


I'm here to ask to you the value of this set never used because my friend is willing to sell as collection.

at the same time I'm thinking to buy this set from my friend and use it underwater.
what do you think about my idea? do i need a service first?



thank you.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

That one great reg! I still use mine. As to overhauling it, I personally overhaul any reg that has been sitting over 10 years, even if new-in-box. Also, depending on the year, you may have to upgrade the duro-poppet in the 2nd stage. You'll know when you get it apart. As to value, you might get $150 for NIB, maybe more. It's really whatever someone is willing to pay. My 2psi. Good luck.

 

[halocline]

The value of the 1st stage is going to depend on the generation of MK5 your friend has. If it has 5 LP ports and a heavy yoke, it is worth something, if it has 2 LP ports and a light yoke, it doesn't have much value. The 2nd stage should have pretty decent value as long as the rubber parts (purge cover, exhaust cover) are in good shape. Even if they are rotted, you can get replacements.

I use late generation MK5s and converted 109s for cave diving, so I certainly think they are worth diving with. In fact, I like the 109s more than just about any other 2nd stage. There are some issues with updating them; occasionally I find that the older levers don't match well with the current poppets. So you might need a new lever. What you will really need is someone to work on it that understands and appreciates these older 2nd stages. I once bought 4 of them from a local dive shop; they were sitting in a bucket waiting to be thrown out, and they were mostly in excellent shape. The sales staff there had simply told customers who brought them in to get new regulators. Sad, but not uncommon. I paid $20 each, and I'm sure the shop thought they got the better end of the deal.

I don't know if there's any real collectors value; maybe some. I guess some people might pay a few hundred for something like this, but since there are so many around in good diving condition, it's tough to know. If you can find out about the LP ports and yoke on the 1st stage that would be helpful.

 

[elZub]

First…thank you all.

I add few pics.
could you help me with the identification of the model and year?

can I find out with the serial number on the 2nd stage?

 

[elZub]

It's beautiful, the best part is when you disassemble it..you feel amazed in front all this shiny metal.

The value of the 1st stage is going to depend on the generation of MK5 your friend has. If it has 5 LP ports and a heavy yoke, it is worth something,

This first stage has 4lp 1hp
What do you think?

you may have to upgrade the duro-poppet in the 2nd stage. You'll know when you get it apart.

Yes it has the old duro poppet.
Can I use with the old one if I just try in a dive?
Could tell why it has to be changed?

Thank you.

 

[rhwestfall]

It doesn't have to be changed, it will just be an unbalanced second stage. With a balanced first stage feeding it constant ip, the performance will be stable. It still would likely need a "modern" duro-poppet body.

I would still service it as o-rings and soft seats are potentially impacted by age (brittle o-rings and indented seat).

 

[agilis]

I have a new unused unupdated 109 in my parts box. It's been there since the 80s. I had a late Mk 5 first stage nearly unused, but I fitted my rare unused Mk 5 DIN converter to it when I took it apart to replace ancient soft parts. I attached another unused but completely updated 109 to it, and I now use this gorgeous classic combo on occasion for shallow inlet dives. I'm confident it would be fine in almost any application. Mostly I like to look at it, admire it, and remember how it was back in the 70s when it and I were state of the art. I may no longer be, but I can't find anything to fault in the MkV/109 combination. It is not as amazing as the D400/Mk19 setup I use for more serious diving and on trips, but then nothing I know of is.

 

[halocline]

Your first stage is certainly use-able, but you should check the yoke to see if there's a pressure rating stamped on it. In your photos it's a little hard to tell, I think it's the 'middle' generation yoke. For 3000PSI the later one is better, but this one might work. You can test it, it won't blow apart, it might just bend a little and leak under high pressure. The single HP port probably means it's a 3/8" port, like the LP ports. That means you'll need an adapter to use a standard HP hose on a SPG. You should be able to find someone that has a heavy yoke they'd sell you, but it won't look brand new.

The 2nd stage looks nice. The situation with the poppet is that the original ones have non-replaceable seats, meaning when you rebuild it, you must replace the poppet. Those original style poppets are no longer available, so you'll have to get the newer style poppet, aka 'duro' poppet as rhwestfall said. The difference is that the newer style allows you to replace the seats without changing the poppet.

Probably the 2nd stage seat is pretty worn just from sitting all those years, so you might need to replace the poppet before diving with it. This brings up the other issue that I mentioned, which is that sometimes the old levers don't work well with the new poppet, and you won't know that until you try it. I usually end up replacing the levers with the newer style, and at the same time I convert them to balanced. This means a different poppet, called the 's-wing' poppet, and a new much smaller spring, and a balance chamber. There's no big difference in performance between the unbalanced and balanced poppet, IMO there is a slight difference, but the advantage of the balanced set up is that IME it holds a tune longer, especially in storage. I also like to change the spring when I get these regs because they do eventually wear out and I've found that a new spring can help tuning it precisely. The unbalanced spring, which is what you have, is much bigger and probably lasts longer, but I don't know if they even sell those anymore.

The upside is that when rebuilt and tuned well, these 2nd stages are a joy to dive with.

 

[boat sju]

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