Radial Scrubber for Meg

amonix

With a 8 lbs radial ISC in a standard can, there is nomore watertrap in the can. Isn't it ? What do you think about that ?

netmage

Well, having had a catastrophic flood at the beginning of a dive and staying on the loop throughout, I can tell you I feel ok about it... I have a single pad on the bottom to soak up any condensation....

Celia_E

No issues with the Golem, well built and we have been putting them through its paces since we bought them. WOB is not an issue (who is spreading those rumors???) at all.

And the Golem is on sale for $650, it's a no brainer....(shameless plug for Jakub!)

Dive safe,

Celia

Rob Dobson

I have the ISC Radial and I am very happy with it. The build quality and design are exceptional. I've seen people using the GG version and it looks cheap by comparison (OK, it is cheap by comparison).

Abbo

Practically speaking, why should I spend extra money to buy the ISC rather than the Golem?
- better WOB?
- better designed to ensure scrubber is safely packed?
- better able to handle flooding?
- longer useage time?
or is it just cosmetic, in your view?

Rob Dobson

I have not dived a GG one so I have no 1st hand experience of WOB. The lab testing commissioned by ISC highlights a big WOB advantage from their unit but it depends on whether or not you trust the impartiality of the data.

I've watched people pack the GG scrubber and I believe the ISC design is far superior in terms of packing. You don't have to block off the central pillar from fear of getting sorb in it and the spring loaded tension plate on the ISC cannister lid seems to improve packing safety. Again I haven't owned the GG version so I am merely going by my observations of other people packing theirs.

I have a 5.5lb scrubber in an extended can with two ISC spacers. That is a huge water trap. That clearly isn't a standard config and I don't know how that compares to the GG.

I throw my sorb at the end of every days diving. I get nowhere near my possible scrubber times so I don't what I can get from my ISC radial. It comfortably does 3-4hours in cold water but that is all that I have asked of it. I don't know what the ISC can realistically deliver in terms of scrubber duration nor do I know what the GG can achieve.

jkaterenchuk

I have seen both side by side. A friend of mine had the Golem and then bought the ISC when it came out. I bought the Golem off him. He is a ISC dealer and that may have figured into the purchase of their scrubber.

From what I could see here were some of the differences.

1) ISC packs from the bottom and hence you do not need to use the top of the absorbent container to block of the sorb from falling into the center tube. Nice but not a big deal in my opinion.
2) The ISC has built in handles to allow you to easily pull the scrubber out fo the cannister. The Golem has a couple of raised tabs to help but they do not work as well or as easily as the ISC. Again, not a big deal in my opinion.
3) All Scrubber need to have care in packing properly. The Golem requires a little more attention to ensure that the top of the scrubber is indeed completely full with no gaps under the compression ring. Again not a big deal in my opinion.
4) The build quality is excellent with both. I would not say that one is particullarily outstanding and the other is cheap. They are both quite substantial for what they do.
5) The Golem can be purchased new for a very attractive price.

Of course any comments about duration or WOB would be subjective and subject to much debate. I am currently using a HammerMeg with the Golem Radial and the Golem BOV so if I was to not filter what ISC posts on their website then I should feel like I am sucking thru a straw and have electronics that are failing whenever the boat makes a call over the VHF radio but I just do not see it in real life diving.

I personally do not credit the scrubber being radial vs axial when estimating usage time. I much rather use the manufacturers CO2 absorbent data per kg of sorb and then calculate oxygen usage to give me a ball park duration and then utilize the scrubber in a progessive manner over time to reach a duration/dive condition time that I am comfortable with.

Flood tolerance is another thing I do not worry to much about. Certainly, a radial by nature of the gas flow would provide some additional capability. However, in my case the radial sit right up to the bottom of my cannister with only a absorbent pad against the bottom and not air space. In my 200 plus hours of diving the HammerMeg (and about twice that with other units) I have not seen a condition in which I have had much moisture in the cannister. Even when intentionally removing an open loop underwater for 10-15 seconds. The counter lungs seem to do a fine job of holding any water.

I would say that for diving that requires a longer duration scrubber you would be well served with either and have no regrets. Unless of course you were one of the people that bought the Golem for almost $1000 and they are now on sale for $650.

John

wedivebc

The radial scrubber will continue to operate with a fair amount of water in it. If you had enough water in it to affect performance I expect you would have noticed significant change in buoyancy.
I have a couple of hundred dives on my ISC radial and I have never had more than a teaspoon or so of water in the can. I do usually use a pad to keep the water from sloshing around:D

ino

I hawe the GG scrubber and I cant say anything negativ about it. Shure you got to keep you'r eys open when packing but you shold do this with any kind of scrubber. I hawe a watertrap that came with the GG. I hawe 9 somthing houers on one fill. And when it coms to wob I cant say anything else than it is much better than axial. Efortles....

P.S. Sorry for my bad English :)

Abbo

Thanks for your informative answer.

I was interested in flood tolerance because I have had flooding in the can recently. Water was getting in through a loose connection for the solenoid. I have seen quite a few comments about this on the board. The accusation made against such people is "you must have been using the solenoid as a handle", but I know that wasn't the case with me, because I won't even touch the solendoid: I'd rather tug & tug on the handle alone than risk putting too much pressure on the solenoid. I asked that of the person who repaired the unit for me. He laughed and explained that the solenoid is designed to be strong enough to take the force of using it as a handle to lift the lid off. But he showed me what must have happened: someone has probably dropped the head, with the result that the dovetailing of the solenoid and the delrin head is no longer snug. That must have been some serious bang it got, and I'm really unhappy about it. The solenoid is now tight with the head, though I don't entirely trust it.

All of which is a very long-winded way of saying "sh!t happens", and water can get in the cannister.