Official links on rebreather laws and regulations in the European Union

[Germie]

I own a non CE rebreather (Homebuild Sidekick look a like) and a CE unit (Inspiration). I can dive them private and am insuranced when something happens. Even if I go deep, or in caves.

BUT, if I teach ccr, I have to take a CE unit. I can teach cave to students on every unit if I am certificed as user on it. So I if I have a Kiss cert, I can teach a student to dive in caves a KISS ccr. BUT: I have to take myself a CE unit. The student can use his KISS. That is the European law.

So you can get training on a non CE unit, but the instructor has to dive a CE unit (you dive for example XCCR, instructor Inspiration).

Changing an inflator, wing, or such a small piece means officially it looses CE, but it won't be a problem if you use as instructor this little modified unit. Even if you change a hoselength of your OC regulators means no CE anymore (so a longhose means mostly that the regs are not CE anymore). But this is never a problem. And still can be used and teached (grey parts of rules).

Buying a non CE unit like XCCR means you don't buy a unit, you only buy parts. And then build it together yourself. If only one hose is missing, then you don't buy a unit, but just some parts.

 

[Sbiriguda]

Thank you for your clear explanation, here it's exactly the same
Just for my understanding, how can you make sure that a homebuilt rebreather is really safe?

 

[Germie]

A rebreather is really easy: you need a scrubber, a closed loop, some lungs, PO2 measurement and ready.
Ok, theoretically easy.
I did not build my unit myself, it is a Sidekick look-a-like, but with European O ring sizes, so you can easy get spares. Some small things are changed, so you cannot say a clone. The scrubber is the most difficult part to test. And yes, this is officially not tested. But if you use the same sizes, or only some mm difference you can expect it is working same. If the PO2 measurement works, and it can hold pos and neg tests, you can start testing/using it.
From my unit are 30 made. So it is still 'homebuild', but more widely used. Some have done really extreme dives with it and use it as BOB.
I dove mines till 60m now, and an 850m in a cave. Did some ow test with it as a BOB. So progress slowly to learn to know the limits and disadvantages.

 

[Germie]

And another thing: a CE unit has a M26 valve and M26 oxygen first stage. This has to be. But with a new rebreather, you order a normal DIN valve and a first stage DIN kit and change it before the first use. Then your CE unit is diveready.

 

[KenGordon]

And another thing: a CE unit has a M26 valve and M26 oxygen first stage. This has to be. But with a new rebreather, you order a normal DIN valve and a first stage DIN kit and change it before the first use. Then your CE unit is diveready.

Until last weeks’s Norway trip I have stuck with the M26 fitting. Since I was renting cylinders and knew this would be an issue I swapped over. I will swap back. Previously I have taken an adaptor.

I like the fact I cannot get the dill and o2 the wrong way round. I know people will say if you can’t be sure of that then you ought not to be CCR but mitigations are mitigations.

This reminds me that I recently got given two o2 fills rather than one o2 and one air even though one was M26 and one regular DIN. This was in almost exactly the circumstances when people assume air is air and don’t check the mix.