Scubapro r109 prices and service

[egdinger]

Just picked up a R109 and a mk7 off of craigslist for $20. Would like to get it cleaned up. I read through a lot of the old threads on this thing. Took it apart, soaked in vinegar and cleaned it up pretty good, slapped it back together, seems like it leaks from the exhaust valve (suction test). Pulled the spring and poppet out for some reason...

At this point I took it to a local SP dealer to see what they had to say. I hand the tech the reg and bag of parts, tell him what I think/have done so far. First thing he does is push on the diaphragm cover and push the metal logo plate out cracking the rubber fairly badly. Then he proceeds to tell me it will cost $110 dollars to service the 109. I politely listened to what he had to say and then left.

From what I've read this is unreasonably high... what should this cost even if I need a new exhaust valve, diaphragm cover, and poppet?

 

[Fishpie]

If you need a new exhaust T as well as a new diaphragm cover...and you probably do, since they are both made of rubber and one of them is already dried and cracking...then $110 would be a very good price to service BOTH stages, assuming replacement with new T and cover.
The rubber parts you need are very hard to find these days and I wouldn't be surprised if your shop wants $25 or $30 for each bit.

 

[halocline]

I think I paid around $25 for each of those parts not too long ago. Lets say for the sake of argument that they've gone up to $30, that's $60, the G250 poppet is probably $10, the spring $4, balance chamber $3 (guess), then you only need a couple of o-rings, maybe 010 for the orifice and 011 for the adjuster, if there's a hose involved you'll need an o-ring for that, so say $5 for the o-rings. That's $82 in parts at a nice high mark up, which of course any SP dealer is going to have, leaving just under $30 in labor which does not surprise me. That's assuming the diaphragm is worth re-using and the orifice is okay. And I forgot the exhaust valve, which adds a few $

This is why one of the more important factors determining the value of used 109s is the condition of the exhaust tee and diaphragm cover. What I would do if I were in your position is look around on ebay for a new old stock G250 kit, which will contain the poppet and balance chamber, and keep your eye out for someone selling 'lots' of parts, usually from a SP dealer that's out of business. Sometimes these lots have the parts you need. It might take some time, but eventually you'll find them.

Don't despair, even if you pay over $100 to get the reg restored with complete new soft parts. Assuming the chrome is in good shape, imagine what you'd pay for a new 2nd stage with the kind of quality that one has. Certainly it would be over $300.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Many shops do not have either the rubber exhaust Tee or the rubber purge cover.

Parts wise $10-$20 for the rubber purge cover would be the norm. An annual service kit would run $15-$20 depending on whether it has R109 or R156 guts (an upgrade from a 109 to a balanced 156 would only cost maybe $5 more) and labor is usually $25 per stage. An exhaust valve is only a $1-$2. and a new diaphragm if needed is again maybe $10-$15. and really old 109's may need a new lever to work with the current poppets - again $5-$10. And if it is not your day a New orifice may be required - costing $6-$12.

So worst case, a total rebuild and R156 upgrade should not cost more than about $90 even with a 100% markup on parts. $110 is a little high unless the exhaust Tee also needs replaced in which case the price is not great but not out of line.

In any case, you only have $20 into it and if the metal work is good with no significant corrosion, $130 total investment would get you a very nice reg that performs as well as the current G250V or S600 that would cost you 2-3 times as much.

If you do not want to get it serviced locally, you could contact cdreamer here on the board and arrange to have it sent to Diver's Den in Baltimore, where I could rebuild it for you. Depending on what needs replaced it could cost a lot less than $110 and we do have some used but still serviceable and in great shape used rubber parts that could be used for less than the cost of new ones. But on the other hand shipping both ways tends to eat up the savings and in the end the total cost would probably be similar to what it would cost you locally. Most of the limited mail order service work we do tends to be from people who do not have an SP dealer locally or who cannot find an SP dealer familiar with or willing to rehabilitate their really old reg.

 

[egdinger]

Well the exhaust tee is in excellent shape, I think it was replaced sometime in the past. I have the newer lever where it narrows at "feet", and it is a r109, not a 156, so would G250/G200B 11-254-041 - eBay (item 130283000077) be the right kit?

The case does have brass showing, and the front plate has a big swatch of brass showing, do you still think it would be worth it?

 

[redacted]

Well the exhaust tee is in excellent shape, I think it was replaced sometime in the past. I have the newer lever where it narrows at "feet", and it is a r109, not a 156, so would G250/G200B 11-254-041 - eBay (item 130283000077) be the right kit?

The case does have brass showing, and the front plate has a big swatch of brass showing, do you still think it would be worth it?

If it already has the duro poppet (white with a "hockey puck" style replaceable seat) then the full kit is overkill as you only need 2 o-rings and the LP seat. If not, the G200-ADJ-M50 kit is what you will need (11-109-045). The G250?G200b kit will not work. In fact, that seat can be flipped to get a like new seating surface.

Brass showing just gives it character. Did you want performance or pretty?

 

[halocline]

If you want to update it to balanced adjustable the G250/G200B kit is the right one. Look at the bubble pack and make sure it's an older style kit that includes the poppet. You'll also need the G250 spring, which is a little harder to find.

If you want to leave it unbalanced, just follow AWAP's advice. They breathe really well unbalanced; it's hard to tell a difference between the two.

You almost certainly could get it re-chromed if you were so inclined. I think Couv was looking into that at one time. There's a guy on vintage doublehose.com who re-chromes old 2 hosers, and the reviews of his work are very strong. I'm sure he would do a 109, but I imagine it would not be cheap.

 

[melnerah]

Hello, I have a scubapro balanced adjustable. here you are in the photograph te poppet. Have i got to dismount the stem poppet to change the inner o'ring?. Should i change the hole poppet, like it appears in the schematics manual, or only the seat?. Thanks. How can I take the stem out without damaging the poppet???, it looks like very hard.
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/5772/dscn4243rw1.jpg

 

[redacted]

Hello, I have a scubapro balanced adjustable. here you are in the photograph te poppet. Have i got to dismount the stem poppet to change the inner o'ring?. Should i change the hole poppet, like it appears in the schematics manual, or only the seat?. Thanks. How can I take the stem out without damaging the poppet???, it looks like very hard.
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/5772/dscn4243rw1.jpg

I can't get to the image but it sounds like you have a very old poppet design (2-piece with blue or gray plastic poppet and fixed seat with a metal stem). About 10 years ago, Scubapro came out with the S-wing poppet (one piece plastic) with 2 o-rings sealing the balance chamber and a replaceable LP seat. I suggest you change to the new S-wing poppet

 

[Couv]

I think from the picture I was able to make out that he does indeed have the old style poppet. Yes, just install a new type S-wing poppet. It comes with the o-rings and seat. By the way, the old style did not have a replaceable seat but the new ones do.

couv