I assume most of you are here because you, like me, could not find any reviews on AquaTec products, or just wanted to learn a little bit more.
Today, I'll be reviewing the AquaTec Mark II or RG-2000. This review will be comparing the Mark II with the Oceanic Alpha 8 SP 5, as the AquaTec is in a similar price range.
Suprisingly for its low budget, the Mark II comprises of 2 HP(High Pressure) ports, compared to that of the slightly more expansive Alpha SP 5. Also, the Mark II is an enviromentally sealed regulator and the LP(Low Pressure) ports are on a different part of the first stage to the HP ports, allowing the reg and octo to move while the gauge would stay put. Of course, the famous,but more expansive Alpha SP 5 does not have any of the mentioned features.
High featured as the Makr II was, the one I got had very minor cosmatic features, which I'm sure if I asked nicely enough to the distributers, they would swap for another. One last problem I did find on the first stage was that the HP and LP ports used different sized allen(hex) keys. The LP used the standard 4mm allen key, but the HP ports used a rarer 4.5mm allen key(this is only a rough assumption as it is the allen key between 4mm and 5mm). Moving on, the second stage was also packed with features like pre-dive and dive mode and some kind of an air flow adjustment screw. Unfortunately, the Mark II felt much more flimsier than the Alpha 8 (if you have noticed that I have changed the Alpha SP 5 to just Alpha 8, that is because Alpha's first stage is called SP 5 and the second stage is called Alpha 8, not a mistake on my part by all means).
Also the second stage itself was much bigger compared to the tiny Alpha 8, like comparing an orange to a mandarin. I'm not saying bigger is better, I actually kind of liked the tiny Alpha 8. I'm not sure if the large size of the second stage regulator had influnenced the size of the mouth piece, but it was uncomfortably large for my small mouth which had grown accustom to the BOSS Elite Balanced Diaphragm regulator set which I was using until now. This is not a problem as a mouth piece can easily be changed and I was sure it would take me no time to get used to them, as they were of a very soft silicon compared to that of the Boss eilte. You have to remember before you take this second stage for a dive, you have to change the air intake, otherwise, you will feel so much air is coming out, you can breath at all, or the air just doesn't come out. Another big difference was the purge button, which was much harder to press on the Mark II than the Alpha 8, which I can only attribute to Oceanic's experience in the market. This may not be an error on the part of Aquatec, as if you take the inter-switchable coloured purge button off, you find an amazingly soft purge button underneath. I couldn't tell if they had just made the cover too thick and hard or made it purposely hard so you couldn't accidently purge is very unclear as AquaTec's website has no information apart from the very basic.
Infact, this is all it said:
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• 2 high pressure ports (7/16-20 UNF)
• 4 low pressure ports (3/8-24 UNF)
• First stage uses a pneumatically balanced diaphragm design
• Built in swivel on the low pressure port reduces the stress on the hose connections
• Second stage is a downstream demand valve with twin air intake control
The MARK II Regulator (RG-2000) contains: One unit of the RG-2000 First Stage and One Unit of the RG-2000S Second Stage maximum Intermediate pressure: 125-160 PSI. Inhalation Effort: 0.0-0.2 CIW (Column inches of water).
Exhalation Effort: 1.1 CIW
Avail Outlets: 2 HP Ports, 5 LP Ports
Flow rate: 30+SCFM (Air supply at 3000 PSI)
Caps color available: Black, Green or Yellow
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Sourced from: http://www.aquatecusa.com/products/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6_48&products_id=27
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If you wanted to compare some of the stats, here are just some parts of the information from Oceanic Australia:
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FEATURES & FUNCTIONS
ALPHA 8 SECOND STAGE
Valve Type - DEMAND
Integrated Purge Button - YES
Mouthpiece - ORTHODONTIC
Nitrox Compatibility - STANDARD TO 40%
Weight (without hose) - 6 OUNCES
Dimensions (front profile) - 2.9 INCHES
First Stage Configurations - PX-2/SP-4
Minimum Cracking Effort - 1.1 CIW*
Factory Set Inhalation Effort - 1.2 - 1.4 CIW*
Work of Breathing - 1.23 JOULES (PX-3)
- 1.47 JOULES (SP-5)
SP-5
Valve Type - UNBALANCED PISTON
Primary Material - MARINE BRASS
Low Pressure Ports - 4
High Pressure Ports - 1
Nitrox Compatibility - STANDARD TO 40%
300 BAR DIN Fitting - OPTIONAL
Weight - 26 OUNCES
Factory Set Intermediate Pressure - 140-145 PSI
Pressure Drop - 13 PSI
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Sourced from: http://www.oceanicaus.com.au/product.php?id=8#
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This rg-2000 looks alot like a rg-1002 from:
http://www.aquateccanada.ca/product/RG-1002
and it got a little more information compared to that of the USA site, but they do not have the Mark II second stage, which in USA is called the rg-2000s.
Pictures of the AquaTec Makr II/RG2000
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