What did you learn about CCR selection after ___X___hours?

[lostsheep]

I’ve seen no shortage of suggestions for new CCR divers to buy a used unit and to get experience up to __X__ hours so that an educated decision can be made about a long term unit.

I went into CCR blind with a chop and ~2.5 years later I don’t regret it. I didn’t have the benefit of other CCR divers to affect my decision. I went with the Chop because of its modular nature which appeals to my inclination to tinker. I certainly have my opinions about its strengths and weaknesses but am genuinely curious what the more experienced here think. FWIW, I now have buddies which dive BM optimas, Liberty SM, Liberty BM, JJs, Prisms, and Megs.

Serious questions: what do you expect newbies to learn? What did you learn? What did I miss?

 

[Wibble]

There’s obviously the basics of piloting a rebreather, skills & drills. Plenty of hours required for that.

Then there’s reaping the benefits from CCR doing more challenging diving, deeper, longer, harder, better gas.

Am very happy with my unit and have no plans to change it. As with most pastimes, am interested in other peoples experiences with their units, much like I’m interested in house designs but am very happy with the one I live in.

 

[happy-diver]

So what's your unit a 747

 

[RedSeaDiver2]

So what's your unit a 747

Wibble dives a 737 Max

 

[Wibble]

Wibble dives a 737 Max

Not really as its not that automated. Like those new cars with white line recognition that nudge the steeing wheel if it, the non-intelligent 'puter failing to work in narrow rural roads and steers you into the curb.

A Revo is like a 707; a little bit automated, but fundamentally manual.


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The 747 mention confused me. All I could think of was that old Aussie joke:

What’s the difference between a 747 and a Pommie?

The 747 stops whining when it reaches Sydney airport.

 

[RedSeaDiver2]

N

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The 747 mention confused me. All I could think of was that old Aussie joke:

What’s the difference between a 747 and a Pommie?

The 747 stops whining when it reaches Sydney airport.

Captain Wibble - I think he was referring to the bit where you mentioned piloting a rebreather - but I could be wrong.

 

[Wibble]

Is the term "piloting" a rebreather not appropriate? A pilot safely guides ships into ports. A rebreather needs a person to continually monitor them and resolve any issues that arise; like a pilot.

 

[bubblemonkey2]

Some things I have learned after a few years

1. Under normal operating conditions, a lot of the options are quite similar because of the fundamental way CCR works
2. Few if any modern offerings are lethally deficient anymore, yay
3. But the devil is in the details, so unit-specific training and "how do I avoid killing myself today" routines still mandated
4. Longer term you have to wonder about availability of parts etc
5. Often your best option will be influenced by whoever your best instructor option is and whom you will be diving with
6. So called 'heavy' units are actually not that much heavier (or at all) if you're in a drysuit, because you need that weight (actually density) anyway to sink
7. So many new lite/travel/tropics options to choose from now/soon!

 

[kissonerga.ccr]

Often your best option will be influenced by whoever your best instructor option is and whom you will be diving with

That‘d be the top of my list.

Another consideration is how air travel friendly the unit needs to be. Or – should you have more than one, to cover the spectrum?

With a new machine, the first 100 hours or so are mostly trouble free. Lots of learning actually happens once things start to misbehave

 

[Wibble]

What I learned in moving to CCR…

• There’s a lot more to CCR than open circuit which seems very simple in comparison
• There’s far more preparation required prior to diving. This preparation has to be careful and fastidious as skipping steps can be dangerous. Checklists are highly recommended to avoid errors.
• The unit needs periodic deeper cleaning and sterilisation which is tedious
• After a day’s diving the unit needs basic cleaning; loop, lungs, etc.
• Buoyancy eventually returns.
• You must run through pre-dive and pre-jump checklists
• There’s so much stuff that needs monitoring during a dive
• Ascents are very busy and must be controlled. Practice ascents as they’re the hardest part of CCR diving.
• Bailouts are necessary
• Be prepared. Crap will happen.
• Complacency will result in crap happening
• Allow a year at least to get used to your beast
• CCR is more expensive for maintenance
• CCR is lovely to dive. Quiet, seemingly infinite gas, lots of helium, buoyancy stability is lovely on the bottom.
• You will swim around things, not over them
• A self-inflating SMB on a big heavy reel is almost essential for decompression ascents