How do rebreathers perform on an ice dive?

[Sean326]

I'm considering trading in my twin 120's and deco bottles for a rebreather. A lot of the diving i do is cold... Down to the 30's air temp on late fall Jersey wreck dives and down to the teens when i go ice diving once or twice a year. Norway in January, san juan island in Washington state etc...

Are rebreathers reliable for cold temps.... can you get a rebreather cooled down to below freezing and then dive??

I did a search but couldn't find a good dialog about this.

 

[caveseeker7]

A lot of the diving i do is cold... Down to the 30's air temp on late fall Jersey wreck dives and down to the teens when i go ice diving once or twice a year. Norway in January, san juan island in Washington state etc...

Are rebreathers reliable for cold temps.... can you get a rebreather cooled down to below freezing and then dive??

I did a search but couldn't find a good dialog about this.

Lots of rebreathers abound in the Pacific Northeast.
Increasing numbers in Sweden and Norway. Couple of people just from those two countries just joined Rebreather World.

Wes Skiles, Jill and Paul Heinerth explored the B-15 iceberg a few years back, diving into it on Cis-Lunar rebreathers. A book and DVD of the expedition are available through Karst Productions. Quite awesome, really.

Mad Dog Expeditions has organized ice diving trips, too. The website is under construction, but they are in the NY/NJ area.

PRISM CCRs have been used for ice diving, as have Inspirations.

I've never done it myself, and can probably do without. Solid water is just not for me. But I asume you'll have to keep the batteries and absorbant (contains water) reasonably warm in order for them to perform their respective functions. Ken here in the booard may be more helpful than I as he actually takes part in such foolish endeavors.

 

[webediving]

The only part I am aware that you have to be concerned with the operations of rebreather in cold conditions is the scruber performace. Scrubbers tend not perform as well in cold condition as in warmer temperature. Beside the scruber everything else is the same.

Tony

 

[JonnyB]

Hi, i was diving my Classic KISS all last winter in Norway and it was VERY cold and i had not problems at all

/Jonny

 

[Mr.X]

Do it. You'll be warmer, happier and if you slip on the ice when walking it won't hurt as much. I slipped with doubles and that didn't feel good...not that falling ever does.

The regs. are never an issue since you aren't asking much of them. A good pre-breathe gets the sorb nice and toasty.

 

[ScubaBum]

I've been using my inspiration in March to a trip at Les Escoumins 29f and Gaspé 31f salt water dove for a weeks with out any problem but did 2 1/2 hours on my scubber insted of 3h

Cheer

 

[wedivebc]

Be sure your scrubber is not allowed to freeze between dives. I use my rebreather to it's maximum rated capacity in cold (non-freezing) water but I have heard of ice divers having trouble from letting the unit freeze when not in use.

 

[grouchyturtle]

Wow great question...I was wondering the exact same thing, since I'm planning on Ice Diving and moving to CCR within the next season.

So Sean did our non-stop rebreather discusssions on WV convince you?

 

[Sean326]

Well yeah a little.... but mostly my back after climbing ladders all summer with twin 120's and two deco bottles.... wreck reels...etc. It's funny the older i get the heavier my gear gets..... go figure.

 

[padiscubapro]

I'm considering trading in my twin 120's and deco bottles for a rebreather. A lot of the diving i do is cold... Down to the 30's air temp on late fall Jersey wreck dives and down to the teens when i go ice diving once or twice a year. Norway in January, san juan island in Washington state etc...

Are rebreathers reliable for cold temps.... can you get a rebreather cooled down to below freezing and then dive??

I did a search but couldn't find a good dialog about this.

I have used my CCR for ice diving you just have to do a few precautions.. a good prebreath is absolutely necessary.. if the air temp is below freeziong it should be done immediately prior to entry and not stopped otheise the moisture will freeze and the scrubber will not work..


Between dives the scrubber must be kept above freezing..

a certain manufacturer did some serious testing in a commercial freezer.. I dont rember the temperature but it was below 0f, the unit was configured with co2 monitoring and they were unable to get the reaction going..

it went like this.. they started a prebreath, once the co2 reached a certain threshold a loop flush was done, again the co2 started to rise so another flush was done.. this continued for several more cycles.. eventually the co2 detector stopped registering any co2 changes.. test subject had co2 symptoms plus breathing resistance was climbing... test aborted.. found co2 detector was coverd with the frozen water vapor, and the entire outer portion of the scrubber was frozen solid, just the center was still passable..

if the surface is real cold you might have to prebreath in a heated area or in the water on the surface..