Solo diving on a rebreather

[Dsix36]

I wanted to add a little something to this discussion on Sanity Breaths (I realize the thread has taken another direction but when has that ever stopped me before)

A side effect of hypercapnia is memory loss. The problem with sanity breaths as I was taught (and agree with) is this: for some reason you felt wonky enough to go off the loop, after your head clears there is no guarantee that you'll remember that reason, and then as Dave says, the danger is still there waiting for you. So given the inherent nature of CO2 retention or channeling issue, sanity breaths with the intent to possibly go back on the loop is likely not the best plan. You can't trust your brain at that point.

I have to disagree and I will post personal experience to defend my position.

I was in my CCR Cave class and a long distance from the exit. I was swimming much too hard for my liking and ended up with a nasty case of CO2 retention. My instructor told me to bailout and it was extremely difficult to get enough of a grip on my breathing to be able to take the DSV out of my gob and shove a regulator in my mouth to breathe. I was the diver in trouble and as training protocol dictates, I lead the exit. My brain was completely fuzzy and I took a wrong turn. My instructor got my attention and signaled the mistake, but i could not understand her. It was like an out-of-body experience as i pladstered myself to the ceiling to get sorted out. I finally went the direction that my instructor was pointing out. I breathed one tank empty and was switched to my second tank before we got to our deco in the cavern zone. At this point my breathing finally settled down and I went back on the rebreather to finish deco.

There was nothing wrong with the rebreather. I merely over breathed what the scrubber could handle. This happened to me several times on that particular brand and i am not the only person with such experiences. Sanity breaths were a very normal thing before I switched rebreathers.

There will be times that going back on the loop will just be going back to the original issue that caused the problem in the first place. Being cautious is always the best option when in a similar situation.

 

[wedivebc]

I have to disagree and I will post personal experience to defend my position.

I was in my CCR Cave class and a long distance from the exit. I was swimming much too hard for my liking and ended up with a nasty case of CO2 retention. My instructor told me to bailout and it was extremely difficult to get enough of a grip on my breathing to be able to take the DSV out of my gob and shove a regulator in my mouth to breathe. I was the diver in trouble and as training protocol dictates, I lead the exit. My brain was completely fuzzy and I took a wrong turn. My instructor got my attention and signaled the mistake, but i could not understand her. It was like an out-of-body experience as i pladstered myself to the ceiling to get sorted out. I finally went the direction that my instructor was pointing out. I breathed one tank empty and was switched to my second tank before we got to our deco in the cavern zone. At this point my breathing finally settled down and I went back on the rebreather to finish deco.

There was nothing wrong with the rebreather. I merely over breathed what the scrubber could handle. This happened to me several times on that particular brand and i am not the only person with such experiences. Sanity breaths were a very normal thing before I switched rebreathers.

There will be times that going back on the loop will just be going back to the original issue that caused the problem in the first place. Being cautious is always the best option when in a similar situation.

And how does that have any bearing on taking a sanity breath then returning to the loop? From your account you did neither

 

[Dsix36]

And how does that have any bearing on taking a sanity breath then returning to the loop? From your account you did neither

My sanity breathe was merely a very long and extended until such time as my head cleared and my breathing was normal again.

Reread this part:
"At this point my breathing finally settled down and I went back on the rebreather to finish deco.

There was nothing wrong with the rebreather. I merely over breathed what the scrubber could handle. This happened to me several times on that particular brand and i am not the only person with such experiences. Sanity breaths were a very normal thing before I switched rebreathers."

 

[Taliena]

Yes, I dive solo on ccr. I have done it up to a 60m. Not really long bottomtimes (I could surface with just 2 bailout cylinders).

 

[hroark2112]

Solo + rebreather + warm clear water = dive Nirvana

Solo OC doesn't come close.