Warning! Scubapro MK 10 fault

[DameDykker]

I´ve sent my regulator to service every year since the purchase in late December 1994. It was bought used in the same shop. So it was new in 1992 or 1993.

We have a spell of very cold wether so I sent the set in for the annual service. Just last night the LDS owner called me and told me: Your first stage body has cracked!!

Just makes you wonder when that happende? And what will Scubapro say about it? And how many other foulty regulatore are out there?

Oh, by the way the first stage body is made out of one piece of metal so the most likely failure mode is material weakness!

Also the tought of what could have happende if the first stage had come appart during a dive :scared:

 

[Diver0001]

DameDykker once bubbled...
I´ve sent my regulator to service every year since the purchase in late December 1994. It was bought used in the same shop. So it was new in 1992 or 1993.

We have a spell of very cold wether so I sent the set in for the annual service. Just last night the LDS owner called me and told me: Your first stage body has cracked!!

Just makes you wonder when that happende? And what will Scubapro say about it? And how many other foulty regulatore are out there?

Oh, by the way the first stage body is made out of one piece of metal so the most likely failure mode is material weakness!

Also the tought of what could have happende if the first stage had come appart during a dive :scared:

I think the question you need to ask is "was it already cracked or did they crack it during servicing"? I'd send it to Scubapro and get them to do an autopsy.

R..

 

[DameDykker]

I never considered that possibility!

Maybe I just not suspisious enough. On the other hand wouldn't that take some real determination - not to mention violence - to willfully or acidential crack the body of a first stage?

Anyway they told me they were coing to contact Scubapro themself and hinted that I might get a replacement. So for now I just wait and see what they come up with. Though I'm still shuttering over possible senarios in real life (still not wanting to belive that they did it)

 

[chickdiver]

Hi Dame

I am a SCUBAPRO repair tech, and have dealt witht hem for years (in addition to owning about 10 myself, including a MK10). This is the first instance I have head of this, I would bet that it is a fairly unusual problem. I would also question what was going n at your LDS during the rebuild, you would be surprised at the number of repair shops that have untrained people working as technicians. SCUBAPRO rebuilds require specific tools, the regulators can be disassembled without them, but it is difficult and requires more brute force, it also always results in at leat cosmetic damage to the regulator. A lot of places will also place your 1st stage in a vise if they are having trouble breaking it down. SCUBAPRO has always been very responsive to problems, in my expereince. I would advise that you wait and see what they have to say, either way, whether the regulator was at fault or the LDS, you ought to be getting a new 1st stage.

God luck

 

[DameDykker]

Thank you for your responce.

Two years ago I paid for a five years service contract. At that point in time I had a chat with the owner about coverage and if i bought a new regulator in the period and all that jazz.

They were previously also Scubapro dealers but stopped that due to difficulties getting spare parts and due to too high prices - as I remember it.

But they promised that they would keep on hawing qualified personel to do Scubapro services. I assume that would also include having the necessary tools.

As a technician on this piece of equipment: Do you have any idear on the failure mode - other than mistreatment? Having a few oppinions about materials myself (I'm an engineer ) I suspect material failure.

 

[chickdiver]

This is not a failure that I have ever witnessed (or even heard of ) before. It is not unusual for dive shops to have a few "qualified" repair people on hand who oversee other "nonqualified" techs, so I dont put much faith in it when a shop tells me they have "qualified service people". If you have difficulties with this shop over the issue, I would strongly suggest that you find an authorized SCUBAPRO dealer in your area.

 

[pescador775]

An enclosed brass body such as the SP first stage could crack if water froze inside but that does not seem likely. It would take extraordinary external force to crack it because the cylindrical design will resist external applied pressure such as a vise. It would probably yield before cracking leaving obvious evidence of abuse. Torque might cause it to crack but the abuse would have to be significant.

In the old days, technology was not advanced enough to produce uniform brass castings, hence, they would crack (Liberty bell in Philadelphia, PA). However, that seems very unlikely with a modern brass regulator. The first stage is probably forged anyway.

Let us know what you find out.

 

[ElectricZombie]

I've got an old Mk10 and have never had any problems. I would agree that this problem may have been caused by a technician doing something he should not have been doing. Some shops will break your gear, then say it was like that. I've never heard of the housing of any regulator cracking for no reason.

 

[pendive]

The MK10 problem is not necessarily one you can blame on the LDS or anyone else, speciffically. The problem was noted at SP sometime ago - the yoke retaining nut in the MK 10 tourques against the interior of the 1st stage - unlike previous and newer models. Very difficult to describe in writing but picture this - as you torque down the retaining nut, its trying to seat against the inside - as you tighten it, it is pushing against the interior and pulling the exterior away. Like driving a wedge into something. Now could the LDS have created the problem - of course, ( not if they're using a torque wrench) but so could anyone else - picture it set up on a tank with the air turned on - for whatever reason you (or the dive master or your buddy or whatever) wants to change the direction the LP swivel is facing (the upside down upside right issue). They grab the first stage and turn it (towards the ground or towards the sky or whichever direction). By doing that they actually can increase the torque on that fitting (tightening a screw). As you increase the torque, the housing is getting more and more stretched until possible failure. I know that sounds wierd, but its whats happening. I'm a long time tech, my service tech is a long time tech and one of my instructors is a tool maker. It was reported or addressed to Scubapro years ago. Hint - don't over torque during assembly - and don't turn on the tank valve without turning off the air and loosening the thumb screw. As a store and major repair center, we saw less than half a dozen but had heard of the splitting from a couple of other SP dealers.

Happy diving.

 

[DameDykker]

Hi pendive

Thanks for the info. I've forwarded your eksplanation to my LSD so they can compare the actual damage with the failure mode indicated by you. It is nice to know that I'm not alone with this problem.

But I will blame Scubapro if this is the failure mode as I see it as a design error.

Do you know if the people hit by this got a new regulator?