What is the quietest DPV?

[tbone1004]

@victorzamora stand corrected, figured some of the turbulence would apply from the air to the water.

I do tend to agree on the noise from the motors being a bigger factor, especially since there was a massive change in noise from the minnus with the different gear cuts and against the magnus where the props are turning at similar RPM.

I agree on Bonex being the quietest of the ones that I've dove. Only one I think I'm really missing is the Genesis, but from the videos I've seen you can definitely hear them and they sound louder than the bonex.

@The Chairman what dives are you wanting to use the scooter for? In lieu of kicking and going slow through existing passage, or to try to push your penetration limits?

 

[Superlyte27]

Honestly, I never really considered the noise aspect. Certainly where there is a gear reduction, like in the minnus, there will be tremendous noise. But I think RPM for RPM my Genesis scooters are just as quiet or more so than my UV26's and 18's but, with the ability to really fly long distances if need be.

I don't know. I guess if we dive together, I can bring some UV's and a couple of genesis scooters. Direct drive, magnetic coupling, and internal hand wound motor mated perfectly to the housing has to be good for something other than just speed and longevity, right?

 

[Jack Hammer]

I really like my XK1 (5 blade), it's louder than my Sierra, and both are louder than the Hollis scooter I used before that. I don't recall the UV26 being too loud either. I've used a few others too and don't recall any being obnoxious. overall the XK1 isnt that loud and worth the slight increasd noise.

 

[The Chairman]

Honestly, I never really considered the noise aspect.

It's obvious that most people don't. Most developers don't. I worked in automotive most of my life and I've always been sensitive to loud noises. I even hate wiper blades because of the extra noise.

 

[tbone1004]

It's obvious that most people don't. Most developers don't. I worked in automotive most of my life and I've always been sensitive to loud noises. I even hate wiper blades because of the extra noise.

As far as the developers, most of these were designed by backyard "engineers" hacking together off the shelf bits and prioritized function. Gavin, SS, etc. There wasn't a lot of attention paid to NVH to steal an automotive term because even if they wanted to, they don't have the experience to draw on how to achieve it.
Others are done by true engineering firms, Bonex, Suex, Dive Xtras, Genesis, but if they don't have complaints on the noise, then why try to fix it? You can only ever get it so quiet because it is a high RPM electric motor and only so much damping can be done, especially since the water is just going to transmit anything that comes in contact with it.

 

[Steve_C]

Swim.

I have drove three kinds and been around others. They have motors and something spinning. They will make some noise. The noise is not very bothersome to me but it does break the mood so I do not use them. Happy to travel less and poke around more and one less piece of equipment to deal with.

 

[kelemvor]

Seems like the scooter market has at least some opportunity left if a company came out with one that was particularly quiet. Obviously most divers don't care but some do. I know a lot of rebreather divers say they dive RB because the fish scaring noises are absent. Those guys would probably be interested in a quiet(er) scooter and clearly can afford one if they so choose.

 

[Schwob]

Dove on a reef / wall in the Red Sea once when a guided horde of divers with DPVs descended from another boat. To me it was the equivalent of being at a nice secluded quiet beach or nice kayak paddle and then being exposed to a bunch of Jetski Yahoos and all their noise... ... Sort of really just ruined the ambience in that setting...

Unfortunately there seem to be operators who take (regular, non-disabled) divers to reefs just to zip around for a tank to "stink up" the noise background...

On the other hand taking a DPV around the quarry (my only user experience) was fun for a little while. I certainly can see uses for them even outside of the cave community. While the noise seems OK whem self driving (not when wanting to actually watch nature) for the sake of driving I find it entirely bad if imposed onto others. In the sense of underwater jetski if you will...

If I was in the market (am not or not yet) I would certainly favor the quietest one if all else was the same. I do realize that that's not going to make the submarine propulsion experts in the world develop a quiet, stealth DPV, although, that would be nice.... c'mon, some group of seals somewhere could use it... so some of that big moneypool in that "business" could fund it... Where are the scuba diving congresspersons lobbying for billions in defense funding for the strategically quiet DPV when one needs them...

 

[tbone1004]

Seems like the scooter market has at least some opportunity left if a company came out with one that was particularly quiet. Obviously most divers don't care but some do. I know a lot of rebreather divers say they dive RB because the fish scaring noises are absent. Those guys would probably be interested in a quiet(er) scooter and clearly can afford one if they so choose.

noise insulation usually = heat insulation which is really bad for an electric motor and batteries. You have to get the heat out so it doesn't cook itself and unfortunately the sound comes out with it. Most people are using DPV's to travel to some location and will park it there and kick around, not really ideal to use it as your primary means of propulsion when doing photo/video or trying to observe creatures. Use it to get there, throw it between your legs and it's good to go. The DPV market is so small that one tailored specifically for quiet operation would have enough drawbacks in speed/power that I don't think it would sell

 

[cool_hardware52]

Caterpillar drive, very quite, but hard to find outside of Russia.