Should I try a rebreather?

[EireDiver606]

@Superlyte27 I didn’t clarify that in my previous post I meant that rebreathers are more dangerous but mainly because of complexity and user error more than anything due to the design of a rebreather. I’m not saying rebreathers will kill you if that’s what you think I’m saying.

I don’t know anything about rebreathers and I certainly don’t dive one. I just heard their nickname was “widow maker” from an experienced diver because of the amount of deaths while people are on a rebreather. @doctormike I'm talking about myself because a rebreather is not even a foreseeable possibility because I have so little experience in diving. I’ve seen a few and god they look complicated especially those electric ones with all the wires. Forgive for my insufficient knowledge and ignorance.

My last deep exped' (Malin Head), all the deep stuff was blown out by poor weather.

Malin Head is beautiful. Who were you diving with?

We were at about 70' during class and I started hearing the strangest noise ever. It wasn't until later I realized that it had started raining. The noise I was hearing was the rain drops 70' above hitting the surface of the water.

all or a sudden all the rays got up and swam off. A few minutes late you could hear the OC divers, they swam up to the depression,

Wow I thought OC was quiet. That is unbelievable!

 

[RainPilot]

Wow I thought OC was quiet. That is unbelievable!

I did too.

On OC you go look at fish. On CCR fish come look at you.

 

[fsardone]

On OC you go look at fish. On CCR fish come look at you.

Octopus will come and play not only look!

 

[npole]

I'm not saying any single person in this thread is an idiot specifically. However, I disagree. Most people are idiots. Statistically speaking, there must be several idiots posting in this thread.

I guess I should consider the old adage "if you don't know who the idiot in the room is, it's probably you". Ack!

You're confusing the average person in the world, with a very restrict pool of pepole (divers) who are interested to the rebreathers. I doubt that "most of them" are idiots, statistically speaking, hence I doubt that in this thread there's several idiots posting: we aren't walking on a random street in a random place in the world, this is a specialized forum and within it we're in a more specialized thread.

Cleared this, and returning in topic, rebreathears need a certain mental predisposition, you need to be methodical, if you're that kind of person that doesn't particular love the check lists and the precision, the reb isn't for you (but I would extend this to: the scuba diving isn't for you). If you follow the safety rules, the possibility of an incident aren't different than the OC.

More specifically to the op question: trying a reb in a controlled environment with a proper instructor is safer that conduct a normal diving, i repeat: with the instructor that takes care of you and in shallow water. This is far to be certified to use a CCR, but will show you the positive aspects of using a rebreather: the extended air, the stable buoyancy (great for the photographers), but especially the silence... the first time I tried a rebreather I didn't care about the "infinite air", but the silence and no bubbles, it's like be in meditation in the water, it reminds me the feel of the freedive but while breathing like you normally do outside the water. That's the real dive experience.. I can't wait the day the rebreathers will be the standard for scuba diving.

I invite everyone that has the possibility to try a rebreather to do so and not live upon prejudices, it really change everything.

 

[jgttrey]

Sure - no problem to do a "rebreather experience" dive in a pool or something with an instructor.

You'll enjoy the silence, but probably hate everything else....

Kidding aside, a lot of time is spent getting your unit "fit" to you and the "try rebreather" unit probably won't. You also will have hard time with buoyancy, loop volume, etc. It will feel VERY different at first. Don't get hung up on that.

These things are overcome in training and will become second nature, and by all means enjoy a try dive. Just remember that is pretty standard to counsel divers starting with CCR that it will be humbling experience for a few dives and not to get discouraged.

 

[reddiver970]

A few years ago, I was seriously researching rebreathers with the intent to buy/use one. Before I made a decision on what unit to get, I saw several rebreather fatalities reported. Generally they get chalked up to "operator error" and by operators that were FAR FAR better divers than I. Initially, I thought I'd go halfway with an SCR first to "test the waters" so to speak. Then everyone on scubaboard told me that basically an SCR has all the risk of a ccr with little benefit over OC. Grudgingly, I decided that it just wasn't in my long term best interest, and I gave up on the idea. Of course to play devil's advocate, those operators were also doing dives FAR outside the bounds of any dive I'd plan to do for the foreseeable future. Who knows? I don't, and I am still strongly of the opinion that I should not buy one myself.

I am curious if you ever actually tried one in the pool with an instructor?

 

[hroark2112]

A little bit of complacency on a rebreather will kill you right on the surface.

Trust me on this. 100%.

 

[doctormike]

I don’t know anything about rebreathers and I certainly don’t dive one. I just heard their nickname was “widow maker” from an experienced diver because of the amount of deaths while people are on a rebreather. @doctormike I'm talking about myself because a rebreather is not even a foreseeable possibility because I have so little experience in diving. I’ve seen a few and god they look complicated especially those electric ones with all the wires. Forgive for my insufficient knowledge and ignorance.

Sure, I understand, and I don't mean to imply that you are ignorant. It's just not something that you do, which is fine.

I just want you to realize that there are definite social implications of coming into a conversation with a bunch of rebreather divers and saying that they are "widow makers", and expressing such strong opinions about them (in your previous post), especially when you admittedly don't know anything about them.

Imagine if you were discussing your last dive trip here, and someone who wasn't a diver came into the conversation and said that scuba diving was dangerous and an easy way to kill yourself, and that they would never scuba dive under any circumstances.

 

[Superlyte27]

I think they’re quite simple.
Too much oxygen, too little oxygen, too much CO2. That’s it. Keep an eye on those three little things, and its a piece of cake.

In order to watch too much or too little oxygen, you have to have your computer turned on. Right there, that little step just saved 50% of the fatalities.

Now for the CO2....
Be diligent in monitoring your breathing rate. Is it increased? Is it labored? Is it completely relaxed and effortless? Effortless? No issue, carry on. Any of the other symptoms? Bailout and resolve.

It’s so simple.

Oh, but the electronics, OMG, they’re so dangerous.... Yeah right...
You likely have 2 computers and 4 or 5 sensors. Does everything agree? Yes? Carry On.
Oh, they don’t all agree? Bail out! Piece of cake.

People mock what they don’t understand. Add in a bunch of Type A guys, some of which who will never be able to afford a CCR or simply don’t have the other capacities necessary to obtain one, and you’ll hear all sorts of bs about how deadly they are.

I had a client buy a Lamborghini Mercialago this week. Bastard! And what a waste of money. I’m shopping for a Corvette Z06 which is just as good.... right? After all, it’s US Made, cheaper, safer, easier to work on. You don’t need a Lamborghini. Sounds a lot like most people’s arguments about buying a CCR.

 

[KevinNM]

It’s so simple.

Oh, but the electronics, OMG, they’re so dangerous.... Yeah right...
You likely have 2 computers and 4 or 5 sensors. Does everything agree? Yes? Carry On.
Oh, they don’t all agree? Bail out! Piece of cake.

I’m reminded of the conversation I heard about a different student of an instructor I had. (I was not doing a ccr course) Though a complex series of bad decisions she went diving without her scrubber. Everything looked fine until she passed out. Another diver rescued her. There was something about a ‘come to Jesus meeting’ planned...