rebreather ????

[57Writer]

If you will be attending Beneath the Sea, Jill Heinerth is doing a complete day on Rebreather Fundamentals Workshop. Here's the link:
Rebreather Pro: Rebreather Fundamentals Workshop - Sunday March 25 from 9am - 4pm

 

[Mr.X]

go check out rebreather world when you don't have anything to do for a lot of hours... You'll be more boggled than when you had to make your first bc purchase

Rebreather world is mostly a joke. I left that forum a year after it started because it got so clogged with crap and attitude that it became useless. As stated it's a good place to blow a few hours. Sad part RB world is that a lot of the guys who pushed the edge & posted regularly are no longer there. Quit, or dead.

Before you become too heavily invested in researching this stuff - got to ask yourself a question. Do I really need one? If I do - am I willing to bother with it? Personally, I think RB are mostly pain in the butt and useful for certain applications where extended depth, time, stealth, or other may be of use. The last time I used one was for a long penetrations in a deep mine where the water temp was 40F. Narrow stuff with silt. Could never use OC there. Other than that - OC fits the bill 90% of the time. Flying with RB stuff is always a pain because TSA will pull you over to check your electronics if you try to carry it on board. I've had my suitcase (with canister) opened 100% on every flight - domestic and international.

 

[tbone1004]

there's a reason I don't spend much time there, but he's going to be able to find a lot of useful posts of breather comparisons on there and if he ignores the lunatics and crazy nutjobs that would be ideal.
What you should also look it is who is diving what rebreather and why. I.e.
Lamar Hires-optima. He makes the thing, so of course he's going to dive it. He is a manufacturer, but he's also a hardcore diver who has done some kick ass stuff with his optima.
Paul Heinerth-optima. He acquired both of his in a trade for a hyperbaric chamber, but he's done some crazy stuff in weeki wachee with it.
Jill Heinerth-Centinel/megalodon-she's done some crazy stuff in hers too
Brian Kakuk-Meg-lots of deep cave dives in the bahamas with his.
list goes on of well known divers and what they dive and why. You'll see a lot of meg divers though that are doing the crazy expedition stuff. Lots of people bashing the optima because of the scrubber cartridges.

You mentioned wanting to try them out... This is hard because most instructors can only teach on one or two breathers not a whole slew, and they likely won't have extras available for you to try out. You need to look deep and hard and why you want one, what you need out of it, and then go ahead and make an educated decision on one and then go find an instructor to teach you how to dive it. If you have local guys in the area than have them, they may let you monkey around with one in the pool, but be prepared to be VERY frustrated as buoyancy control takes a LONG time to master in a breather. This is also not likely to help your decision making process, just frustrate you

 

[fishb0y]

be prepared to be VERY frustrated as buoyancy control takes a LONG time to master in a breather. This is also not likely to help your decision making process, just frustrate you

I would agree that buoyancy takes a little to figure out (I was fine after a couple of dives)... My biggest regret is I didn't get into rebreathers earlier.

As far as rebreatherworld, you get what you get... You definitely get better information than you do here on Scubaboard. I am still amazed how many people here are rebreather experts and have never even dove one.

 

[mbsdiver]

well i thank you all i am getting some great info here.

the reason i am interested in 1 is i do photo & video. the depth is lake erie 80 max there. and would use it on the east cost & gulf. nothing over 150 for now.

 

[Mr.X]

I used to do a fair amount of video work and if you're working with exceptionally shy animals I could see a need for the stealth part. However, OC is so much easier and cheaper for doing shallow work where quality of the soundtrack is not an issue.

If it's a curiosity thing - try em' out and weigh the value of having one of these things. Hauling it around airports (I think) is a major nuisance unless you have some legitimate exploration, or professional commitment. I haven't touched the RB for a year now as OC ease has dominated the underwater work. If I have some deep work and penetration involved I will definitely be pulling out the RB where safety is a major concern.

 

[ajduplessis]

well i am a master diver & adv nitrox and quit counting dives after 1500. im kind of interested in the poseidon.

Then you have lots if "bad habits" to get rid of before you go to RB.

 

[mbsdiver]

just because i quit counting dives dosent mean they are not loged

 

[fishb0y]

It's not about logging dives, you have to get past alot of those skills and instincts that you have already developed.

 

[Mverick]

If you go RB. You need to stay with it. But also have the need for one is a important part. Are you doing Deco work? If so. Yes. I'm not to big of a believer in going from OC to RB and back. There are skills that I need in a penetration into wrecks to practice and keep ingrained in my head. Rebreathers can and do kill people. Best to be extremely familure with them. And don't get complacent. Run your drills. Practice. Use it. If you let it sit in the corner for a year. You need some type of refresher and more practice before you go diving into anything deep or penetration. People are people and they forget.

Had a Rebreather for a long time now. Built a few of my own. I do enjoy it. I went the route regularly when I got silted up from someone else in a wreck at only 150ft. I stood my ground to see if it would subside. It didn't. I slow tracked to the exit. It was a wall. I reached 3 feet over. Found my exit and in that 3 feet it went from zero vis to 40 feet vis. I decided I needed to not risk myself and rethink my diving. And that was only swiming to a big hole in the side of a wreck, Swimming in about 5 feet, someone coming in and silting the room up, and not seeing a way out. So now, I have 8 hours of time to save myself on my back. Could be a lot of deco, but I am OK with that over dying. LOL..... Also, it is so much cheaper on deco gasses.

I've dove a few. Some I love and wouldn't buy. Some I like and wouldn't buy. 2 I like and would buy. And, of the 4 I own I dive them all. 2 are home builds. Read, Read, Read, and take classes on at least the top two units you like. It's a lot of money, but you'll learn a lot and figure which you really like best.