Jeremy Williams
Contributor
By way of disclaimer, I'm interested in rebreather diving but I'm not certified on anything nor have I ever been. But I've been reading 'Mastering Rebreathers' (2nd Ed, Bozanic) and he mentions CO2 monitoring more than a few times. From his now-8-years-old perspective this was going to be an important safety evolution that was probably just over the horizon. It seems that progress wasn't so forthcoming...
It seems pretty clear that most CCRs sold today do not ship with any form of CO2 monitoring as standard. ScubaBoard frequently mentioned units including the rEVO, Liberty, and SF2, and many others don't even offer it as an option.
This 2016 Alert Diver article discusses the issue and mentions that six rebreathers offer some form of CO2 monitoring without mentioning which ones those are...
Alert Diver | Do You Know What You’re Breathing?
I understand that there are those that think this is a completely unnecessary feature and that if people pack their canisters correctly and monitor their stack time that everyone will always be just fine. Problems with moisture and humidity not withstanding, I think a CO2 sensor seems like a good idea. As best I can tell for currently available new rebreathers...
AP Diving has one for the Vision-based units as an option...
Introducing the AP Diving CO2 Sensor and Cell Validator | AP Diving News
The VMS RedBare has one as standard...
VMS - Vobster Marine Systems
The X-CCR made by iQsub (distributed in the US by SubGravity) has one as standard...
X-CCR - SubGravity
Are there others?
The thing that really caught my eye on the X-CCR is that it's integrated into the Shearwater controller...
From the Release Notes...
I have seen little discussion of the X-CCR here. Given the populatory of the Shearwater electronics I would think that this would be a pretty desirable combination? Thoughts?
It seems pretty clear that most CCRs sold today do not ship with any form of CO2 monitoring as standard. ScubaBoard frequently mentioned units including the rEVO, Liberty, and SF2, and many others don't even offer it as an option.
This 2016 Alert Diver article discusses the issue and mentions that six rebreathers offer some form of CO2 monitoring without mentioning which ones those are...
Alert Diver | Do You Know What You’re Breathing?
I understand that there are those that think this is a completely unnecessary feature and that if people pack their canisters correctly and monitor their stack time that everyone will always be just fine. Problems with moisture and humidity not withstanding, I think a CO2 sensor seems like a good idea. As best I can tell for currently available new rebreathers...
AP Diving has one for the Vision-based units as an option...
Introducing the AP Diving CO2 Sensor and Cell Validator | AP Diving News
The VMS RedBare has one as standard...
VMS - Vobster Marine Systems
The X-CCR made by iQsub (distributed in the US by SubGravity) has one as standard...
X-CCR - SubGravity
Are there others?
The thing that really caught my eye on the X-CCR is that it's integrated into the Shearwater controller...
From the Release Notes...
NEW (X-CCR MODEL ONLY)
Adds support for CO2 sensors. Reports CO2 as the partial pressure of CO2 (PPCO2) in millibar. Alarms when PPCO2 is greater than 5 mbar. Allows user to calibrate the CO2 with a user specified parts-per-million (ppm). For example, in fresh outdoor air a value of 400 ppm should be used.
I have seen little discussion of the X-CCR here. Given the populatory of the Shearwater electronics I would think that this would be a pretty desirable combination? Thoughts?