Post by LSDeep on May 27, 2005 7:52:07 GMT -5
Scubapro Mark 20. In our last email we reported that the first stage of a Scubapro Mark 20 regulator used by a diver with the National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration developed a serious open crack. Scubapro told NOAA that the problem was due to overtorqueing the yoke nut and we reported that NOAA accepted that explanation. We were wrong and NOAA disagrees with Scubapro. NOAA contacted us and Dave Dinsmore, director of the NOAA diving program, said, "Both Scubapro and NOAA hired independent experts to evaluate the cracks and assess the likely cause. NOAA's expert determined that no deformation, thread damage or gouging was noticed at the yoke thread (male) and yoke adapter (female) indicating that the yoke had not been overtorqued." NOAA discovered cracks in three out of 298 regulators. NOAA ordered the MK20 out of the water and Scubapro has since replaced all of NOAA's MK20 regulators with MK25 models. If you own a MK 20, carefully examine the second stage for cracks and if you find one, contact your Scubapro dealer.