DEMA

[drrich2]

What do you all think about this?

I thought it was an interesting concept.

They wouldnt give a cost - only that it would be comparable to a BC, tank and weights. Huge variable.

It is interesting, and I'm glad to see an effort to innovate and improve mainstream dive gear (as opposed to making part of it out of titanium, making part rainbow colored and jacking the price to the stratosphere like one reg. vendor I know...).

But I think it's a long way from catching on. I suspect most (at least many) people travel to dive, and many bring their own gear except tanks and weights. I don't see it getting taken through the airport. That thing is more complex, having electronics, so there's more to go wrong (and expensive to fix). I imagine there'd be a big investment in buying a bunch of those. The stereotypical tourist tropical dive is a 2-tank morning 'dive' from a boat with no compressor, so they'd need 2 of those for each diver (so even if the cost is similar to tank + BCD + weights for one tank, suddenly it's more expensive).

One of the company's pages claims the fill pressure is 3,000 - 4,350 PSI (300 bar), equivalent to 80 - 106 cubic feet. Uses DIN.

 

[scubadada]

@Dan and I had a short email conversation regarding the Avelo system after he told me he saw it at DEMA

When the water is pumped in to adjust buoyancy, I assume the gas pressure increases, from 4350 psi? See, "How does the Hydrotank work?" on the web page in the @drrich2 post, above.

I wonder how you tell how much gas you have if the pressure changes with buoyancy adjustment. Doesn't seem like a traditional SPG or AI computer would necessarily work. Seems like nonlinear compression could also be quite significant at the high pressures.

Do operations in the US offer 300 Bar, 4350 psi fills?

I wonder where Avelo is located.

Whatever, if Avelo ends up having dealers in the US (seems like SE FL might be a good site), I would probably look into the cost of their Rec training program, a couple of hours online and 2 dives, just to give it a try.

 

[Dan]

Traveling with this thing is not going to happen to most. I can see some use it for local warm water diving, like in South Florida or in some high-end dive resorts where they offer their guests who don’t bring their own gears (e.g., BCD) to rent such gears from their dive shops.

 

[drrich2]

or in some high-end dive resorts where they offer their guests who don’t bring their own gears

Now that you mention it, as a concierge type service in 'tropical aquarium' condition locations, it might be appreciated. And if you factor in cruise ship excursion-type experiences, I have to say, is it really any wilder than this Aquafari offering in Curacao?

I suppose if that thing is economically viable, maybe my skepticism toward Avelo's product was a bit harsh. But I still that it'll be a small niche product.

 

[Still Kicking]

@Dan and I had a short email conversation regarding the Avelo system after he told me he saw it at DEMA

When the water is pumped in to adjust buoyancy, I assume the gas pressure increases, from 4350 psi? See, "How does the Hydrotank work?" on the web page in the @drrich2 post, above.
View attachment 692178 View attachment 692179
I wonder how you tell how much gas you have if the pressure changes with buoyancy adjustment. Doesn't seem like a traditional SPG or AI computer would necessarily work. Seems like nonlinear compression could also be quite significant at the high pressures.

Do operations in the US offer 300 Bar, 4350 psi fills?

I wonder where Avelo is located.

Whatever, if Avelo ends up having dealers in the US (seems like SE FL might be a good site), I would probably look into the cost of their Rec training program, a couple of hours online and 2 dives, just to give it a try.

Tanks are made in Colorado with backing from someone from Coors family. Avelo is based in Maui. Asked about a demo they said sure, fly out to Maui.

Re pressure: the idea is you get the tank filled to 3500 or so and adding water increases pressure up to 4350 psi. Tank is 106 cf at 4350 so working volume will be 85cf or thereabouts.

 

[scubadada]

Tanks are made in Colorado with backing from someone from Coors family. Avelo is based in Maui. Asked about a demo they said sure, fly out to Maui.

Re pressure: the idea is you get the tank filled to 3500 or so and adding water increases pressure up to 4350 psi. Tank is 106 cf at 4350 so working volume will be 85cf or thereabouts.

Thanks, did you get your information from talking to Avelo at DEMA?

 

[OTF]

Is the Avelo tank heavy as hell getting out of the water at the end of the dive or is the water purged somehow? The point about pressure gauges not working is a good one.

It eliminates tank swing but that was never a major problem all things considered. Seems like this really only works without exposure suits that would swing and require weight anyway. It adds more inconveniences than it removes.

 

[tursiops]

How do you get enough water pressure to fill against all that air pressure?

 

[Dan]

How do you get enough water pressure to fill against all that air pressure?

Hydraulic piston pump can put up high pressure up to 10,000 psi.

Royal Hydraulics - Very High Pressure Pumps

Hydraulic Components, High Pressure Pumps, Valves, Cylinders, Servo Valves, Filtration, California, Arizona, Nevada

www.royalhydraulics.com

 

[Dan]

Is the Avelo tank heavy as hell getting out of the water at the end of the dive or is the water purged somehow? The point about pressure gauges not working is a good one.

It eliminates tank swing but that was never a major problem all things considered. Seems like this really only works without exposure suits that would swing and require weight anyway. It adds more inconveniences than it removes.

I would think, before you get out of the water, you dump the thousands of pounds of pressure water back to the water, which is at zero gauge pressure.

I agree with the limited application of this gear, i.e., it’s OK for warm water diving, where you wear no wetsuit or thin wetsuit. If the tank is filled up with water, the weight gained would be 20 lbs at most with not much air left in the tank for breathing.