Scubapro S600
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TTSkipper
Guest
I am thinking about purchasing the MK25/S600 combo and I was concerned about dry mouth after reading some reviews and the specs. If I understand you correctly I will be able to have my LDS order a metal tube (please understand I really do not know a whole lot about the functioning of a regulator yet) for a G500 then it can be used to replace the composite one in the S600? If so, is there are part number that I could give my LDS so that they will know exactly what I am talking about?
Thanks,
TTSkipper
Thanks,
TTSkipper
ElectricZombie
Contributor
I can look up the part number if you want, but I don't know if ScubaPro makes them anymore.
R
redacted
Guest
I have the old G500 schematic with part #, but I suspect it was an upgrade that retained the part #. So the older metal housing is probably not available as a replacement part. If you really have your heart set on the small 2nd with a metal housing, Mk20/G500 show up on ebay fairly routinely for less than $200.00. But I'm not sure it would really make that much difference over an S600. My wife dive the S600 and has never complained. (Well, about dry-mouth anyway:<(
My preference has turned out to be the G250; that has the metal air tube, is adjustable, balanced, and breathes almost as well as the S600. It also takes the new poppet assembly with the replacable LP seat, and has a metal crown, which is far more resistant to damage than the plastic crown that is in the S600.
(The metal airtube and crown probably cost an extra couple of bucks over plastic, which is also probably why SP dropped them!)
The only downside to the G250 is that they do not have the "seat saver" mechanism, so you probably will have to overhaul them annually or every two years at most. No big deal.
You can find those on eBAY all the time, usually combined with the Mk10 firsts, which are one of the best firsts ever made, all around. Their performance is excellent and they are dirt-simple, which is a great thing from a self-maintenance point of view.
The Mk10+ essentially is the Mk20/25 in terms of performance, as it has the same design seat and piston edge.
From a performance standpoint the Mk10+ has a slightly faster response time to demand; I cannot tell the difference between them when breathing, but I'm sure it would show up on a breathing machine.
The good part of the Mk10 is that the rebuild kits have three seats in them for IP adjustment. This is very nice, because you can also adjust IP with shims, which means that one kit gets you THREE rebuilds in most cases, and essentially always will get you two! And unlike the Mk20/25, which require a much harder O-ring on the HP piston seal (or they will leak!) the Mk10/10+ is perfectly happy with a standard 70 duro O-ring in there, as the sealing groove is metal and it is fully captured by the body, rather than being secured by that insideous plastic-bushing system in the 20/25.
(The metal airtube and crown probably cost an extra couple of bucks over plastic, which is also probably why SP dropped them!)
The only downside to the G250 is that they do not have the "seat saver" mechanism, so you probably will have to overhaul them annually or every two years at most. No big deal.
You can find those on eBAY all the time, usually combined with the Mk10 firsts, which are one of the best firsts ever made, all around. Their performance is excellent and they are dirt-simple, which is a great thing from a self-maintenance point of view.
The Mk10+ essentially is the Mk20/25 in terms of performance, as it has the same design seat and piston edge.
From a performance standpoint the Mk10+ has a slightly faster response time to demand; I cannot tell the difference between them when breathing, but I'm sure it would show up on a breathing machine.
The good part of the Mk10 is that the rebuild kits have three seats in them for IP adjustment. This is very nice, because you can also adjust IP with shims, which means that one kit gets you THREE rebuilds in most cases, and essentially always will get you two! And unlike the Mk20/25, which require a much harder O-ring on the HP piston seal (or they will leak!) the Mk10/10+ is perfectly happy with a standard 70 duro O-ring in there, as the sealing groove is metal and it is fully captured by the body, rather than being secured by that insideous plastic-bushing system in the 20/25.
ElectricZombie
Contributor
Or you could just flip the seat over. (Old style poppet only)
Based on the schematics that I've seen, the Apeks ATX50 looks like a copy of the G250. It does have a metal air barrel.
R
redacted
Guest
I don't believe the 250 seat will flip. The old style poppet has a seat glued to the plastic half of the poppet and lists as a single part #. I have not tried too hard to seperate the rubber from the plastic but they seem to be well attached. To extend the seat life on my Balanced Adjustables, I remove the retaining pin and crank out the adjustment knob until it almost fall out. If you forget to tighten it back up during setup, it has a way of reminding you. Looks like it should work with the 250 also. It does not seem to entirely eliminate the contact, but it does reduce it a good bit.
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