Loom Replacement Alternatives

jkaterenchuk

I have a spare Classic head with backlite controller. The only problem with it is that one of the cell wire sets is corroded back to the potted block. It does not seem possible to solve the problem by a simple soldering of new wires (I tried and the solder does not stick).

The cost of sending the head back to the manufacturing is unworkable for a spare head. I am wondering if anyone else has resolved this (unfortunately common) problem in some other way?

What about removal of the potting compound, soldering new wires and repotting?

I am not sure what is contained within the potted area and hence do not know if this would be a DYI project or not.

John

julieann charters

have a look at "pair of cracking handsets" 4th jan inspo thread & a bit earlier "Despiration " the reworked classic.
Any questions send us a pm, been there done that lot happier now.
coax upgrade is buttons if your soldering is up to the job.
elfyn

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jkaterenchuk

Elfyn

Thanks that is useful. Could you send me a link to the pic of the board inside the head with the potting removed? It would be useful to see what I need to uncover before starting. Could you also discribe more fully how you got all the potting material off the circuit board?

Thanks for the suggestion of coverting to Coax. Do you have a pasts list and supplier numbers to make the task easier?

John

divemasterrob

Cell wiring Loom problems...
There are lots of people that have done DIY fixes of "cable-death" of Cell wiring! Check out threads by searching for "cell" - thanks guys!
I am planning the SAME upgrade myself, so here's my take on it (so far)
You need...
pinout diag & topo layout for the JUNCTION BOX - search for it, or PM me
decide if you want to rig dual connectors (Molex & Coaxial)
If both, then decide if separate leads or simply add a "Y" splice
Eventually you can dump the molex as new cells are replaced with coax
the nice coax type cells are much better at (moisture) shielding the connection and wiring as the core (+) is wrapped in a thick polyester tube and braid cage (earth) provides better durability, stability etc.
Potted box is apparently easy to "dig out"
the terminals are there for the offing!
Electronics parts sores can supply the 90 degree plugs
Find the potting compound there too
Grab lots of shrink wrap
Happy soldering!

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scubagrunt

this might be a bit more expensive up front but will save you thousands in the long run and will be a superior system, but why not a shearwater??

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jkaterenchuk

Mel

Thanks for pointing it out. Yes I agree in the long run a Shearwater would be a superior system.

Actually, doing it myself will cost only my time and a few bits of wire, solder and some potting material. Sending it to the manufacturers rep will cost in excess of $1200 plus they will want to sell me some cell that I do not need. Seems a bit steep for replacing two corroded wires when I have the ability to do it myself.

Anyways, my primary head is a HH and works well for me. This would be a backup head. Nothing against the Shearwater but I do not have a need to spend an additional $1700+ on a controller. Plus I am privately protesting the large Shearwater price increase at the begining of the year disquised as an exchange rate adjustment.

John

Gill Envy

Hmm, giving this some thought. so you have an aversion to the Shearwater in principle and not sure if such would be overkill for your back up head. I was recommended purchasing an entire redundant vision head when I was having issues... for a mere 6K , so $1700 for such a great and versitile po2 monitor seems like a deal if it means you don't have to send a head back to the hatchery in the middle of a trip.

to solve my redundancy needs, instead of focussing on an extra head I settled for being able to rewire to a different po2 monitor in-field instead. it required giving up the solenoid, but that was not hard to justify given what we'd been through and how I ended up feeling about controllers. Maybe the HH could be set up for manual diving in the event of controller failure as is the case with the new HH rebreather... just a thought. If a shearwater is out of the question perhaps you have a VR3 or could get one and a 3 cell adapter (not sure if they work for the classic) and use the VR3 for back up on the HH and swap it over to the back up head in the event of an unrecoverable failure in-field, using it as the primary and flying manually in that case.

As for fixing the back up head, maybe you can find a mini-hole saw drill bit and drill around the wires to extract a column of potting and access enough wire to solder and then refill to seal.

anyway, lots of ways to skin the redundancy cat, hope that sparks some useful ideas.

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jkaterenchuk

Sorry if I was not clear. I do not have an issue with the Shearwater only the price increase. It seems to be a nice piece of equipment with many happy users including my regular dive buddy.

I currently have 3 rebreathers. The Classic Inspiration, Kiss Classic and HammerMeg. Once I get familiar and comfortable with the HammerMeg (most recent purchase) I will make a decision to sell one or two of them. If I decide to sell the Inspiration then it makes most sense to offer it with the flexibility of being with a functioning original head or with the HH and the original as back-up. Hence the reason I do not want to spend more than a few dollars to fix it. If I decide to keep the Inspiration then I can always change my mind and look at adding the Shearwater. Maybe I would be over the price increase feelings by then or find one used at a fair price.

The HH can be run in manual mode which provides all functions except automatic injection of O2 to maintain setpoint. And there are some solutions already available on Rebreather World if I wanted to add a constant flow like the Kiss.

Thanks for you suggestion.

John