Is it too early for me to get a rebreather??

[BikerManiac]

I have been looking into buying a rebreather. Most likely the Drager Ray, maybe Dolphin. Ever since I learned and read about them I have been fascinated with them. I never had/bought a regular gear as I wanted to go straight to Rebreathers.

Getting ready to get my certification with rebreathers. I took the PADI Nitrox course a few months ago. My question is: with my experience, which is about 56 total dives...should I purchase the rebreather now? I see the Drager Ray on ebay from 600-800 dollars all the time.

The reason why I like the Drager Ray that much is because is so small. I dont think I will ever modify it or go dive beyond the limitation. I am a very careful diver. (Chicken)

Thanks for your opinion.

 

[caveseeker7]

Read the "Experience for CCR" thread, many of the replies are valid to your question.
Make sure you understand the lilitations of the Ray (or any other SCR) before you
shell out the money for training and hardware (which should include a pO2 monitor!).
Plenty of threads on that subject, too.

 

[Mr.X]

Don't get too sold on buying a Ray. As Caveseeker mentioned do a little perusing. You don't want to end up with a bag of _____t.

 

[PerroneFord]

Hmmm. Careful diver, 56 dives, wants a rebreather. Something there seems weird. I wish you all the best. In my personal opinon, I think it may be a bit soon. Most of the people I see taking rebreather trainnig are at 300-500 dives or more. I am gonna get one in the pool next spring, but I don't think I'd BEGIN to think of owning one for several years and after several hundred dives. To much other task loading stuff to worry about first. Not to mention rebreathers are of pretty limited use until you are doing decompression dives.

 

[Dr. Doug Ebersole]

I agree with what's been said above, especially about doing some research on rebreathers before considering making a purchase. There are lots of threads here and on Rebreather World (www.rebreatherworld.com)

I would recommend looking at what kind of diving you plan on doing. Semi-closed rebreather (SCR) diving is basically "gas-efficient" nitrox and has a niche for people who want to interact more closely with marine life (I know this point has been debated on previous threads here and on Rebreather World). It doesn't change your decompression obligation much and is more expensive and dangerous than open circuit diving. A large number of people (including myself) who started with an SCR eventually move on to a fully closed circuit rebreather (CCR). These, of course, are another level of complexity, risk, and expense -- though the Sport Kiss is competive in price with SCRs. Training also requires advanced nitrox training as a prerequisite.

For SCR diving, all that is required is nitrox certification so it would be reasonable for you to consider this at your level of dive experience. Personally, I would recommend your trying it out with an "SCR experience" before spending the money to become certified (probably around $400-500) and purchasing a unit. Check with instructors in your area which can be found on the IANTD website (www.iantd.com). If you have any plans to come to Florida, I'd be happy to teach the "SCR Experience" and let you use my Drager Dolphin while I dive the Sport Kiss to show you the differences. If you're interested or have any other questions, PM me.

 

[Mr.X]

Hmmm. Careful diver, 56 dives, wants a rebreather. Something there seems weird. I wish you all the best. In my personal opinon, I think it may be a bit soon. Most of the people I see taking rebreather trainnig are at 300-500 dives or more. I am gonna get one in the pool next spring, but I don't think I'd BEGIN to think of owning one for several years and after several hundred dives. To much other task loading stuff to worry about first. Not to mention rebreathers are of pretty limited use until you are doing decompression dives.

56 - 500 is an arbritary number only. # of dives in not an indicator of a diver's capacity to learn to use a breather. There is active discussion in the rebreather field about actually teaching/starting new divers on just rebreathers. I can see the argument for it, but would suggest competency in watermanship before initiating that task.

 

[lamont]

http://www.scubaboard.com/showpost.php?p=1356496&postcount=16

 

[PerroneFord]

56 - 500 is an arbritary number only. # of dives in not an indicator of a diver's capacity to learn to use a breather. There is active discussion in the rebreather field about actually teaching/starting new divers on just rebreathers. I can see the argument for it, but would suggest competency in watermanship before initiating that task.

Was your watermanship sufficient at 60 dives to don a CCR?

I am aware of the ideas floating around of doing beginning training on rebreathers. My instructor teaches KISS, Meg, and Ourbourus. This is why I am going to jump in the pool with one this spring. That said, I don't think my awareness will be good enough even after DIRF. Maybe after I pass Tech1 and Adv. Nitrox I'll feel differently about trying a SCR unit. But I doubt it. A set of doubles and a stage and deco bottle will take me FAR into the kind of diving I want to be doing.

Everyone is different though.

 

[Hoosier]

Why?

Does RB require some special pre-requsite double setup diving? I understand RB diver should get through nitrox, adv. nitorx, trimix and deco with/before RB course though.

 

[PerroneFord]

The risks (particularly on CCR units) of going into hypoxia or hyperoxia are real. And yes, you do use a double setup, meaning you might need to bail out. Gas sharing with a rebreather is also a significant challenge. You need to re-learn buoyancy control on a rebreather as open circuit techniques no longer work. No more lung control of buoyancy. You need to learn how to purge water out of the loop and handle some of the idiosyncratic issues with each unit. This is why most manufacturers will not sell the units without the new owner taking trainnig.

There is a lot of new stuff to learn, a lot of stuff to keep an eye on. If you're busy worrynig about your other issues or are not truly comfortable in the water, adding the complexities of a rebreather might be too much.

At least this is how it was described to me when I asked, by a man who owns 6 units!