Considering changing my Aqua Lung i3 inflator to a AL powerline Inflator

[yle]

@yle

So based on your own experience, you haven't been seeing this type of inflator falling apart over the years for customers who bought it and used it? What you are describing is a mechanical part that lived its life and did what it was supposed to do and got old, very old, and just needed replacement like any mechanical device when it reaches its end of life.

Falling apart? No, never seen it fall apart. The inflator of the i3 system is pretty simple, no different than a traditional inflator.

Mechanical part that lived its life... got old, very old, and just needed replacement

It's been my experience that it's just the internal cables connecting the dump valves to the i3 lever that cause issues. This is for two reasons: it's a complex system, and it's difficult to repair when it fails. Mine is still fine, after 15 years. My mom's failed after 5 years. I don't think anyone would classify a 5 year old BCD as "old" or "very old". And certainly mechanical systems can fail prematurely. But the idea that AL recommended scrapping the BCD just because of that failure is something that i3 users and buyers should be aware of. (I think they should also be aware of the option to convert to a traditional inflator and dump valves... no reason to ditch an otherwise nice BCD!)

 

[sisu29]

My husband uses the i3. He loves it but has taken to traveling with a spare Schrader valve after the valve failed open in a quarry dive and the BCD spontaneously inflated. Just returned from a trip to the Caribbean with no issues. Like anything else it’s important to inspect and periodically service that valve.

 

[Doby45]

I didn't say it was untrue. In fact, I agree with you... and we said the same thing: if this is happening, then the people that are doing it could probably benefit from some additional training.

As for my string of posts... I've found I usually get to a conversation a bit late, after there's already so much good stuff posted that deserves a reply. If I could get my act together and join the conversation from the start, I wouldn't have to do so much "catching up" with my responses. My apologies if it bothers you.

Nope, my apologies to you.

 

[Belzelbub]

It's been my experience that it's just the internal cables connecting the dump valves to the i3 lever that cause issues. This is for two reasons: it's a complex system, and it's difficult to repair when it fails.

This is key, and represents a significant drawback to the system. With a standard inflator system a repair is pretty easy. I've swapped out several over the years. In most cases, it's just the inflator, and that's an easy fix for anyone with a 2-3 (out of 10) mechanical aptitude.

For the i3, it sounds like even Aqualung doesn't want to repair it. That's a fairly substantial drawback, in my opinion. And possibly one reason why we don't see this innovation gaining ground over the traditional inflator system. I believe you mentioned there were other brands that had introduced something similar. Can you share any examples? I don't recall seeing any other brands with a similar system, but I generally don't go looking unless I'm in the market for a new BC.

 

[yle]

For the i3, it sounds like even Aqualung doesn't want to repair it. That's a fairly substantial drawback, in my opinion. And possibly one reason why we don't see this innovation gaining ground over the traditional inflator system. I believe you mentioned there were other brands that had introduced something similar. Can you share any examples?

I agree, the substantial drawback. No one tells customers thinking about buying an i3 BCD "oh by the way... if the system stops working, no one will fix it." Could you imagine a similar situation with automobile sales? "Oh your fuel pump died? Sorry, we can't fix it. You'll need to buy a new car."

The other brands... it's been a while (oh wow, 7 or 8 years? Easy to forget how quickly time flies) but I saw similar "lever" systems on a Tusa BCD and a Mares BCD. I'd bet they didn't market them as aggressively as AL does the i3, so they might not be available now. (I just did some digging through the internet, but couldn't find anything. I kNoW I saw this stuff when it was available though! I'll keep looking...)

 

[Belzelbub]

I agree, the substantial drawback. No one tells customers thinking about buying an i3 BCD "oh by the way... if the system stops working, no one will fix it." Could you imagine a similar situation with automobile sales? "Oh your fuel pump died? Sorry, we can't fix it. You'll need to buy a new car."

Yeah. Thankfully, you don't see that with cars quite so much. Though, a friend is an auto mechanic, and he does occasionally encounter some designs that might not be optimized for service.

I'd say that nonsense is a lot more common with boats. Two examples, first one is mine another is from a colleague. One of them is definitely worse than the other.

1. Several years back, my boat's fuel tank developed a leak. This is obviously something that needed to be addressed. My mechanic needed to pull the tank to be able to repair the leak, then sent out for coating to prevent in the future. My boat has an inspection port over the fuel sender, and a large removable panel over the fuel tank. One problem though, the fuel tank was larger than the panel. To remove the tank, they had to remove the panel, then cut out part of the rear bench seat, that all needed to be re-fiberglassed and gel coated when done.
2. A colleague's boat required similar glasswork. But, in his case this glasswork was required in order to change out the water pump impellor.

Example number one is somewhat understandable as the fuel tank is not generally considered a maintenance item. Example two is ridiculous. The impellor is a maintenance item and generally required every couple of years at a minimum.

 

[Stephen McCallister]

I almost did not make it back from a dive on Saturday because of the i3 side lever.
I bought this BCD and enjoyed using the side lever and even replaced the oral inflation tube to a standard LPI set up when i began teaching. Never messed with it since. I always kept the cap on it and kept my gear cleaned and serviced.
However on Saturday morning I took a single student out to the wall for a deep dive portion of their advanced open water. The plan was to go to 80 ft, complete the tasks and then just head back up because it was going to be a 3 dive day. Knock out the deep dive first and then do a couple of shallow dives to round out the day.
Any ways we start our descent and hit 80 ft. I give the signal to level out and the student does but i kept sinking. I was able to stop at 100 ft by kicking like a mad man. i signaled my student to ascend and he followed instruction and headed up. He made his safety stop and waited at the flag for me.
Meanwhile I was slowly making upward progress. It took me almost 10 minutes to reach safety stop depth and completed a little over 4 minutes there.
When i reached the surface i had to struggle to keep head above water while using the shoulder inflator, which was causing the BCD to make noise and blow bubbles like it was fully inflated. I could tell it was not.
I reached down for my weights and thats when my computer hit the lever. I looked down and it was stuck in the dump position. As soon as i closed it I could properly inflate my bcd.
I can not tell you how much water came out of the bcd once i was back on land and emptied it. I will be trashing that BCD and buying another one.
I do enjoy Aqua Lungs gear and have used it and never had an issue. But jesus i was really fighting for my life on that dive.

 

[yle]

I can not tell you how much water came out of the bcd once i was back on land and emptied it. I will be trashing that BCD and buying another one.
I do enjoy Aqua Lungs gear and have used it and never had an issue. But jesus i was really fighting for my life on that dive.

Why trash it? You already have a traditional LPI... you can easily convert the dump valves to traditional pulls also, disconnect the i3 lever, and problem solved. Alternatively, there is probably a reason the lever was stuck... and it's likely something that can also be easily fixed.

If you need advice on converting the dump valves, let me know. I did this for my mom's BCD a while ago. It's pretty simple.

Your struggle to ascend with an empty BCD... were you wearing a thick wetsuit? I can imagine that a 7mm at 80 ft depth would cause a good deal of negative buoyancy.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

20 years is well past patent lifetime, and it does not look like any other manufacturer has implemented a similar design in their BCD's. Truly innovative solutions will gain market traction.

That is where you are wrong. I have been diving a Mares Dragonfly AT for about 23 years without any problems or issues. It is my favorite BCD. Mares is still using it, so I assume they haven't had any isues

 

[yle]

That is where you are wrong. I have been diving a Mares Dragonfly AT for about 23 years without any problems or issues. It is my favorite BCD. Mares is still using it, so I assume they haven't had any isues

Ahh, thanks for this. I was pretty sure (mentioned it in my posts above) that I had seen a Mares and a Tusa system similar to the i3, but I couldn't find any info online. I think what Ski_Lounge was getting at was the different inflator mechanism has not gained much "traction" in the market because it's not really that innovative. The Mares system (from your picture) seems to have essentially traded two buttons on a hose for two buttons attached to the BCD. The i3 system replaces two buttons with a two-way lever (although also connects all the dump valves to that lever by cables.)

I think these alternate systems work just fine... but they don't offer enough of an advantage to create a competitive market for them.