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Air Packs
We have recieved a grant to purchase air packs and I was wanting to get some info on what types everyone is wearing and the pro's and con's that go with them. We currently have the MSA FireHawks on our trucks and the Survivair Panthers on our hazmat unit. As you can imagine the sales people know about the grant and we are being hammered. We had a rep from Interspiro come by and left us a couple of there Spiromatic-S4 packs to try, they seem to be a pretty good outfit but never seen the firefighter airpacks , just know about them from diving.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Thomas Jon Washburn on
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i recomend scott packs they seem to do the job just fine...carbon fiber bottles are the way to go as well about half the weight of steel
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Permalink Reply by Davin Eshelman on
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Just my opinion, but you should try the new air packs MSA has out. You know the flat packs. Give them a try.
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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Just my opinion, but you should try the new air packs MSA has out. You know the flat packs. Give them a try.
The flat SCBA is not even on the market yet and what you saw out there was a field test of a PROTOTYPE. You are probably looking at perhaps a few years before you even see those start coming out and the first ones, probably will be pretty costly, because there may not be a lot of competion initially.
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Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on
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It's good practice to sanitize your mask and regulator after use/end of shift.
We've used Scott's for the past 5 years or so (upgraded from the old MSA's). They are easy to use, no malfunctions but batter use was a concern. We replace (and document ) all batteries monthly to avoid any issues. I do like the heads-up display, very convenient. Only complaint I have is it's not that comfortable, it is lighter than the MSA's but sits differently on the shoulders.
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Permalink Reply by Matthew Powers on
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In my FFII class we had departments with MSA and I use a Scott. It was noticed that when working with an MSA mask on without air flowing they fogged up quickly, also after a few cycles of being on air and off air in the February temperatures, the exhaust ports froze on the MSA masks. I am not saying the Scott exhaust ports would not freeze, but we never found out because we did not have to go on air as much to clear the fog from our masks.
As for the best pack to buy, I think they all have their merits. It would however behoove you to keep everything standardized inside your department, and even your mutual aid districts if possible. You never know when MA might need to assemble a RIT kit to get you out. If everybody is on the same playing field, things can move a lot faster.
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Permalink Reply by Greenman on
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If it were my decision, go with Scott. If for no ther reason than they are very dependable and probably the most commonly used, which makes everything associated with maintenance and upkeep cheeper and easier than using a less-widely brand.
We have ISI Viking packs and I would never reccomend ISI to anyone. An advantage Scott has over most other brands is the open airway in the mask when the primary regulator is DC'd. This allows your RIT team to breath easier, with much less CO2 build up, and less fogging than the ISI masks (after a couple of minutes of staging outside, our RIT teams are practically blind when they go on air form the condensation).
If you have multiple venders competing for your business, follow the old axium of "try before you buy" and have them demo their SCBAs for you before you make a decision.
Greenman
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Permalink Reply by Tom Griswold on
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We use Surviveair Panthers. They are light and durable depending on what type of bottle you have. You can also have dummy lights placed on the face piece, the buddy breather can be placed into the system, the pack is completely adaptable to almost any other brand of air bottles, and have the gauge placed on it as well. Surviveair also has a new air pack out that has hinges in the flex points to improve the mobility.
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Permalink Reply by LUMPY907 on
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We got a grant last year for pack and we went from the Suvivair Panthers to The Scott 4.5. Love the Scotts, light weight and comfortable and pretty tough. Go with Scott.
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Permalink Reply by John Sees on
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Take the time to let the sales people come in and do a demo. If you have the demos you will be able to see all the options that each manufacture has to offer and can decide which you want. Over the past 38 years I have used Survivair, MSA, Cairns Air. I never had any real problems with any of them. I found that on any of them if I had the head net and not the staps to hold the face piece on I could not get a seal. The 2 companies that I run with are looking to replace their packs, one uses Survivair and the other went from Survivair to MSA the last time they up graded. Both companies had demo's by several manufactures and have decided to go with Drager. Good luck.
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Take the time to let the sales people come in and do a demo. If you have the demos you will be able to see all the options that each manufacture has to offer and can decide which you want.
And there in lies what should be the bottom line. That is the issue when coming to the internet seeking out opinions on any type of equipment, be it SCBA, jaws, rigs, PPE, whatever, everyone has their own opinion, but none which really weighs in on what the actually members may think. I never truly understood such concepts of asking on the net about opinions....does that really weigh in on a decision?
Asking vendors to come in and promote their product is the best way to get a decision. If the vendor allows you to field test a product for some time, it shows they do care about your opinion and do have faith in their product. Call in several vendors, weigh the pros and cons, narrow it down to a couple vendors, field test, make a decision. What is said on the net is strictly opinion.
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