ccr training is unit specific, so if you do for example the mod1 on an Inspiration, and you move on to normoxic plus trimix, you have to do that course on an Inspiration. If you buy a Triton, then you have to do a crossover and show the skills for the normoxic course again. It is not a complete course again, but it will cost a lot of money.
And since 1 september also iantd writes the unit on the trimix certs, there will be a point that instructors want to sell complete courses, even if that is not required according to standards.
So if you know what unit you will dive later, you can maybe borrow it and then start your ccr training on a borrowed unit. But it is always have nice and easier to have your own machine. Mod1 is sometimes done on a rental unit, but you need nowadays have 50 hours on a unit to move on to normoxic trimix. So that is quite a lot if you need to rent or borrow.
And remember, sometimes an instructor promise you things, but at the end things change. I did my mod1 on a unit of my instructor with the promise I could do 25 hours on the unit to do also the normoxic trimix. I wanted this so I would know if ccr diving was something for me, and with just 6 hours for the mod1 course and a diver who also loved depth sometimes this was too shallow and not a real try out. I wanted to feel the unit at depths outside of the air region (and yes I did and still do sometimes deep air dives, I am also a 60m on air 3* diver-cert owner ) Also this instructor was quite new as ccr instructor and needed to have students for normoxic trimix so he had the minimum amount to move on to full trimix/mod3 instructor. So I bought enought sofnolime from the instructor (I paid too much I found out later) for the 25 hours. But I was more or less a natural in ccr diving. So in 10 hours or so I had my normoxic cert. Not completely according to standards, but I was able to manage the unit easy. For me I agreed, as we had agreed I could use my sofnolime on his unit to get the 25 hours. And then he wanted his unit back because he could lend it to other students. I had tons of sofnolime in my house, but no ccr. So I bought my own soon then and signed up for mod3 2 weeks later. With 44 hours on the unit (50 was then minimum for mod3/full trimix), I finished my mod3 course and did some dives over 100m. I also had a real problem during my mod3 course, one of the controllers quit working with new batteries and had to deal with it at 76m depth.
Now I am also ccr instructor myself. Yes, sometimes and that is really really sometimes you have a student who dives a ccr from the beginning with ease. Also the student has the intelligence to easy know and recognise things. BUT, and that is a real BUT, most divers really need time and struggle with a ccr. The minimum amount of hourse nowadays, 50 and 100, are for a lot of divers really a minimum to get enough control over the machine. And you also need to practise with the unit after a course. It is for sure more complicated as oc diving. YOu need to make the ccr in the beginning your main diving equipment and this means also have to take it on shallow dives which can be done with a mono 7 liter also.
I think you need over 500 hours or so to say now I take oc as main equipment again and take the ccr when I need it. And even then, if you take a ccr after 40 hourse on oc or so again you will feel this in your bouyancy. Not that you are not able to handle it, not that others see it, but you will feel it yourself. And it will take 1-2 dives again to get the old feeling back. Even I have this, but nobody will see
So if you know what your endgoal and brand is in ccr diving, I would advice you to buy the unit yourself.
A crossover costs around 450 here. But revo is more expensive, I hear there prices of 600-1000 as the manufacturor wants you to have 6 dives instead of 2 in other cases. So for you again money to calculate the total costs with and make a decision.
You can start ccr diving from the beginning. Also from the real beginning, there are ccr open water courses nowadays. There is no need to do oc trimix first.
If you want to buy a ccr now, the path to normoxic trimix is more or less the same. You can also go directly to ccr adv. ean from what you have. And then move on to normoxic trimix plus after 50 hours on the unit.
About having done the dives, but no cert. In earlier days there were more options to say as instructor you have the experience, so at my discretion you can move on. Now you have more often as instructor no option to say there is enough experience, so the cert is not needed. There is really written for advanced nitrox for example:
deep diver or equivalent and ean diver or equivalent.
A cmas 2* (40m cert), or 3* (60m cert) are the equivalent of the deep diver. So you can start.
To start a normoxic programm you need to have a (ccr) adv. nitrox or higher or equivalent.
And then it starts, a cert from another agency is equivalent. So this means agencies allow you to start with agency A and move on with agency B.
But is experience equivalent? This is not mentioned anymore as equivalent. In earlier days it was.
So I am afraid that instructors will tell you you have to do the course to get the cert, also that nobody can blame the instructor if something goes wrong after a course.
But a drysuit cert or sidemount cert is not mentioned as required, so here you own experience is enough to join a course.
This means for you, the ccr path is also 2 certs, but for ccr more dives are required to get the certs than on oc. But there is no need to do the oc path first. The ccr path is more expensive.
In Florida you can contact Paul Heinerth, he is a nice instructor and really experienced diver.
