reefraker97
Registered
Any Reviews for this scubapro reg? I'm planning on buying it from my local dive shop, which happens to be a scubapro deal. If anyone has reviews, please drop them by!
Thanks
Thanks
The Mk 2 plus/R295 Regulator
- Thread starter reefraker97
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Ken abucs
Contributor
hudson
Contributor
The MK2+ is an excellent first stage and one of the best values out there that I know of.
The R295 is less so. It's your basic unbalanced second stage. It works well, but you would be better off pairing the MK2+ with the G250V.
The R295 is less so. It's your basic unbalanced second stage. It works well, but you would be better off pairing the MK2+ with the G250V.
sstriano
Contributor
I have a MK2+ with a R190, and it breaths very well... I also have a MK17 with a G250V, and that also breaths very well..
I think for the price, the bulletproof design, and the simplicity, the MK2+ is a GREAT 1st stage.
The R190 IMO works just fine.
Buy it, you will not be disappointed.
Regards,
Sam
FrankPro1
Contributor
Wayward Son
Contributor
yes, you can.
Wayward Son
Contributor
but I'll add, if you can get an R109 cheap & your shop knows how to service it, do it. i put one on my wife's Mk11 & she loves it.
I'm diving a MkV/R109 that i bought new in 1978. So long as I can get it serviced properly, I have no interest in buying a new reg.
I'm diving a MkV/R109 that i bought new in 1978. So long as I can get it serviced properly, I have no interest in buying a new reg.
hudson
Contributor
Ask your LDS about the cost of making the R109 into a balanced adjustable (I'm assuming it'd need to be serviced anyway), and if they don't try to gouge you, go for the R109. You don't have to have it converted, but balanced it will last much longer before it needs service, given adequate cleaning, and also breathe a bit smoother through the last few hundred psi.
Otherwise go for the G250V.
Otherwise go for the G250V.
halocline
Contributor
The MK2 with a 109 would be a terrific set up. Get the MK2/R295 package, use the R295 as an octo, and use your 109 as the primary 2nd. You can have it balanced; it takes the G250 poppet and balance chamber which used to be in the G250 kit but no longer is. You'll also need the G250 spring. So, it's a little more expensive than it used to be to convert. If you can find a NOS G250 kit that has the poppet and balance chamber, that's the cheapest way to do it.
Leaving it unbalanced would be fine as well; it will still breathe better than the R295. To rebuild it unbalanced, it only takes the G200 poppet which is in the kit I believe. One nice thing about that is that once you have bought the poppet, all it takes to rebuild is a generic LP seat and a few o-rings. Your parts cost on annuals could be well under a dollar if you buy the seats and o-rings in quantity, or better yet, make you own seats like AWAP has done.
There is surprisingly little difference between the way the B/A and unbalanced 109 breathe on my MK5. What hudson said is true; the balanced reg uses a smaller spring which leaves less pressure on the seat when the reg is not in use, so it will last longer between rebuilds. You can, however, store it with the purge button slightly depressed which will take all the pressure off the seat during storage. He's also right that if the 2nd stage is balanced, you won't experience the increase in breathing resistance during the last 500 PSI of tank pressure. To me, that might be a disadvantage; there was recently a thread by an experienced diver who ran out of air because his SPG stuck at 900 PSI. If he had been using an unbalanced piston 1st with an unbalanced 2nd, he would have really noticed his tank pressure getting low around 300PSI. Not a bad feature IMO.
Leaving it unbalanced would be fine as well; it will still breathe better than the R295. To rebuild it unbalanced, it only takes the G200 poppet which is in the kit I believe. One nice thing about that is that once you have bought the poppet, all it takes to rebuild is a generic LP seat and a few o-rings. Your parts cost on annuals could be well under a dollar if you buy the seats and o-rings in quantity, or better yet, make you own seats like AWAP has done.
There is surprisingly little difference between the way the B/A and unbalanced 109 breathe on my MK5. What hudson said is true; the balanced reg uses a smaller spring which leaves less pressure on the seat when the reg is not in use, so it will last longer between rebuilds. You can, however, store it with the purge button slightly depressed which will take all the pressure off the seat during storage. He's also right that if the 2nd stage is balanced, you won't experience the increase in breathing resistance during the last 500 PSI of tank pressure. To me, that might be a disadvantage; there was recently a thread by an experienced diver who ran out of air because his SPG stuck at 900 PSI. If he had been using an unbalanced piston 1st with an unbalanced 2nd, he would have really noticed his tank pressure getting low around 300PSI. Not a bad feature IMO.
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