Upgrade Mk11 to Mk17

[rhwestfall]

following that logic, I need to go back to my DACOR 960

 

[ams511]

Because it's 6 better, obviously :cool2:. More seriously, I was just pondering the idea. I dive a lot and would eventually like to do some cold water diving, so I suppose I'm thinking forward a little bit. If the parts aren't too 'spensive, I thought it couldn't hurt. Tony87, have you looked into how much the parts cost? I am pretty happy with my Mk11, so I'm fine either way; I was mainly pondering it because the tech would be upgrading the second stage already.

The MK-11 is a derivative of the MK-16 which is a decent regulator in cold water. If you are going ice diving then it makes sense to convert to a MK17 but your MK11 should be fine in water temps down to the mid-40s.

---------- Post added March 25th, 2014 at 10:41 AM ----------

following that logic, I need to go back to my DACOR 960

Well if you can't get parts then it is understandable why you dive with a numerically inferior regulator.

 

[milbournosphere]

The MK-11 is a derivative of the MK-16 which is a decent regulator in cold water. If you are going ice diving then it makes sense to convert to a MK17 but your MK11 should be fine in water temps down to the mid-40s.

Thanks for the insight. Unless it's a peanuts upgrade, I'll probably pass for now. We'll see how much the parts cost.

following that logic, I need to go back to my DACOR 960

Sounds like a Cyklon 5000 is right up your alley!

 

[ams511]

Thanks for the insight. Unless it's a peanuts upgrade, I'll probably pass for now. We'll see how much the parts cost.

For the benefit of others if you can post the cost of the upgrades.

The C200 and C300 were designed primarily for the European market where divers prefer an unbalanced second stage. The regulators did not sell well in the US and were removed from the Scubapro catalog. Now they are being marketed under the Subgear brand with cosmetic changes. This creates an opportunity for close-out on both the older Scubapro and Subgear models.

For example Dolphin Scuba is selling on ebay a C300/MK17 for $249 + shipping. So I would assume that if you called them they would be willing to deal on the remaining ones they have in stock. This may be a cheaper route than upgrading your C200/MK11. You can either sell or use your older reg as backup.

 

[milbournosphere]

So the Mk17 upgrade ended up not happening; the tech was putting together a quote for me but I figured the money would be wasted, as I don't dive in cold water. However, the second stage upgraded quite nicely for $20 worth of parts.

Also, it turns out there are two Mk11's running around out there. 2011 and later Mk11s were forged, with a larger plastic protector (10.708.110):



Vs the older style:


From what I can tell the Mk17s are the same way.

 

[Couv]

I'm a MK10/5 guy so pardon my barging in; but I have a few of NOS kits. 2 are labeled "REPAIR, UPDATING KIT, MK16/18" 1 is labeled "REPAIR KIT, MK11" if anyone is interested. Also a few other kits.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cl...scubapro-first-stage-service-repair-kits.html

 

[ams511]

Also, it turns out there are two Mk11's running around out there. 2011 and later Mk11s were forged, with a larger plastic protector (10.708.110):

Scubapro often makes cosmetic changes to their product line, the mechanicals are usually the same.