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SCBA likes and dislikes
Since our grant lets us start from scratch we don't have to buy to match what we have now (Scott 2216s). The group has made a few choices already, we want to go with the new 2013 compliant packs and also change to 4500 30min bottles. This change will have a fairly pricey trickle down charge. Well need to get a new bigger compressor ect...
Love to hear your thoughts and ideas, and we aren't against going with a manufacturer that isn't pro dominant to our area (not a Scott or MSA). Thank you for any input you may give.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jerrad Anderson on
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Sorry I meant 4500 45min bottles.
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Permalink Reply by Jim Conrad on
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We have been using ISI Viking 7 2216 thirty min scba. The face pieces are nice and the voice amplification is a nice feature as well. The pack has a built in pass device that activates when the bottle is turned on. The batteries need changes every three months but ISI sends new ones free of charge. A couple of things I don't like is the face piece is kind of limited to face size so a large and small size mask is required for each pack. The electronics seem to fail when you need them, although the basic function of the pack is not compromised, only the voice feature and the pass system. The face piece has a small length of double hose that connects to the lines off the bottle, I wish the mask used a snap in regulator instead. Overall I like the ISI Viking seven.
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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I was wonder what you'll have and like and more importantly what you don't like....................Love to hear your thoughts and ideas, and we aren't against going with a manufacturer that isn't pro dominant to our area (not a Scott or MSA). Thank you for any input you may give.
The thing with such issues is that the decision comes down to your own membership and what they prefer. Since you have already narrowed the manufacturer decision down, why illicit responses? Why should it matter what somone else uses or their preference if the manufacturer is different?
Really, if you already have the decision narrowed down to the 2 manufacturers, the tough part is behind you and any outside information is relatively pointless now. The decision process now falls to the membership and have them test out an MSA and SCOTT and let that be the determining factor. Have a vendor come in one week to present the product to the dept and have the other vendor come later. Go over pros and cons with the membership. From there, if you don't have to make a decision right away, ask both vendors to loan you a pack or two to train with and use to help make the decision.
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I did not read closely enough about not looking at other manufacturers. You can look at my ISI review as entertainment/ informational only.
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Permalink Reply by Norm Tindell on
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The primary reason we use Scott is that's what everybody around us has. We like them and have very few problems with them. The new features such as heads up displays and voice amplifiers on the current models are nice.
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Lol, yea I meant it as we are open any brand of pack out there. If some one says xyz brand pack is junk and here's why, that is good info to pass on to the committee. If its a valid problem that is, but your right that the only way to make a good decision is to have hands on demo time.
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we are open any brand of pack out there
If you are more open, then that is valid for seeking differing opinions. Since SCOTT and MSA are predominent in your area, I would ask them to come in any way, there may be further breaks when purchasing with other depts etc, especially for purchases down the road.
When my last dept was loking at replacing SCBA, we looked at 4 maufacturers, SCOTT, MSA, SURVIVAIR, and DRAGER. Most depts around the area were using SCOTT and MSA. We had a vendor do a presentation over the bi-weekly drill night and looked at the fit of the pack in the rig, if brackets needed to be changed, overallfit in a comparment for those rigs set up that way, etc.
The SCOTT did not fit well in the compartments or seating and would require more work to make the compartments work as well as adjusting brackets. We had older style MSA at the time, and for the most part wanted to look for something different. It didn't help that the vendor was unwlling to allow the dept to test the unit to make a decision. It was narrowed down to the SURVIVAIR and DRAGER. Of which both vendors allowed the dept to test a unit for futher training and testing. Both vendors were offering a spare bottle with every unit as well. It was decided to go with the Drager then.
I have used SCOTT, MSA, DRAGER, SURVIVAIR, and ISI in various depts or training. All did the job, I didn't personally care for the ISI, but haven't heard of a pack that was particularly "bad". I would perhaps do a quick look at a few manufacturers and narrow it down to a few and then ask vendors to come in and get opinion from the membership. If your compressor unit would have to be upgraded, see if any vendors are willing to work with you on giving you a break with that.
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I think John outlined the process pretty well. I have been in three different styles of ISI packs. All three were different in so many ways it was hard to believe that the same manufacturer made all three. I have to believe the various manufacturers have features unique to themselves. Of the three ISI packs, one was so totally comfortable and easy to use it was amazing and I fell in love right away. Unfortunately, that ISI pack is not the one we use. Try as many as you can.
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Permalink Reply by Matt Lacey on
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We are looking at upgrading as well the Scott rep dropped off a couple units to demo last night at our monthly training night. We are switching from Msa and it was the first time I ever played with a Scott. First of the month we are getting a Msa to demo. I personally liked the Scott mask better than the msa's we have now. Better peripheral vision and overall felt more comfortable. I don't know about the newer msa's but I liked the locking mechanism on the rhinobacks better. I have ran our mobile cascade quite a bit from a filling stand point I like the Msa bottles better as they have regular valve, but I suppose it is what you are used to. Oh before I forget the quick connect buddy breather was pretty sweet on the Scott too.
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Permalink Reply by Shane Griffith on
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We use MSA at our department. They have their perks and flaws. They're easy to operate and maintenance. However the heads up displays eat batteries like crazy and wearing your face piece while not on air is like breathing through a straw. Other than that I like using them. I have tried Scott once but not long enough to determine whether or not I like it more. Most of our mutual aid use MSA so it's easy to get our cylinders filled seeing as we don't have a cascade. And when we are running on a long call and we run out full cylinders before Chippewa's rescue can get ours filled on scene we can borrow one from our mutual aid.
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