Thinking about coming over to the DARK SIDE! Re-breather help.

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Agreed As does living in Southern California.

OP - Your profile is 0-24 dives, why are you looking at tech diving at all? Or any of the other dozens of "what if" posts that you make on SB? Is it just for fun to spark up a thread? Are you diving a lot more than your profile suggests? I managed to dive 16 years (aggressively) and not need a rebreather or tech diving. Even now, I only "wanted" those things, there is still so much that I haven't seen in recreational depths. I could have easily spent the gear and training money on travel. What is your compelling event so early in your diving career to push into these areas?

I don't think my profile states 0 - 24 dives. The last time I updated it, it was 100 so that is what it should say. Now it is more but I would have to look into my logbook to check how much more. Close to 200 is a wild guess. What is so compelling? Its part work (TV journalist looking for stories and footage) part fun (desire to go deeper for fun and for video footage / photographs).

Roughly how many dives does one need to have to transition to rebreather?

 

[mathauck0814]

I don't think my profile states 0 - 24 dives. The last time I updated it, it was 100 so that is what it should say. Now it is more but I would have to look into my logbook to check how much more. Close to 200 is a wild guess. What is so compelling? Its part work (TV journalist looking for stories and footage) part fun (desire to go deeper for fun and for video footage / photographs).

Roughly how many dives does one need to have to transition to rebreather?

I don't think there's a fixed number. I had ~2000 or so dives on open circuit to depths of ~400 feet before I looked into it...and even then, I only went to the rebreather because helium was becoming hard to acquire (at any cost) and I wanted the gas efficiency.

I think it's the compelling reason that matters more than the number of dives. Of the 2000 or so dives I had on open circuit, I had done probably 1400 of them with nothing more than an advanced open water card. There's a whole lot of ocean out there that's much shallower and more attainable at a far lesser cost.

 

[Captain Bil]

Get Mel Clark's book "Rebreathers Simplified". Read it. Mel explains the basics and some of the intricacies in lay terms. That will give you a basis from which to proceed. Mel will also answer emails and phone calls. You could also speak with Gregg Stanton at the Wakulla Dive Center . I did CCR training with both of them and they are top notch - knowledgeable, approachable, and willing to talk. Either or both of them should be able to give you all of the information you could want.

One other thing - Be ready to spend some money. You'll be easily into 5 figures when all is said and done.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Kevrumbo]

How many dives would it take to recoup/amortize that huge initial outlay for a good CCR System with the training?


For reference, last month's Bikini Atoll Liveaboard (M/V Windward) open circuit gas costs for 17 dives over eight days including crew gratuity: $3.8k. (Helium $5.66/cuft, Oxygen $1.70/cuft). Excess baggage total fees charged by United Airlines (each way -each flight leg!): $1.2k. My X-scooter itself cost $400 as check-in luggage. Additional gas costs for the Truk Lagoon week add-on $1.1k.

My take is that I'd rather spend the $10k-$15k now for consecutive open circuit trips to Bikini & Truk and other Indo-Pacific WWII wreck sites, instead of blowing it all for a just year's worth of training on a new CCR system. . . (And I'd rather deal with the Devil I do know well --Open Circuit Deep Air-- than with the Devil I don't know at all --Rebreathers.)

 

[PfcAJ]

Ugh...

 

[Captain Bil]

How many dives would it take to recoup/amortize that huge initial outlay for a good CCR System with the training?


For reference, last month's Bikini Atoll Liveaboard (M/V Windward) open circuit gas costs for 17 dives over eight days including crew gratuity: $3.8k. (Helium $5.66/cuft, Oxygen $1.70/cuft). Excess baggage total fees charged by United Airlines (each way -each flight leg!): $1.2k. My X-scooter itself cost $400 as check-in luggage. Additional gas costs for the Truk Lagoon week add-on $1.1k.

My take is that I'd rather spend the $10k-$15k now for consecutive open circuit trips to Bikini & Truk and other Indo-Pacific WWII wreck sites, instead of blowing it all for a just year's worth of training on a new CCR system. . . (And I'd rather deal with the Devil I do know well --Open Circuit Deep Air-- than with the Devil I don't know at all --Rebreathers.)

Deep air? People still do that?

As far as getting back your investment, forget it. It ain't gonna happen. CCR is a different way to dive that's all, and it's expensive to get started. I suppose one could eventually break even, but I don't see it. Nothing wrong with OC, I still do quite a bit of it. But for OW and big cave, it's hard to beat my Meg.

And once you train up on anything, the "devil you don't know" becomes familiar. At some point, you couldn't OC dive either.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Darol]

Captain Bil said:

Deep air? People still do that?

Oh yes they do, and some pay a hell of a price.....
I've dove pretty much everything but a CCR, and have no desire.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Deep air? People still do that? . . .

Oh yes they do, and some pay a hell of a price.....

Uh-huh. . . !!!

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=152727&d=1366162580

 

[mathauck0814]

Uh-huh. . . !!!

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=152727&d=1366162580

pot stirrer

 

[eelnoraa]

Wait a minutes here, this is a totally wrong reason toget into rebreather. It is like you buying a compressor because you feel air fill is expansive, or buy your own dive boat because charter is expansive. The math never work out that way.

keep in mind, rebreather training also cost a lot, maybe even more than OC training at the same level. The running cost of a RB is also higher. The only thing you may save is the some cost helium. I don't know how many tech dive you have to do to offset the initial RB cost.