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Modifying the Turtle seems to be a common affliction. Its rare to see a bog standard unit. The modifications range from sensible and ones that can add to your safety through to major rebuilds. Here are a list of those I've done or come across. Please send me details and photos of your

Spot the wrong way up Mouthpiece

I've heard 2 users now say they have fitted their mouthpiece hoses on the wrong way up. This could be a fatal mistake if you went diving that way so its not something you want to do. APD could easily design out this potential fault by changing the end fittings to NOT be universal and only allow a one way connection. I came up with a very simple and easy mod to stop me making this simple mistake

So 20 seconds later after using my trusty label maker (recommend these Dymo machines to everyone), and I have a mouthpiece that is instantly self aware that it is upside down

I'll leave you to decide the wording, but again this is an easy mod that APD could do at the factory. Highly recommended

Which Injector is this?

Seems to me, quite a few folks have squirted the O2 by mistake. I think APD could do more to make the O2 valve different from the Diluent injector. My suggestion is to make the edge around the O2 injector castellated and higher

Handset Covers

Made from 5mm Neoprene, these protect the handsets from impact both under and above the water. They are very easy to make and in this case I just used the scraps from my LDS. The 5mm circles that come on the hangers of wetsuits were used.

For each handset I just chalked around the unit and cut out 2 of them and then I cut a long thin strip that was the width of the unit + 10mm (2x5mm). Then just glued it all together, leaving a gap at the top for the hoop and trimmed straight across the bottom so as to make it a tight fit to slide it over.

They work very well. they offset the negative buoyancy of the handsets in the water and stop them drooping so much (they still sink) and of course add protection both in and out of the water. And judging by the rust and gunk that is often on them when I get back in the boat, definitely needed (of course it could just be my fat belly that makes em stick out!!)

Diluent Flush PPO2

An easy safety check and good info to have to hand. One f the easiest ways of checking your sensors while at depth is to do a diluent flush. We know the PPO2 in our air diluent and therefore what the PPO2 at any depth should be. But who wants to be doing 3 x 20.9 sums in there heads, so I made up and laminated a small chart onto each handset

I have the excel spreadsheet for these if anyone is too lazy to knock it up themselves (its in the downloads area)

Emergency Deco and Bailout Tables

Like the PPO2 chart for diluent flushes, this is a small laminated printout glued on the handset. Its there for if your computer goes belly up and you've lost your backup tables (you do carry them don't you?). It have standard deco and bail out options on it

Mine is a copy of the table from the Inspiration Manual. (Again its in the downloads area)

VR3 and 4th sensor

What can I say. The VR3 decompression computer is a wonderful piece of kit (for OC too). Using it with the 4th cell allows 2 advantages

2) An independent PPO2 monitor which is very handy , when surfacing and watching the depth and deco, you can also see your PPO2

When adding the 4th cell holder, many folks remove 7 rings of the hose. I left mine the original length. I also have the plug and play ADV and needed the extra length to sit this nicely

Oh dear, my labeller has been busy again (note cell installation date, never forget when you installed it again, or buy a copy of "Your Inspiration Buddy")

Hose protection and Insulation

1) Protection for the hoses. Makes it harder to tear one on a wreck and get a loop flood and prevent hose wear where they go through the shell

Mine were bought from Forward Diving and are actually harness strap covers. They are the perfect length and cover the hoses completely from fitting to fitting and are made from 2mm armourtex neoprene. I bought 4 and also covered the 2 inner hoses. My next plan is an insulated cover for the scrubber.

The covers are made by Portland Oceaneering and are sold as "Hose Sleeve" and cost £3.95 each. Portland Oceaneering are based at Castletown, Portland and can be reached on +44 (0) 1305 860402 ( dive@portlando.demon.co.uk )

Another common problem is chaffing of the hoses as they run through the black case. They hole they run through is a fairly close fit and you can see most hoses have rub marks here from the constant insertion and removal. Several ways to fix this

3) Wrap spiral Hose protectors or normal hose protectors onto the hose (The plastic spiral wraps work well)

A combination of 3 and 4 seems to work very well, and is completely removable for cleaning and inspection

I've also now made a neoprene insulation cover for my scrubber. Its removable and uses 5mm Armatex neoprene. Hopefully this will keep my scrubber temperature up and allow it to be more efficient

By leaving the down pipe exposed I condense the moisture here so it can collect in the space under the Scrubber in the container

Emergency Strobe

Simple and easy. I've always dived with a strobe for many years. Murky UK conditions and the risk of the boat not being there when you surface make this a good idea. I've had many strobes over the years but have found this Apex to be the best, brightest and longest lasting. It clips onto the turtle with no mods at the top of the backplate and doesn't interfere with the hoses or anything else

You get the choice of constant on, flash and SOS patterns. Only drawback is you cant reach it while wearing the unit. I turn it to flashing and wear it in this state each dive. the battery lasts for about 48 hours

This sits inside a custom diver container rated to 150m, you can also stick one into an Otter box

Reflective Tape

Simple easy safety mod that doesn't cost a lot. Just stick some automotive scotch reflective tape around the top of the turtle shell. Doesn't even show in daylight, but if you're ever adrift at night hoping a chopper will spot you, it does show up well

I like this tape. It lasts for years in salt water as long as the surface it is stuck on is clean to start with

ADV Shutoff Valve

I fitted an Apeks Shut off valve inline with the ADV so I can disable it easily is there is a problem or free flow. Also this makes pressure testing the unit easier. I've since removed it due to comments by Dave Thompson, who pointed out that it provided no extra safety and was an extra 4 failure points

At first I could never remember which way was off and on, so I used coloured permanent marker pens to colour the barrel so remembering was easy (OK I didn't have a green pen for on)

Bevelled Connector Edges

Have you ever had the problem that the O rings on the hose connectors have come unseated as you attached the mouthpiece hoses or over the shoulder hoses to the T pieces of the scrubber connectors? If so take a good look at the fitting here, If you have a early 02 unit or before you'll notice the ends of the fitting are square

This comes form the factory as a right angle and it is this corner that grips the O rings and pulls them from the Fittings as you connect them.

This is easy to fix and APD started to do this in all fitting in mid 02. Take a small kitchen knife. Blade isn't important as we are not going to use that. Its the back edge, we are interested in, it must have well defined corners on it

Use the back of the knife, like you are peeling a potato to scrape out a bevel on the inner corner, you are aiming for 1-2mm of bevel. Work your way around to keep it all even.

Now, your O rings have a easier route into the connectors. This is especially useful on the scrubber top connector which is a very common source of leaks

Extra Bailout/Offboard gas

1) Normal side slung stage. I use the Dive Rite slings and have great results with them. I have slung 3L steels, 7l Steel 300 bars, 7L ally 232's very easily this way. Personally I like to balance myself and sling Air on the left and rich mixes on the right. But if its a single tank then it goes on the left. Dave Thompson shattered my illusions here, when we were doing out normoxic trimix. After practising stage doffs and dons for what seems like ages, I now agree that suicide clips are easier that piston clips and that you need the biggest clips you can get.

2) Side mount on the Inspiration Body. I have just inserted pony quick release mounts through the straps that hold the internal tanks in. This works really well

I normally mount my Custom Divers HID on the right and an extra 3L Air bailout on the left. For deeper dives I swap the HID for another diluent and put the HID on my waist belt

I find that even having a single cylinder mounted does not produce an imbalance as they are so near your centre of gravity. Side slung tanks are far more noticeable. I mount the valve knob downwards and at the front, and always have a low pressure hose on the stage so I can plug it into the manual injector for extra long SCR mode use if needed

Jan Box

The JJ stainless steel box or "Jan Box" is designed by Jan Jørgensen IANTD CCR IT and produced by Allan Greisen - both from Denmark. The idea of the box is to build your bailout on the back, and very easy switching different cylinder sizes according to the task.

Stainless Steel Backplate

What can I say, probably the most common mod on the Inspiration. I replaced mine after about 15 dives after trying Dave Thompson's unit fitted with one

I have the Type II backplate from Portland Oceaneering which cost £85. Its very well made (and has a strong handle). Its finish is better than the Dive Rite and Halcyon plates and its cheaper. Its 316 grade stainless and weighs 2.5 Kg

I rigged mine with an Aquatec harness (£75), which has a sensible assortment of D rings and rigging and has shoulder quick releases (Which I prefer over solid straps)

By the way, I was going to replace my Wings, and everyone said to use the Dive Rite RecWing. So I ordered a set. Unfortunately they have changed the design and I can categorilly state that the current RecWing does NOT fit the inspiration. The top tubes are far too high and the high mounting hole is far to low, making the top of the wing stand far above the hoses

Replace the Mouthpiece

Personally I have a small mouth (OK, shut up all those who know me who will tell you it may be small but it makes a lot of noise). The original was so big and floppy I needed to use my fingers to insert it!!!!. so I swapped it for a normal one. The oval is a bit bigger than standard size but all your favourites will fit with a stretch

Have now fitted a JAX anatomical mouthpiece which is custom moulded. Was a bit of a struggle to get it on the mouthpiece stub, but seems very comfortable, especially pre and post dive when the hose weight is not supported. http://www.myjaxdive.com

I should also point out that APD (Martin Parker) States that this mouthpiece is NOT suitable for the Inspiration as its bite is too thin. I had to heat mine to fit on the mouthpiece so it is wider than normal. Also I have used it when swimming very hard at 45m on air in a strong current and had no increase in breathing resistance. This is the quote from Martin.

I measured my Jax's bites and they are 0.5mm thicker than my original Inspiration Mouthpieces!!!

Smaller SPG's

I replaced my huge blue solid brass SPG's with these nice Small Italian ones (also sold by Scubapro and APD), Fairly easy to swap over once you get the sold blue plastic covers off the old ones. I have seen new Inspirations coming from the factory with these fitted as standard

Customised Covers

There are folks making these in Black (for the sad techie wannabees) and of course as they are ABS plastic you can spray them. Use car bumper paint and make sure that you clean and prepare the surface first and use a plastic sealer and primer (look at instructions for painting plastic car bumpers). The biggest problem is deciding what to paint

By the way the yellow IANTD stickers as in the picture bellow don't stick very well, mine came off after about 10 hours underwater

George Irvine Approved Mods

The body bag goes in your pocket worn on the right thigh and is secured by a Stainless Steel P clip attached to an O ring. The spade must be worn on the left side of the cover, handle down to prevent snagging

Only Halcyon Body bags and shovels will work. Use of a London Ambulance Service bag will instantly make you a "Stroke", mean you'll die a horrible death, and probably have to downgrade to a Halcyon Semi Closed Rebreather

Auto Diluent Addition

My first mod after diving on Dave Thompson's unit with one fitted. It removes the need to add diluent on the descent and leaves your hands free for other things, it will also prevent an O2 spike from a very rapid descent. Mine has been set up really stiffly so I have to suck to activate it. That's fine for me on the descent and makes sure I can stick my head down holes etc without it firing

APD now also sell a ADV that is available fitted to new units and available as an after market fitment. It is cheaper than the Oxycheque unit and more compact and of course has CE approval. Definitely recommended

Neoprene Lungs

These are prototype units made by Dave Thompson and only about 3 people have them so far. They are much tidier than the APD ones and easier to remove and clean. They are not joined and each lung clips onto the backplate using a fastex clip. They use the original injectors and T's and an Apek's Dump. The dump is fitted at the base of the exhale lung to allow water clearing

Hammerhead

AutoAir Removal

Controversial this one, you either love em or hate them!. Now I love Scubapro Air II's and have them on my Stab jacket and my OC wings. (I find the button placement for the squirt and dump just right for me , better than the usual BCD injector, plus I can breathe easily from it. My first is 15 years old and still going strong). But personally I hate the AutoAir. Did the person who designed it not consider folks may use it one handed in thick gloves!, the buttons are in all the wrong places and the dump is cleverly hidden underneath.

Plus some folks claim they free flow (only if you set your interstage pressure wrong or don't service them).

Personally I think they were a good choice by APD as the are always connected to the diluent and make sure you always carry minimal bailout. But I have several reservations

a) They are only connected to a small cylinder (better than nothing and fine down to 20m) and

So many people remove them and replace the AutoAir with a normal BCD direct feed and carry out the mod below, by adding a normal OC demand valve. Mine is still fitted currently but the AutoAir is so corroded inside that its about to be replaced with my good old favourite, an Air II.

Bail Out Demand Valve

Often fitted when the AutoAir is removed. By attaching a normal demand valve second stage to the internal manifold, you have the best of both worlds, especially if you put a long hose on it (I dive a DIR like config on my twins and think the long hose is great)

You have a normal DV which can be necklaced ala DIR style and with a long hose it's actually usable by your buddy (for the 1 min or so 170 bar in a 3 litre tank will last a panicking diver)

If you've got rid of the Auto air then you can go a whole step further and replace the old Seeman Sub dinosaur 1st stage with something nice. Mine is currently being swapped to a nice new Poseidon ready for Trimix (I use Poseidon caving and on my twins and love ambidextrous 2nd stages). If you are using a Hammerhead then you can up the interstage pressure to help the regs breath better

Here is a picture of my O2 side reg fitted for deployment. Notice I use my bungies for storage and that the reg is right out of the way while diving and secured by rubber band. Its easy to deploy if you know where it is. But its out of sight to stop anyone grabbing it without me knowing. Its also fitted with an Apeks cut off valve to stop a free flow dumping my O2. Even at the 7.5 bar Interstage the original electronics require the Cyclon breaths fine at the max depth of 6M. Notice all my emergency gas stuff is yellow. The other yellow hose is for my OC/DSV. I've used this convention since about 1984 even on my OC stuff.

It would be very easy to fit a long hose version on the diluent side for a buddy to use. Personally I use an OC/DSV for me and I always carry at least another 3L side or case mount cylinder with a DV on it for my Buddy