Expired Cypres

[Lastchance 0]

I just bought a new Cypres. Well it's used but it's new to me. Anyway I still have my expired unit and looked into selling it. My question is, is it worth it to sell it or to keep it for the cutter or just keep the cutter. There is only a ten dollar dif. in price with or without if I sell it. A new cutter is $125. Does the cutter have a life? I'm thinking for ten bucks I should just keep it in case I ever use my AAD and need it I have an extra cutter.

I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands.

[piisfish 135]

if I am not mistaken the cutter also has an expiry date.

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[BillyVance 34]

Not meaning to hijack the thread but I thought maybe I'd save posting a new thread....

My cypres expires at the end of August. I've had it since the summer of 1998. Does Airtec want it back for testing or can I just keep it? Alternatively, what about the batteries? Can I take them out and put them to use for something else, like say a flashlight? Are they the same size as a C cell?

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[kingbunky 3]

i think airtec gives a small discount on a new one if you return the old one. the batteries are soldered together, but if you really wanted the batteries i suppose you could separate them. they are a standard size, but i can't remember if it's c or d. probably not worth the trouble, unless you're really bored.

"Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart."
MB4252 TDS699
killing threads since 2001

[Lastchance 0]

You can just just keep it. I don't think SSK actually needs it back but they will give you 80 bucks trade in on a brand new unit. I don't know if you can use the batteries in your flashlite or not. They do appear to be about the same size as a c-cell. Pretty expensive flashlite batteries.

I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands.

[PhreeZone 14]

The life of the cutter is limited. Its DOM is stamped on the cutter and its good for the same 12 year limit of the body.

Airtec says you can keep your Cypres if its expired unless you want to trade it in on a new one then they give a discount. The batteries are around C size and soldered together with a capacitor I think but I seem to recall the voltage is a lot higher then normal batteries so I'd think twice before trying them in something else.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[likestojump 3]

the cutter is life limited, just like the unit. The only difference is that they allow a slight difference in the cutter DOM, so you may use it "a little" past it's 12year and 3 month life. No clear explanation as to how long, but it's pretty much bricked like the Cypres :(

[NWernig 0]

we have put the batteries in some kid toys and they go into overdrive if you use 2. If you use 1 and a normal dead(already used) battery they work well. They can fry stuff though LOL

Nathan

[BillyVance 34]

Quote

we have put the batteries in some kid toys and they go into overdrive if you use 2. If you use 1 and a normal dead(already used) battery they work well. They can fry stuff though LOL

Sounds like Tim "The Toolman" Taylor would have had fun with those batteries on that show.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[Lastchance 0]

Kinda like the energizer bunny huh.

I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands.

[pchapman 261]

[Edit: others got to answers before mine but I'll leave it as it is]

Airtec lifes their cutters too, basically the same as the Cypres. Not as easy to notice as with Cypres dates though, if one happened to keep one as a spare to use for a repack during a boogie, even if not legal. At least I'd expect that if it failed, it wouldn't be going off accidentally, it would be failing to fire.

It still comes down to the fact that the cutter is expired and only good for experiments.

Airtec does pay a bit of money ($60? 75?) for an expired Cypres IF buying a brand new one. Hardly worth trying to sell it, unless a friend is about to buy a new one.

BillyV:

Cypres batteries are C cell sized, so they do work in flashlights. But it is hard to find C cell flashlights, and the voltage is higher than normal cells, so one has to get a different bulb. (Eg, a "4 cell" or "5 cell" bulb when using 2 cells.) As a rigger I've made fixed up some Cypres battery flashlights due to the free batteries lying around. But these days LED flashlights are so cheap and efficient it is hardly worth the effort to rig something up.

[BillyVance 34]

Quote

[Edit: others got to answers before mine but I'll leave it as it is]

Airtec lifes their cutters too, basically the same as the Cypres. Not as easy to notice as with Cypres dates though, if one happened to keep one as a spare to use for a repack during a boogie, even if not legal. At least I'd expect that if it failed, it wouldn't be going off accidentally, it would be failing to fire.

It still comes down to the fact that the cutter is expired and only good for experiments.

Airtec does pay a bit of money ($60? 75?) for an expired Cypres IF buying a brand new one. Hardly worth trying to sell it, unless a friend is about to buy a new one.

BillyV:

Cypres batteries are C cell sized, so they do work in flashlights. But it is hard to find C cell flashlights, and the voltage is higher than normal cells, so one has to get a different bulb. (Eg, a "4 cell" or "5 cell" bulb when using 2 cells.) As a rigger I've made fixed up some Cypres battery flashlights due to the free batteries lying around. But these days LED flashlights are so cheap and efficient it is hardly worth the effort to rig something up.

How about if you have a cutter that was a replacement during the life of the cypres?

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[Lastchance 0]

Check the date on the cutter. From what I'm getting on here there is probably some life left on it depending on DOM. I know mine is prob. done for. DOM 09/96.

I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands.

[pchapman 261]

Quote

How about if you have a cutter that was a replacement during the life of the cypres?

Good question.

The month and year of manufacture are listed on the cutter. On some the lettering is a little faint. I haven't looked at a recent cutter to see if there's any change to the info.

Airtec's statements are actually a little vague about cutters. One would expect that since cutters haven't changed, and Cypres 2's are good for 12.5 yrs, cutters are good for the same. ("Cutters haven't changed": One exception is that the plug seal isn't watertight if using a Cypres 1 cutter on a Cypres 2.)

But the statements are vaguer:

Cypres News Nov 06:

Quote

CYPRES Lifetime: Lifetime for CYPRES is 12 years plus 3 months from date of manufacture (12 years plus 6
months for CYPRES-2). This decision is based on the component manufacturer’s lifetime limits, then extending
these limits via screening and testing, analysis of the aging and drift characteristics of specific critical electronic
parts, and how this all relates to affects reliability and safety. Airtec’s plan has been confirmed by the analysis of
over 4000 8-Year Maintenance results, and verified by long-term tests of the first CYPRES units produced in
1991. This lifetime also applies to cutters; refer to date of manufacture on the cutter connector, or the batch code
on the heat shrink (see www.cypres.cc “MY CYPRES” “cutter” for cutter code list).

The Cypres 2 manual doesn't explicitly address it as far as I can tell, other than saying not to use an expired cutter, and talking about the life of the unit as a whole being 12.5 years.

[kkeenan 13]

While the manufacturer mandates a 12-year retirement date, and FAA Riggers are required to comply with that, the practice is not worldwide. In areas where the rules are different, people are buying up old CYPRESs and using them well past the 12-year limit.

Life is cheap for their kind...

Kevin K.

_____________________________________
Dude, you are so awesome...
Can I be on your ash jump ?

[BillyVance 34]

Quote

While the manufacturer mandates a 12-year retirement date, and FAA Riggers are required to comply with that, the practice is not worldwide. In areas where the rules are different, people are buying up old CYPRESs and using them well past the 12-year limit.

Life is cheap for their kind...

Kevin K.

So you're saying I could sell my Cypres to someone in another country? For how much?

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[Skydivesg 6]

I'd like to know about that too.

Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

[JerryBaumchen 1,046]

Hi Billy,

Last week I just letting my mind wander on this idea of a dead CYPRES ( I know, DANGEROUS ).

I see nothing to stop someone with a lifed-out CYPRES to merely removing the original label and then putting a label of their own making on it. You could then call it a DUFUS II AAD, tell the world that you made it, and keep on using it.

Now the problem would be that some ( or is that many ) riggers might not want to pack your rig with your new DUFUS II in it.

There is nothing in the world that prevents you from making your own AAD. I did it.

Of course, I would suggest that you not send it in for any type of x-year check.

I am quite sure that this is going to generate a fair amount of 'replies' but that is OK with me.

This is one more reason why I say that the FAA should have never gotten into any form of regulating of AADs.

JerryBaumchen

[faulknerwn 36]

Look in the classifieds on here. Or post your expired one for sale. I sold a bunch of dz ones to a Russian here a year or so ago for $40 each..

[thutch 0]

Cypres have clarified the service life of their cutters:

https://www.cypres.aero/services/cutter-sn-list/

16.5 years

[crapflinger2000 1]

What you have here is an opportunity to see what the cutter will cut through. Thats what I did with mine when it turned into a pumpkin.

You could go 2 ways, see what the strongest thing it will cut through is (mine chopped a wire coat hanger with ease) or what it will do with something flimsy but not under tension (like a cypres closing loop). I vote you see if it will chop though whatever screw driver you have lying around that will fit in the cutter.

Disclaimer: The above assumes you are not an idiot and understand things like:
- doing this might make the cutter rupture/explode catastrophically
- even in normal circumstances you are triggering a small enclosed explosive charge so you MUST take precautions (like do it outside, something solid between you and the cutter, nothing you care about in proximity of the cutter (like windows, pets, children, flammable materials, etc)).

Hint: If you are wondering "how do I make it go off" or "can I do this on my apartment balcony" or "is putting it under a cardboard box sufficient protection" you probably should not try this.

__________________________________________________
What would Vic Mackey do?

[topdocker 0]

crapflinger2000

What you have here is an opportunity to see what the cutter will cut through. Thats what I did with mine when it turned into a pumpkin.

You could go 2 ways, see what the strongest thing it will cut through is (mine chopped a wire coat hanger with ease) or what it will do with something flimsy but not under tension (like a cypres closing loop). I vote you see if it will chop though whatever screw driver you have lying around that will fit in the cutter.

Disclaimer: The above assumes you are not an idiot and understand things like:
- doing this might make the cutter rupture/explode catastrophically
- even in normal circumstances you are triggering a small enclosed explosive charge so you MUST take precautions (like do it outside, something solid between you and the cutter, nothing you care about in proximity of the cutter (like windows, pets, children, flammable materials, etc)).

Hint: If you are wondering "how do I make it go off" or "can I do this on my apartment balcony" or "is putting it under a cardboard box sufficient protection" you probably should not try this.

Those are perfectly good questions along with "How many GoPros can I get to video this?"

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[LeeroyJenkins 2]

This is an 8 year old post....

[Lastchance 0]

Damn. This was 8 years ago and I get an email telling me I have a response. That's funny right there.

I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands.

[crapflinger2000 1]

Lastchance

Damn. This was 8 years ago and I get an email telling me I have a response. That's funny right there.

So did you blow up your house 8 years ago trying to chop through a screwdriver based on my advice?

__________________________________________________
What would Vic Mackey do?