Apollo Bio-filter, pro/cons??
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Staying well hydrated when breathing very dry air/gas is important.
The bio-filter does help with all that:
Apollo Sports: Dive Gear
The bio-filter does help with all that:
Apollo Sports: Dive Gear
Magoi
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Does anyone have any experience with using these in cold water? Do they freeze, and are they damaged if they freeze? I dive in water in the 40's.
Magoi
Magoi
deeper thoughts
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My wife has one and really didnt receive any noticeable benefits
ChrisBinMI
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We installed one of these on my wife's regulator to help her with equalization. It helped, but she can't use it anymore becuase we typically dive in colder water. However, there are three very important things to remember if you get one...
1. Do not use the moisture media in any water below 65F - the moisture can freeze in the second stage.
2. Do not use the charcoal media filter with Nitrox - charcoal and enriched air do not mix
3. If you get one with the opening door that lets you remoisturize the media without taking it apart, your regulators must be pressurized ( on the tank) when you rinse them - the little door depends on air pressure to stay closed and will let water flow directly into both stages if you rinse or soak them off the tank. (It took me two overhauls to figure that one out.)
I agree with many of the other divers here and will tell you to carefully weigh the potential benefit with the risks of adding another failure point and extra things to remember...
1. Do not use the moisture media in any water below 65F - the moisture can freeze in the second stage.
2. Do not use the charcoal media filter with Nitrox - charcoal and enriched air do not mix
3. If you get one with the opening door that lets you remoisturize the media without taking it apart, your regulators must be pressurized ( on the tank) when you rinse them - the little door depends on air pressure to stay closed and will let water flow directly into both stages if you rinse or soak them off the tank. (It took me two overhauls to figure that one out.)
I agree with many of the other divers here and will tell you to carefully weigh the potential benefit with the risks of adding another failure point and extra things to remember...
Hi Chris:
Thank you for your comments. To clarify things, here is a link to the manual on the Apollo bio-filter:
www.apollosportsusa.com/documents/reg/manual-bfilterv3upd07mayc.pdf
Thank you for your comments. To clarify things, here is a link to the manual on the Apollo bio-filter:
www.apollosportsusa.com/documents/reg/manual-bfilterv3upd07mayc.pdf
Magoi
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Chris -
As mdb noted, the manual says not to use the Biofilter at 32F and below. This does not seem right, though - it should be a temperature above 32F. At 32F, the fresh water in the Biofilter unit itself would freeze. What I was concerned about was that the 1st stage cools the air as it expands from the tank pressure. If the air in the tank is somewhat above 32F (due to ambient temperature), it would be less than 32F after expansion. This could certainly cause freezing in the Biofilter. However, it shouldn't block air flow, based on my understanding of the design. As you noted, there is a second chance for freezing in the second stage, although the expansion and cooling there should be much lower. This probably would not be an issue, as it is unlikely the air would be saturated.
Mdb's limit of 42F seems logical, without sitting down and doing the thermodynamics. It would be good to know if Apollo considered this in their design, and what the limit should be.
As mdb noted, the manual says not to use the Biofilter at 32F and below. This does not seem right, though - it should be a temperature above 32F. At 32F, the fresh water in the Biofilter unit itself would freeze. What I was concerned about was that the 1st stage cools the air as it expands from the tank pressure. If the air in the tank is somewhat above 32F (due to ambient temperature), it would be less than 32F after expansion. This could certainly cause freezing in the Biofilter. However, it shouldn't block air flow, based on my understanding of the design. As you noted, there is a second chance for freezing in the second stage, although the expansion and cooling there should be much lower. This probably would not be an issue, as it is unlikely the air would be saturated.
Mdb's limit of 42F seems logical, without sitting down and doing the thermodynamics. It would be good to know if Apollo considered this in their design, and what the limit should be.
Steve in Seattle
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Pressure lowers water's freezing point (it's kind of unique that way)... at 13 atm (400 feet), freezing point is closer to -1*C.
in isothermal expansion... yes. But unless you ceramic or PTFE coated your valve/first stage the sea water will keep it at water temp... one advantage to a metal body reg set up... the sea water actually provides heat to the expanding gas.
on land... at 32*C, yes, I'd go with that... but in the water less of an issue. Definitely not a great idea for deep dives, ice dives, or even dives in the 30's.
agreed... 42 at the surface, or above 32 at depth would be fine.
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My wife is selling hers if anyone is interested(Used 1x) Hijack over sorry
My own quick views:
- It helps hydrating your air, but not as much as you might hope. On really long dives (1 hour plus), it certainly helps more.
- I worry about inserting an additional fail point in my regulator. It is quite bulky, and makes it hard to squeeze into your regulator bag. I worry that one good crack against the boat rail by accident and I have a serious problem.
- I would describe it as a mild disappointment so far, but not so disappointing that I have decided to take it off.
- I have never heard that charcoal filters and Nitrox don't mix (I haven't died yet, anyhow). Is there a source indicating risk factors?
- $200 is probably overstating it. You can get them online for about $130, and probably cheaper than that second hand on eBay.
- It helps hydrating your air, but not as much as you might hope. On really long dives (1 hour plus), it certainly helps more.
- I worry about inserting an additional fail point in my regulator. It is quite bulky, and makes it hard to squeeze into your regulator bag. I worry that one good crack against the boat rail by accident and I have a serious problem.
- I would describe it as a mild disappointment so far, but not so disappointing that I have decided to take it off.
- I have never heard that charcoal filters and Nitrox don't mix (I haven't died yet, anyhow). Is there a source indicating risk factors?
- $200 is probably overstating it. You can get them online for about $130, and probably cheaper than that second hand on eBay.
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