Which regs should I keep?

[halocline]

Keep everything except the HOG.

If the MK5 is a later version with 5 ports, I'd use that over all the other 1st stages. If the MK20 has the brass tipped piston, either sell it or buy a new piston and use it. With the composite piston, it combines the best of the MK20 and 25 IMO. The G200B is an excellent plastic 2nd stage, very simple and lightweight, if you like plastic 2nds. The B/A and 109 are likely the most successful 2nd stages in single hose regulator history in terms of reliability, longevity of design, and influence on future 2nd stages.

I'm not a conshelf aficionado, but those who are swear by them and it's certainly among the most successful 1st stage designs in history; a good case can be made that it's the single most proven 1st stage ever.

The MK2 is another bulletproof classic that is ideally suited for pony/stage use and back up use due to it's extreme simplicity and reliability.

Hard to imagine owning those regs and not using them. Just my opinion.....of course regulators are such that practically anything exceeds what's 'needed' for enjoyable diving.

 

[redacted]

The Mk20 is a great regulator but the Mk5 is almost as good and it is a bit easier to service. One downside to the Mk20/25 is the unique HP seat that is only available through Scubapro. Another is the composite piston that has an internal o-ring that will eventually fail. The replacement piston will cost quite a bit if you can find one.

 

[Mr. Curious]

Maybe I'll just keep them all I don't know yet.

Part of my criteria is that I have to be able to obtain parts easily and be able to service the stuff myself. I'm currently working on the learning curve through many avenues including friends who know how to work on this stuff.

The HOG seemed like a no brainer since it is priced well and I can get parts for it.
I bought a cold water set with second stage and 2 service kits for around $300. That should be good for at least 4 years provided I keep water out of the first stage.
I plan on using a console with pressure gauge and depth gauge on it that was in a bag of stuff given to me. There was also a wind up bottom timer wrist mount with an orange face and it's made by Princeton tektonics. I don't know if it works but I'll find out. I suppose I could use a watch too? There isn't money right now for a computer because of budget constraints, but maybe soon.
That was something else that I thought a little incomplete in my open water class was the lack of table use. I had to get the info from a friend in a dive club and borrow a set.

The MK20 I did some research and it seems like the reg that is the hardest to get any service kits for.
The dive shop refuses to sell parts and ebay has them but they seem expensive.

I did some more research and found that I can get parts for the MK5/109's, the Conshelfs, and the MK2.
The G200B apparently takes the same kit as the 109 BA? Is that correct? Or maybe I was reading it wrong and it's a G250?
Crap I don't know, I'm getting on overload.

The Aqualung plastic second stages seem like real junk, I'm not impressed. They have strange pull over covers unlike the threaded twist on covers the others have, or the all metal metal clamp rings which seem the best to me. The plastic pull over covers seem like disposable regs that once one of those covers rips or cracks you throw it away.

Now I have to figure out the BC thing.

 

[redacted]

The G200B, G250, BA and other balanced barrel poppets from Scubapro and many other manufacturers all use the same rivet style LP seat but may requires some different o-rings. If you are going to DIY, you will want to get a separate supply of o-rings so it is really the seats that you need, That rivet style seat is also marketed by Trident and some stores are more inclined to sell Trident parts even when they will not sell OEM parts.

 

[elan]

You cannot find a better reg than SP or aqualung for self servicing imho.

Including MK20. Watch ebay for a while and you can get kits at a price that is lower than what I have seen for HOG

MK20/25 with composit piston's seat works for a very long time. So yoi do not need to replace it every service. From the kit all you need is a filter, bushings an the seat. All of them last long and I clean and reuse them. You can buy generic o-ring for few dollars.
MK20 sizes are all documented here on SB. Just do a search.

Maybe I'll just keep them all I don't know yet.

Part of my criteria is that I have to be able to obtain parts easily and be able to service the stuff myself. I'm currently working on the learning curve through many avenues including friends who know how to work on this stuff.

The HOG seemed like a no brainer since it is priced well and I can get parts for it.
I bought a cold water set with second stage and 2 service kits for around $300. That should be good for at least 4 years provided I keep water out of the first stage.
I plan on using a console with pressure gauge and depth gauge on it that was in a bag of stuff given to me. There was also a wind up bottom timer wrist mount with an orange face and it's made by Princeton tektonics. I don't know if it works but I'll find out. I suppose I could use a watch too? There isn't money right now for a computer because of budget constraints, but maybe soon.
That was something else that I thought a little incomplete in my open water class was the lack of table use. I had to get the info from a friend in a dive club and borrow a set.

The MK20 I did some research and it seems like the reg that is the hardest to get any service kits for.
The dive shop refuses to sell parts and ebay has them but they seem expensive.

I did some more research and found that I can get parts for the MK5/109's, the Conshelfs, and the MK2.
The G200B apparently takes the same kit as the 109 BA? Is that correct? Or maybe I was reading it wrong and it's a G250?
Crap I don't know, I'm getting on overload.

The Aqualung plastic second stages seem like real junk, I'm not impressed. They have strange pull over covers unlike the threaded twist on covers the others have, or the all metal metal clamp rings which seem the best to me. The plastic pull over covers seem like disposable regs that once one of those covers rips or cracks you throw it away.

Now I have to figure out the BC thing.

 

[Mr. Curious]

OK, so I found out more about the MK20. It's circa 1998 or '99.
Maybe that will shed some light on the brass or composite piston you guys speak about.

There's also some info I got from the same guy who gave me the MK20 saying that piston regs are not as desirable as diaphragm regs (just learned the difference) because piston regs allow for salt water to enter a chamber inside the reg and the only thing between the innards and the ocean is one O-ring.
The one savior to the piston design is the fact that some people pack the water chamber or where ever the water gets in with silicone to dam up against water getting to the O-ring. This seems kind of like a band-aid to me? And then also because of the piston design, those regs need to be gone through every year and at least greased up to minimize any potential problems.
I'm just regurgitating what I was told, if I'm wrong please straighten me out.

Whereas with the diaphragm design the innards are completely sealed off so better against freeze up (gasp!!) in cold water and therefore services can be extended out every two or more years.

So the Aqualung stuff and the new HOG are diaphragms and the Scubapro is piston, correct?



Just Curious

 

[elan]

No the last statement is not correct. MK14,16,17,18,19 are all SP diaphragm regs. As for piston vs disphragms it is not as simple asyour friend says but ih has been covered here many times so you can just do a search - to many factors.

 

[Fishpie]

Your Scubapros and Calypso are all piston regs. (Calypso and MK2 are unbalanced too)
As a broad statement diaphragm regs can handle extended service intervals better than piston regs and even without an environmental seal will handle the cold as well as a sealed piston 1st stage.....add an environmental seal to a diaphragm reg and they are the reg of choice for very cold water.