Megaladon Versus Optima Fx

jradomski

The acrylic units were available for several years with very few problems.. The al handsets came out to fix a perceived problem that didnt exist (people were using the HH very deep and were not filling it with oil - so kevin wanted a stronger handset)..

He first chose nikel plated al, the original batch worked good, but he found out that most machineists cant plate nikel to the specs needed for salt water immersion so he went to hard annodizing that even someone could do in their garage..

He went back to a plastic to bring the weight back down and do away with any chance of corrosion.. Once he got the little issues down the hard annodized units were fine.. Remember from the time he released them to the time the problems were fixed was less than 6 months (and REAL problems (not cosmetic) were only on a small number of units).. It took delta p much longer than this to fix the problems with al and the vr3..

The al handsets unfortunately only had a few months of testing before being released to the public due to pressure to get handsets out in the field.. The first delrin units were starting to be tested in 2006 (and released mid 2007) so they were a planned change..

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Joe Radomski
CCR Trimix Instructor Trainer
ANDI Instructor Trainer Director #10

All posts are personal opinions and DO NOT reflect any affiliated agency unless specifically stated.

Muzz

How many hours hours do you have on your Meg?
Steve

Barfab

Funny!

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World is a....Rebreather!

ScubaDadMiami

I didn't buy my rebreather from Tom Mount. I bought it somewhere else, but I certainly trusted his opinion because he dives, trains on and owns pretty much all of them.

Second, I certainly would not train with someone that I didn't trust with my life or whose honesty I would question when it comes to decisions concerning my training and equipment. Perhaps that's where "[y]ou and I are completely different," as you put it.

Last, I researched as much as anyone can before making my decision. If you subscribe to Advanced Diver Magazine, it just so happens that I wrote an article, which appears in Issue 25, the details the extensive research I conducted in reaching my decision. My conversation with Tom came after I completed this reseach, because I wanted to know what I was talking about before this consultation.

You're right. That's the only testing out there. The military buys Micropore products without any testing, and they throw them into submarines because the technology looks pretty and sounds cool. Why bother testing, right?

Now we get down to the real reason: it's a few bucks cheaper. Well, I am willing to pay a few bucks more to virtually eliminate the chance of a caustic cocktail and because my scrubber is packed 100 percent the same from use to use.

There's a reason why Bozanic's book calls packing sorb "an art." The fact that I can change out the EAC in a rolling boat in a minute or so is just a big plus. Its the safety and consistency that is the critical reason for my decision to use the EAC, not just the convenience.

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Howard Packer
IANTD CCR Instructor
Miami Beach, Florida
CCRDiveTraining.com

Jordan

Bottoms of tanks are made thicker, so the inevitable corrosion inside or outside of the bottom of a tank isn't as much of a big deal as it would be say on the sidewall or neck of a tank. If some surface/flash rust occurs on the bottoms of my tanks so be it...it makes my life easier to use boots and makes the boat crews lives easier. We are all so damned paranoid nowadays....(me included, don't get me wrong!...I have my good days and my bad days). Same is true for Meg vs Opt. There are pluses and minuses for both.

The OP for this thread could've given us a tad more direction for all of our responses, which would've really helped our understanding of the subject and all of our posts regarding the topic. He is in a country where he has limited resources when it comes to what Rebreather he can learn from. Apparently, his inst teaches both meg and opt and he has decided to learn one or the other. Most people gave him, IMO, the best advice when they said to go with the unit that will give him the best support/ability to buy consumables and support in his locale.

I am done looking at this waste of time thread.

Cheers

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Is it clear? No. Well, let's go anyways.

"Those who would sacrifice a little freedom for a little order, will lose both, and deserve neither." Thomas Jefferson

decoweenie

Isn't this a little bit over-dramatic ?

josping

For your information, the european dealer of dive rite can now provide the cartridge and the optima (althought the later is officially for exportation only).

I had a nice talk with him on the phone, my only complain about his service is that he is not too reactive to emails.

Gui

mverick

Oh God. You have to name drop now. LOL...

Well, OK.

My Meg with Shearwater was sitting at the bottom of Tom Mounts pool for a pretty long time. He wanted to see if it would flood. LOL....... Never did.... And that's a true story. Don't know what other testing he did with it. Don't really care. And no, he didn't own it.

So, big deal.

Tom Mount is a Outstanding Diver. Very diciplined. But, is he a materials engineer or someone who I'd want to do final design work on a Rebreather. Don't know. Will he dive anything. Yep.

And yes, if you did training on it with Tom. DiveRite knows. It does help him. If he never did any training on it do you think he'd get free ones? Uhmm, NO. He wouldn't.

I haven't heard Tom put down ANY rebreather in a Long time. LOL.... They all have there place.....

And on not trusting there judgement. Oh, they do it all the time my friend. I've met them that don't know there head from there butt. Instructor doesn't mean he has any engineering know how. And, Engineer doesn't mean he has any engineering know how either. Most of the high level instructors are FRIENDS with Dive Rite, Halcyon, Meg, Prism, Yadda, Yadda, Yadda. Get gear to test. So, why risk pissing off there buddy. Just state the positives and on the negatives, MINIMALIZE them.

As far as NAVY testing for subs go. Completely different enviroment. I guess they'd be worried if the whole sub flooded if they could recover the Micropore's. LOL.... Sorry, for diving it was the Optima that did the testing. The Dolphin's were so few and far between they don't even register on the map.

I read a lot of papers. Funny how they usually get it wrong ain't it. And with all the advertising in Magazines they aren't going to give a definative answer about any unit. I read them for the diving. Not for the testing. LOL... To me, they could just post the pretty pictures of the units and there broken down components. What the testers say is usually bunk.

The Real reason isn't it's a few bucks cheaper. The real reason is it's an unneeded fix. I can pack a scrubber. No problemo. I have no problem throwing away sorb. And, I can put a large or small scubber in my unit. No matter what, sorb that goes in the unit get's thrown away. I don't risk using it again.

Why would I need to put sorb in my scrubber on a rocking boat? I fill it before I go out and get 6 hours on it. Have more then one scrubber too. You doing longer then 6 hour dives? Heck, how many times have you filled a scrubber? You find it's SO DANGEROUS. The NAVY has filled the 15 for a long time and seems to not have problems with that either. They might use micropores for subs but they don't have enough testing or trust in them to have there Rebreather designed around them do they? There waiting for the testing to come in.

Want to know what was dangerous. Releasing Micropores based on in lab tests and testing from 10 or so test dummies. And, then, allowing DiveRite to test them for what was supposed to be a cave diving Rebreather. With all of about 20 divers for all of about 1 year. Should have been tested for much longer then that. And under much greater conditions. They got lucky. There haven't been ANY problems I've heard of. But, when that thing came out I was waiting for the deaths to start. Packed Sorb has Decades of testing. EAC's don't have but a few years.

So, with your research. On how little testing those had. I'd say you made a very bad decision.

But, it was yours to make.


Now, with the Optima's out there. Seems there doing OK. But, I wasn't gonna risk my ass on them. You with all your research determined it was OK to use something that had so little testing. I'm not like that. LOL... Kept me alive doing crazy stuff for a long time.

You've actually missed the whole reason I liked the Optima. LOL... It's part of it's BASIC design. LOL...

If they would have come out with a granular insert I'd of probably bought one. Something that I wouldn't be limited to just the Micropores. I kind of wonder if it wasn't from the Pressing of micropore on diverite. Cause if people would have gotten the insert. A lot of sales of micropore would have went down hill. LOL....

I don't want to be REQUIRED to buy anything. If Micropore all of a sudden pulls out. What you gonna do with that Optima? LOL... Sorb comes from many people. O2 cells from 2 manufacturers. O2 from a lot of people. I have multiple routes for my consumables.

And, by the way. I did all my research and training to. Did it all myself as they didn't have anyone doing it when I started. And never had training on the MEG either. But, when I started they didn't have a MEG.

The KISS didn't require training for a LONG LONG LONG time. Because it was a SIMPLE design. Read the book. Do the tests. Watch your PO2. No $1200 for a class. LOL... Pretty much all of them fit in this boat. If you don't catch on fast. You need a class. LOL...

Dsix36

It may sound that way, but it was always on my mind!

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THE MORE THAT I LEARN, THE MORE THAT I STILL NEED TO LEARN!!!!!!

Tienuts

It amazes me how the non-EAC users still kill the EAC. The Meg is an awesome, solid unit. If I ever get a second unit, it will be a Meg.

When I made my initial CCR purchase, I went with the Optima for a number of reasons, but mostly my deciding factor was the EAC. I love the convenience of it, and the ability to do a post dive analysis on it. I can determine exactly where the reaction front ended, and how much I used up. So Dive Rite rates it for 3 hours - in todays litigious society, this is them being careful. Yes I can safely get 6 hours from my EAC in warm water, and I know this for certain, without any risk. How? Cause I can examine the cartridge post-dive and see that after 6 hours, I have used 2/3 rds of it. Should I do some cold water diving, I will go back to 2-3 hours on it, and gradually build up time and see how much I am using.

Yes, I am lucky enough to live in So FLa, and have easy access to extendair. If I go somewhere remote, I will ship some to my destination. Problem solved.

Now I will get flamed by every granular sorb user, about how I have never packed a canister, and how I know nothing. Yes yes, bring it on. But it seems the ones who speak loudest aginst the EAC are the ones who know little about them.