Pro Plus 2 - Took on water!

[undefined]

I'm at a loss for what may have gone wrong. My wife and I both purchased Oceanic Pro Plus 2 computers in February (as well as Oceanic BCDs, 1st stages, 2nd stages, knife, and travel bags!). We tested the computers in the pool the week after we got them - no problems.

Last week we took our nearly new computers to Roatan. Our friends noted that we looked like walking / diving marketing campaigns for Oceanic! My first thought was - hey, this is good gear and we like it a lot! That was before my computer and regulators ended up sitting in the dive shop while I had to dive rental gear...

We are religious about maintaining our gear - dust caps are thoroughly dried and screwed in place anytime the 1st stage isn't rigged on a tank, we do not press the purge button on either reg when rinsing, rinse after every dive, and never disconnect the QD on the computer until it is dry. Even with all of that, by the fifth day in Roatan my Pro Plus 2 started having problems. Three water droplets underneath the screen, the left side of the screen starting exhibiting visual distortion (all characters illuminated - 888 for temp and so forth). To say that this was unexpected and unfortunate would be a gross understatement - without my computer I had to give up my entire regulator setup and switch to rental gear. I was able to borrow one of our instructors computers for the last two days of diving, but losing two days of use of my regulators and computer was really a lousy way to dive.

To Oceanic - What could have gone wrong? I thought I had taken every possible precaution!

To Everyone else - I'll be sending the computer back to Scubatoys for them to take it up with Oceanic. Once it gets back, I'll be searching for a non-AI computer and a standard SPG. If Oceanic were willing to exchange it (after receiving it) that would be splendid, but I won't hold my breath. If so, I'm switching to a VT3 (without transmitter!). If not, I'll be selling the Pro Plus 2 on eBay and buying a Suunto.

 

[philmayer]

Just because your PP2 was down, why did you have to stop using your regs?

Give Oceanic a chance before you start blasting them. Their gear is fantastic and their warranty service is too. My guess is that you will be getting a new PP2 from them with no questions asked.

Did you replace the battery in the PP2 for any reason?

 

[DiverBeth]

Wow I'm really sorry to hear what happened. I've been diving with a Pro Plus 2 for a couple of years and I love it and I've never had any problems. I'm sure Oceanic will do right by you. The sad fact is no matter how good a manufacturer is (scuba equip, cars, etc.) a bad one sneaks through once in awhile. Sorry this happened to you on your trip.

 

[Doug Krause]

Our apologies. Please contact Mark, David or Ron at (800) 435-3483, ext. 128. They'll take great pleasure in taking care of this for you.

 

[fppf]

Yeah Oceanic will stand behind there stuff.
My wife and I have well over 100 open water dives, and I can't even count how many pool dives on our PP2's. Still rock solid.

We just picked up a set of Atom 2.0's as a backup, just in case. You never know when someone will drop there weight belt on your nice dive computer.

I also carry the plugs for our regulators, if one of the computers goes bad, just remove and plug the port. I would never rent a set of regulators, buy an SPG from the dive shop next time.

 

[undefined]

Just to clarify - I did not mean to come off as bashing Oceanic. I like Oceanic. My complaint or gripe is about my own stupidity - I should not have relied upon such a significant single point of failure. That will be my last time splashing without an analog gauge to back up any electronic devices I'm taking under with me.

phil - The reason I had to ditch my reg is because I did not want to buy an analog SPG in Honduras (limited selection, no chance to research pricing). This left me with no means to monitor gas consumption.... once again, my own mistake for relying on a computer for everything. I did not change the battery or otherwise open the unit at any time.

Once again, this is not meant as a blast across Oceanic's bow, but instead as a genuine concern with relying on an electronic device for both NDL and gas monitoring. One of my instructors has a good quote regarding computers "Two is one, one is none". The same issue could have happened with any brand of computer, not just Oceanic.

Doug - I'll give them a call.

 

[scubatoys]

I've never seen that one before. It looks like Oceanic already jumped in here, but it's up to you, we can take care of it, or they will.

I think what the other posters were talking about is instead of and entire setup, they could have unscrewed the gauge and tossed it on yours...

But at least you got your dives in, and we'll take care of the problem instantly if you haven't already sent it to Oceanic. There is a chance somehow the unit got hit in luggage and developed a small crack that let in a bit of water - as I've never seen one leak before. But it does not matter. We will gladly get it replaced for you at no cost to you.

Just call us if you need any help.

 

[visibilityunlimited]

Undefined,

I think it would be fair to say that until Oceanic has the unit in their hands, that anything they would be able to offer in the way of an explanation as to what may have happened would have to be an educated guess.

You obviously do take care of your equipment and as a scuba technician, I compliment you on that.

I have found Oceanic to be one of the most customer-friendly companies in the scuba industry to date. This is one of the many reasons that we pursued and became an authorized Oceanic Dealer. I have yet to be disappointed.

I hope that when you do find out what happened or may have happened that you will post it on here.

 

[undefined]

Here's the latest update.

I have spoken with both Oceanic and Scubatoys. Let me just say that both of these organizations are perfect examples of customer service oriented businesses that really go above and beyond the call of duty to satisfy the customer.

Here's the plan - I will be sending my computer back to Scubatoys, who will in turn be returning it to Oceanic. Oceanic has graciously approved this process and is treating it as a customer satisfaction return rather than a warranty service, thereby freeing Scubatoys to replace the computer with another model. I will be upgrading to the VT3 and an analog SPG at additional cost, something I am more than happy to pay. All in all, I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever regarding Oceanic, Scubatoys, or the service I have received. In fact, this experience has further solidified my overall satisfaction with both companies.

If I find out from Oceanic what the root cause of the problem was, I will be sure to post it here. I'm going to contact Oceanic again tomorrow regarding my wife's computer, as she is concerned about the potential for a similar failure. However that turns out, we will walk away with better gear, Oceanic and Scubatoys will have happy customers that continue to sing their praises to everyone who will listen, and some money will change hands in favor of both Oceanic and Scubatoys. I only wish every problem turned out to have such a good ending!

 

[Debraw]

We recently had two returns on the Veo 250 consoles with quick disconnect where the pressure gauges took on water ( flooded) . It turned out the customers had disconnected the units and sunk them in the rinse tanks. We replaced both units, no charge. Then it happened again with one of them even after they had not disconnected the units. We replaced the pressure gauge again and replaced the quick disconnects. We have literally sold more than a 100 or so of these units on Pro Plus 2 and the Veo 250 consoles with quick disconnects and have never had a problem with them until these 2 units.
I am dissapointed to hear the dive operator did not just rent you an analog gauge and a computer for the duration of your trip and allow you to use your regulators.