DivingDoc
Contributor
Some friends of mine are planning to rent from a place that uses SP MK2 First Stage with R190 second stages. Are they any good or are they really ancient?
=-)
=-)
SP MK2 First Stage with R190 second stages
- Thread starter DivingDoc
- 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
ninja
Guest
Hey Doc!
They are extremely reliable and are the scubapro work horse of the industry! They breathe descent I use them on my Deco bottles because they are inexpensive and breathe good!! And they still make them so they are probably current..
Hope this helps you
Len
They are extremely reliable and are the scubapro work horse of the industry! They breathe descent I use them on my Deco bottles because they are inexpensive and breathe good!! And they still make them so they are probably current..
Hope this helps you
Len
R
redacted
Guest
I have two from when I first purchased my own equipment. I use them for backup & pony now. Very reliable and easy to maintain. Only complaint is, if you get to working hard like swimmig into strong current, you can overbreath them. For normal diving they are fine.
ElectricZombie
Contributor
The SP Mk 2 is a good, unbalanced 1st stage. Should be fine for basic recreational diving. The R190 is also a nice little reg, I use one as my octo...primary reg is an S-600. For a little more $ you could get a Mk2/R380 setup from SP. It's a little bit smaller, probably a bit better performance...maybe...these regs look the same on the inside.
Soggy
Contributor
How do they handle cold water (sub-40 F).
-BlueHole-
Guest
I had an Mk.2/R380, used as backup, works fine, just the last 40 bar are a bit hard to suck from the tank, alvays used in cold water (4-6 Celsius) and never had a problem (but I used it as backup and drysuit inflation only)
djhall
Guest
I just got back from a dive to 40' on my MK2/R190 combo (I am waiting for LP to get the MK25/S550s back in stock). These regulators should be fine for basic occasional recreational diving. However, if you are going to be diving deep, breathing hard (exertion), or doing 3+ dives a day, you may want to consider a higher performance regulator.
The main benefits of a performance regulator are faster response to lighter inhalations and a larger volume of air delivered with minimal inhalation effort. Think of the difference between drinking from a straw and drinking from a garden hose. You have to suck firmly to get water flowing through a straw, and then you must keep sucking to keep the water flowing. A garden hose gives you all the water you can handle with virtually no effort. The same can be said of regulators. A basic reg makes you inhale firmly to get the air flowing and you must keep inhaling to keep the air coming. A performace reg should give you all the air you can handle at the slightest inhalation. Depth increases breathing resistance, exertion can make you gasp for air, and frequent repetetive dives can get tiring, so a performance reg is usually desireable in these situations.
Best of luck.
The main benefits of a performance regulator are faster response to lighter inhalations and a larger volume of air delivered with minimal inhalation effort. Think of the difference between drinking from a straw and drinking from a garden hose. You have to suck firmly to get water flowing through a straw, and then you must keep sucking to keep the water flowing. A garden hose gives you all the water you can handle with virtually no effort. The same can be said of regulators. A basic reg makes you inhale firmly to get the air flowing and you must keep inhaling to keep the air coming. A performace reg should give you all the air you can handle at the slightest inhalation. Depth increases breathing resistance, exertion can make you gasp for air, and frequent repetetive dives can get tiring, so a performance reg is usually desireable in these situations.
Best of luck.
between the Mk2 and the Mk25 is the balanced .vs. unbalanced debate.
When the tank pressure gets closer to the IP you will start to feel increased resistance because the IP will begin to drop. An unbalanced design HAS TO do this - its the nature of the beast, because there is no "feedback" from the other side of the metering device (diaphram or piston) to keep the control tighter.
As it does the "balance" between the spring that holds the valve closed and the air behind it is increasingly won by the spring.
The MK25 and other "balanced" designs will hold IP down to very close to the set IP plus the pressure of the depth you are at. I can breathe my tanks down to under 200 psi on the surface before I feel any resistance with the Mk25. That has both good and bad points, as you can imagine....
The R190 and R380 are IDENTICAL internally. The only difference is the case and diaphram. The R380 is a smaller physical package - that's it. Don't pay more than a few bucks over the R190 price for the R380, and don't let ANYONE tell you the R380 performs better - I have one of each and the ENTIRE difference is size.
These are solid, bulletproof, proven designs. Simple to maintain, reasonably simple to adjust with not much to go wrong, and perfectly fine for any recreational depth you might choose to use it at. I've TRIED to overbreathe a R380 at 110' on a Mk25 first and have been unable to do so (I use one for a backup - I wanted to know exactly where the "wall" was in controlled conditions before I really NEEDED it to deliver the air!)
When the tank pressure gets closer to the IP you will start to feel increased resistance because the IP will begin to drop. An unbalanced design HAS TO do this - its the nature of the beast, because there is no "feedback" from the other side of the metering device (diaphram or piston) to keep the control tighter.
As it does the "balance" between the spring that holds the valve closed and the air behind it is increasingly won by the spring.
The MK25 and other "balanced" designs will hold IP down to very close to the set IP plus the pressure of the depth you are at. I can breathe my tanks down to under 200 psi on the surface before I feel any resistance with the Mk25. That has both good and bad points, as you can imagine....
The R190 and R380 are IDENTICAL internally. The only difference is the case and diaphram. The R380 is a smaller physical package - that's it. Don't pay more than a few bucks over the R190 price for the R380, and don't let ANYONE tell you the R380 performs better - I have one of each and the ENTIRE difference is size.
These are solid, bulletproof, proven designs. Simple to maintain, reasonably simple to adjust with not much to go wrong, and perfectly fine for any recreational depth you might choose to use it at. I've TRIED to overbreathe a R380 at 110' on a Mk25 first and have been unable to do so (I use one for a backup - I wanted to know exactly where the "wall" was in controlled conditions before I really NEEDED it to deliver the air!)
kavka
Guest
I had both 190 and 380 . 190 performs better.
I think you need a larger tank
Similar threads
