Interesting approach to automatic Buoyancy at DEMA

[scrane]

A solution looking for a problem?

 

[Akimbo]

A solution looking for a problem?

The problem is real. The question is does this solution add more cost, complexity, weight, bulk, and failure modes than the convenience justifies?

 

[Wibble]

Why not tether people to a floating buoy with a climbing harness and they can winch themselves up and down. At least that way they won't kick the living daylights out of the reef and the boat above can fish them out.

It would be cheaper and safer, and most definitely better for the environment.

Or do some training.

How about putting them into one of Elon Musk's Thai Cave rescue torpedoes?

 

[scrane]

The problem is real. The question is does this solution add more cost, complexity, weight, bulk, and failure modes than the convenience justifies?

Besides all the bulky and expensive hardware this contraption seems to require the ability to adjust buoyancy in the first place. From that point the user must manually adjust the system to compensate for the change of weight of the tank. This will not help users unable to tune buoyancy using conventional techniques.
We'll have to see how it works out for lowwall.

 

[L13]

From everything I have found, the system only compensates for ~4Kg / 9# or maybe even less. Anyone doing any diving that would likely need a BCD with larger lift than that would still need a conventional BC in addition. I can not find any commercial BCD that has less than ~2x that amount, suggesting that it's use cases are an even smaller subset of diving than the smallest commercial BCD is targeted at.

80cf of air (what it appears to carry) consumes ~5# of that compensation, leaving only ~4# for suit compression, adding/removing lights/cameras/accessories/etc.

This seems to limit it to recreational warm water diving with no more than a 3mm suit. Even night dives are risky, dropping a largish dive light at the end of a dive in a 3mm suit might make you unable to hold your safety stop.

 

[MikeHoncho]

Assuming you have to send the tanks to the company for hydro.....I'm curious of the continued costs. These sound like a water well pressure tank on steroids. Depending on a flexible bladder isn't something I care to depend on when its in my air supply. Imagine the the sequence of events if the bladder fails, allowing seawater into your air supply.

 

[TooCold]

Covered in the vid.

Thanks @lowwall for doing the work! I opened the video, saw the > 1 hour length, and clicked back. It was bedtime. I'd still like to see the Avelo calculation that gets to a 30 pound weight reduction for their target casual tropical vacation diver. They make the claim, but don't explain it. Is any of that 30 pounds simply getting that diver properly weighted, which doesn't need the Avelo system?

Before you go too far off without details, maybe watch this:

I roamed the Avelo website and didn't see a link to that video anywhere. The bits I've (just) watched give me the impression it's for insiders only. @anibesin, can you post a link to where you found the video? Maybe there's more specific information there. I'd be really interested in answers from Avelo to my questions...

 

[inquis]

$4500 to see what all the hype is. Figuring $300/day instructor costs, it works out to $300 per dive. Seems cheaper to learn how to use a normal BC.

In fairness though, the #1 stated goal was to reduce dry weight. They seem to have that box checked and may be attractive to some divers for that alone. Edit: there's no way the average traditional recreational weight is 70 lbs.

 

[inquis]

I'd still like to see the Avelo calculation that gets to a 30 pound weight reduction

Carbon fiber wrapped AL tank is simply lighter. "Properly weighted" is hopefully assumed for both sides of the comparison.

 

[TooCold]

it took over 3 minutes to pump in the 3.5kg of water

So a group on the surface all signal thumbs down and start their descent and ... wait?

Depending on a flexible bladder isn't something I care to depend on when its in my air supply. Imagine the the sequence of events if the bladder fails, allowing seawater into your air supply.

I think it's the other way around: the air is in the bladder; the water is pumped into the tank outside the bladder. Since the water compresses the bladder, the pressures will be close to equal. What flows which way when the bladder leaks? Good question. Maybe the elastic forces of the bladder would result in air leaking into the water, not the other way around. My physics was way too long ago to know off the top of my head.