DPV Mods

[Tegg]

Since most of us in the cavediving community are into the "technical" sides of our gear.... Most of us can't seem to just leave our gear "stock".

Let's see some of the mods you have made to your DPVs. SS, Gavin, Mako, Tekna, Farallon, Dive Rite, Homebuilt... Post 'em up... Tell us why you decided to make certain mods and if you have pics of the mods, post 'em.

I have seen quite a few mods around, so I know people have done them.

[Kelly Jessop]

Joe,for some reason your post brought back memories of the "stage" battery for a scooter. It was a battery in a canister that was connected by EO connectors to act as a stage,then it was dropped.

[Tegg]

That's an intresting one...

Any others?

[curtschu]

Isn't a Gavin the ultimate mod of a Mako? What more can you do?
I did the Stage battery back in the day on a DVX3 it worked very well. I also remember some folks used to put a BC type device on the nose of the DVX3. I think this was after a Deep Mod. The SS nose plate prob made it nose heavy.

[crazyduck]

Has anyone used a single tank wing to make a recovery lift for flooded scooters?
I have had to swim with a dead Diverite arrow scooter and it was –no fun. This was at a Diverite Demo days and I showed up a little too late- should be no reflection on the Arrow.

Does anyone have an x-scooter?
How is the brushless motor holding up at this point? I was curious.

Also has anyone done any stress analysis on the deep modification for the Mako series scooter and how it might affect the plastic structure with the surrounding pressure? I am curious to hear if it is causing any stress fractures in the plastic bulkhead.

Gracias, Andrew

[Jordan]

Since most of us in the cavediving community are into the "technical" sides of our gear.... Most of us can't seem to just leave our gear "stock".

Let's see some of the mods you have made to your DPVs. SS, Gavin, Mako, Tekna, Farallon, Dive Rite, Homebuilt... Post 'em up... Tell us why you decided to make certain mods and if you have pics of the mods, post 'em.

I have seen quite a few mods around, so I know people have done them.

-Add metal blades-da
-Eliminate clutch by screwing the damn thing in place-will get you out but you need to be a bit careful of letting stuff get in your prop
-Added handle on nose cone-can add a big sense of security while passing the scooter through a restriction to your buddy
-Added horizontal handle on side of hull-something to carry the thing with underwater
-Added attachment points (same place as hull handle attaches) so that I can carry the scooter like a stage
-Added some holes into the battery hull so that I could zip tie my ballast inside the battery hull. I did not like that jenky way how Rodney zip-tied weights to the outside on the battery rod
-Changed my leash so as to get rid of the slipknots which always slip when I don't want them to but still allows adjustment

[Moonfuzzy]

I bought my mako used, so there were a lot of mods in place already (one handle removed, tow rope, etc.)

After diving it for a while we did a dive out to the Henkle at Ginnie, and just at max penetration the faceplate (plastic) IMPLODED. It felt like someone puched it down onto the rock. We ended up carrying it out part way and then coming back the next day with a single wing and some straps.. that worked really well!

After that I had a 3/8 thick aluminum plate made to replace the broken faceplate. I made one for the two buddies on that dive also (both use Makos too).

[MikeH]

-Add metal blades-da
-Eliminate clutch by screwing the damn thing in place-will get you out but you need to be a bit careful of letting stuff get in your prop

By doing both of those things, you just eliminated any chance of being able to stop the prop should it stick on and you can't get it off....and you just eliminated any failure point should something get stuck in the prop. It will destroy your motor before anything else gives. I, personally, don't recommend doing both.

If it sticks on, you will have to grab the speed setting to let it dial itself down to 1, then plow it into a wall or the bottom to stop it.

Mike

[sdenney]

I bought my Tekna DV3X used and it was slightly pre-modded:

~1200 rpm motor
headlight removed, light switch converted to throttle control
faceplate replaced with thicker material (lexan, plexi, ???)

I have since done the following:

charging port and charger re-wired with new plugs
batteries replaced with the high-power npx's
neoprene shroud for trim, protection

I plan to get a new nitrogen blown neoprene shroud so it won't
crush like the current one.

It's not only fast, it's got the burn time too.
Only the old series SS can out run it now— barely— and that
giant log that was at DEMA a couple years ago.

[John L.]

My Tekna has the rewound 1200 rpm motor, extra bulkheads inside so it can go to 200', capped PVC pipes on front to offset negativeness, neoprene (5 mil) on body, and around the cowl. All of that makes it sink slower (blade end first) than before if you have to let go of it. I also used white nail polish to paint the speeds on the hub so I can see it better than looking in the small hole for the speed.