Scubapro Pilot

[halocline]

These red ones are new silicone duro 50 002 o-rings. They should last a long time. I would have gotten the same for the main seat (duro 50 011) but I found buna-n first and just ordered them. They work fine, and they are black. With a seat 011 and balance spool 010, there's very little downstream bias and these regs REALLY pump out the air. Too bad I won't get to try it out for a few months other than maybe a trip to aquarena.

BTW couv, I have a mostly complete list of sizes if you want to annotate a pilot schematic. Here it is:
#24 010 ("orifice" seal)
#26 013
#28 015
#35 002 duro 50 (pilot seat)
#39 023
#40 ? cap interior, serves as friction for the aspirator
#44 011 duro 50 (main seat)
#55 010 duro 50 or 60 (balance)

 

[redacted]

Not NOS Scubapro. Matt found brand new one in a bright bubble gum color.

 

[Couv]

These red ones are new silicone duro 50 002 o-rings. They should last a long time. I would have gotten the same for the main seat (duro 50 011) but I found buna-n first and just ordered them. They work fine, and they are black. With a seat 011 and balance spool 010, there's very little downstream bias and these regs REALLY pump out the air. Too bad I won't get to try it out for a few months other than maybe a trip to aquarena.

BTW couv, I have a mostly complete list of sizes if you want to annotate a pilot schematic. Here it is:
#24 010 ("orifice" seal)
#26 013
#28 015
#35 002 duro 50 (pilot seat)
#39 023
#40 ? cap interior, serves as friction for the aspirator
#44 011 duro 50 (main seat)
#55 010 duro 50 or 60 (balance)

Thanks guys,

I'll start plugging those numbers onto a diagram shortly. I'm still in CZM but will be home soon.

 

[Couv]

These red ones are new silicone duro 50 002 o-rings. They should last a long time. I would have gotten the same for the main seat (duro 50 011) but I found buna-n first and just ordered them. They work fine, and they are black. With a seat 011 and balance spool 010, there's very little downstream bias and these regs REALLY pump out the air. Too bad I won't get to try it out for a few months other than maybe a trip to aquarena.

BTW couv, I have a mostly complete list of sizes if you want to annotate a pilot schematic. Here it is:
#24 010 ("orifice" seal)
#26 013
#28 015
#35 002 duro 50 (pilot seat)
#39 023
#40 ? cap interior, serves as friction for the aspirator
#44 011 duro 50 (main seat)
#55 010 duro 50 or 60 (balance)

.................

Work in (slow) progress.

In addition to the above, I have items:
#5 -223
#15 -116 or -117
#39 -022 penciled on my chart
I don't have a Pilot so could you check those sizes?

Thanks

 

[halocline]

Howdy Couv, sorry it took a while. #5 is a 223, #39 is 023. The #15 I did not remove, but I think it is 116.

There should not be a reason to replace #5, it doesn't seal anything, just provides some friction for the purge cover. I only take apart the dive/pre-dive switch if the reg doesn't hold a vacuum. They seem to last much longer than the D series square o-rings for the switch.

The only one left is #40, the o-ring that sits inside the cap. It also doesn't seal anything, it just provides some friction for the aspirator/venturi adjustment. I left mine in place, it looked fine.

 

[NotSure]

I measured the inside diameter of the #40 o-ring with it installed in the cap and the inside dimension matches that of a -018. I also tried a -017 because I don't have any -018's on hand and it was definitely too small.

 

[halocline]

Not NOS Scubapro. Matt found brand new one in a bright bubble gum color.

That makes them easier to find when you drop them on the floor.

 

[halocline]

Update:

I've now spent a truly remarkable amount of time fiddling with the adjustment on my pilot. I can't get it to be completely leak free with the lever attached to the diaphragm. Maybe after a few dives it will settle in. The manual says a small leak, maybe 4-5 bubbles/second, is acceptable, but I want mine to not leak at all. The issue, I think, is that the plastic connecting rod between the diaphragm and the lever just barely tugs on the lever no matter how you adjust it. I can get the thing to completely stop leaking without the rod attached, but as soon as I connect the diaphragm, it starts bubbling, about a bubble/second. The fine tuning is supposed to be done by adjusting the length of the plastic connecting rod, but as soon as I touch that plastic nut, it also rotates the rod, which is held in place by the lever but just turning it places a small amount of torque and it starts bubbling. This happens even if I de-tune the lever lock nut to the point where the reg's performance is not anything like it should be.

It could be that the diaphragm is a little out of shape and is pulling the rod sideways. It's probably just that the valve on this thing is VERY sensitive. I'll live with the leak for a few dives and then waste some more time screwing around with it. It sure pumps out air.

 

[Couv]

Here is the annotated file, please let me know of any issues.

 

[halocline]

Success! A few weeks ago, after playing around with this thing for what seemed like forever, I still couldn't get it to perform up to my expectations; my converted pilot was breathing quite a bit better. And, it still leaked a bubble or two per second. So I put it aside, and this afternoon decided to go at it again. I removed the diaphragm, took the poppet out and had a good close look. I inspected the orifice with a loupe, cleaned it a bit, and tried a new o-ring for the main seat. This time I put a bit of christolube on it and worked the retaining cap back and forth to make sure that the o-ring was as evenly compressed as possible. Put everything back together, adjusted the lever lock nut and diaphragm connecting rod, and it works perfectly. No annoying intermittent bubbles, extremely low cracking effort and strong flow.

I think it's just very picky aligning the poppet and getting that main seat o-ring installed.