Buying second hand equipment

[Bred22]

I have been looking into buying a back plate and wing system for a little while now and I have found a Halcyon Eclipse Infinity Wing System in a second hand shop compleat and looks good. The asking price is around £540. I am testing it on Monday as I have never used a bp/w before. It looks good and comes with aluminium back plate, back pad shoulder pads, single tank adapter, two stainless steal tank bands I'm not sure if it's 30 or 40lb of lift though. It has apparently only done a few dives as the guy bought it to do a cave filming project less then a year ago and isn't using it anymore. it is the shop owners won system and has only had one owner (him).

Is is there any thing I should look out for in particular when testing as I've never bought anything second hand.

Are there known failure points with this system I should look for while testing.

Is is this a good price for a used system.

Would 30lb or 40lb be best for me at the moment I am only doing easy warm water dives to 40m buy plan to progress to tech when I'm experienced enough I am 5,10 and 11.5st


WHAT WOULD YOU DO!!

---------- Post added September 6th, 2014 at 05:34 PM ----------

Or should I go for a cheaper system I could get for a cheaper price new e.g. Xdeep or dive rite

 

[Oldbear]

Halcyon makes a great product and they command a pretty penny for them too. I do not know if the configuration you mentioned is a decent price or not. So hopefully other SBers will chime in. Most BP/Ws I have seen have a stainless steel back plate. But at your weight an Aluminum might be sufficient. But if Stainless steel is not too heavy I like them better than Al...just my opinion.

What gets me is the price. I found new Halcyon Eclipse Infinity Wing System for £551 ($899 USD). I would think for a few extra pounds you could get a brand new system and know 100% of its dive and maintenance history. But I do not know the exact prices of your region.

As far as sting look for leaks in the wing and exhaust hose. Smell the bladder for nastiness. If it stinks than you can be pretty sure it was not well taken care of. Look for wear spots in the wing and webbing. Inflate it fully and make sure it holds air...weight it down if possible to the maximum limit.

 

[Bred22]

I am living in koh tao Thailand at the moment and gear here is more expensive and so is shipping for the western world. I went into the halcyon shop today and got a quote for the cheapest system they could possible give me no pads ect.. And it is 43,800 baht Which is a massive £840 the second hand one is 28000 baht which is 5000 cheaper then the aqualung standard jacked bcd I tested the other day.
Also I'm hoping to do a little bartering

I also think the ss back plate would be preferable as I will be buying a 3mm long wetsuit soon and in the next few months I will be moving to slightly colder water and hopefully deeper depths and plan on getting a 5mm wet suit. However at the moment I only use 2.4kg of weight with a 3mm shortie (when I have my jet fins on). However one of the massive advantages of a bp/w system as I understand it is parts can be swopped out at will. Although this means even more money.

 

[Oldbear]

I think if it dives well and tests well ...grab it.

 

[Scared Silly]

I would say figure out the wing lift. For single tank diving in water you really do not need more than 30 lbs of lift. The larger 40 lbs would work but not be efficient and would probably taco wrap the tank. Also for warm water I like having a SS plate as then less weight on a belt or in pockets. IMHO it sounds like a warm water double set up and that is not really what you need.

I would check out https://www.deepseasupply.com. You can probably get the system you need for less even with shipping from the states.

 

[scubadiver888]

I'd recommend getting the aluminum plate. I started off diving steel plate, steel tanks and 7mm wetsuit. I had to wear a few extra pounds on a belt to get down. I'm diving warmer waters now and wearing a 3mm wetsuit. I find if I use my steel plate and a steel tank I'm -6 pounds. By switching to an aluminum plate I find I can dive 3mm wetsuit with steel tank. In other words, with a steel tank some configurations are just too heavy for a 3mm wetsuit but with an aluminum plate I can dive everything with a 3mm wetsuit. If I wear a thicker wetsuit I have to add some weights to a belt but that is better than being too heavy.

 

[Scared Silly]

I'd recommend getting the aluminum plate. I'm diving warmer waters now and wearing a 3mm wetsuit. I find if I use my steel plate and a steel tank I'm -6 pounds. By switching to an aluminum plate I find I can dive 3mm wetsuit with steel tank.

I bet the OP is diving an Al80. Which in that case the aluminum plate is probably going to mean weight on the belt.

 

[TSandM]

I would have said it's no bargain, but clearly it is where you are! Plates really don't degrade, and harness is cheap to replace if it needs it. The only portion of a used setup to question is the wing. You want to make sure it holds air, and that the inflator is in good shape. Perhaps you could dicker a bit with the shop owner, to have them service the inflator as part of the purchase?

Personally, I would go with a less expensive brand, but where you are, you might be in a situation where shipping and duty charges would run the price up nearly as high.

 

[scubadiver888]

I bet the OP is diving an Al80. Which in that case the aluminum plate is probably going to mean weight on the belt.

Didn't want to assume. I've never been diving outside North America and the Caribbean. Don't know if AL80 is common in Thailand.

 

[Bred22]

I am diving a al12l tank at the moment and think that is what is generally used here. I would like to keep extra weight down to a minimum as as I understand it will unbalance the system in the water having a lot of extra weight on my waist (this is just a thought as I haven't yet dived bp/w).

Is is there an algorithm you can use to make an estimation on what weight and lift you will need.

Also so it is set up for single tank at the moment but would like to move to dabbles later.