Symptom(s) of backward lever on SP D350

[ericpitar]

Hello,

Given that some mistakenly install the lever on a SP D350 backwards, can anyone give a list, if any, of the symptoms of a backward lever for the D350 or other D series?

Thank you.

E

 

[300bar]

I'm not familiar with the Sp D350,but I've never seen a reg where one can install a lever backwards or upsidedown for that matter.

 

[Luis H]

I'm not familiar with the Sp D350,but I've never seen a reg where one can install a lever backwards or upsidedown for that matter.

Yep...I agree…you are not familiar with the Scubapro D series regulators.


I did buy a used D350 and it did have the lever installed backwards. It did work, but needed to be rebuilt in a bad way so I could not tell what influence if any the lever had.

I talked to one of the local techs and she confirmed that would work, but thought that it would not perform as well.

I have several D400 and the one D350. When I rebuild them I have to be very conscious to double check that I am installing the lever from the correct direction…it seems easy to put it in backwards when you are working with both models.

I also have a D350 that was totally upgraded to a D400 (all the internal parts) except for the light blue switch. It just tries to confuse me just a bit more.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Scubapro changed the direction in one of the models which did not help clarify things. The obvious clue that it may be backwards is that the lever does not angle far enough forward which can limit the working range of the reg and or interfere with the dive/predive spring.

 

[halocline]

On my D300s if you install the lever backwards, it will not line up well with the plastic rectangular bracket it has to fit into. The lever has a flat spot which fits against the lock nut and it's set so that it aligns the lever not quite exactly vertical. It should "lean" slightly in the direction it will be pushed by the diaphragm (at least on mine).

 

[Isaac-1]

What timing for this message, I just bought another D400 off ebay a couple of weeks ago, it was advertised as "mint condition" and recently serviced. Lets just say there was limited truth there all the way around, cosmeticly it was a 10 on the outside, however I did find slight corrosion and salt deposits when I disassembled it. Whoever "serviced" it obviously had no idea how to tune a scubapro D series regulator, and paid little attention to how it came apart, the aspirator was in backwards, the lever was in backwards and the lever adjusted screw was tighened down all the way and seized up so bad it had to spend 10 minutes in the ultrasonic cleaner to get it loose enough to unscrew (20 minutes would have been better). I assume they had used the adjustable pad as the sole method of tuning as even the flow director was fully open. The shocking thing is even with all this it breathed ok (not like a D series should, but ok none the less)

Ike

p.s. I took my other Mk 20/D400 regulator into the localish (55 mile away) Scubapro shop to have the Mk 20 recall work done a couple of months ago, it came back with the switch on the D400 loose (my financee picked it up) . Working from the attitude of they broke it so they should fix it , so I took it back to them. 3 weeks and 3 visits by the shop later and it was "ready with the lever rattling so much I heard it as soon as I picked it up. So I decided if you want something done right you have to do it yourself.

 

[ericpitar]

Thanks for the inputs guys. A few more questions.

1)Am I correct that it's only the latter version D350(which is identical to the D400 except the dive switch is labelled "D350") which has the backward lever? So the D300, the earlier D350 (which has a light blue switch), and the D400 all have the lever going in the same direction?

2)DA Aqua, what do you mean by a backward lever "limiting the working range of the reg"?

3)If a tech did not have the repair manual for the latter D350 but did for the latest D400, would he likely make the mistake of a backward install of the lever or would the D400 manual explicitly state the correct orientation for the said D350?

 

[redacted]

Thanks for the inputs guys. A few more questions.

1)Am I correct that it's only the latter version D350(which is identical to the D400 except the dive switch is labelled "D350") which has the backward lever? So the D300, the earlier D350 (which has a light blue switch), and the D400 all have the lever going in the same direction?

2)DA Aqua, what do you mean by a backward lever "limiting the working range of the reg"?

3)If a tech did not have the repair manual for the latter D350 but did for the latest D400, would he likely make the mistake of a backward install of the lever or would the D400 manual explicitly state the correct orientation for the said D350?

The D400 uses a different housing (houses the modular poppet assembly), a different lever (thicker), and lever linkage in addition to the cosmetic differences of the switch decal (and maybe the rubber exhaust cover). The D400 lever installs from the hose side of the case. The D300 and D350 differ only in the lever length and the cosmetic difference of the switch. Their levers both install from the side opposite the hose. My 12/97 schematic goes into the differences in some detail. Newer schematics that I have seen do not address the differences and likely are the root some of the assembly problems with new techs who have nothing covering the D300/350.