Why discard an older regulator?

[pkmaven]

We like to think that quality diving equipment will last, and we don't want to become "equipmentfiles" who constantly ditch older, working gear for something new and shiny that does the same thing. In 1977 I bought a Poseidon Cyklon regulator because my friend owned a dive shop and, as a wreck diver, he swore by this "best in the world" regulator. I have used it for many years and I am glad to report that this regulator is excellent even today. I went on a boat dive off the coast of Boston to a wreck that was 100 feet down. When my buddy and I (tethered) reached the ocean floor we were both thrilled with the "ease of breath" at 100 feet with our Poseidon regulators. We had been told that any regulator will work for most sport diving but that this regulator worked at any depth. Because Parkway no longer imports Poseidon, it is not as easy to find and, because it comes from Sweden, it is very costly. These factors do nothing to diminish the regulator's quality or it's reliability. While some divers tell me that noone uses these regulators anymore and that i should dump it and get another brand, I tell them that they obviously have never driven a Mercedes-Benz! P.

 

[Lemonade]

...for as long as obtaining spare parts and servicing them does not become an adventure of its own.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I have several Scubapro Mk 10 balanced adjustables that see service on stage bottles and saftey tanks and my spouse still dives one in preference to a newer MK 20 D400. My son dives a Mk 10 D400.

In many ways the Mk 10 is superior to the Mk 20 and 25 and with a properly maintained SPEC kit, won't freeze up in extremely cold water like the new and "improved" Mk 15/20 and 25 with the dubious TIS system.

An old Scubapro "Adjustable" second stage (fist made in the mid 60's) can still be upgraded to near G250 standard as a "Balanced Adjustable". The 25 yr old Balanced Ajustable design has the same internal parts as the still in production G250 and all it lacks is the adjustable flow vane in the mouthiece. They breathe just as well and have a more durable metal case that maintains it's looks far longer and offers better heat transfer to prevent freeze ups in cold water.

I also have a couple of Mk 3's that are nearly identical to the "new" Mk 2 that adds DIN compatibility and an extra low pressure port (4 instead of 3).

Scubapro is very good about parts support for long out of production regulators and as long as you get get parts and service there is really very little reason to stop using a good performing regulator. Many improvements in newer regs really are not performance improvements at all but rather manufacturing and cost cutting improvements that are sold to divers on some other basis.

 

[ElectricZombie]

As long as you can get parts, keep the reg. I've got some regs that are as old as I am and they work better than the new stuff that has come out.

 

[Cudabait]

I've got an old Aqua lung 2 hose reg that I've had since the 50's. It still works. I keep it around to remind of what we used to use. My friends, at the time, thought I was suicidal when I was one of the first guys to start using a single hose reg. Bottom line--If you take good care of your equip and maintain it properly, it will continue to meet sport diving criteria. Dive safe.

 

[Bob3]

You'll be happy to know that there is a ready supply of Cyklon parts available here in the US. Viking took over Poseidon's distribution a year or 2 ago & now parts are not only readily available, but cheaper than they have been for years.
The 2nd stage of the new Cyklon 5000 uses the same rebuild kit as the 30+ year old Cyklon 300. The 1st stages have gone through a couple of changes but parts are still available for the originals.
Heck, your grandkids may wind up diving the critters years from now.