Dangerous?

[Skittl1321]

Hi- I'm totally new to SCUBA, and am not looking into becoming a rebreather diver myself. However, I've been reading a lot about various aspects of scuba, including rebreathers. I know there is -a lot- of information to balance, and therefore they can be dangerous in untrained hands, but are rebreathers actually very dangerous?

There was a cave diving show on PBS last night and a woman said 1 in every 10 rebreather units sold was associated with a death.

Is the mortality rate on these things really that high? Is it the rebreather that is dangerous, or the dives attempted while using the rebreather?

Thanks for any comments, just looking to learn more.

 

[tajkd]

It's good that you are asking this question before getting into a rebreather. The units themselves are not dangerous but the incidence of failures coupled with the consequences of failure are much greater than with open circuit. There is debate on this but you can go back to the DAN presentation on rebreather deaths from last year. It's not solely the equipment failure I'm speaking about. A bigger issue is that rebreathers aren't foolproof. If you forget a step, forget to check, don't make sure of any of a hundred things, you could possibly be in serious trouble. If you are a fastidious diver, very much in control of your plan and of your equipment, rebreathers would be a fantastic way to dive. I'm not like that and so I will never own a rebreather.

A great resource is here at Rebreather Forum 3 consensus statements | Rubicon Foundation

and some more information here:

http://dspace.rubicon-foundation.or...le/123456789/6997/AAUS_2007_11.pdf?sequence=3

http://www.deeplife.co.uk/files/How_Rebreathers_Kill_People.pdf

Rebreather diving: ?Killing Them Softly? | Diver Magazine

 

[Jill Heinerth]

Hi there,

I am the person that was in the NOVA program. My comments were edited out of context, but in a nutshell you should note a few things. Recent research has determined that rebreather diving appears to be about 10 times more likely to end in an accident than open circuit. That being said, it is generally not the equipment causing the deaths and accidents, but rather, then divers use of the gear and their behaviors.
There are three things you can do to lessen your likelihood of having an accident or killing yourself:
1. Always do a full and proper pre-dive check using a proper checklists or onscreen prompts if the rebreather is designed that way.
2. Do a pre-breathe for five minutes, seated, with nose plugged and in a safe place while watching displays and listening for the solenoid.
3. Never get in the water with a rebreather that has not passed all the pre-dive checks and is fully functional with oxygen cells that have been changed within the manufacturer's recommendations, that are probably 12-18 months life.
If you do these three things every time you dive, you will have excluded yourself from likely 90 percent of the accidents and fatalities we know about to date.

I'm sure there will be followup on this thread, but I am currently riding my bicycle across Canada. I have infrequent internet, so feel free to email me at JillHeinerth@mac.com and I'll respond as able.

Safe diving,

Jill Heinerth
www.IntoThePlanet.com
Rebreather Pro

 

[Skittl1321]

Wow. I never expected a reply from the person in the program! Thank you Jill. Good luck on your ride.

While watching the program (which was quite interesting) I figured part of the death rate had to do with the dangerous nature of dives attempted, but then it seems like the machines are so complicated there is just a lot that can go wrong.

 

[BabyDuck]

exactly. the science is foolproof, but the machinery isn't. if you are a meticulous person, every single time, you are a good candidate. i'm not, so i won't.

 

[mathauck0814]

Honestly, a rebreather is just a tool. It's a tool that makes some dives in certain circumstances logistically easier and arguably safer. If you're new to scuba, odds are the diving that you're doing doesn't likely necessitate a rebreather and the level of risk that would be introduced to your diving wouldn't come with a whole lot of upside. If you're diving quite deep (200fsw+) or into photography and you have the desire and ability to dive a lot (with a lot of frequency) then you should start by honing your open circuit skills, getting some advanced training to teach you to dive with additional bottles, etc.

Rebreather diving is safe if it's done correctly, if you're meticulous in your preparation and dive execution and if you do it frequently enough to not get rusty.

It's an expensive venture and I'm not talking about the cost of acquiring the unit. The costs don't ever really stop coming as you need to continue to buy sensors, procure oxygen, sorb, etc. That's just the regular operation and doesn't incorporate when something inevitably breaks and needs replacing.

Long story short - rebreathers are great, but it doesn't sound like you have a real need for one. Better to spend your money and time diving for now.

 

[Skittl1321]

Long story short - rebreathers are great, but it doesn't sound like you have a real need for one. Better to spend your money and time diving for now.

In my first post I specifically stated I am NOT looking to become a rebreather diver.

I was specifically questioning the statistic that 1 in 10 rebreather units is associated with a death, because that seemed insanely high.

 

[mathauck0814]

In my first post I specifically stated I am NOT looking to become a rebreather diver.

I was specifically questioning the statistic that 1 in 10 rebreather units is associated with a death, because that seemed insanely high.

Geez, I totally misread your first sentence as you wanted to be a rebreather diver. Sorry for that. I think that number is artificially high. I attended a panel discussion at the Long Beach show where they reviewed all of the diving deaths in LA County since 1994. I forget the total number but 70ish is a good ballpark. What I do remember was that only 3 were rebreather related. I can point at 10 people I know in the last year who bought rebreathers last year, none of whom are dead. I think people like to throw stones at what they don't understand.

 

[rongoodman]

There was a lot of beautiful photography in that show, but some of the narrative, and it now seems some editing too, were overly dramatic. In any event, those caves are at the top of my bucket list, whether on open circuit or RB.

 

[Skittl1321]

The music made it clear they were editing for drama, but man, the caves were beautiful. (Also interesting to see silt out conditions, though I doubt someone with such experience was "freaking out" as they made it seem.)