Replacing ScubaPro power inflator

[runsongas]

if OP has that many dislikes about his SP bcd, maybe its time to sell it and get a bpw

 

[BoltSnap]

if OP has that many dislikes about his SP bcd, maybe its time to sell it and get a bpw

I am sure he will come up with lots of complaints about it

 

[arvin]

You'll only complain if you don't know how to use it. I have the Seahawk 2 and love it I use when I travel. I've used it in UW photo competitions and won. BC was excellent no issues if any kind.

Or if it is badly designed, especially when there isn't anything difficult to learn how to operate a 2-button operation.
It's obvious that they designed this from an ergonomic design perspective and not from an interaction design perspective (if these terms make any sense to you...).
But, you don't happen to know the diameter of the corrugated hose. Do you?

if OP has that many dislikes about his SP bcd, maybe its time to sell it and get a bpw

Actually, I love the BCD itself. It's almost perfect and that's why I am trying to change the inflator part.
I didn't know I would have got stuck with it like this. If I knew I would look into other options,
Regarding getting a bpw; I thought it might be a bit early for me to get in such setup yet. I am only discovering what my preferences are and how to customise things according to my liking. Once I figure those out, I will get a bpw.

 

[emoreira]

if OP has that many dislikes about his SP bcd, maybe its time to sell it and get a bpw

I guess that ScubaBoard has a BOT that automatically inserts a phrase, randomically generated with the aid of AI, when a new thread about BCDs appear, mentioning that the OP should try/change by/buy a BP/W

 

[inquis]

I'm personally not a fan of the BPI inflator. Little differentiation between buttons and they're right next to each other. I like the k-style where I can add air with a finger or palm mash equally as well.

 

[Seepferdchencam]

Scubapro make a k-style bpi.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Approaching to 200 dives now, I am now attempting to do my first real customisation to my gear. The thing is I am stuck bad time, because I have ScubaPro gear...

I now understand it wasn't a wise choice to buy a ScubaPro BCD (Seahawk). Now I am finding out that ScubaPro is not using standard fittings for many of their parts (how convenient) and I am struggling to find the standards they use for chasing down the right 3rd party parts.

1- The power inflator
I have to change the power inflator. I hate the ScubaPro power inflator(which they call the "BPI"). The button layout seems terribly problematic. I don't know how they managed to make such a design mistake by putting both inflation and deflation buttons side by side. I have to change this with a standard K-type inflator (Luckily, it is somehow a part very much in demand, and it looks like I can sell it easily).

2- Dump Valve
I also think the dump valve is not a well design as well. First of all, it's huge, and I really don't want to have that button where anyone touches from behind to deflate my BCD without me even realising it. Ok the pull dump cable doesn't seem to be a bad thing (but do people really use this?)... Really no need to have any of these bells and whistles. I would prefer the simplest possible streamlined shoulder valve. The problem is I found out that other brand shoulder valves are not compatible with ScubPro BCDs. So I had to give up replacing this. I am now stuck with ScubaPro valves for the life of this BCD.
Ok, fine. I can live with this.

3- Corrugated Hose
This one is purely personal preference, I think ScubaPros 40cm hose is too long. I don't like my power inflator dangling around like that. I want to try a ~30 cm corrugated hose and see if that's a better setup.

Now, if you are still not bored reading my opinions about the ScubaPro designs, here is my question:
What diameter corrugated hose I need to get?
I will keep the Dump Valve(have to) and change the Corrugated Hose and the Power Inflator. But I am not able to find the diameter the Dump Valve accepts for a Corrugated Hose.
If you know this, can you please tell me?

Can you help this fellow newbie? Please...

I have a Ladyhawk. I don't know if the hoses are exactly the same but, indeed, I did always dislike the buttons. A while back I needed the thing replaced and at that point in time, the shop didn't have the right Scubapro replacement. The talented tech replaced the whole thing with a Zeagle inflator hose instead. I was initially concerned but it turns out that I love it. The buttons are placed much better on the Zeagle.

As for the back dump, why would you worry about someone else pulling it? Are some of your buddies foolish pranksters?

If not and you just don't like the dump, then take off the ball and ties a knot in the string instead, so that it can be caught, if it ever does need to be engaged.

I use mine all the time. It's very rare that I use my hose during the dive.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Why not start trying to use ylthe butt dump? If you are diving in a horizontal position rather than a diagonal head up position, once you've tried it a few times, I'm confident that you'll learn to like it and find that you use it far more regularly during your dives. If that happens, you may regret cutting off the ball.

Are you squeezing into many tight spaces during your dives?

 

[lexvil]

SP uses proprietary fittings but the inflator itself is a standard 1” so you can change that for a generic K inflator and retain the pull dump, a shorter hose is also possible but you’ll lost the pull dump unless you find a cable the right length. The rest of it you’re stuck with.

 

[runsongas]

@emoreira yep, won't be a need for Scubaboard soon when Chat GPT will give all the best advice to new divers