Scooter Spares kit essentials

[BB1]

This question is going out to Ken and Claudette but everyone feel free to advise please!

What what you consider to be the contents of a good scooter spares box??

Pre/post dive consumables - WD40 or silicone spray etc??
Essential spares??
Expensive but nice to have items??

Any advice for a new owner gratefully appreciated!

[Mo2vation]

In ours:

• Spare zinc
• Complete Propeller assembly
  
  • Shaft Seal
  • Dowel Pin
  • Clutch plate
  • Inner hub
  • Washer Stack
  • Clutch washer
  • Washer stack screw
  • 1 or two blades
  • Yoke
  • Yoke Shaft
  • Outer hub
  • Vari-pitch knob
  • Screws for a all
  
  
• A small piece of stick-on stair grip sand paper
• Tow Cord
• Laminated instructions for tying Tow cord
• Anderson connectors
• Fuse holder
• Several Fuses
• Nearly every screw from motor mount to shroud to zinc
• Various crimps and heat shrink tubing for above
• Thumb screws (for gauges / trigger lock)
• Spare Nelsons Catch and Clamp and screws
• One set of motor bearings
• Spare Electronics Set
• Tube o' pipe dope
• O-Rings
• O-Ring lube
• Spare stick-on Velcro Hook patch
• Several spare weight pouches
• Small bag o' lead shot for above
• Battery Cir-Clip
• New Retaining Clip system
• 5/8" deep socket (for setting new retaining clip system)
• All manner of hex keys, crimpers, etc.

Essentially, I can completely re-build a scooter in the field from the bolts.

This is all way, WAY more than the average person will ever need to carry around. But we're a little nuts, and have seen the wackiest things fail. And we're very kick-averse - so we schlep.

And this is nothing. You should see how Tobin rolls, or how John Samson rolls, or how James FDog is-there-nothing-he-can't-repair-right-now rolls. The four of us together on the same boat is scary. We need another boat for our expedition spares kits. Cys could fit my tiny expedition spares kit in the corner of the tool shop he brings everywhere he goes. Boat Captains call HIM when the engine is pinging....

The spares kits Dive Xtras sell are a good place to start.

Like the drybox of any experienced diver - you can't buy them off the shelf. They're built over years - part by part based on a series of failures, witnessed failures, and field saves that are the stuff of legends.


-Ken

[fdog]

Ken, with his world-famous Box Of Life. <cue heavenly choir sounds> Which saved me once. (Thanks, Ken!)

I'd submit that your scooter BOL depends on:

• What are you competent to do?
• What are the most common failures?
• What are the consequences of missing this dive?

The Cuda is engineered for ease of maintenence, so anyone with good mechanical skills can overhaul (or, repair) a surprisingly large amount on the scooter. So get some metric tools and throw them in the kit.

Still, if your all thumbs mechanically, maybe you should just consider some O-rings and lube in your kit.

On the other hand, the Dive-Xtras factory offers a repair class, which is two days long and qualifies you to truly rebuild one from the ground up. If you take your scooter places that are remote, or really have scooters as a intergal part of the dives you do, you should take this class.



The most common failures I've seen (and what you need to fix it):

Pinched/ sliced body seal O-rings: spare O-rings and lube
Lost compass thumbscrew: spare
Broken prop blade: spare & Loctite
Broken hub: spare & Loctite
Blown fuse: spare and a cheap multimeter
Scored (scratched) sealing surface: three grits (coarse, medium, fine) of emery cloth
Broken battery holding ring: spare


If you are doing dives that depend on having a scooter (about 80% of our diving) then you have to balance cost of your kit vs the cost of missing the dive. Since lots of our diving is off boats that we flew thousands of miles to get to, we take everything that might possibly fail, as Ken outlined above. If it didn't matter - "hey, let's just kick this simple dive since the scooter's broken" - we'd have way less in the kit.


All the best, James

[BB1]

Guys thank you so much! I think this definitely warrents being "sticky" No 2 in this forum!!

I'm pretty handy with all things mechanical and can even muddle along with electickery (still think its the work of the devil tho!) as long as I have instructions, a wiring diagram and a multi-meter so this bodes well.

Ken's BOL <Bow down to its awesomeness> may well be more than I need at the moment but I'll take on board elements from both of you and start building my MBOL (mini box of life) slowly.

I know about the slicon lube on the battery o-ring trick already - thanks James - do the main sealing o-rings want a bit of the same???


BTW I would love to do the 2 day course because I like to know how my gear works and how to repair correctly but being as I'm in Australia that not likely to be happening anytime soon!

[DaniValerio]

The Scooter Dr, performing emergency surgery on my scooter a few years back. Thank you James!!

[AzTek Diver]

james..jpg
The Scooter Dr, performing surgery.

Looks more like a mad scientist.

[Mo2vation]

I think I remember this day.

After the surgery (I was scrubbed for this) I immediately got Chica and I nickle-plated Hex Keys.



Field scooter repairs rule.

-Ken

[fdog]

Looks more like a mad scientist.

I'll take that as a compliment!


Not too far from the truth either, here is a sketch one of my HazMat students made for me after a week in the laboratory:





I definitely remember working on Dani's scooter, that was a team effort. There were three of us bent over the X-table with tools flying in and out from the attentive support staff...Dani had a social worker attendending to her as we worked on her baby...


All the best, James

[AzTek Diver]

I'll take that as a compliment!

All the best, James

As you should.

[DaniValerio]

So in thinking about spares kits... I was wondering how everyone separates their kits out. For example, do you have one large BOL that covers ALL dives, that goes everywhere? Or do you have a BOL for the scooter, and another BOL for regulators, BC's, etc.? Also, what are the contents of your BOL (scooter bits excluded since that's already been covered)?

Also a funny story about spares. We went to Mexico for some cave diving last September. We brought spares, replacements, or rebuilt kits for everything from regulators to lights and the appropriate tools for each. You should have seen the joint packing list for our group of 6. One thing that nobody thought to bring was a spare tank valve! Yes, I said tank valve. See, I'm not the most agile or graceful person in this world. I am in fact, a bit clumsy. I was walking my stage (on my shoulder) down a very nice set of cement stairs to the cenote when I unexpectedly found myself on the ground with the tank next to me. Neither of us was hurt, or so I thought. When I attempted to remove my reg from the tank, I found the two were married. They were inseparable until Merlin introduced them to the vice grip and I think a mallet in our garage at home. Danny at Zero Gravity was kind enough to sell me a replacement tank valve. The funny thing is - we actually HAD a spare tank valve at home we could have brought with us...

[AzTek Diver]

So in thinking about spares kits... I was wondering how everyone separates their kits out. For example, do you have one large BOL that covers ALL dives, that goes everywhere? Or do you have a BOL for the scooter, and another BOL for regulators, BC's, etc.? Also, what are the contents of your BOL (scooter bits excluded since that's already been covered)?

Also a funny story about spares. We went to Mexico for some cave diving last September. We brought spares, replacements, or rebuilt kits for everything from regulators to lights and the appropriate tools for each. You should have seen the joint packing list for our group of 6. One thing that nobody thought to bring was a spare tank valve! Yes, I said tank valve. See, I'm not the most agile or graceful person in this world. I am in fact, a bit clumsy. I was walking my stage (on my shoulder) down a very nice set of cement stairs to the cenote when I unexpectedly found myself on the ground with the tank next to me. Neither of us was hurt, or so I thought. When I attempted to remove my reg from the tank, I found the two were married. They were inseparable until Merlin introduced them to the vice grip and I think a mallet in our garage at home. Danny at Zero Gravity was kind enough to sell me a replacement tank valve. The funny thing is - we actually HAD a spare tank valve at home we could have brought with us...

All kits separate, for regs I just bring a spare ilo kits.