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couv
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Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2006 10:26 pm

ScubaPro piston spring shims now available from VDH

Sun Jun 28, 2015 4:40 pm

ScubaPro piston spring shims now available from VDH

Just as the title says these (previously) hard to obtain items are now available from Bryan at http://vintagedoublehose.com/index.php? ... p/49705228 These shims are good on a variety of ScubaPro piston regulators including the MK2, MK5, MK6, MK7, MK8, MK9, MK10, and MK200. The MK 20/25 use a different shim set as does the MK 3 which has a spring that will actually fit inside the inside diameter of these shims.

The shim kit comes with 3 each 0.010 inch thickness and 3 each 0.015 thickness shims. My test regulator was a MK5 with a stable intermediate pressure of 130 psi with a -|| ScubaPro soft seat (for lower IP) and no shims installed initially. Adding a single 0.010 shim resulted in an IP increase of 4 psi; a single 0.015 shim increased the IP by 7 psi.

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So what makes these items superior to the original shims? The fact that they are available-that's what! Not only are they available, but available in 2 different thicknesses so you can fine tune your favorite piston regulator's IP.

FYI & Gee whiz stuff: The black line on the regulator body is an index mark to return the seat carrier to exactly the same position each time. This helps eliminate double engraving of the soft seat. Additionally, screwing the carrier in or out can affect the IP. SP recommends a maximum of 3 shims. The soft seat mentioned is from a high dollar kit that has 3 seats included. ( -|| for the lowest IP; -| will increase the IP by ~ 4 psi; + will increase by ~ 8 psi over the -|| )....but you won't be needing that high dollar kit now, will you? You can get a quality service kit from Bryan for a much more reasonable price. Of course, if you want a high dollar kit....contact me. :-)

Couv

Update: I've gotten feedback from some of the Usual Suspects and unfortunately the shims cannot be used in the MK 20/25. I've not received any information on the MK 15 so if any of you DIY brethren or sistren know the answer please speak up.

In the meantime, Bryan has updated the website to reflect the usage on the MK2/200/5/6//7/8/9/10

Cheers,

Couv
A sincere THANK YOU to all at VDH who make this wonderful resource available and to all the thoughtful contributors.

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