Prep.time needed from parking the car and diving

dz3866

Just got back from a two day trip, I spend about one hour at home setting the unit up doing all test and cal, on the boat I do another neg-pos test. We had 21 OC divers and four SK divers, we were first in the water on all dives, when your partner is set up the same, computer, bailout, rebreather, on boat buddy checks go fast and then you splash.

denka

Ok, so it al depens on the preps you do at home. It seems a good idea to do the checks at home, no one to bother you . Disinfecting takes most of the time. I always thougt that after a dive you should desinfect but thats not the case. Any of you have experience with the pelagian??

Off to get some sleep

Dennis

JonnyB

Hi Dennis, i usually do 90% of my preparation at home before i leave. And when i get to the dive site i am usually in the water before the OC divers and out of the water at around the time they get in for their second dive of the day. That is included 1hour surface interval.

It does not take long to get the unit ready, do as much as possible ahead!

/Jonny

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tekdiver170

In order to make the boats I dive on here in Hawaii we have to be at the dock at 7:30am. Since I am not a morning person until at least two cups of coffee or a dive I am not about to set my unit up the morning of the dive. I know myself and I would sleepwalk through it, bad idea. It usually takes me around 30min-45mins to set up and do ALL my checks the night before the dive. This doesn't include the hour+ positive checks where I do other things and come back to check on the unit.

Then morning of the dive I board the boat and do one last quick check on the neg, pos, cells, cal.,batt, mushroom valves and 3-5 min prebreath. All of this takes about 10 min and I do it as the boat is driving to the dive site so I can be the first in the water since everyone else is on OC with a 26min dive time I'm getting 45min.

But since all my gear is already setup before I board the boat while I'm doing my final checks the OC divers are putting their gear together, and I'm still beating them into the water.

Rebreatherlab

Hi Denka,

The Pelagian is similar to other rebreathers in time requirements. Packing the Pelagian scrubber takes a bit longer than other units in the beginning as the exhale tube is off center, but with a bit of practice it is done in 10 minutes. The standard scrubber is good for 4 hrs in cold water or 6 hrs in warm water.

After a days diving the whole unit is soaked in water to dissolve salt crystals for 20 minutes. You fill tanks if needed and soak the breathing hose and lungs in a bath of water and dissinfectant for another 20 minutes.
I actually only rinse the loop with fresh water in between diving days and only disinfect after a series of diving days are completed. With rental units this is not good practice, though.
As you can do other stuff during the rinsing I dont feel it is taking so much time.

Generally you need to spend more time on set up and checks with CCRs than OC, but with some experience checks are done quite fast.

Filling tanks is very quick, but if can not do it yourself, it obviously depends on the distance to your local dive shop. Many divers rent a 50 ltr. O2 supply tank from the local gas company and use a twin set as an air / mix bank and then only transfill for a couple of months before they need to get new fills.

You should not get into rebreather diving with a time restraint. You need to devote time to make sure all steps are completed and done properly.
If you detect a failure the time required to correct it varies a lot. It could range from a few seconds to waiting for replacement parts from a manufacturer for weeks. Most of the Pelagian were and tear parts can be replaced with standard items and some can be made from house hold items for easy field repairs.

All the best,

Andy

denka

Thanks for the info, prep.time is longer but the dive's more rewording than with OC .

Andy, did Andrew pass for his MOD1 I am waiting for his report on the pelagian.

Groeten Dennis

denka

[quote=Rebreatherlab;116871]Hi Denka,

The Pelagian is similar to other rebreathers in time requirements. Packing the Pelagian scrubber takes a bit longer than other units in the beginning as the exhale tube is off center, but with a bit of practice it is done in 10 minutes. The standard scrubber is good for 4 hrs in cold water or 6 hrs in warm water.


Andy, why is the exhale tube off center, better WOB or better use off scrubber?? Or is it a design feature?

Dennis

Rebreatherlab

Hi Denka,

The exhale tube is off center as the scrubber is very compact. If the exhale tube would be in the center like on a Meg, then three cells and ADV would not fit in the position required for the instant cell validation to work. Cosmetically I also like the symmetrical look. If the exhale is in the center then the inhale would be either on the left or right. Again, the extra time for scrubber packing is just the first few times. After some practice you can do it quickly. On the other hand all hose connectors are quick lock so there is no fighting with over tightened threads or risk of cross threading.
On a cold day with cold hands this might save you some assembly time!

Yes, Andrew passed his course a few days ago and seemed happy enough.

All the best,

Andy

[quote=denka;117179]

Freef

I assemble the night before, from a box of bits to ready to go takes about 20-30 minutes, on site [or waiting for the boat] it's a pos and neg check, O2 sensor cal and flow direction.

Prebreathe is walking down to the water or just before getting in.

From box to ready to go on the twins and 2 sidemounts is about 10 min, including suiting up.

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