Rebreather info

[andibk]

Haltron
Since the unit I have are in Thailand I have talked to my friend here in Manila who has the rebreathers and is also the ANDI RHQ. ( I am a ANDI I.T. for about 10-11 years.)
They do have a Drager, Azimuth and a Inspiration (with a Hammerhead unit). We do have a MEG but that is in Thailand also. I can NOT make any promises at this moment but I will see if time commited I will try and do a pool session for you guys can try them out. If I do have the time and get put this together it will be in Manila.The MK 15.5 is a excellent unit. I never used one only been on deep cave dives with a friend who owns one. The unit has one heck of a track record. Of all the rebreathers I personally would buy the MEG. Reason being is that it is much easier to get parts, lighter, smaller to travel with plus has a Manufacture backing them up. The quality of the MEG is top notch quality. There are agencies out there that have courses set up for the MEG courses. At this time Joe Radomski is writing the MEG manual that will be used for courses in the future. For the guys down in PG are a great group of guys, visited them last time I was in there neck of the woods. They do have alot of knowledge and experience.

andibk

 

[padiscubapro]

At this time Joe Radomski is writing the MEG manual that will be used for courses in the future.
andibk

Its getting there... 5 of 6 chapters complete!

 

[shugar]

Thanks Jason, I've been camped there for a couple of days now collecting info so I don't sound like a complete n00b when I start asking questions. Nice site, lots of info, much over my head at this time. I don't want to take a course until I know what RB I'd want. It seems that ANDI has a couple hour "intro to rebreathers" course so I dropped them an email for more info.

Graham, I was unaware the resorts had that many styles, I may have to rethink the inconvenience of going to PG. Either that or consider taking the public bus. Too bad the closest Meg guy seems to be in S'pore.

Hmm, anyone know what the import fee (not VAT) is on scuba gear?

i wouldn't be surprised if the term "rebreather" ever crossed custom's minds... w/c means they'll be horribly ignorant and charge you like it was a ferrari you were bringing in...

Jag

 

[aparatchiki]

why doncha borrow from the navy guys? hehehe

im sure they've got draegers stowed somewhere.

ok im off to take my siesta now

*yawn*

 

[Halthron]

I found this page that is a bit out of date but it compares a number of rebreathers in different categories. Unfortunately, it leaves off some, like the Evo, Mini-Meg, RB-80 and Boris.

 

[jagfish]

Have you guys checked out Rebreather World? Pretty much the place to look for comprehensive info. It's the biggest gathering of owners of all manufacturers that I've seen...

Jim

 

[wedivebc]

I found this page that is a bit out of date but it compares a number of rebreathers in different categories. Unfortunately, it leaves off some, like the Evo, Mini-Meg, RB-80 and Boris.

Hmmm, that is strange that the ouroborus and the minimeg are missing. He has an ouroborus teardown on his site and his girlfriend dives a minimeg.

 

[silent running]

Hmm, anyone know what the import fee (not VAT) is on scuba gear?

Hello Halthron, this might be another reason to do your training in someplace like Thailand and buy a unit there. Then when you bring it back it's used and I think you would be able to get around taxes. I know some people have done this in other places than PI.
On a side note, the MKs are very good units and used ones can be found and other variants are possible to find, but require a fair amount of attention-they are not simple units. There are several newer CCRs out there which would all be good choices-Meg, Ouroborous, Prism, and of course the Inspiration and Evolution-which I don't like but many people do. The KISS may also be a very good unit to start with.
In order to make a good CCR choice you need to figure out exactly what kind of diving you want to do and then find the unit which fits best with that usage. This will take some time as it's not easy at first glance to see all the differences btw the design choices made by the manufacturers. While comparison charts are a good place to start, it's not as easy as just comparing features. It's best to understand how the units work and why the design choices were made. This will tell you a lot about how the unit was intended to be used and it's strengths and weaknesses. Spend some time on Rebreather World, there's more experienced CCR people there than anywhere else. Good luck, -Andy

 

[moose_hk]

they stopped making these right?

Stictly speaking yes but MK16s are still made for military use (very expensive and not available to the public) and you can buy are brand new (assembaled from unused parts) MK15.5 from a company in Australia (approx US12,000). There are a number of reconditioned Mk15 out there - even though many are over 20 years old and one or two places that will fix up and upgrade electronics and replace soft parts that may have seen better days

Graham

 

[moose_hk]

Graham, what is your professional opinion says about other?:huh:

Jason - I thought I said all the others were toys

Based on the three aside from Mk15 (which rocks) that I have used:

KISS nice system but the PO2 monitoring is very fragile
Inspiration way over priced with the strong pound - I have a friend in the navy who says that all the parts are very low spec and made on the cheap - I can not confirm this either way.
Draeger purely recreational - which begs the question why bother if a single 80 will do it?

Graham