Need equipment advice

[DrownedRat]

Hi folks,
I'm relativle new to diving and I was looking for some BC advice. A friend at work had some equipment sitting in the closet he hadn't used in about 5 years so we got to talking and he brought it in for me to look at. Specifically he brought in an ancient SeaQuest ADV spectrum 4. Despite it's age it looks like it's only seen about 20 dives (the thing is mint and the old school emergency CO2 inflator was still intact... Well not anymore, I mean we HAD to test it and boy did that work :boom: ). Anyway just wondering what your thoughts were on quality and perhaps what it might be worth. It fits me perfectly and the only work I can see is adding a manual release to the rear purge valve (where else but here can one say that without offending anyone?).

Thanks in advance!

ps I know it's off topic but he also brought me a Dacor pacer XL reg, a nice old brass one in great shape.. Any thoughts would be appreciated

 

[Scubasonic]

I myself would not buy it I would spend more and buy newer Equipment since technology has come so far and with older equipment even though it does not have many dives on it could have some issues as it has been sitting so long. When you are dealing with life support equipment you can’t be too careful. Just my $.02 cents.

-SS

 

[redacted]

A friend of mine pick up a SQ spectrum 4 (newer version w/o CO2) in great condition from ebay for $75.00 (USD). It was offered without a picture which supressed bidding but I still thought that was a good price.

 

[pasley]

Go ahead and take it and save the money. After all what is the worst thing that could happen? Oh yeah, that right, it could malfunction at depth and then you would be out $5000 for a funeral - yours!:wacko:

Seriously, this is life support equipment. The interior bag is some type of plastic, which will age and get brittle at some point in time. Plus what is growing in it? Was it properly stored etc?

Both technology and our knowledge of DCS have come a long way since the horse collar and CO2 inflated BC, and there is a good reason they no longer make that type of BC.

Do you really want to be strapped to a Polaris missile ascending from 100 feet when the CO2 cartridge fires off from the trigger device getting caught on something?

How would you adjust your buoyancy with this thing? During a dive you will be adding or subtracting depending upon your depth and your buoyancy control skills, air to your BC.

Just my two cents but, spend the money on a quality, new or at least much newer BC. It is life support equipment. If you do take it, at least send it in for inspection and annual servicing before you use it the first time. But personally, I would not do it, but that is just me.

 

[DrownedRat]

pasley once bubbled...
Go ahead and take it and save the money. After all what is the worst thing that could happen? Oh yeah, that right, it could malfunction at depth and then you would be out $5000 for a funeral - yours!:wacko:

Seriously, this is life support equipment. The interior bag is some type of plastic, which will age and get brittle at some point in time. Plus what is growing in it? Was it properly stored etc?

Both technology and our knowledge of DCS have come a long way since the horse collar and CO2 inflated BC, and there is a good reason they no longer make that type of BC.

Do you really want to be strapped to a Polaris missile ascending from 100 feet when the CO2 cartridge fires off from the trigger device getting caught on something?

How would you adjust your buoyancy with this thing? During a dive you will be adding or subtracting depending upon your depth and your buoyancy control skills, air to your BC.

Just my two cents but, spend the money on a quality, new or at least much newer BC. It is life support equipment. If you do take it, at least send it in for inspection and annual servicing before you use it the first time. But personally, I would not do it, but that is just me.

Good points all around, thanks guys.. A couple of points though as I didn't specify.. It's a jacket BC with a standard inflator hose with releases at the end of the hose and a rear purge valve (currently the rear valve is simply an overinflate valve, but a manual pull cord release can be added easily). I would without question have it inspected by the LDS before using (and in fact probably have them add the manual release). As to the CO2 it was more of a novelty I would not even dream of replacing the CO2 and diving with a live one! It's just that as far as features go the only difference between this and the scubapro BC I usually rent is a right side shoulder mounted manual release valve.. Aside from that it's pretty much the same... I guess I'll see what the LDS has to say when I have them inspect it.

Cheers folks and safe diving!

 

[Charlie99]

DrownedRat once bubbled...
I guess I'll see what the LDS has to say when I have them inspect it.

Do your own inspection first. Look for wear and tear. Then blow up the bladder as hard a you can orally and set it aside for a while and see if it is still pressurized after a few minutes. Work the dump valves to see if they operate smoothly. Unscrew them and inspect the rubber, and look at the pull cord for wear. At this point you can see and feel a bit of the inside of the bladder to check for deterioration of the material.

Then hook up the LPI to a reg and check out the power inflator. Look for sticky button. Continue to fill the BC until you pop open the overpressure valve. Let it reseal and see if the BC holds pressure for a while.

I'd have the power inflator serviced.

Don't take the BC 10,000 feet back in a cave for your first dive with it.

 

[ScoobyDave]

Having (mostly) finished up buying new gear, I KNOW how expensive the entire package can be. I chose not to skimp in any way on my life support gear - it's my health and an obligation to myself and my family to be safe.

So, just how much might your really be saving? Um, your life. Go buy or rent current gear and go dive.

 

[mleong]

You can consider getting the BC from him, after your LDS say it is ok. I will also remove the back up CO2 cannister. As for the Reg, I will buy a high performance one. In my opinion, the regulator is the most important.

Michael

 

[DrownedRat]

Charlie99 once bubbled...
Do your own inspection first. Look for wear and tear. Then blow up the bladder as hard a you can orally and set it aside for a while and see if it is still pressurized after a few minutes. Work the dump valves to see if they operate smoothly. Unscrew them and inspect the rubber, and look at the pull cord for wear. At this point you can see and feel a bit of the inside of the bladder to check for deterioration of the material.

Then hook up the LPI to a reg and check out the power inflator. Look for sticky button. Continue to fill the BC until you pop open the overpressure valve. Let it reseal and see if the BC holds pressure for a while.

I'd have the power inflator serviced.

Don't take the BC 10,000 feet back in a cave for your first dive with it.

Good advice... I went throught the steps. No wear and tear that I can see (the material is still that shiny new colour, and it's light blue so fading would be obvious). The inside bladder is in good condition from what I can see peering in through the rear purge valve. I cleaned and applied a fresh coat of sillicon to the seal. With a manual inflate (with as much air as I could force in) it held for about two hours (was planing to only do for a minute but got busy and forgot about it). With a good hard squeeze the over-inflate released air and immediatly stopped when I relieved the pressure. Another point to note is that this BC has never seen salt water, it's been in a quarry and the rest of it life was spent in the St.Lawrence. I'm bringing it to my LDS after work so I'll let you guys know what they say

Thanks to everyone for all your advice!