Can you change dive computer battery yourself?

[JohnnyC]

my wife had a zoop. when the battery died, you need to change the o-ring along with the battery according to the instructions. unfortunately, the dive shop did not have the o-ring, and ended up buying a mares computer on the spot. i would suggest you get a couple extra batteries and o-rings for it.

You bought a new computer because the shop didn't have an o-ring? They refused to re-use the o-ring? The Suunto SKU for a battery replacement includes the o-ring. Sounds like your shop did you dirty.

 

[Neilwood]

@glennster Sounds like they upsold you pretty well - a $10-20 job (that they couldn't do but you could have at home) nets them a new computer

 

[kmarks]

You can buy kits for a battery change that include an o-ring and retention bracket at any shop that sells Suunto computers, or online for about $20-25. Shops will change the battery for you for a fee. As others have said, if the o-ring is still in good shape, you can buy a replacement battery at Walmart for about $4 and do it yourself with a little silicone grease. I have changed the batteries myself on my Zoop and Vyper (which have identical battery compartments) with no issues.

 

[glennster]

@glennster Sounds like they upsold you pretty well - a $10-20 job (that they couldn't do but you could have at home) nets them a new computer

we were in roatan when the computer took a dump. the nearest dive shop in west end was a mares dealer. we were between dives and needed to get back in the water. actually she is waaayy happier with the mares than the zoop. the zoop has a way conservative profile and locked her out while we were in cayman brac. it was the second dive of the first day of diving. she missed two days of diving. she was no where near deco limits.

 

[kmarks]

we were in roatan when the computer took a dump. the nearest dive shop in west end was a mares dealer. we were between dives and needed to get back in the water. actually she is waaayy happier with the mares than the zoop. the zoop has a way conservative profile and locked her out while we were in cayman brac. it was the second dive of the first day of diving. she missed two days of diving. she was no where near deco limits.

This sounds incredibly dangerous. Your Zoop crapped out after a morning dive, so you replaced it with a new computer during your surface interval? One that hadn't been in the water with you that morning? That new computer assumed that was dive 1 and it had no NLF, or OLF if you were on EANx.

 

[diversteve]

Change the o-ring - it's not worth the grief if it gets damaged during removal or has taken a set. I had to peel one off my Gekko once (same case) and didn't trust it to seal after that.

 

[glennster]

You bought a new computer because the shop didn't have an o-ring? They refused to re-use the o-ring? The Suunto SKU for a battery replacement includes the o-ring. Sounds like your shop did you dirty.

they would have replaced the battery, however the zoop manual doesnt recommend re-using the o-ring. so we elected to just buy a different computer and got the mares puck. traded the zoop off to some divers we met there. i did not want to risk flooding the zoop.

 

[glennster]

This sounds incredibly dangerous. Your Zoop crapped out after a morning dive, so you replaced it with a new computer during your surface interval? One that hadn't been in the water with you that morning? That new computer assumed that was dive 1 and it had no NLF, or OLF if you were on EANx.

dove the navy tables for the next two dives that day. no big deal , on air.

 

[scubadada]

we were in roatan when the computer took a dump. the nearest dive shop in west end was a mares dealer. we were between dives and needed to get back in the water. actually she is waaayy happier with the mares than the zoop. the zoop has a way conservative profile and locked her out while we were in cayman brac. it was the second dive of the first day of diving. she missed two days of diving. she was no where near deco limits.

dove the navy tables for the next two dives that day. no big deal , on air.

Hi @glennster

Both Mares and Suunto run reasonably conservative RGBM based decompression algorithms. I doubt there is much difference between them.

How did the Navy tables help you? Did you start with a residual nitrogen time to account for your previous dive(s)? The Navy tables are quite liberal on 1st dive, much more so than any of the other commonly used tables/computer deco algorithms. They are not really designed for repetitive rec dives with shorter SIs.

Out of interest, what computer/eco algorithm do you dive?

 

[glennster]

Hi @glennster

Both Mares and Suunto run reasonably conservative RGBM based decompression algorithms. I doubt there is much difference between them.

How did the Navy tables help you? Did you start with a residual nitrogen time to account for your previous dive(s)? The Navy tables are quite liberal on 1st dive, much more so than any of the other commonly used tables/computer deco algorithms. They are not really designed for repetitive rec dives with shorter SIs.

Out of interest, what computer/eco algorithm do you dive?

a little background, i started diving in 1971. did commercial training at florida institute of technology, school of marine and enviornmental tech, jensen beach florida in the mid '70s. did a lot of salvage work in the great lakes and midwest. pretty much now just do recreational diving and underwater photography with my wife and daughter. wife has 38 years of diving experience, daughter, 10 years. my workhorse computer is an old orca edge, ie (the brick) i have a couple of them. i do use the noaa diving manual and refer to the tables from there. i do carry a set of repetitive dive tables with me, i think they were sold by dacor. for her repetitive dive profiles, it was no issue to use the data from her first dive to plan the rest of the day. prior to the introduction of dive computers, all our diving was done off the tables. did a lot of lobstering off west palm, jupiter, lantana, boca and boynton.