Vigil 1 battery life?

[pchapman 261]

Ok, time to rant at an AAD company about their vague statements.

SHORT VERSION:
They're #@^&% idiots at A.A.D Vigil.

Do you guys consider a Vigil 1 battery to have a mandatory life, specifically 10 years?


LONG VERSION:

Vigils' current manual says:

Quote

The battery’s life span is ±4 years or 700 jumps. When the «Bat Low» or «Bat Rpl» message
appears, whichever comes first, the battery needs to be replaced

Since then we know the life span has been increased; I'll get to that. The statement above does not state whether the year and time information is their estimate or typical or mandatory. The only statement about a definite life is the screen message one.

The manual for the Vigil 1 is v 2.0.7, and it is the same as it has been for years. However, the document is undated and neither the version nor date is shown where one downloads it online, nor does the filename list the version.

So one has to download the thing in order to check if one has the current version.

There are no bulletins that I know of that deal with the Vigil 1 battery life.

But there is a web page that addresses battery life:
http://www.vigil.aero/power-pack

This brings up the usual issue about riggers following the manufacturer's rules: What counts -- Is it manual plus any Mandatory bulletins? What about stuff one happens to find elsewhere on their site? Am I a bad rigger if I don't google search their whole site for extra information at every repack?

That page says:

Quote

As mentioned in the manual, we have estimated a battery life span of 4 years or 700 jumps for the Vigil I and 5 years or 2000 jumps for Vigil II.
Now after more than 9 years of experience in the field, we are able to confirm that the battery life span is higher than expected.
It will last for at least 1.500 jumps or 10 years. No need to change the battery as long as the message “Bat Low” or “Bat Rpl” does not appear on screen. (The manufacturer gives a life span of max. 10 years after which you are obliged to replace).

So now they confirm that their "life" in the manual was just an "estimated life". Or was it an estimated but mandatory life? I still can't be sure.

So now they say "at least" 10 yrs and 1500 jumps. Clearly not mandatory. Then they make a statement about what seems to be the only reason for a mandatory change -- when the screen messages appear.

But to confuse the issue, in parentheses they add a little post script about a mandatory lifetime. Is this mandatory or not as it is just in parentheses? Riggers in the US & Canada for example would have to follow the manufacturers' rules. Is Vigils saying that they the manufacturer also make it mandatory, or are they just passing on the information that a supplier thinks it should be mandatory.

No rules say that a rigger has to follow what a supplier to an AAD manufacturer says -- only what the manufacturer of the AAD says. So a supplier's mandatory statement is just advisory to the rigger.

After all, Cypres 1's had a module in them that as far as I know was stated as not being used for life saving applications, on the product sheet. But that's cover-your-ass stuff from a supplier who never expected their sensor to be used that way.

It's like Vigil deliberately wrote everything to be vague and confusing.

If they say "No need to replace unless..." but then give a different reason to replace the battery, here we get into the issue of what to do with conflicting statements. Does one take them in the worst possible way, or best possible way? So if a company says "This is legal" then no other statement in the same document will be allowed to contradict it? Or is it the other way around, where they can write "This is legal" 1000 times, but if they also write "No it isn't", the latter nullifies the former?

I bet a lot of riggers won't pack a Vigil 1 with an over 10 year old battery, but this makes a case that that is not mandatory. Depends on which side of the grey area one prefers to go to!

One tries to be conscientious but manufacturers' can make it so tough to find and understand what they really want.

And no I'm not going to contact Vigil; I'll just interpret their statements the way I choose. They've had over a decade to clarify something as simple as this, so I'll take it as meaning they want to leave it all vague.

[gowlerk 1,914]

My take on this is that back when they updated the battery issue they simply elected to punt the issue down the road into the future. The future has now arrived. It's time for them to clarify this issue now.

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[mxk 1]

Here's what it says on page 25:

Quote

The power pack should be replaced after ± 4 years or 700 jumps of use or when «Bat Low» or «Bat Rpl» warning messages are displayed by the Vigil during the start up control tests.

With the new limits, I would take the first of 10 years, 1,500 jumps, or Bat warning message.

The date of the manual is 10/4/2006. You can get that from the PDF properties.

[mcordell 2]

It doesn't seem unclear at all to me. When originally manufactured they estimated the battery life to be around 4 years or 700 jumps but stated the battery needed to be replaced when the message displayed on the screen. That is when it has to be replaced. Everything else was an estimated life. The update says they were wrong in their estimate and it should last as long as 10 years but still must be replaced if the message displays on the screen. Then they further clarified that if the battery should last a full 10 years, riggers must replace the battery at 10 years. Seems to me they are saying the battery must be replaced at 10 years or when the message displays on the screen, whichever is sooner.

I guess I don't see the confusion.

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