Blacktip DPV

[Whitrzac]

Dont forget that a subsea viper is $5000 and a magnus is 7000
The viper has over 2x the range and mag nearly 4

How do you figure that? I havent seen any testing done on range, power, or longevety on the 'new' scooters?

 

[fullytek]

How do you figure that? I havent seen any testing done on range, power, or longevety on the 'new' scooters?

Basic watt hour calculations
The viper has an 840 wh battery and the magnus 1350

2 high end tool batteries have a combined capacity of 432 wh

Its simple math.

 

[stuartv]

They're a cheap dpv, half the cost of anything else comparable. They have their issues, but generally work for most people. If you dive with people who all have $7k scooters, you're in for a bad time, they will leave you in their wake.
I probably have 100+hrs on mine by now. I'm one of the 3 people that like the travel tube, it is short enough for me to carry in one hand. I went back to it recently after using the tech tube for most of my dives.
Max depth I've had it is 317ft IIRC, plenty of dives in the 250+ range.

TBH If you dont need the air travel ability of the dewalts, go with a 20ah pack from the get go. Way more capacity and around the same price IIRC.

Max sustained speed is gear 5. 6 runs for about 20-25min before the esc overheats.
Expect to spend the first day trimming it out again. The tube compresses enough that you're going to want to be able to take it to your normal dive depth to check.

I do like the Travel tube, too. Short and light. I use the Tech tube when I dive the Clark because I tend to drive the scooter around inside the wreck. Inside a wreck, I prefer a scooter that stays in trim when I stop.

2 x Dewalt 12's are about $500, total.

Who is offering 20 Ah BlackTip packs for that? I thought they were around $1000.

Or, by "around the same price", did you mean the same price as the equivalent capacity worth of Dewalts? In which case, yes. Buy the 20 Ah pack instead of 4 x Dewalt 12s.

I have never needed more than 1 pair of 12's in my BlackTip, so it has not made sense for me to buy the 20Ah.

I have had the same experience with Gear 6 not being sustainable continuously. I think the BT manual said 7 and 8 will cause it to throttle back, but it doesn't mention gear 6. But, like you said, I have also had gear 6 throttle back after a longer run without stopping or slowing down.

 

[Whitrzac]

I have covid pricing in my mind still when 12ah batts went way up in price. 2x 12ah + dual charger was $700+

Jona is around $1k

Blacktip DPV 20Ah Battery Pack — ExplorerTechnology

Lithium Battery Disclaimer The long awaited 20Ah battery pack for the Blacktip DPV boasting 67% more range than a set of Dewalt 12ah batteries! Constructed in a 10s4p format of BAK N21700CG Li-ion cells to provide a high capacity pack and a Bluetooth BMS Module that allows monitoring of the pack

www.explorertechnologyllc.com

Next Stage Gauges is $750

Next Stage Gauges - Cavepack 20AH Blacktip Battery

What is the Cavepack 20AH Battery Pack? A drop in battery pack for the Blacktip DPV that requires no modification A 20AH capacity battery pack that is proven to extend the range over 12AH Dewalt batteries by 60% A battery pack that moves weight towards the front of the DPV, enabling easy trimming.

www.nextstagegauges.com

I have the NSG batt, a buddy has Jona's pack. They both get the job done.

I do like the Travel tube, too. Short and light. I use the Tech tube when I dive the Clark because I tend to drive the scooter around inside the wreck. Inside a wreck, I prefer a scooter that stays in trim when I stop.

2 x Dewalt 12's are about $500, total.

Who is offering 20 Ah BlackTip packs for that? I thought they were around $1000.

Or, by "around the same price", did you mean the same price as the equivalent capacity worth of Dewalts? In which case, yes. Buy the 20 Ah pack instead of 4 x Dewalt 12s.

I have never needed more than 1 pair of 12's in my BlackTip, so it has not made sense for me to buy the 20Ah.

I have had the same experience with Gear 6 not being sustainable continuously. I think the BT manual said 7 and 8 will cause it to throttle back, but it doesn't mention gear 6. But, like you said, I have also had gear 6 throttle back after a longer run without stopping or slowing down.

I've built a 15ah pack into the nose of my BT/travel tube and it almost trims out/neutral. Its still a little nose light, but just slowly points upwards over 5-10s.

 

[stuartv]

I have covid pricing in my mind still when 12ah batts went way up in price. 2x 12ah + dual charger was $700+

Jona is around $1k

Blacktip DPV 20Ah Battery Pack — ExplorerTechnology

Lithium Battery Disclaimer The long awaited 20Ah battery pack for the Blacktip DPV boasting 67% more range than a set of Dewalt 12ah batteries! Constructed in a 10s4p format of BAK N21700CG Li-ion cells to provide a high capacity pack and a Bluetooth BMS Module that allows monitoring of the pack

www.explorertechnologyllc.com

Next Stage Gauges is $750

Next Stage Gauges - Cavepack 20AH Blacktip Battery

What is the Cavepack 20AH Battery Pack? A drop in battery pack for the Blacktip DPV that requires no modification A 20AH capacity battery pack that is proven to extend the range over 12AH Dewalt batteries by 60% A battery pack that moves weight towards the front of the DPV, enabling easy trimming.

www.nextstagegauges.com

I have the NSG batt, a buddy has Jona's pack. They both get the job done.


I've built a 15ah pack into the nose of my BT/travel tube and it almost trims out/neutral. Its still a little nose light, but just slowly points upwards over 5-10s.

Great info!

Now, if somebody would just develop a mod for the BlackTip to allow charging without opening the scooter...

 

[Whitrzac]

Great info!

Now, if somebody would just develop a mod for the BlackTip to allow charging without opening the scooter...

Would be easy enough to drill a passthrough in the tailcone and put an EOcord/grommet on it.

 

[stuartv]

Would be easy enough to drill a passthrough in the tailcone and put an EOcord/grommet on it.

I think a useful solution would need to be a bit more sophisticated than that.

E.g. if you did just that, and connected the wiring on the inside directly to the battery so that you could charge it from the outside, then the connection on the outside would be "hot" all the time. Which means that any water that got to it would short circuit the battery. Right?

Also, the external charging port would need to be wired internally in some way that allowed you to disconnect the battery from the motor when not in use, so that the battery didn't run down and die in a week or two while just sitting.

 

[broncobowsher]

My UWLD charge ports are hot and get wet. Doesn't appear to be a problem.
Completely possible to have it set up with an on-board charger that disconnects the packs (electronically) when it sees power applied. Smart charger won't cook the battery as well. Completely doable.

The worst part is having to make a circuit that disconnects the packs from the blacktip. Adding layers of complexity.

 

[Superlyte27]

Basic watt hour calculations
The viper has an 840 wh battery and the magnus 1350

2 high end tool batteries have a combined capacity of 432 wh

Its simple math.

It doesn’t work that way. It only works that way if all other things were equal, like efficiency of prop and motor. The prop and motor on the viper and magnus were a 40 year old design for most of their lives. The motor and prop for the Genesis were purposely built for the Genesis. It’s the reason that a 25lb Genesis at ~800watts is faster and runs virtually as long as an XK1 at over 1200watts and over 50lbs.

I mean do you know what the value of having a 65 volt system over a 24 volt system is? Well, me neither, but @JonNellis does

 

[fullytek]

It doesn’t work that way. It only works that way if all other things were equal, like efficiency of prop and motor. The prop and motor on the viper and magnus were a 40 year old design for most of their lives. The motor and prop for the Genesis were purposely built for the Genesis. It’s the reason that a 25lb Genesis at ~800watts is faster and runs virtually as long as an XK1 at over 1200watts and over 50lbs.

I mean do you know what the value of having a 65 volt system over a 24 volt system is? Well, me neither, but @JonNellis does

The viper runs on 24 v and the mag at 44
Also what is the retail price of the machine you are talking about?