I wanna do it all

[RickyF]

My suggestion is to take your time and get a lot more dives in. If you are only a "vacation" diver, enjoy those dives. There is a lot to see above 130'. Your attitude of "I want to do it "my way" could lead to bad results. Doing dives to 200' or diving caves requires a lot more than a single tank and a lot of gas planning and training (ie $$$) to do it safely.

 

[tomfcrist]

I want to do it safe..

That would be a good plan.

I do not want to cut corners..

Also a good plan.

I want to do it on a budget.

This completely 's up your good plan.

No matter how many good deals you get and how much used gear you buy(which can significantly cut the costs), you are going to spend ALOT of money in pursuit of this endeavor. Im not trying to talk you out of it, but I feel you should be prepared for the arterial hemorrhaging of your bank account.

 

[Superlyte27]

Here it is after you fulfill the obsession "I want to do it all": A month's Tech Wreck Trip to Truk Lagoon . . .(Look at the Open Circuit Gas costs alone).

Hmmm... Let me see what my last expedition cost for 3 days of diving. Dives were 4-6 hours, max depth 300'.

First Day, Two Divers, 4.5 Hour dive, 300' -- Oxygen $4.00each, Helium $14.00each, Sorb $30each -- Total = $96.00
Second Day, Two Divers, 6 hour dive, 300' -- Oxygen $4.00each, Helium $14.00each, Sorb $30each -- Total = $96.00
Third Day, 1 Diver, 2 hour dive, 250' -- Oxygen $4.00each, Helium $14.00each, Sorb $30each -- Total = $48.00

Less than $250 bucks for 3 days of extreme cave diving. I love my rebreather.

 

[tomfcrist]

Here it is after you fulfill the obsession "I want to do it all": A month's Tech Wreck Trip to Truk Lagoon . . .(Look at the Open Circuit Gas costs alone).

Hmmm... Let me see what my last expedition cost for 3 days of diving. Dives were 4-6 hours, max depth 300'.

First Day, Two Divers, 4.5 Hours, 300' -- Oxygen $4.00each, Helium $14.00each, Sorb $30each -- Total = $96.00
Second Day, Two Divers, 6 hours, 300' -- Oxygen $4.00each, Helium $14.00each, Sorb $30each -- Total = $96.00
Third Day, 1 Diver, 2 hours, 250' -- Oxygen $4.00each, Helium $14.00each, Sorb $30each -- Total = $48.00

Less than $250 bucks for 3 days of extreme cave diving. I love my rebreather.

When you consider the cost of the rebreather, training, sensors and rebuilds on the unit....not to mention daily maint., man hours used for build, disassembly, etc......it pretty much comes out as a wash unless you are diving helium every weekend.

 

[Superlyte27]

Training was free. There are shops doing $1500 rebate for training. Sensors are $55/yr. Rebuilds? Lol, it's no different than rebuilding two regulators. So 2 1st stages, parts and labor, less than 50 bucks/yr. Daily maintenance is rinsing it off if you dive salt water, which I almost never do. Takes literally less than 10 minutes. Man hours to build and disassemble amounts to less than 1 hour per dive total. That's if I tear it all the way down, which I never do.

And I do dive helium every weekend.

Last year, my total cost to operate my rebreather, gas, sorb, sensors, rebuilds was less than 1k -- And I did over 200 hours on the unit.

 

[tomfcrist]

Training was free. There are shops doing $1500 rebate for training. Sensors are $55/yr. Rebuilds? Lol, it's no different than rebuilding two regulators. So 2 1st stages, parts and labor, less than 50 bucks/yr. Daily maintenance is rinsing it off if you dive salt water, which I almost never do. Takes literally less than 10 minutes. Man hours to build and disassemble amounts to less than 1 hour per dive total. That's if I tear it all the way down, which I never do.

And I do dive helium every weekend.

Last year, my total cost to operate my rebreather, gas, sorb, sensors, rebuilds was less than 1k -- And I did over 200 hours on the unit.

Right...plus what $5-12,000 for the unit?

In your case, with as much as you dive helium, a rebreather is cost effective...all I'm saying is that for the majority of folks, it is not. That being said, a lot more people would dive helium every weekend if everyone had rebreathers. It's sorta the rock and a hard place scenario.

 

[Superlyte27]

A very good friend of mine just bought a great used rebreather for 5k last month, including training. What does a set of double's cost? $500 for doubles. $500 for Wing and Harness. Another $100 for a Backplate. About 1k for two regs. Another $800 for a Petrel. That's about $3k for open circuit gear, not including training.

A rebreather costs about $10/hour to dive regardless of depth. What does a 60 minute OC Nitrox Dive in a cave cost? 150cu' of gas costs about $15 plus oxygen for deco. The costs aren't that different. And if you buy top of the line new OC and top of the line new CCR, you're still pretty close. The numbers are only slightly off.

 

[swimmer_spe]

Here it is after you fulfill the obsession "I want to do it all": A month's Tech Wreck Trip to Truk Lagoon . . .(Look at the Open Circuit Gas costs alone).

How many dives on that gas?

 

[shellmoundal]

Don't me mislead on the price of Helium. The average cost is $.95 cubic ft. If you dive OC your average fill is well over $125.00 per dive and that is not a long dive. Correct that it is so much less expensive when diving CC , rebreather. What was not not told is that a rebreather is going to cost you from $8500 up and that does not include the new computer that is required for CC. By the way, average training cost is $1200.00 plus the cost of Oxygen Helium, and Sorb. Also the cost of the dive location , time, and expenses. The latter will be the same no matter what circuit you are diving.

Hmmm... Let me see what my last expedition cost for 3 days of diving. Dives were 4-6 hours, max depth 300'.

First Day, Two Divers, 4.5 Hours, 300' -- Oxygen $4.00each, Helium $14.00each, Sorb $30each -- Total = $96.00
Second Day, Two Divers, 6 hours, 300' -- Oxygen $4.00each, Helium $14.00each, Sorb $30each -- Total = $96.00
Third Day, 1 Diver, 2 hours, 250' -- Oxygen $4.00each, Helium $14.00each, Sorb $30each -- Total = $48.00

Less than $250 bucks for 3 days of extreme cave diving. I love my rebreather.

 

[Superlyte27]

I know where there is a barely used Full Electronic CCR for $2500 right now. Add in full retail price on training and you could be diving CCR for 4k. Oh, and eCCR rebreathers come with a computer.

My buddy bought his rebreather for less than 4k. My last two rebreathers were less than 4k. You just gotta know where the deals are.