Battery Replacement in Uwatec Air X Nitrox impossible

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Okay... I was given this computer and I figured that I could sell it. It is an Uwatec Air X Nitrox made in 1998, no recalls on this unit, only had 2 dives on this unit but the battery is dead. Now for the fun stuff!

Of course Uwatec says it must be sent to them for service and battery replacement, I say how hard can it be. So has anyone replaced the battery on one of these computers? Any step by step instructions or is it really that hard?

Next issue, the wireless transmitter battery replacement. I noticed right off of the bat that they have filled the allen keys or torx key slots with solder... Again, how hard could it be to replace the battery in this? Anyone done it?

If it's manufactured like the SmartCom, there are a number of reasons it's "factory service only"

  • You can't buy the battery. Anywhere. It's custom. That's why it lasts for 5-7 years.
  • The case is filled with some sort of oil/grease. When you open it, you'll have a mess and no way to refill the case.
  • You can't get the replacement seal you'll need to reseal the case
  • When you send it back, they'll test it and recalibrate it for free when they change the battery.
Have the owner send it back for service. The service is free. If they can't fix it (parts availability) they'll generally offer you an amazing deal on a current model.

Terry
 
being a scuba pro dealer for 10 yrs its better to send it in what you are trying to do is what thier trying to prevent. some cheap sob messing with a comp to sell to the next cheap sob who gets bent because thier to cheap to get the comp serviced correctly. its a mater of voltage and checking the system. they have a good reputation on thier comp and want to keep it that way.
@$%@ if you carry it to a scuba pro dealer you could porbably get a new onr for no charge.
but as cheap as you are thats not going to happen. I think you added to many zeros (400-500) 40-50 dives you cant be that maticolus about a camera and so mondane about a dive comp I dosent make sense. If a camera floods pic are lost if your comp is civing you the wrong info your screwed just saying
 
That is always my favorite theory on things... After all, isn’t it always about the money? lol...

The battery and service are free.

The clock is ticking now for this computer before it undergoes surgery... I give it 1 week before the surgeon is going to get busy.... haha!!!

Once you open it, it will never work underwater again.

Terry
 
...ummm, not too sure I'd get NASA involved, they've had some well publicized 'issues' with leaking O-rings, if ya know what I mean!


:rofl3:

Maybe I will insist on replacing the o-ring myself, lol… You are probably right, NASA doesn’t need anymore o-ring issues. This post just gets better by the minute. Not too sure how helpful it is anymore but it is at least providing me with amusement… :popcorn:
 
The battery and service are free.
Assuming you paid list price for it from an authorized dealer, which is probably 50% more than the internet price. So, not exactly free.
 
being a scuba pro dealer for 10 yrs its better to send it in what you are trying to do is what thier trying to prevent. some cheap sob messing with a comp to sell to the next cheap sob who gets bent because thier to cheap to get the comp serviced correctly. its a mater of voltage and checking the system. they have a good reputation on thier comp and want to keep it that way.
@$%@ if you carry it to a scuba pro dealer you could porbably get a new onr for no charge.
but as cheap as you are thats not going to happen. I think you added to many zeros (400-500) 40-50 dives you cant be that maticolus about a camera and so mondane about a dive comp I dosent make sense. If a camera floods pic are lost if your comp is civing you the wrong info your screwed just saying

If I truly cared about this computer whether or not it ever worked again I wouldn’t be so "mundane" about it. Truth is I honestly think that this comp is worthless because of it's age and the new technological advances in the industry I think that if it even cost me more than $25 dollars I would rather cannibalize it because it was free, it is a dinosaur, and not that it matters but it looks cheesy and old. It is not about me being a cheap sob it is about wanting answers to my questions (why can't you change your own battery in it).

If I was to get a battery and successfully change it, reassemble the entire unit I hope you don't think for a single minute that I would trust it, that would be crazy. I would however take it on a few dives along with my computer (an Uwatec Smart tec) and compare the profiles see if they are on the same sheet of music.

I find it rather impressive that you decide to insult someone that you don't know anything about; it says a lot about you. From an integrity standpoint, when I say that I have had that many dives toting a camera and have had no flooding I meant it. When I say that I am meticulous about ensuring seals I mean it, when I say that I have taken apart a sidescan sonar unit (a Klein 3900) and serviced/ replaced/ upgraded parts I mean it. I do on average 200 dives a year for work alone, in my line of work the majority of the time (depending on the mission) I carry a camera with me, not to take pretty pics of fishy but for evidence, training, documentation and anything else this cheap sob can think of although the water that I have to dive the majority of the time ranges from black water to a murky 10ft viz and not always picture perfect.

Now, let us look at it from this angle now, the sonar unit costs approx $65K, the towfish alone is about $45K. I am going to to go out on a limb here and speculate that you are most likely not a millionaire so I'm going to bet that if you have that much money invested into something you will probably be pretty meticulous about it, am I wrong?

The camera that I have been diving with over the years since '04 is an Olympus C-7070 with an Ikelite case (maybe not a fortune invested but I love the camera), it has never flooded on me, never! Why? Maybe luck, maybe because I have my own money tied up in it and I act like it. If I had any serious money tied up in this POS dinosaur of a computer and the manufacturer said that there is no way under any circumstances that a user can service the unit and it must be sent in to the manufacturer maybe I wouldn't be so "mundane" about the situation or would I take the matter so lightly, I would send it to the manufacturer for service. However, since this comp was FREE I don't give a %^&* about it or what happens to it, at this point it is my own curiosity that needs to see the inside of it. Is there harm in that? Would I sell it to someone after I did that, no, well not to someone I liked anyways :D.... jk

On another note about people getting bent by relying solely on a computer has always been interesting to me as well; this could be a whole new thread in itself.... My opinion is this..... No matter what type of computer I have with me, I plan my dive and dive my plan every time and by doing this I have never been bent. Even on an "emergency type dive" I will have an idea of what my profile should look like (i.e. max depth, max no deco limits, etc.) I will know my limits of the dive before I dive. I don't allow anyone on my team to use computers at work only bottom timers, gauges, and watches I think it leads to carelessness, complacency and make them dependant on them, most PSD dive teams and tech divers do the same thing. I will use my computer when I do recreational dives and then only as a guide and not as gospel. I think when people put their lives 100% on what that computer tells them when they don't have the 1st clue of what their no deco limit is for the dive they are on are idiots in the first place. Then to take that a step further the people who go into a deco profile on a computer when they have never stepped foot in a basic deco procedure class or even have a basic understanding of a decompression procedure are setting themselves up to be bent in the from the start. Unfortunately most of us who have been diving for a while have seen these divers out there or even worse you are that diver.

Now that I have gone off on a rant and we are so far off of the topic I almost forgot what my original post was.... I do appreciate your input but my advice is to try to lighten up and don't take yourself to seriously as you can see everyone on this post has been either helpful or amusing but always respectful and we have all has been getting along just fine until the cheap sob's and calling me a liar came out. Seriously, take it down a notch or go post on another thread where people enjoy hearing your insults. So take your blood pressure meds before you make your next post.

Scubaflier.... Knowing that you are a Scuba Pro dealer I would truly hope you don't act like this or treat your customers like this (unless this is written in your business plan) :D, if you do you may find your profit margins may go up when you stop demeaning them, but hey after all, what do I know, I am just a stupid, cheap, lying sob..... :no:

Lastly, speaking of cheap SOB’s I can afford a basic spelling and grammar check so I don’t look like a dumb SOB, something else a good Scuba Pro dealer should consider, it may make you seem a little more reputable when you can spell correctly or at least use a spell check, (unless this is in your business plan as well).

:grammartime:

I'd be willing to bet that I am not the only person on this thread that is thinking what I just wrote.... :D


:focus:
 
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If it's manufactured like the SmartCom, there are a number of reasons it's "factory service only"

  • You can't buy the battery. Anywhere. It's custom. That's why it lasts for 5-7 years.
  • The case is filled with some sort of oil/grease. When you open it, you'll have a mess and no way to refill the case.
  • You can't get the replacement seal you'll need to reseal the case
  • When you send it back, they'll test it and recalibrate it for free when they change the battery.
Have the owner send it back for service. The service is free. If they can't fix it (parts availability) they'll generally offer you an amazing deal on a current model.

Terry

Okay... I was given this computer and I figured that I could sell it. It is an Uwatec Air X Nitrox made in 1998, no recalls on this unit, only had 2 dives on this unit but the battery is dead. Now for the fun stuff!

Of course Uwatec says it must be sent to them for service and battery replacement, I say how hard can it be. So has anyone replaced the battery on one of these computers? Any step by step instructions or is it really that hard?

The Air X series was one of the better UWATEC units over the years - unfortunately it is no longer supported. I have been a SCUBAPRO Dealer for over a decade and was still diving one of these units recreationally until 2006, when my battery died the last time. When you send the unit in you will get 2 options - trash it or pay a significant upgrade fee to get the comparable new version. Turns out the battery replacement must be too difficult for even the factory - as I have older units they still support without issue.

Safe Diving,
 
Bowtie 22 Just checked your profile I was right on the money about you.
Not really a dive pro just a cop with a bad attitude.
thats why you don't wan't to follow the rules you think you are above the rules.
A police officer in my city thought that because he was a cop he didn't need to follow the rules like everyone else. got in a helicopter and thought he didn't need a license to fly it because he was the law. now we have one less helicopter and one less person giving cops a bad name
change the battery and go for a dive something good might come from it
 
Bowtie 22 Just checked your profile I was right on the money about you.
Not really a dive pro just a cop with a bad attitude.
You found that in his profile? Because I didn't see where he listed his bad attitude in his profile, and I don't see any evidence of it here. You, on the other hand, seem to have taken a lot of offense over somebody wanting to tinker with the computer that they own.
thats why you don't wan't to follow the rules you think you are above the rules.
I understand opening the computer would void the warranty, but what rule do you think he's breaking? Is there a law somewhere that bars battery changes in Air-X computers outside the factory? Is it like practicing medicine without a license?
A police officer in my city thought that because he was a cop he didn't need to follow the rules like everyone else. got in a helicopter and thought he didn't need a license to fly it because he was the law. now we have one less helicopter and one less person giving cops a bad name
You're worried he might "fly" his home battery change and give cops a bad name?
change the battery and go for a dive something good might come from it
Are you wishing harm upon him for having the temerity to open his computer--the one that he owns? As a long-time Scubapro dealer, what dreadful scenario do you see unfolding if a computer does malfunction during a dive? As a ScubaPro representative, is the firm willing to take responsibility for the death or DCI that you seem to think would inevitably result? Because my Air Z Nitrox malfunctioned without ever having been opened. In an incredible stroke of luck I somehow managed to escape death and crippling injury, but how about for those not so lucky? Is Scubapro ready to step up to the plate? Just for the ones who didn't change the battery themselves, of course.
 
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https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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