Solo diving on a rebreather
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Garth
Contributor
Semantics...
"May include" is the precursor of the first highlighted word you chose.
Garth
---------- Post added February 7th, 2014 at 07:06 AM ----------
Where are you taking REVO training?
I dive a hammerhead and although I've never heard of anyone having a CO2 hit on one I can appreciate the fact that any rebreather could cause hypercapnia if sloppily put together, or cared for. I'm more concerned with workload fighting current than anything else however.
Garth
"May include" is the precursor of the first highlighted word you chose.
Garth
---------- Post added February 7th, 2014 at 07:06 AM ----------
Where are you taking REVO training?
I dive a hammerhead and although I've never heard of anyone having a CO2 hit on one I can appreciate the fact that any rebreather could cause hypercapnia if sloppily put together, or cared for. I'm more concerned with workload fighting current than anything else however.
Garth
Dr. Lecter
Contributor
kwinter
Contributor
Really, Garth? That's the only way? You had better get used to the fact that your rebreather can and will find any possible reason to screw you over. If course you want to meticulously maintain and fill your scrubber. But did you control the manufacture, packaging, shipping and delivery of that keg of sorb? Or the water supply to your house that you rinsed the hoses with?
Yes, these may be ridiculous examples. But the point is you should ALWAYS be on the alert for something that doesn't seem right. And if you are alone, that just might not be enough. We can only mitigate risks. We can never eliminate them. To think that we can is the height of arrogance. And that gets folks hurt or killed all the time.
Please pardon any typos. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Garth
Contributor
Interesting perspective Ken.
Garth
---------- Post added February 7th, 2014 at 01:15 PM ----------
I wouldn't think that care/maintenance would completely eliminate any risk of CO2 buildup and apologize if that is how I sounded when I responded.
I think that care and maintenance are extremely important and are factors that are within our "control."
Things that are outside of our control would be things like what Ken mentioned like the Sorb quality. If not detected on prebreathe it needs to be recognized as soon as possible as something that doesn't feel right.
I also don't prescribe to the sanity breathe philosophy however in full disclosure I don't have a ton of rebreather experience. I do have an understanding of physiology, effects of CO2 buildup, acidosis etc.
Garth
Garth
---------- Post added February 7th, 2014 at 01:15 PM ----------
I wouldn't think that care/maintenance would completely eliminate any risk of CO2 buildup and apologize if that is how I sounded when I responded.
I think that care and maintenance are extremely important and are factors that are within our "control."
Things that are outside of our control would be things like what Ken mentioned like the Sorb quality. If not detected on prebreathe it needs to be recognized as soon as possible as something that doesn't feel right.
I also don't prescribe to the sanity breathe philosophy however in full disclosure I don't have a ton of rebreather experience. I do have an understanding of physiology, effects of CO2 buildup, acidosis etc.
Garth
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We all assume a certain amount of risk every time we climb out of bed, leave the house, and jump in the water. With or without a buddy.
If solo is not your thing, I can respect that. However if someone feels the urge to disrespect me because of my opinion, have have an issue with that.
If you have an agenda, have the balls to be up front about it.
If solo is not your thing, I can respect that. However if someone feels the urge to disrespect me because of my opinion, have have an issue with that.
If you have an agenda, have the balls to be up front about it.
Last edited by a moderator:
Garth
Contributor
Last edited by a moderator:
Interesting thread. What type of sorb was it? Granule size etc? CO2 buildup is insidious and quite nasty when it hits full on. The worse I had was on a KISS Classic at 200 ft. That said - having been to Mexico for diving and what not - quality control in anything is less than 100% ranging from the "purified" ice cubes they put in your drinks, to the maintenance of air compressors for diving.
Dsix36
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sung to the tune of the Beverly Hillbillys
Let me tell ya all a story bout a man named Don.
Poor breather diver with his optima on.
He was diving in a cave when he had to bailout.
His mind went foggy and he was full of doubt.
The CO2 issue is really not something that can be totaly controlled by the end user. There are to many variables that can come into play. The ONLY possible way to mitigate the downward spiral of this isidious issue is early acknowledgement of the onset and immediate corrective action. There might even be times when it is never noticed by the diver and that can turn out bad.
My rebrether (optima with EAC) was fully functional and without fault when my event occured. I was swimming way to hard to keep up with my buddy. I ended up retaining CO2 to the point that I had a very tough go of it to time my breathing long enough to switch to my bailout regulator. I still sucked some water in the process. My head did not clear up until I had sucked my AL40 dry and was 1/2 way through my second tank. I turned on the wrong line to exit and if not for my instructor and buddy, I would have gone deeper in the cave, run out of gas, and drowned. It was like an out of body experience because my head felt much like I was on some really good drugs or just stupid drunk.
I still solo dive a rebreather quite often and do it in the caves also. I am very vigilante about knowing my breathing rate and the reason for any escalation of it.
Let me tell ya all a story bout a man named Don.
Poor breather diver with his optima on.
He was diving in a cave when he had to bailout.
His mind went foggy and he was full of doubt.
The CO2 issue is really not something that can be totaly controlled by the end user. There are to many variables that can come into play. The ONLY possible way to mitigate the downward spiral of this isidious issue is early acknowledgement of the onset and immediate corrective action. There might even be times when it is never noticed by the diver and that can turn out bad.
My rebrether (optima with EAC) was fully functional and without fault when my event occured. I was swimming way to hard to keep up with my buddy. I ended up retaining CO2 to the point that I had a very tough go of it to time my breathing long enough to switch to my bailout regulator. I still sucked some water in the process. My head did not clear up until I had sucked my AL40 dry and was 1/2 way through my second tank. I turned on the wrong line to exit and if not for my instructor and buddy, I would have gone deeper in the cave, run out of gas, and drowned. It was like an out of body experience because my head felt much like I was on some really good drugs or just stupid drunk.
I still solo dive a rebreather quite often and do it in the caves also. I am very vigilante about knowing my breathing rate and the reason for any escalation of it.
kwinter
Contributor
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