Boosterpump

Michael Jensen

Hello All.

I a couple of months I will be starting my MOD 1 Inspiration course,
and I have started thinking about getting a Boosterpump.

I have checked out the small Jetsam babybooster, and it looks quite nice.

Have any of you out there, good experience with this Booster?
Or is there other more preffereble models, than the Babybooster?

Should it be airdriven? or electrically driven?

Or do I need a boosterpump at all, for filling the O2 cylinder?
Is it safe to dive with 100bar O2 or less?

It may sound like a bunch of stupid questions, but I am a novice to rebreather diving.

Best Regards

Michael Jensen

Johnny Christensen

I have getting by using only decanting for quite some time. On a good day I could get 130-150 bar and that will last you a long time.
However when you are getting only fills of about a hundred bar or even less, don't count on having much reserve in a emergency. I tried a couple of times after multible O2 flushes on deco to come up with only 10-15 bars remaining. As I don't like cutting it that close, I went the booster route to ensure that I will have sufficient volume.

Rebreathers are by no means cheap in themselves, and all the extra little things to go with them, add to that expence.
It will cost you a fortune... but if you cut corners it may cost your life.

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camerone

I have a Baby Booster, and have been using it for a few months now; I bought one after seeing the dive shop owner take his around to various remote dive sites for a couple of years.

My experience is only with the Jetsam unit, so take it as it is, but I am very, very happy with the unit. It's simple, reliable, and fairly quick to top up my bottles.

The only service I've had to do on my unit (which was used...serial #101) was to re-build the whips, and clean out the reed valve. It was old enough I added a 7 micron Swagelok filter inline, too, but new ones come with that part. For reference, I got the used unit, with a full set of whips with QD fittings, needle valve, and din/oxygen/inert gas fittings on quick disconnects, in a Pelican case, for $1000, which seemed a pretty good price. The Swagelok part is $55 or so, if you get it from a distributor.

It was pumping oxygen just fine when I got it, but wouldn't move trimix... helium leaks through a lot smaller openings, so inability to pump trimix is a good sign you're needing service. Re-doing the whips and cleaning the valve fixed that...if it hadn't, a rebuild kit is very, very cheap at $50 from Jetsam. They were very friendly on the phone to me, too. I was going to rebuild it with new seals straightaway, just due to its age, but they walked me through a few things to try first, and saved me the $50, even.

I use it at home after diving to refill my dil and my oxygen, and just bank premix 21/35 in an old scuba cylinder, and oxygen in another, although I'll shortly be keeping a T bottle of that around here, once I find a decent price on some used steel bottles...

I drive mine from a couple of old aluminum 80s and an old reg. I can usually do six-ish "full" fills of my Evolution bottles from the 80s, more or less. I'll eventually move to a LP shop compressor, but it's hard to justify the price for a decent one when it's $5 a fill for air in the drive cylinders. One note: I don't use my argon reg to drive the booster; the argon reg is purposely detuned to around 80 psi IP... I use an old $5 flea-market special first stage set at 148 psi instead. The low argon reg IP won't let you get a full boost

For me, trimix is hard to come by. My LDS won't pump it, and the shop that does is great, but a bit inconvenient for me to get to regularly, so being able to bank it at home and go once every few months is totally worth the price of admission.

Also, around here, there's fabulous diving off the Washington peninsula, but the dive shops out there are far between and only pump air (and not clean stuff, either...) Having large enough oxygen supplies with me to support two rebreather divers for a full week with reasonable fills from decanting is very inconvenient. Being able to suck the supply tanks dry makes a lot more diving possible.

lof

I have been using Baby booster for more than two years. Rock solid. Compact and lightweight, ideal for travel:
Baby Booster Pump

another option would be the HH booster.
Little heavier and bigger, but solid. Can be driven with air or manually:
Hydraulics International Rebreather Booster for Dive Center and Dive Boat Owners

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Jakub
Golem Gear ShopKeeper
www.golemgear.com

4ster

I am pretty new to boosting (bought mine in August) so take what I say with a grain of salt.

I opted for the Jetsam's Baby Booster too. The cost and the compact size were the deciding factors for me. It is well made and with a few tools you can service it in the field.

So far it has operated without a hitch. I drive it from a 100cf hp steel cylinder. Since I am mixing Nitrox for a SCR I also have a compressor that I can use to fill the drive cylinder. The booster allows me to partial pressure blend with just one O2 cylinder - not necessary to set up a cascade with a booster. It is the most flexible way to mix gas.

Steve

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Steve
"My problem is that I have trouble reconciling my gross habits with my net income." Errol Flynn

JPK

Dear Michael,
in a few days you will see a few new small booster pumps from MAXIMATOR at the tech-diving2006.se at Stockholm. One will be brandnew and the other two are based on well known boosters.
The small one so called ROB22 / ROB22HL (with hand layer - only to boost a small pressure difference) and the new one will be the ROB8-37.
I've a snapshot of each - give a short note so I will send snapshot of each. Because of the just starting Stockholm tech-diving2006.se you should contact maximator.de for more information.
See you
JPK

Kim H

If you are into doing it your self, try this.
http://www.jj-technique.com/Expedition_htm/booster_woodcleaver.htm
I know for sure there is 9 of them out there.
You are welcome to get advice from me.
Best regards.

Johnny Christensen

But not all woodcleavers are created equal... I bought one and in the beginning it would stall around 230 bars. Now I'm getting 150bar and that's it.. So beware, you may have to go thru several components to get some that will do a consistent job.

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Michael Jensen

Thanks to all in the group for sharing your experiences.

This have certainly answared the question weather I need a Boosterpump or not!

As Johnny wrote: Cutting corners may cost lives...

I will definately look around for a Boosterpump!

Best Regards

Michael