Recreational rebreathers - what is holding them back?

[caveseeker7]

You gotta get of these mushrooms, Jep.

Jon, for wrecks San Diego will offer a better variety and more scheduled trips. Lots of 'tourist wrecks'.
Not much commercially available 'East Coast style' wrecking around here, most of that is form private boats I guess.

 

[lamont]

I have thought long and hard on this subject over the last few days. I even called off work to spend more time thinking....

I have the answer. Colors!!! Rebreathers dont come in enough colors to appeal to the general diving public. sure you can paint some of it or put a sticker on it, but who wants to do that....we need more stock colors.

Freakin brilliant!!!

hot pink.

 

[caveseeker7]

Are those pink enough for you?

 

[jptrealty]

Thanks I will look in to it, better to dive a tourist wreck then stay on land, especially in the beautiful SoCal area

My god I'm even thanking you now.........


Stay Safe

 

[wedivebc]

I have the answer. Colors!!! Rebreathers dont come in enough colors to appeal to the general diving public. sure you can paint some of it or put a sticker on it, but who wants to do that....we need more stock colors.

Freakin brilliant!!!

You haven't looked hard enough. This is my favorite http://www.rebreatherworld.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=284&c=23

 

[Leadking]

My observations over 30 years of diving is
1. Cost-which can be overcome with volume. RB's are being developed by a large number of companies, most will fall by the wayside and a few will survive. When (and if this happens) a couple of companies may have the volume to amortize the costs across a larger production.
2. A commitment on the part of a diver to understand diving physiology
3. a carbon dioxide sensor

I personally believe, and have invested it the future of RB's, and as a previous post said there was a time when nitrox was "the devil's gas". I was there and fought with DEMA when they tried to have nitrox banned from the show floor.

 

[silent running]

Howdy all, an important thing to keep in mind when discussing the subject of rebreathers: People are comfort seeking missiles and most people are most comfortable when they don't have to think too much. Not me, and I suspect this is true of most CCR divers. I'm much more comfortable when I'm fully informed and when I understand what is happening to my body at any given moment. It's almost unfortunate that OC scuba gear is so simple as I think it encourages a certain amount of laziness/complacency in OC divers and thus makes them suspicious of rbs. Most motorcyclists know plenty about their machines, why wouldn't a diver? Because they don't have to, because OC gear is so simple. Do most OC divers even understand the concept of differing gas densities and what is happening to their boddies during a dive? They certainly didn't talk about Boyle's law in my open water class. The point is, there are those who are curious and those who are not. It was my curiousity that brought me to rebreathers and it is satisfying my curiousity which ultimately brings me the most comfort. Only when I reach this point, do I start thinking about simplicity again. It's neat when you watch the light bulb go off over someone's head as you explain how CCRs work and all the possibilities this brings. I wish RBs were more popular as it would make things easier and cheaper for us CCR divers. But maybe it's just as well considering that people seem to be getting more lazy and not less as our very convenient world keeps getting more so.

 

[jepuskar]

Silent,

Very well put!

J

 

[pescador775]

Silent Running makes a good point. It appears with CCR diving it's all about equipment. The CCR dier, er diver, is so focused on "what his body is doing", or maybe "what's it doing to my body", that attention is siphoned from the important subject at hand, the underwater world.

My buddy is a typical diver. Last month, on the first dive of the day, he forgot to set his computer for NITROX (he was diving 36%). That cut things short, ya know what I mean.

The week before, I went into the water with an empty tank. Post mortem of the tank showed a bad valve seat. In my defense, I did set the computer.

These are mere foibles. Now, I'm thinking, what's the odds of diving with a CCR rig that requires a check list, getting it right, or not, and surviving it. Hmmm.

I like technical stuff. My boat is equipped with electronic gadgets, I mix and pump NITROX, I do lots of technical stuff. Everything I own has a manual about 50 pages long. How long is the manual for the CCR? 200 pages? Well, as a rec diver with an appreciation for various complicated toys, I might be a natural rebreather diver. Yet, it may just be that my life is complicated enough, and that's just on weekends.

 

[DiveTub]

. Everything I own has a manual about 50 pages long. How long is the manual for the CCR? 200 pages? Well, as a rec diver with an appreciation for various complicated toys, I might be a natural rebreather diver. Yet, it may just be that my life is complicated enough, and that's just on weekends.

200 pages :06:
I just checked my PRISM manual it's 64 in total, take out the photos, index and its under your 50.

Good post Andy !!

Cheers
Chris