reefrat
Contributor
OK, just throwing this out there for those with DIY experience and knowledge
Disclaimer: I am an Explorer diver and have over 1000 OC dives but Only other RB try dive experience beyond that.
Background:
The Hollis Explorer has been completely abandoned by Hollis (Huish) without any notice or attempt to accommodate customers who put their faith and money on this product. I believe a blow to the credibility of the rebreather manufacturing market in general and I know that one of the reasons I went with the explorer was the perception that a larger, more established company would be more likely to ensure continuity of service, parts and development. Certainly I will never knowingly purchase a Huish owned product in future.
The unit itself is pretty sound overall although the LSS has had its share of glitches, it is the LSS that also represents the greatest challenge as far as keeping these units going. So how about converting a Hollis Explorer to an MCCR as a way of keeping these units going and offering owners a way to progress to CCR?
First the obvious cons:
The scrubber is relatively small and rated by Hollis to a maximum duration of 2 hours at typical rec dive limits of depth and CO2 production, so the unit will Only be useful for non-deco rec type profiles unless a replacement scrubber can be developed (not so ridiculous maybe!). That’s it really AFAIK- others may chime in on this.
Now the Pros:
The design is modular and key competentes come apart readily for modification.
There have been no inherent issues uncovered with the basic design of the loop AFAIK.
It comes standard fitted with a BOV.
It is a well designed basic unit that has had a lot of investment, refinement and testing.
Just looking at it, this is how I would see it might happen (starting at the top).
The first stage within the upper unit would be removed and a manifold installed with a high flow QD hose to an outboard diluent/bailout ala KISS Spirit or Innerspace Pathfinder.
The manifold would hook up to all the LP lines that currently connect to the first stage, including the ADV.
The LCV (look it up) would remain the same and should work fine as an OPV.
The LSS module would need to be gutted and wiring installed to connect three O2 sensors in the current mounting holes through a waterproof fitting to the users choice of PPO2 monitoring handset and/or HUD.
The O2 cylinder would be installed where the current nitrox cylinder is located and an O2 first stage would be attached, the O2 hoses go to an CMF/MAV and back to the Scrubber Canister End Cap then through into the chamber at the exhalation side of the scrubber.
I am sure that I am missing some obvious issues or needed mods here but overall it seems that the explorer MCCR would be do-able?
What do you think?
Disclaimer: I am an Explorer diver and have over 1000 OC dives but Only other RB try dive experience beyond that.
Background:
The Hollis Explorer has been completely abandoned by Hollis (Huish) without any notice or attempt to accommodate customers who put their faith and money on this product. I believe a blow to the credibility of the rebreather manufacturing market in general and I know that one of the reasons I went with the explorer was the perception that a larger, more established company would be more likely to ensure continuity of service, parts and development. Certainly I will never knowingly purchase a Huish owned product in future.
The unit itself is pretty sound overall although the LSS has had its share of glitches, it is the LSS that also represents the greatest challenge as far as keeping these units going. So how about converting a Hollis Explorer to an MCCR as a way of keeping these units going and offering owners a way to progress to CCR?
First the obvious cons:
The scrubber is relatively small and rated by Hollis to a maximum duration of 2 hours at typical rec dive limits of depth and CO2 production, so the unit will Only be useful for non-deco rec type profiles unless a replacement scrubber can be developed (not so ridiculous maybe!). That’s it really AFAIK- others may chime in on this.
Now the Pros:
The design is modular and key competentes come apart readily for modification.
There have been no inherent issues uncovered with the basic design of the loop AFAIK.
It comes standard fitted with a BOV.
It is a well designed basic unit that has had a lot of investment, refinement and testing.
Just looking at it, this is how I would see it might happen (starting at the top).
The first stage within the upper unit would be removed and a manifold installed with a high flow QD hose to an outboard diluent/bailout ala KISS Spirit or Innerspace Pathfinder.
The manifold would hook up to all the LP lines that currently connect to the first stage, including the ADV.
The LCV (look it up) would remain the same and should work fine as an OPV.
The LSS module would need to be gutted and wiring installed to connect three O2 sensors in the current mounting holes through a waterproof fitting to the users choice of PPO2 monitoring handset and/or HUD.
The O2 cylinder would be installed where the current nitrox cylinder is located and an O2 first stage would be attached, the O2 hoses go to an CMF/MAV and back to the Scrubber Canister End Cap then through into the chamber at the exhalation side of the scrubber.
I am sure that I am missing some obvious issues or needed mods here but overall it seems that the explorer MCCR would be do-able?
What do you think?
