Rebuilt Tekna DV-3X vs MAKO or Sierra X

[Wizard]

I agree, save money and buy a used uv18 or 26. A Mako is fine for diving by yourself or with other mako's.
A SS will run off and hide. They must turn way down to match you. You can buy a high speed wound motor for
a mako, but run time drops like a rock. I chose to buy a stock speed motor for my mako as 3000 or so is all I'm
going, and I'm in no hurry. Went to 2700 in JB last year with no loss in power.

[Sludge]

The fastest scooter I've ever ridden is a Magnus, but the second fastest is a Tekna DV-3X.

[adam0321]

It is called fat finger Tourette's. You need to look at the letters around the letters that were typed. In this case, I believe he meant:

"If you are ever in Marianna, shoot me a PM and you can try out my scooters for yourself."

Cheers,
Jeff

Indeed that was the problem. That is what i get for typing on my droid at 0600 while on a boat. Sorry guys, for the sake of the forum I will try to limit my responces via smart phone.

But yes it was meant to say that if you are ever in marrianna drop me a line and you can take my scooters for a run.

[Sludge]

On a Droid's screen keyboard, there's a microphone. Touch it and speak into it. It even deciphers MY accent!

[adam0321]

The eris HTC droid?

[Sludge]

The eris HTC droid?

I looked at the online manual for your phone. It doesn't appear to have the voice input option.

[JahJahwarrior]

I've owned a Tekna, a Sierra, and own a SS 26.

Tekna
Motors can be wound differently...some are fast, some are slow
That little plug for the battery charging? Easy to lose or screw up, and you always wonder if all the hydrogen gas got out, and if you screwed it in tight enough...
The body is thin plastic and you are always worried about cracking it as gear flies around on bumpy roads
They don't balance...at all....you can try to fix it, but it's really a hopeless cause.

Sierra
You will be amazed at how light it is. So light, you might find yourself carrying it to events where you aren't even diving.
The electronic speed control is nifty, and you quickly get the hang of it.
The battery can be tricky to put in place. It took me several tries to figure out how to ensure it was locked in place. I dislike the two leads for charging or discharging.
The body seal is more difficult than the SS, you have to get things lined up properly, then press down a little. It's not really that hard at all, but it isn't as idiot proof as the SS.

Silent Submersion
Their motor is custom made, wound the same motor to motor. It's beefier than any other brushed motor, with higher quality components. The brushes don't really wear much at all, this motor is a step above all other brushed motors used in DPV's.
SS's are fast! Leaves the Sierra in the dust time after time. Now, a lot of people claim they don't even go full speed on a Sierra...maybe I'm a speed demon, but I sure do love putting the prop at 9 on my 26 and just whizzing along. Hey, a few minutes cut off my travel time can make a noticeable difference in deco time!
The body is strong enough to survive almost anything. Sure, it is heavy, but I think my 26 would survive a war.
SS has no through body welds like the Sierra. Also, the tail cone struts are hollowed out, so in an impact, they would fold. SS will sell you new struts to replace the damaged ones, and you are good to go in minutes after you screw in the new parts. Drop a Sierra or a Mako or a Tekna or a Gavin, and you'll probably be sending the scooter back to the manufacturer, and in the case of the Tekna, saying goodbye to your baby forever. I do think some of the current Gavin's have similar struts, though.
SS's sealing method is simple. Four clamps, one giant oring. You can't really miss the oring being missing, and it can still seal with hairs in it, or minor cracks. It's really as close to idiot proof as you get.

SS is located only a few hours from cave country.

All said and done, I'd save up and go with an SS. You can find 26's going for 2500 quite often on here. Check to make sure it has the new motor, and do a burn test. (if you were going for diving were light weight was important, then the Sierra would be a top choice, especially with the lithium battery pack, but the SS26 is hard to beat for the value and price.)

[gasdiver]

I was thinking about getting my Tekna motor rewound. How much faster is the rewound motor than the stock motor? 5%, 10%, 25%?

[jdiver]

It is called fat finger Tourette's. You need to look at the letters around the letters that were typed. In this case, I believe he meant:

"If you are ever in Marianna, shoot me a PM and you can try out my scooters for yourself."

Cheers,
Jeff

Now now, he's only tryin to help and thank you for the offer to test your scooter out, but for real though, a migrain began to brew up when I was trying to red that section they were commenting on...

Thanks for the other info though, all you fella's. I was at a stand still debating whether to just save what cash I've got and get a SS when I save some more, but I'm not in the type of diving that you guys are in, at least as often. I'm up in MI, so while I'll be using my scooter for cave dives when I come down, truthfully, the majority of its use, for the next year or two, will be OW and pretty much an aid for further length (mostly shore diving, no boat), just as you guys use them, but my requirments are different because if my scooter dies, I can just swim and then surface if need be, out in the middle of Lake MI, as crappy as that would be, I'd live. Where you guys need the SS types so you can get in as far as you need to and know that your gonna get out without having to try breathing through 30 ft of limestone...

I don't know if this changes the comments you guys threw my way, but I figure at this point, that a MAKO or Tekna (rebuilt of course) would serve me OK, until I pack up head for cave country permanently? Although, I did come across a Dive-X Scooter that is at least 8 yrs old with a used batt that gave a 35 min full throttle run time last weekend with no change in speed, and I'm close enough to pick it up for about a grand? Not too sure what to do with that because those freakin NiMH batteries are expensive (like 750 new), unless I could find the cells they use to build those packs?

I just wish that I lived down there in FL and I had some kind of experience with these things or at lest see them in person, so I could not be so ignorant about purchasing used scooters...

Truthfully, for now, unless someone wants to come off there SS for $1K, I'll be getting one of two scooters: 1) the rebuilt tekna, if it lasts for 2-3 yrs without having to put major money into, I'm happy. -OR- 2) the very same scooter (MAKO) skip was referring to in his above comments (I'm taking a guess that is the same scooter, skip)....

I think I'd rather have a MAKO than a Tekna, because of the nose heavy issue plus the aged design has some faults...

Well, I thank those that replied, I hope to one day, be a part of the community that dives the FL aquifer (the ones that give a s*^t about its consevation, anyway)

PS: Don't worry Adam (and others, that won't admit they spend 5 min editing there posts before they actually post them.... Hhhhmmm, myself)... One day, someone will come up with the app that will edit your posts for you before applying them... (it does suck to try and have a conversation when writing, unlike messaging where you have more than a min to respond)

Later to all, stay wet

[adam0321]

if it is between a mako and a tekna..I would get a mako just based off the bouyancy