Purchase an LBV200 or not? - Thanks for all the info

Member Joined: Apr 25, 2010 Location: Canada

Does anybody have anything bad to say about LBV vehicles?
I am looking at purchasing one for some work on the side.
All comments welcomed. Thanks for all the info and opinions. I have vendor info also and will be making a choice very soon.

ROVworld Webteam Joined: Dec 26, 2003 Location: Scotland

Have a read through the forum or search for LBV, I asked people about suggestions for different Micro ROVs, VideoRay was given a LOT of good comments, especially for search and rescue side of things.

Member Joined: Dec 24, 2003 Location: Englandshire

We affectionately know them as Little Basterd Vehicles !!!

Member Joined: May 16, 2008

JB2 wrote:

We affectionately know them as Little Basterd Vehicles !!!

Ha ha ha, well said JB2 : I was about to make the very same comment : priceless; I wonder if that expression is international or perhaps we've been on the same system : goodness.

Yes, anything good to say? No, crudely constructed (thus water ingress) and a weak customer support : of course this is only my opinion and ours could have been a one-off !

Wink

Member Joined: Feb 24, 2009 Location: USA

I'm pretty sure it's international... I've heard a couple of different versions... the tech's at Oceaneering refer to them as "Little BROKEN Vehicles".

Chief

Member Joined: Apr 27, 2008 Location: Queensland Australia

use them regularly, had no more issues than an xlx! most problems are incurred by using them outside their designed use.

Member Joined: Aug 02, 2010

Hi There,

Liquavision is SeaBotix UK, we supply, repair, maintain, and train on the LBV's. We have custom workshops, Training facilities, and demo systems.

We know some of the guys at Oceaneering...... all ok. if you have any questions about the ROV's feel free to ask.

We have used them Offshore, Inshore, Wind farm, Pipeline, Search and Rescue, Security, Hull Inspection, Nuclear. All spot on, no issues or complaints to date. If you service and maintain the vehicles in the correct fashion they are great.

We have worked with SeaBotix, VideoRay, TriggerFish, Ac-ROV and Sperre as brands, so we have an open opinion on the ROV brands and uses.

Canman, If you want to buy, mail me and I will give you a warts an all description of the systems.

Member Joined: Aug 02, 2010

DavidClark wrote:

JB2 wrote:

We affectionately know them as Little Basterd Vehicles !!!

Ha ha ha, well said JB2 : I was about to make the very same comment : priceless; I wonder if that expression is international or perhaps we've been on the same system : goodness.

Yes, anything good to say? No, crudely constructed (thus water ingress) and a weak customer support : of course this is only my opinion and ours could have been a one-off !

Wink

If anybody has issues or concerns with the LBV's, please ask and we will see if we can help you. Very Happy

Member Joined: Aug 03, 2010

Had 2 LBVs. Mean time before failure was 8 hours run time on both units. They were a nightmare to keep operational. If you can not repair them yourself with the spare parts that you MUST keep with you at all times, and you have to send it back to San Diego for repair, you are in real trouble. It takes them months, not days or weeks, but MONTHS to repair and return the LBV back to you. Even when the LBV is in warranty, you have to pay shipping to them and back from them. Even when the repair is obviously covered by warranty, they will try to say that it was something you did to make this happen and that this repair is not covered under their warranty. If you only have one LBV and are trying to make a living using it, I hope you have another income source. Now have VideoRays and love them. Almost never have a problem, the units are dependable and simple to work on, if they have to go back for repair, VideoRay repairs them immediately, pays for shipping if under warranty, and you have the repired unit back as soon as they can get it back to you.
WILL NEVER EVER PURCHASE ANOTHER SEABOTIX PRODUCT!!! Sad

Member Joined: Aug 09, 2010 Location: Southern California

Wow,

I guess what they say is true: One bad experience will be heard by 5 people and 5 good experiences will be heard by one!

First; I have flown everything from Scorpion to Ac-cess and everything in between. I for one have had really great experiences with the SeaBotix line, and in particular, the LBV200L.

Have I had to change a thruster? Sure. Does it perform at its best, laterally and in high-current conditions? Probably not. But that's not what it was designed for, I suspect(and SeaBotix will tell you so, BTW).

They certainly never sold me a system I didn't need and were very up-front about what the system could not do.

Make your own toast.

Second; Have fun putting a BlueView on your Videoray. Good Times. The LBV can take a serious payload for its size! All you have to do is add some buoyancy to the frame(which BTW is very machineable). The LBV almost begs you to get creative with it!

Third; It has, by far, my favorite contol system. Thing flys itself by ESP. Half an hour, and you are a genius.

Finally; I have never, ever called them and not gotten a person. Apparently, if all else fails, you go through to their Ops Manager automatically(happened to me once; the guy TCB'd). You can also go online for help.

I found it to be a very serviceable unit and if you follow the directions, you won't flood it or mess it up. We in the industry could break a stainless steel brick with a screwdriver, I have found. You just have to be carefull is all.

I just couldn't let all that go by without saying something. Early-on, you heard a lot of crap about these guys which may have been deserved. New kid on the block. I think they really have their act together.

BTW; you can actually remove those frames altogether and do your CB-CG adjustments around the body. The lateral performance is incredible.

Member Joined: Jul 08, 2008

The LBV is a not that bad and not any worse than the others in its build quality and design. However they fall flat in after sales and support ( our experience ) they are not geared for the commercial industry that needs parts on the shelf and dispatched immediately. Make sure you have all the spares and termination kits you will ever need with you offshore. Work within its range and it will not dissapoint you, thrusters are ok and its also very fast for its size! Somebody summed it up earlier " read the instructions"

Member Joined: Feb 24, 2009 Location: USA

This is some telling advice IRT to an LBV... The old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words", or in this case, quite a few thousand dollars.

http://www.rovinfo.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=551&p=1048&sid=204b8b6204331b72090a8de834a7971b#p1048

As a side note, VideoRay had to change their "Upgrade Program". Previously, if you Upgraded to a VideoRay and traded in your Seabotix, you would get an entire second system. The program was so successful, that it became a financail drag. So now, instead of an entire system, they give you a second ROV.

I can't wait to see the first vLBV in the pile... Oh wait, they (Seabotix) have to make one that actually works in the field.

Chief

Member Joined: Aug 09, 2010 Location: Southern California

Chief,

You have frequent opportunities to look at this 'pile'? Is Videoray a good employer? What's going on here?!?!

Look; I'll be the first to say that Videoray products have their applications; Same thing for Gnom, DOE, Outland, Seaeye, ad. infinitum. I will even go so far as to say my first post was not intended to identify VR as somehow singularly flawed. I had picked a mini/micro at random and that was unprofessional. For this I apologise.

On another note; Is there a way I could perhaps purchase one 'off the pile'? Please just drop a line to my ROVWorld inbox.

But I was somehow under the deluded impression that you were in the Pacific Northwest (was it on another string or site?) but where is it then? Phoenixville (Why was I thinking VR was in New Jersey?).

Maybe your two companies are actually in some sort of collusion to create a spot of buzz? If your neighbour improves his lot, then yours is raised as well? This, too occurred to me. I did however quickly dismiss it because of the level, smoke-free defence with which Seabotix users seem to present themselves. Or is Seabotix not holding-up their end of your bargain?...

I wish you the best, Chief; for both you and your company (for whomever you work Wink

). I am actually off to do some line-running with another gent and his Outland PVC number.

Cheers,

Member Joined: Feb 24, 2009 Location: USA

Stick,

I am based out of the Pacific NorthWest, but I do provide a global service (I'm working in Scandinavia right now).

The relationship between VideoRay and my Company is that we use their ROV instead of yours (Seabotix). The reasons are many and varied, but what I've seen, they aren't mine alone, they are shared with a good many Seabotix customers/victims Laughing

(OK, that last one was a cheap shot I'll admit, but it was damn funny)!!!

So as far as purchasing one, I don't know if you can or not. They were looking for idea's on what to do with those that were in the picture (and those that weren't). Do yourself a favor and call them up and ask. If all your trying to do is find out who has upgraded their system, ask them for the serial numbers.

Chief

Member Joined: Oct 22, 2008

Hi all,

I have flown (and repaired) the LBV a few times. Weak pints are as follows (in my opinion):

- Split pins holding props on waste away and fall off frequently.
- Any repair/maintenance task requires opening the system up completely.
- Camera image very poor due to camera/lights module design.
- Flying out of the flite case gets uncomfortable.
- Screen in the flight case is difficult to work on unless in a dark room without back light.

Having said this, it can carry a tritech micron sonar OR a grabber OR a positioning beacon which can, with some dive planning an imaginaton, b ok for small jobs, but the sub would be pressed for doing more main-stream offshore-ndustry type jobs and success would be heavily dependanton the skill and experince of he pilot (using depressor weights, dive planning, basic piloting skills, on-deck maintenance etc).

Hope this helps.