Warning! Scubapro MK 10 fault

[halocline]

Scubapro will probably do nothing. I would bring it back to the place you got it serviced and see if they'll replace it. It's very likely that someone severely over torqued the yoke retainer or the reg suffered a big impact.

There are thousands and thousands of MK10s that have been in service for decades and this type of cracking is extremely rare. Something must have happened to it. I'm glad you were not injured!

 

[beanojones]

The other thing that happens with the body splits is once the internal chrome plating is damaged and it's just brass they die anyway.

I have retired a fair number of split Mk10s (and other SP piston regs) over the years. Luckily(?) every one was also dechroming internally to the point that the IP was getting unstable anyway. SO the owners (dive operators) were fine with the loss, having dove them to death.

The SPEC boot discussion in the DIY section at least can get rid of the internal dechroming issue.

 

[oncor23]

I hear you about Scubapro. The place where it was serviced has another MK10 body that they will attach to the yoke. The question for me is one of trust. I bought it used 4 yrs ago at the LDS, but that doesn't mean it was serviced there for it's whole history. So, I have no idea of whether someone over torqued the yoke nut during the history of this reg. I have no idea whether some previous owner or dive shop dropped a tank with the reg attached and the reg took the brunt of the fall. Of course, I won't know that about the replacement body. Was that dropped or over torqued early in it's life?

I glad no one was injured when it blew. It split in two with the yoke still attached to the tank valve and the other half still attached to all the hoses. It just seems funny (weird) to me that there is no method for determining whether a regulator is about to fail catastrophically. I would like to upload pictures, but I don't have the reg. Corrosion on the inside was very evident once it split...it was not all bright and shiny brass that separated. That tells me there may have been cracking on the inside, but nothing was visible on the outside. If there are methods available to find cracks in cylinder necks....why not regulators?

---------- Post added July 16th, 2013 at 06:01 PM ----------

I have no idea about internal dechroming. I don't service the reg, so the question is this...would the lds techs be looking for this? Also...I had noticed some IP creep in the past...I thought it was just a rough knife edge, but maybe it was the internal cracks??? How do you know which without a very close examination?

 

[beanojones]

It's usually not the cracks but the dechroming that makes the IP unstable, of those two factors, but the number of reasons for IP creap are long.

 

[oncor23]

I don't know if I'm diving tomorrow and I don't live close to the dive shop. So, if not this weekend, then next, I will make the trip. The regulator is still at the dive shop and I will get pictures at least so I can put them up here for examination. Even if they don't tell much in the way of why it happened, I'll bet everyone would like to see what a catastrophic failure looks like.

 

[rsingler]

I shouldn't even bump this thread back current, but reading through the whole thing was a glimpse into our society in microcosm.
We gotta blame somebody, even though
1) we bought it used from who knows who
2) the damned thing is more than 20 years old with a largely unknown service history
3) by definition, it's a metal device that contains a pressure of up to 3000 pounds PER SQUARE INCH and is routinely cycled up and down
4) can be subject to "maintenance" (as we have been told on SB over and over and over and over...) by "technicians" with minimal training/experience in between the times it is properly serviced.

And we want a new one from Scubapro?

Risk/benefit.
Buy new and have someone to blame during the warranty period, but spend $$$.
Buy old and take your lumps. Caveat emptor. Even when you trust your seller.
Yeah, okay. It could'a blown up and hurt somebody. Lots of things happen on a rolling boat surrounded by high pressure cylinders.
Go knit. Oh, wait! Those are knitting NEEDLES!

Arggh! Reading three pages of posts over a thread that won't die makes me crazy!

Okay. I'm done now.

 

[redacted]

I shouldn't even bump this thread back current, but reading through the whole thing was a glimpse into our society in microcosm.
We gotta blame somebody, even though
1) we bought it used from who knows who
2) the damned thing is more than 20 years old with a largely unknown service history
3) by definition, it's a metal device that contains a pressure of up to 3000 pounds PER SQUARE INCH and is routinely cycled up and down
4) can be subject to "maintenance" (as we have been told on SB over and over and over and over...) by "technicians" with minimal training/experience in between the times it is properly serviced.

And we want a new one from Scubapro?

Risk/benefit.
Buy new and have someone to blame during the warranty period, but spend $$$.
Buy old and take your lumps. Caveat emptor. Even when you trust your seller.
Yeah, okay. It could'a blown up and hurt somebody. Lots of things happen on a rolling boat surrounded by high pressure cylinders.
Go knit. Oh, wait! Those are knitting NEEDLES!

Arggh! Reading three pages of posts over a thread that won't die makes me crazy!

Okay. I'm done now.

Well, you also need to recognize that the yoke retainer on a Mk10 is the same as the yoke retainer on the original Mk20 that went through a CPSC recall. I have to wonder if it is not the same problem. I would not stop diving a Mk10 but I would be careful with the torquing of the retainer. BTW, the universal retainer also fits the Mk10 and removes the incline that seemed to have been contributing to the Mk20 body failures.

 

[halocline]

It's usually not the cracks but the dechroming that makes the IP unstable, of those two factors, but the number of reasons for IP creap are long.

Okay, since this sad thread has been dug up.....

I have no idea what this statement means, but there are three things about it that bother me. 1) How does "dechroming" make IP unstable in a MK10? 2) Please name a reason for IP creep other than a leak at the piston/HP seat interface, 3) try not to mis-spell "IP creep" as it's a really great term. Would make a good username, IMO.

 

[Zung]

I have 1 case that supports halo's point 1): I've got a Mk20 (OK, so it's not a Mk10, but they work the same way) from the 'Bay, and the chrome inside of the cap (where the crown of the piston rides) is totally gone, but the IP is rock solid. After sitting a year or so in a closet, the Christo-Lube turns greenish because of the verdigris, but the IP 's till good. Finally, I found a new cap somewhere and replaced for peace of mind; after replacement, the IP is still rock solid.

This is the Mk20 I used for experimenting with lubricants; the story is here.