Where should I start to approach the rebreather world

[Nico-ITA]

Question : revo or JJ for cold waters and why

 

[broncobowsher]

Did rEvo ever officially come out with there cold water version? I remember seeing some hype about it a couple years ago.

 

[Heat Miser]

Thanks everyone for the comments, I didn't think I would get so much feedback.

How much weight would you give to this in the reb choice?

Thanks!

Its easier if you have buddies that dive similar units, because there is a scarcity of classes/instructors the higher you go and other buddies can help you fine tune aspects of your rebreather. I'm not certain there are GUE JJ instructors in Australia, there are 2 rEvo instructors and probably a handful of standard rigged JJ instructors, including RAID which may want their rebreathers rigged a certain way. Regardless a lot are going to be looking at the GUE.JJ rigging sayin why?

For example on your GUE rigged JJ do you have a BOV or don't you? Hopefully your buddy has already debated the merits and it saves you quite a bit expense or trial and error. In Perth there is a fair bit of cross rebreather buddying. I just came back from a trip where I'm on a rEvo and I buddied with a SubMatix and an Inspo. ... Its not a problem I just make certain I know where their dil manual add valve is, how the rebreathers controlled, (left hand/right hand/Nerd) and where the valve shutdowns are, bailout and/or BOV.

But when there is a problem with a build my first port of call is my Instructor, the second is the group in Perth that also have rEvo's. Facebook is good too. Scubaboard is more entertainment with the odd nugget of value.

 

[rjack321]

Question : revo or JJ for cold waters and why

Both are heavy as heck so that's helpful in cold water.

The JJ is far more versatile, can change your configuration fairly easily (an option to match your GUE buddies), has an actual functional ADV, doesnt have 5 cells (the man with 5 watches doesnt know what time it is anymore than the man with 3). My only nitpick with the JJ is the odd solenoid that expects a non-standard IP and the head to tube connection which likes to accumulate grit.

Revo, less flood tolerant, can't change your setup to match your GUE buddies, ADV is useless, the mCCR version has a terrible non-servicable orifice, CLs can't be user serviced. 5 cells... Has the dual scrubbers which are about the only positive feature IMO.

 

[tbone1004]

@rjack321 and for whatever reason is really foot heavy and doesn't play nice when you're in thin wetsuits or a bathing suit

 

[BlueTrin]

For the savings on, say ten 60m dives a year totalling $2k for gas on OC, $300 for gas and sorb on CCR, you have to factor in the purchase cost inc. training and extra kit, say $20k plus the annual maintenence, say $500, plus the ~2 hours pre-dive prep time on CCR per day of diving.

For your dive profiles, you dive CCR because you want to, not because you have to.

It's a heart not head decision.

Do it, you know you want to

What are the two hours of prep time required for a CCR?

 

[rjack321]

@rjack321 and for whatever reason is really foot heavy and doesn't play nice when you're in thin wetsuits or a bathing suit

I've never understood if its foot heavy or head light. My guess is the latter, but yes has some uniquely wacky trim issues which commonly require blocks of lead behind your head.

 

[rjack321]

What are the two hours of prep time required for a CCR?

Do you want to live or die? Assemble it wrong, have a leaky flapper valve, poor scrubber packing, uncalibrated, poorly calibrated, non-linear cells etc. You are rolling the dice with any CCR.

Every CCR comes with a build checklist. 2 hours is realistic if you're analyzing all your gases, packing the scrubbers, building, calibrating, post dive disassembly and cleaning. Less if some steps are completed already or yesterday, or skipped cause you're diving tomorrow.

 

[BlueTrin]

Do you want to live or die? Assemble it wrong, have a leaky flapper valve, poor scrubber packing, uncalibrated, poorly calibrated, non-linear cells etc. You are rolling the dice with any CCR.

Every CCR comes with a build checklist. 2 hours is realistic if you're analyzing all your gases, packing the scrubbers, building, calibrating, post dive disassembly and cleaning. Less if some steps are completed already or yesterday, or skipped cause you're diving tomorrow.

Out of curiosity what would be your prep time if you dived tomorrow:

• What do you do the day before and how long does it take?
• What has to be done on the day of the dive and how much prep time you need?
• What do you need to do on the boat before the dive?

I am quite meticulous and wouldn’t skip anything but I would like to hear it from someone experienced because I think I’ll buy one when I have more experience.

Do you use a JJ?

 

[tbone1004]

Out of curiosity what would be your prep time if you dived tomorrow:

• What do you do the day before and how long does it take?
• What has to be done on the day of the dive and how much prep time you need?
• What do you need to do on the boat before the dive?

I am quite meticulous and wouldn’t skip anything but I would like to hear it from someone experienced because I think I’ll buy one when I have more experience.

Do you use a JJ?

Day before-60mins
Pack Scrubber
Analyze gases
Fully assemble unit, o-ring clean/lube, etc etc
Check cells

Day of-15minutes
If you dive a Meg, turn the head on..... *everyone who has ever dove an old Meg and has forgotten to turn it on before you start predive checks is either brand new or a liar....* basically everything else turns on from the handsets which is nice.
Negative check
Positive check with O2-doubles as calibration verification


Breakdown-30mins
Rinse loop out
Pull scrubber out to dry
Clean any o-rings from grit

Subsequent day
Analyze gas
Day of assembly -may include packing scrubber depending on if it's depleted or not

Grand total is probably 2 hours and about 90mins more than OC takes, but it's not that bad at all and that's if you're going slow.