Beginner Questions

matt215

I have been diving a few years and really am considering a rebreather. My motivation for this is to help with photography. I have a few questions because I have very little knowledge about rebreathers

where do you get training?
how much does a full closed system cost?
can you rent them? Is this advisable?
do most dive boats allow you to dive with a rebreather or do you have to go to special operations?
is this a really technical system to learn?
is it heavy?
etc.

any other advice for someone considering a rebreather would be gratly appreciated. thanks.

wedivebc

Hey Matt,
I hate to be the one to do this but I suggest you do some seaching and lurking on this board and you will find all the answers to these questions.
Welcome to Rebreather World and I am sure you will find hours of interesting reading.

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Cheers,

Dave....

Man is the only animal burdened with the knowledge he will eventually die

almity1

What Dave said, and get a copy of Mastering Rebreathers while you are at it.

You can get it from Amazon.

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Cheers
almity1 - http://www.almity1.com

Monkey

Training can come from a host of places..... the manufacturer for some units like the MEG, or but most are done by individuals authorized by agency's like IANTD.

a unit can cost new from arround 7K up to 15K +.... but there are other costs beyond the Unit ..... bailout bottles, Gas analysers, booster pumps, SORB, CELLS, Computers, a good light can set you back 1K or more

used units can be had for 5 K..... and training wil cost 3K all in


and RENT??? not in a million years.... and hardly advisable..

and most dive boats DO NOT ALLOW REBREATHERS... but they are coming arround... Boats that cater to Tech diving usually do and dive boats that cater to once a year recreational divers... will refuse to even speak to you... its ignorace...


and is it technical???? that's an uderstatement....

and heavy??? less than a set of doubles..but more than a single AL 80... some more or less than others..


hope this helps...

kieranu

Hunt around the forum like has been said in previous posts.

To address some of the earlier points raised:

1) Some of the extra equipment you may need depends on your current experience. If you already have Nitrox experience (a prerequisite for most rebreather courses) you will not need a special computer. Sure, this will give you less bottom time but it won't prevent you being able to dive. To dives to 40m, I use a standard Nitrox computer (with up to 3 gas mixes set) as a backup and I haven't bent it yet. In fact, if you plan your dives properly with tables / dive planning software you don't really need a computer at all unless you need to abort a dive early and don't want to have to sit through every planned deco stop.

2) As above, you can use the same gas analyser used for measuring Nitrox in open circuit SCUBA for gas analysis for rebreather diving.

3) You don't need a special light just because you're diving a rebreather, whatever lighting setup you use for your normal photography diving will be perfectly adequate when diving with a rebreather.

4) Booster pump is only required if you're filling your own O2 and/or need a certain amount of O2 in your cylinders for an extended dive or number of dives. You can usually get about 150 bar of O2 into a cylinder without a booster, which with a typical 19cft cylinder will be good for roughly 3 dives or 3 hours of diving.

5) Renting may be possible in some situations, but likely to be expensive as it will most likely mean someone is loaning out their personal kit.

6) Entry-level training costs for most CCRs are around the $1000-$1500 mark + boat costs. There will be additional costs if you do not already meet certain prerequisites (usually advanced Nitrox training, i.e. training with Nitrox mixes over 40%).

7) A set of cells will be $200-$300 for a set of 3 and while they are not entirely reliable are usually covered by a 12 month warranty and are typically changed annually (so good for a years worth of diving essentially).

8) And whether a boat will allow for rebreather divers will depend entirely on the operator and where you are.

scubagrunt

try and find a rebreather experience and go to it. you will learn a lot and get to see and play with all the units. most people find these events helpful.
mel

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"No good deed goes unpunished!"
www.silentscuba.com

Abbo

Rebreathers are especially attractive for photographers because, most of the time, they don't produce bubbles. However, they require far more attention than OC. You have to watch them all the time: on pain of death. For that reason, bear in mind that for the first 50-100 hours you would be advised not to take a camera with you.

The median cost of a unit is probably around $10k, but you'd probably spend $1.5k getting trained. Just like with getting married, you feel financially drained after getting hitched, then there's a honeymooon period, then the real costs start to hit you. You never finish paying.

Don't let that put you off, but make sure you know what you're getting yourself into before you get yourself hitched!

caveseeker7

You'll also want to have a look in our library.
Several articles there for people new to rebreathers,
as well as many of the units that are availabe.

Many of the manufacturers have prices listed on their
websites, from the little Sport Kiss (Jetsam) to the
mighty Ouroboros (Closed Circuit Research), with the
Megalodon (Innerspace) and PRISM (Steam Machines)
in between.

The latter, by the way, is made locally to you, outside
Lebanon, TN. You might just want to give them a call
and visit. Have done it many times when they were
still in CA a few years back.

Other than that, I also recommend to attend one of the
rebreather intros. Advanced Diving Magazine holds them
every once in a while around the country, most often
probably in Florida. Great experience, great fun.
Did several, you can find the article in the library.

Some manufacturers also have the instructors listed
on their website, and once you decided on a unit you
can always ask here for recommendations.

__________________
Cheers
Stefan



"It is still a good day if you are on the green side of the grass!

Su amigo Roberto!"

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Monkey

holy crap... I jsut realized I have 2 wives....