Which DPV for me?

[cool_hardware52]

UV-18 might cut it though, little extra weight but decent burn etc. I do like the SS scooters, seem well-made. I was talking to a friend from the PI today and he reminded me that NiMH don't like interrupted charging (electricity supply is prone to brown-outs in Puerto Galera) or high ambient temps; whereas SLA cope with the former and like the latter

A power interruption is not a big deal for a properly designed NiMh charger, the charger simply restarts when the power comes back on line. Unless this is happening many times during a given recharge it's hard for me to see how that impacts charging.

NiMh batteries don't charge well when hot, but that requires that the battery be run quite hard, and then placed directly on the charger, this is pretty unlikely in the real world.

There is a pervasive "myth" about high ambient temps interfering with NiMh batteries, and this myth grew out poorly designed NiMh canister light batteries that used a series / parallel design and a thermistor.

Series / parallel cell arraignment is expressly cautioned against by all NiMh cell manufactures, and can lead to charging problems that have been incorrectly attributed to high ambient temps.

A pure series NiMh pack does not have these problems. I know all the Nimh packs used in the Dive X line are pure series.

Tobin

 

[DA Aquamaster]

If you are only using it every 2-3 months, an NiMH pack could be a bit more of a pain than an SLA pack.

The main difference between the Suex and Halcyon scooters are detail improvements that I really like, but I wish Halcyon offerred an SLA option like the stock Suex scooters.

 

[ucfdiver]

One thing that I really like about Suex/ Halcyon scooters is the ability to easily remove the prop.

I've had fishing line sucked into a gavin prop that wrapped around the shaft. With the Suex/ Halcyon, you simply unscrew the prop, remove the line, and enjoy your day. If that happens with a Mako style prop, you've got to get a screwdriver (or two or 3) and strip it all the way down to the shaft to unfoul the line.

+1. I was diving with a buddy recently and his scooter jammed up with fishing line. It was a suex, so within 2 minutes it had been cleared and was ready to go.

Earlier this year I was diving on a boat full of Gavins and someone got line in it, which ended up causing everyone to have to wait a solid 15 minutes before we could start the dive.

I own a 18/33 amp gavin, but this is the #1 thing that I wish I had the ability to do. Speed is nice, but not something that would swing my decision heavily.

Fishing/cave line entanglement is the #1 failure point I've seen on scooters across all brands.

 

[danvolker]

+1. I was diving with a buddy recently and his scooter jammed up with fishing line. It was a suex, so within 2 minutes it had been cleared and was ready to go.

Earlier this year I was diving on a boat full of Gavins and someone got line in it, which ended up causing everyone to have to wait a solid 15 minutes before we could start the dive.

I own a 18/33 amp gavin, but this is the #1 thing that I wish I had the ability to do. Speed is nice, but not something that would swing my decision heavily.

Fishing/cave line entanglement is the #1 failure point I've seen on scooters across all brands.

I remember that dive....pretty much hosed the diving for that day....

Hole in the Wall dive with over 200 to 300 goliaths tommorow, if you are interested ?

 

[ucfdiver]

I remember that dive....pretty much hosed the diving for that day....

Hole in the Wall dive with over 200 to 300 goliaths tommorow, if you are interested ?

I wish, I'm flying to California to go diving in 3 weeks, plus a safety clinic I've got to do in 2 weeks, so my ability to take off work to dive is limited for a few weeks Anything planned for October?

 

[ajduplessis]

H t16

 

[DaMaDo]

My friend has a Gavin 18a and a Halcyon T-16. I bought a used SS-19 so I would never have to carry that Gavin again. I appreciate the lighter weight and front carry handle of the SS. I didn't scooter much when I had to use his Gavin. That's obviously a personal preference though.

I think his T-16 is top quality and I especially like the trigger it uses. The prop shroud seems a lot sturdier too. It's expensive but the quality of build and materials is visible.

When we scooter together I have my SS-19 on pitch 5 or 6 with his T-16 on max. One nice thing about SS is that a lot of the parts are the same as Gavin, Mako, Hollis, Techna, etc so they are easier to find (and also cheap). Even Dive-X makes the entire rear prop assembly for $67.

I considered the sierra but I preferred the performance of the SS-19 and the factory is also really close for any support (which is excellent BTW).

 

[Tortuga68]

Thanks everyone for the input, it's been valuable... although I haven't made a decision yet! I was close a couple of times but have now decided to put it off until after I visit PG next month, as which time I will try an SS, a Sierra and a Gavin to get some first-hand impressions

I've taken the SS UV-26 (too heavy) off my short list and replaced it with a Gavin Short. The decision point at the moment is SLA vs NiMH, which it would be fair to say there is a lot of conflicting information about; I can see that they both have their pros & cons. So here's where it's at right now for me...

SLA: SS UV-18 or Gavin Short vs NiMH: Sierra or SS N-19

The refurbished Sierra still seems like the best bang-for-the-buck deal at $2650

Hopefully when I try them out next month one brand will jump out at me as the one I like best for OW ocean diving

 

[matt t.]

I have a mini-Gavin that I've been using for almost 2 years now. I bought it new on one of Georges "specials" for $2,875 delivered. The reviews on the original mini-G's were less that complimentary, but after seeing some of the revisions and the end of the season pricing, I decided to try one. My 2 closest diving buddies have the X Sierra and the SS N-19. Top speed wise we are all about the same, but the mini-G and N-19 have at least 50% more run time, and probably more depending on speed. I've run mine over 90 minutes (continuously) and never killed the battery yet. The Sierra has an advantage with the "on the fly" shifting, but it's not really a big deal to me to stop the scooter and adjust the prop. The Sierra battery dies every dive between 45-60 minutes. Before buying the Gavin I was very close to buying the Sierra, but in the end the burn time made the decision for me. Some people swear by the "T" handle on the X or the motorcycle handle on the SS (without even trying the Gavin handle), but I have no problems with the Mako handle on the Gavin, and actually prefer having another handle on the left side of the scooter if I want to use it. A properly adjusted tow chord and relaxed steering hand make it easy. I don't travel, so weight isn't an issue (with any scooter). The speed on my current scooter is more than enough. Going to fast causes discomfort with a rebreather DSV in my mouth due to the pull on the loop hoses. Burn time is fine @ 90 minutes. I would buy the Gavin again, because of the cost/value. My 2nd choice would be the SS N-19, with a used Cuda 650 3rd. Next time I have some extra $$$ I will be looking into finding a used Gavin or SS lead acid scooter as an extra for scooterless friends to ride. Recently there have been a bunch for sale very reasonably.

 

[Tortuga68]

About time for an update...

Last year I tried an SS UV-18 and a Gavin short - I wanted to try a Sierra as well but the rental ones were all out of action. As you would expect, not much difference between the Gavin & SS, apart from the handles. I didn't mind the Gavin setup, angle didn't bother me for a short ride & the trigger was very easy to keep depressed whereas the SS required slightly more effort.

The scooters were fun, but not my idea of $4000 (retail) worth of fun... so I went cold on the whole idea for a while.

Earlier this year I got excited about it again and decided to look for a second-hand Gavin or UV-18. After a few false starts I found one in the US for around $2k and had it shipped to a friend in Texas, minus batteries. It was then stripped down and transported to the Philippines in checked luggage. Straight through customs - much to my relief! $180 worth of motorcycle batteries and some assembly & weighting later and she was all ready to go diving.

I've only done 3 dives so far, mostly just playing around, but good fun and quite happy. Since the distance from the dive shop to the boat is all of 5m, the extra weight doesn't bother anyone - and given that there was an extended 36 hour brown-out in Puerto Galera last week, I feel confident that the SLA batteries won't be a problem. Maybe NiMH wouldn't be either, but I don't want to find out.

I'm currently looking for a LHS extension handle as I found already it's not always convenient to use your right hand to drive (one up for the Gavin design), and also thinking about getting a little console to mount a compass and analogue depth gauge - if anyone has recommendations for those options I'd be happy to hear them.

I plan to change the D-ring handle to the moe common webbing type, and also considering the optional dry glove trigger to reduce the slight thumb effort required.