Comparing the Sierra to the Zuexo Xjoy 14

Potapko · Nov 12, 2011

I am going to buy a scooter in the next couple of weeks and am looking for information from Sierra and Zuexo owners or testers.

Why these two?
The Zuexo I can buy here in Europe for a good price. The Sierra I can pick up when in the States in two weeks and fly back with my luggage.
I also cannot afford anything more.

What I am really looking for is why should I buy the Sierra over the Zuexo? Seems to me it has less run time, but I am not certain about this.

This leads me to a question as well. Why doesn't the Tahoe benchmark testing include average battery run time? Having the distance is great but I have no way to measure the distance of my dives. I will buy a scooter based on how long it will run at full speed and at cruising speed as well as minimum speed.
I need to know I can get x minutes at full speed and y minutes at slow speed.

Probably ruined my chances of getting a good answer to my first question by asking the second but here it is :eyebrow:

Tortuga68 · Nov 12, 2011

Dive-Xtras claim 39 minutes at max speed & 65 minutes at "cruise" for the Sierra. Not sure about the Xjoy14 but Halcyon claim 70/90 for their Suex-based R14 model

You can get factory refurb Sierras for $2650 which is a pretty good deal if you decide to go that way (compared to $3750 new)

I have a friend who has a few Sierras in his shop & they seem to always be under repair for one thing or another, compared to the Gavins and Silent Subs he also has which are fairly reliable

YMMV

Potapko · Nov 12, 2011

Tortuga68:
Dive-Xtras claim 39 minutes at max speed & 65 minutes at "cruise" for the Sierra. Not sure about the Xjoy14 but Halcyon claim 70/90 for their Suex-based R14 model

You can get factory refurb Sierras for $2650 which is a pretty good deal if you decide to go that way (compared to $3750 new)

I have a friend who has a few Sierras in his shop & they seem to always be under repair for one thing or another, compared to the Gavins and Silent Subs he also has which are fairly reliable

YMMV

You bring up another important point for me, and that is maintenance. If I can't fix it myself I have to send the Sierra a long way to get it repaired.

TSandM · Nov 12, 2011

Well, I don't know anything about the Suex, but we've had our Sierras for four years or so, and have never had a problem with either of them.

Potapko · Nov 12, 2011

TSandM:
Well, I don't know anything about the Suex, but we've had our Sierras for four years or so, and have never had a problem with either of them.

Thanks!
What kind of dive time do you get from them?
What speed do you use most often?
What do you really like and is there anything you dislike?

Potapko · Nov 12, 2011

Tortuga68:
Dive-Xtras claim 39 minutes at max speed & 65 minutes at "cruise" for the Sierra. Not sure about the Xjoy14 but Halcyon claim 70/90 for their Suex-based R14 model

You can get factory refurb Sierras for $2650 which is a pretty good deal if you decide to go that way (compared to $3750 new)

I have a friend who has a few Sierras in his shop & they seem to always be under repair for one thing or another, compared to the Gavins and Silent Subs he also has which are fairly reliable

YMMV

So, did you ever make a purchase? Are you still considering the options

Tortuga68 · Nov 12, 2011

TheDivingPreacher:
So, did you ever make a purchase? Are you still considering the options

No. Yes

Actually I decided that I liked the SLA-powered Silent Sub UV18, for the type of diving I would do and the location/storage/charging conditions

What I'm considering is whether it's worth dropping $4k on a new one... currently I'm leaning towards No as an answer to that question & looking for a second-hand one

ligersandtions · Nov 12, 2011

TheDivingPreacher:
You bring up another important point for me, and that is maintenance. If I can't fix it myself I have to send the Sierra a long way to get it repaired.

We do our own yearly servicing on our Sierras. We just buy the annual service kit and follow the instructions and videos. It doesn't take very long at all. We also have an assortment of spare parts for minor field repairs. Thankfully, I haven't had any major issues (like flooding) that would require me to send it back to Dive Xtras, so it's been a very reliable scooter. FWIW, in my group of buddies, we have something like six Sierras that get run hard and often, and have had literally no issues for the past year and a half (or more).

I don't have any experience with other scooters, but I've been happy with my Sierra.

pensacolaracer · Nov 12, 2011

As far as run times, when I use mine for shore diving, I ALWAYS run it in low gear and get about 70-75 minutes worth of trigger time out of the batteries. As you know, I have. when I am boat diving, I have both batteries with me and usually run in 3rd gear. I have not run my battery dead on a single boat dive yet.

I also do the annual maintenance myself. Changing the shaft seal is critical but not hard if you take your time and go easy.

I have never had an issue with mine other than one of the plastic covers for the battery housing cracking, so I just removed it and added a few extra pebbles of lead to compensate for the missing plastic.

Finally, the 5 speed shift on the fly trigger that Dive X uses is simply the best, but you have to rinse out the trigger after you dive or salt will get in there and potentially jam it up.

Potapko · Nov 13, 2011

pensacolaracer:
As far as run times, when I use mine for shore diving, I ALWAYS run it in low gear and get about 70-75 minutes worth of trigger time out of the batteries. As you know, I have. when I am boat diving, I have both batteries with me and usually run in 3rd gear. I have not run my battery dead on a single boat dive yet.

I also do the annual maintenance myself. Changing the shaft seal is critical but not hard if you take your time and go easy.

I have never had an issue with mine other than one of the plastic covers for the battery housing cracking, so I just removed it and added a few extra pebbles of lead to compensate for the missing plastic.

Finally, the 5 speed shift on the fly trigger that Dive X uses is simply the best, but you have to rinse out the trigger after you dive or salt will get in there and potentially jam it up.

Thanks, I am still considering your's by the way.

Comparing the Sierra to the Zuexo Xjoy 14

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