Who should use a CCR?

[Compressor]

If one wants to get into this via the Hollis route: Should one plump down the 8k and get the Prism2 from the onset or get the explorer 2?

Thanks

 

[RainPilot]

Costs me around 15$ for sorb, around 8 for an O2 fill and 3 for a dil fill, that's 3L tanks.

That will get me 3 hours of dive time on my unit. rEvo units tend to be more economical with the sorb because of the 2 scrubber system, but honestly 15 a day is just fine with me.

The explorer afaik is a SCR unit only, all the disadvantages of a CCR without many of the advantages. All things considered I can't find a compelling user case for the Explorer.

 

[victorzamora]

The basics of the math are essentially one pound per hour of sorb and one liter per minute of oxygen. Dil and sensors and servicing isn't quite as easy or straight forward to figure up.

 

[victorzamora]

I agree with RainPilot on the Prism over the Explorer....i really don't understand it.

One question, though: why the Hollis route?

 

[The Chairman]

It's a bit cheaper per hour. Do trimix and the it's a whole lot cheaper.

 

[Compressor]

One question, though: why the Hollis route?

Obviously I am inexperienced in RBs. I had learned that they are good RBs. But perhaps I am ignorant of the facts.

It's a bit cheaper per hour. Do trimix and the it's a whole lot cheaper.

Seriously? I thought He was expensive as its is difficult to sequester except on the planet Jupiter.

 

[Tug]

Roughly I figure it's about $10 per hour but the costs fluctuate because you can transfill dil and oxygen off full cylinders

--EDIT-- this isn't taking into account consumables like cells, sanitizer, etc

Seriously? I thought He was expensive as its is difficult to sequester except on the planet Jupiter.

I'm assuming he means compared to an OC trimix dive

 

[RainPilot]

It's a bit cheaper per hour. Do trimix and the it's a whole lot cheaper.

There's a 300' u-boat dive out here I have been considering working my way up to.

I could buy a Poseidon 7, do the tech progression and work up dives at 60m, 80m, 90m and then the 110m dive. If I then after the dive dropped the rebreather into the ocean and sailed away, the whole exercise including training costs and the written off rebreather would be cheaper than just my gas bills for the work up dives on OC.

 

[Diver0001]

This question came up in another thread.

Should CCRs only be used for dives that can’t easily be done on open circuit, or is it a reasonable option for an experienced open water diver? I’m thinking about this because a very experienced diver insulted me for making the switch without needing a CCR as the only tool for the job. At first, I was annoyed. But then again, maybe he is right?

I’m a relatively new CCR diver after a number of years of OC diving, including AN/deco in the northeast United States, with a little over 900 dives.

I am really enjoying my rebreather. I find the technical aspects fascinating and I like the challenge of the new skills and protocols. I like long dives with warm gas. I like having extra time underwater to deal with some problems. I like not having to haul two sets of double 119s around, with two trips each week in the season to a dive shop in midtown traffic. I’m looking foreward to doing mod 2 in the future, so that I can get back to staged decompression. I have found a great community of CCR divers who are very eager to help new people. I haven’t noticed much of a difference in the response of fish life to me in my rebreather.

On the other hand, I don’t plan on doing any dives that I couldn’t do on open circuit. I don’t want to do cave diving, or wrecks so deep that the volume of carried gas becomes a limiting factor.

Was he right? Is this just extra risk with no significant benefit? Am I just playing techie dress-up make pretend?

Well.... I don't care who uses a CCR but it's not for me.

I have a number of buddies who use them because they dive regularly with Trimix and it's the right tool for that job in terms of keeping your deco obligations optimal and your gas prices within reason and logic. Personally, for all of the Trimix diving I do I'll just stick with OC and do the extra hang-time unless I ever move somewhere with a dive site or two that makes using Trimix on a regular basis really compelling. And that kind of tips my hand because I think the only divers who really need (or can get their money's worth) out of a CCR are Trimix divers.

For me it's not even an option I would remotely consider. OC is much more forgiving. I just put it on and go diving and forget that I'm even on scuba unless something really unforeseen happens. I absolutely hate the idea of having to dive with a bit of gear that will try to kill me if I don't have the beast fully reigned in at every single moment.

Personally I was cured of any future plans for diving a rebreather when Rob Davie (who was a highly experienced rebreather diver) died puddle stomping with his in the Red Sea in 2006. I'm not sure it ever came out what really happened but I was shocked to reality by that. I had a poignant email exchange with his wife after that and I realized that in terms of personality I don't have anywhere near the discipline that he did and if he could die using one of those things then I'm not touching one with a 10 foot pole.

R..

 

[Diver0001]

Oh... I should add to that that I do dive with people using rebreathers on a regular basis so I have had to learn a thing or two about them at the "squares on white-board" level because we needed to understand the limitations of them and develop procedures to "rescue" them in a "mixed" team if their mental acuity was less than 100% on any given day.

R..