I started out as a recreational diver when I switched to CCR. Some of my biggest thrills so far have included simply going back to some of my favorite moderate depth dive sites, the ones where I used to rush to the max depth, say 120 fsw, hang out for a few minutes and then noodle my way up slope to the surface staying just within the NDL, and instead, take my sweet time hanging out at each level, relaxing and enjoying my favorite parts for practically as long as I want on CCR. my first two hour dive of a common local dive spot yielded 10 octo and 4 wolf eel sightings... even got to see octos going through a terretory battle, as they were much more at ease since I was silent, or course not all rebreather dives are mind blowing, in fact, on occasion I have a dive that makes me question whether it's all worth it.
My expectations about the dives I would be doing was unrealistic. I was surprised to find that really deep dives are actually not that common, even on a rebreather. To put the depth question in perspective, from what I can tell, many rebreather dives are within recreational depths or maybe a bit deeper but mainly for dramatically extended bottom times, dives in the 200-250 range are somewhat common, dives to 350 fsw are remakably uncommon and hardly anybody goes below 500 fsw... there are still limits, they are just different.
the advantages for me:
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more up close and personal: dramatic increase of wildlife viewing, everything simply goes about it's business!
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nitrox on the fly: all the advantages of nitrox accept you get to optimize the mix for each depth, virtually eliminating a MOD.
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no more cotton mouth: I get less dehydrated and cold because of the much warmer moist air.
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slow and relaxed: much less of a hurry on the ascent, stair step profilles take on a whole new dimension, you can zig zag up a reef to your hearts content.
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more freedom: no more pesky DM shaking their rattles at you! ...after a few observation dives, they generally let you do your own thing, they simply can't keep up.
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improved logistics: for a road trip, instead of hauling 12 80's with me for an extended weekend, I've got an 80 or 2 full of 02, 1 or 2 80's full of air and a trans fill whip... no need for a compressor, since a 1,200PSI fill is still good for an hour or so.
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less fatigue: vastly reduced nitrogen fatigue on extended trips.
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add a dive kayak and the world becomes your oyster!
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managable operating cost: using air dilluent in a manual injection rebreather (one that does not require pricey annual trips back to the manufacturer), tracking overall cost per hour, it's worked out to about the cost of nitrox OC diving. I'm told that if you are a Helium diver, a rebreather pays for it's self in a few years.
the downsides for me:
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extensive learning curve: many folks jump into rebreather diving with the hopes of picking up where they left off with OC, only to find that it's like starting over. The fact is, more so than OC, you never stop learning. I'm three years into it and only recently have gained the confidence I once had on OC. It's best to go into it with a lot of patients and not push yourself to go to the next step till you are good and ready.
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increased initial expense, don't let anyone kid you, it adds up, but manual rebreathers are cheaper and seem to be more reliable, if that's a concern.
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like it or not, you're a tec diver: at first, you feel like a tec diver, because, without realizing it, you've become one, and that comes with a lot of personal responsibility and simply can't be taken litely.
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more time consuming: initially, the set up time to time diving ratio goes in the wrong direction... a lot of fiddling for short dives... later you get faster and the dives you do are longer, deeper and more rewarding, a trade off.
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more hazards: simple mistakes can kill you, smart people are just as prone to stupid mistakes as anyone else, like simply forgetting to turn on their gas... never trust yourself or your rebreather, cross check them both constantly assuming you will, despite your infinite wisdom, someday do something really stupid... your monitoring habits need to take the propensity for both human and mechanical error into account, your choice of gear and configuration should reflect this basic reality. All to often, starting out simple seems to bear the best results.
my advice, if you are an avid diver, have the opportunity to do at least 50 dives a year, hopefully getting in the water monthly, and can't get enough with OC, then this just may be the path for you regardless of how deep you like to dive.
good luck in your quest!
george
Hi All,
I have just finished doing some reading on mixed gases, nitrox and rebreathers and decided I wanted some more information (my books didn't answer all my questions...actually gave me more questions).
I have noticed in a few posts here and there that several people seem to be using a rebreather for recreational diving. I was wondering for recreational divers is there much benefit to using a rebreather?
- Why would one move to a rebreather anyway? (I can understand if your doing photography or videos, but is that the only reason?)
- Are there still depth limitations on rebreathers? (I read about older oxygen CCRs)
- Don't they Just add more complication to life and increase the chances of ending up on your death bed sooner??
Truth is as I read I got caught up in the oooo and ahhhh after reading about rebreathers and i'd love to know...apart from the cool factor is there anything else...is it okay to get into a rebreather for the cool factor (if one should have the money, which I dont at the moment but my curiosity has been teased).
Thanks in advance guys!!!