What is "recreational" rebreather, and any recommendations?

[broncobowsher]

The"recreational" or "Type R" rebreather is defined at this page, halfway down: Rebreathers | PADI
...

A pre-packaged scrubber so you don't have to mix chemicals.
I'm not sure what chemicals they are putting in the scrubber, but you probably don't want to be inhaling those PADI vapors.

You can dive a technical rebreather recreationally just fine. But the recreational rebreather will be up for sale on Add Helium as you are shopping for a full feature rebreather to replace it later.

The marketing to make an idiotproof rebreather just makes there divers better idiots. I can think of an old Poseidon "accident" where the controller was displaying "DO NOT DIVE" and they started the dive anyway. The controller tried firing off solenoids and everything it could to save the diver's butt. They didn't make it. There is always a better idiot.

Probably the biggest push for a recreational rebreather was the Hollis Explorer. One of the descriptions I remember about it, All of the problems of a rebreather with none of the benefits. There are a lot of those sitting around collecting dust. Abandoned by Hollis when they were bought out, no service parts. And the controllers are known for going out.

Back to the original question, everything has a heads up display. That is your warning. Your training is how you understand the warning. It can't stop you from ignoring the warning. Hopefully you understand the warning, back to the training part. Bailing out is also part of the training. Regardless if it is a BOV with a turn of the lever or twist of a knob, or a simple diver surface valve and a separate regulator.

You will need to be proficient in Nitrox diving. Doesn't matter what version of a rebreather you have, it is all Nitrox diving.

 

[davehicks]

A pre-packaged scrubber so you don't have to mix chemicals.
I'm not sure what chemicals they are putting in the scrubber, but you probably don't want to be inhaling those PADI vapors.

You can dive a technical rebreather recreationally just fine. But the recreational rebreather will be up for sale on Add Helium as you are shopping for a full feature rebreather to replace it later.

The marketing to make an idiotproof rebreather just makes there divers better idiots. I can think of an old Poseidon "accident" where the controller was displaying "DO NOT DIVE" and they started the dive anyway. The controller tried firing off solenoids and everything it could to save the diver's butt. They didn't make it. There is always a better idiot.

Probably the biggest push for a recreational rebreather was the Hollis Explorer. One of the descriptions I remember about it, All of the problems of a rebreather with none of the benefits. There are a lot of those sitting around collecting dust. Abandoned by Hollis when they were bought out, no service parts. And the controllers are known for going out.

Back to the original question, everything has a heads up display. That is your warning. Your training is how you understand the warning. It can't stop you from ignoring the warning. Hopefully you understand the warning, back to the training part. Bailing out is also part of the training. Regardless if it is a BOV with a turn of the lever or twist of a knob, or a simple diver surface valve and a separate regulator.

You will need to be proficient in Nitrox diving. Doesn't matter what version of a rebreather you have, it is all Nitrox diving.

+1 to that. Avoid SCR unless you like to invest in disappointment. Go on some dive excursions with CCR divers and talk to them. Watch then dive and set up their gear. I am sure they will be happy to share with you.

 

[happy-diver]

With no fanfare nor any qualifications whatsoever
I built this in the laundry and dive it recreationally

and any other ally I choose

 

[tbone1004]

@broncobowsher the only unit that as stock uses pre-packed scrubbers now is the O2ptima. Poseidon has discontinued use of their prepacked scrubbers *which were better than the ones that Dive Rite uses, but I believe they considered it environmentally irresponsible since they were single use plastic items*.

 

[JohnnyC]

"Recreational" rebreather is marketing wank only. PADI wanted to popularize an idea that there was a subset of rebreathers that would be safe to use for people who realistically weren't responsible enough to actually dive rebreathers. The problem is, the same things that kill people on every other rebreather, also kills people on "recreational" rebreathers, because they're the same damn thing. They wanted to engineer out the qualities that make bad CCR divers, inattentiveness, lackadaisical attitude, etc. The problem is, that rebreather can be yelling and screaming and buzzing and vibrating, and a diver will still breathe the thing into unconsciousness. Instead of trying to use technology to improve the design and function, they wanted to use technology to design out user error, which still relies on the user actually doing what you think they are going to do.

They required various levels of automation, initially required pre-packed ExtendAir units (because apparently being incapable of doing something as dirt simple as packing a scrubber is not a disqualifier for diving a rebreather), but hey, the Hollis Explorer was so safe that 75% of the time it wouldn't even let you in the water! Sure, hyperbole, but they had a very well documented failure rate. The benefit was that they'd fail on the surface, so you'd never get the chance to die on one in the water. If you can find a working one you can get up to 3 times the bottom time by gas volume, less (not zero) bubbles, and still have to carry a bailout cylinder. But at least you kinda look like a storm trooper, which I will always support.

Pick a rebreather based on the features you want, learn to dive it, and don't rely on some made up "classification" of rebreathers to keep you safe. Since you don't know what features you want, go try dive a bunch. Then get the one you want and learn how to dive it.

 

[Vicko]

I never understood people who get a rebreather for dives that they can accomplish with the single bailout stage that they are carrying with that rebreather.

A used, ready to dive Inspiration can be found for 3-3.5k and it's a unit that you will (probably) never outgrow.
Or, you can spend double the money on a recreational rebreather that you will outgrow if you plan to do any deco dives.

Personally, do try dives with lots of units and see what fits you. It may take a year or two but no internet recommendations will beat that, and in the end your wallet will be happier.

 

[doctormike]

I am interested in a rebreather for my underwater photography. Not interested in extreme tech or cave diving, more interested in the "silent" aspect.

So,what is meant by a "recreational" rebreather? What brands/models does this mean? Why and how are they simpler to use than a "non-recreational" rebreather? I want something relatively simple, where if there is an issue it warns me, I have a bailout valve connected, and can end the dive safely, as opposed to trying to "fix" the issue at depth.

Any advice to get my research going would be appreciated!

JohnnyC said it best - it's not like there are "recreational" rebreathers that are simple and "technical" rebreathers that are complex. If anything, the reverse is true. The few SCRs that have been marketed as recreational rebreathers are much more complex than my JJ, which (even though I don't do this) is a tool used by people doing some of the most challenging dives around. One of the reasons that I picked the JJ (apart from my instructor) was that is is really very simple and built like a tank.

With any rebreather, you always have the option of bailing out to open circuit. There are two approaches to this - the bailout valve (which is what you are describing, and which can be put on any rebreather) and a dive/surface valve (which is simpler, but which does require you to switch to a different mouthpiece when bailing out). There are arguments for both, but the choice of bailing out or trying to fix things at depth is the same choice no matter what you are diving.

I always have my camera with me, I mainly dive for photography. I haven't noticed huge difference with the sea life interaction, but some people say there is. I wouldn't go CCR just for that, IMHO.

I'm assuming that you are asking the question in good faith, and I hope that you don't think that I'm being snarky. But if you really are starting this project with the idea that you aren't going to want to try to figure out what is going on in any failure scenario, and aren't willing to develop the skills and experience to go beyond "red light - bail out!", then you might not be a great candidate for rebreather training. Not only do these machines require a big monetary outlay for gear and training, but they require a commitment to a very different approach to diving.

 

[doctormike]

I never understood people who get a rebreather for dives that they can accomplish with the single bailout stage that they are carrying with that rebreather.

I'm one of those people. I just really enjoy rebreather diving. I like the science, the gear, the quiet, the gas efficiency, the deco efficiency. I like not carting around two sets of doubles and deco bottles every weekend. I just like talking about them and reading about them. Switching to CCR has really revitalized my interest in diving.

Unless we are getting paid to dive, we are all doing this for fun. We don't need to accomplish anything, we are just enjoying the sport.

Personally, do try dives with lots of units and see what fits you. It may take a year or two but no internet recommendations will beat that, and in the end your wallet will be happier.

I actually found try-dives not that helpful prior to certification, because I really didn't understand what I was comparing. That's why I did the training first on a rental unit, and bought my CCR afterwards.

 

[taimen]

I actually found try-dives not that helpful prior to certification, because I really didn't understand what I was comparing. That's why I did the training first on a rental unit, and bought my CCR afterwards.

I second this. There is too much new stuff going on so can't really appreciate the _important_ differences between units.
There are many good rebreathers around, so i'd pick the one which is the most common in your area and among your buddies. For me it was JJ.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

Alternatively, have you considered a Kraken dual hose regulator? This will put the exhaust bubbles back behind your head. It's not rebreather silent, but it will get those noisy bubbles away from your face and camera.

I dive a Kraken now and really love it (have about 100 dives on it). The no-bubbles-in-your-face experience is just great. But, they are not quiet and can scare off animals similarly to a standard reg . . .