Should I get a Rebreather

tammy

Hello all

I wonder if you can help - I found this site on the internet searching for information about Rebreathers.

The thing is I love diving - I am a PADI Rescue Diver and have about 100 dives under my belt.

My husband is also mad keen on diving - he is an instructor with a lot more dives than me and wants us to get rebreathers.

He says that they are safe and I will be fine. But all my other scuba friends tell me that I need much more experince and that they can easily kill you

I don't know what to do - my husband really wants them but would not push me into anything I was not comfortable with.

I guess I am a bit nervous - should I have hundreds of dives under my belt before moving onto Rebreathers?

Thanks

Tammy

prharris

Tammy, yes a rebreather can kill you, so can scuba.
A rebreather has a couple of other tricks up it's sleeve to kill you, but it can also give you more time in an emergency as some things happen slower using a Rebreather.

It's hard for anyone on the list to say yes or no, only you can do that, but you should ask yourself (and your husband ), 'Why do I want a rebreather?'

And then see if the benefits which may include, 'Because I want one.' outweigh the costs.

Just as a caveat - I am answering from the POV of someone who has only just completed the course and am yet to do my first dive without an instuctor - not solo, but with a buddy who may not be an Rebreather diver.

r
Paul

schford

Hi Tammy and welcome to the boards!!

It is my belief that you don't need hundreds more dives - if you are sure you want the benefits of CCR and are prepared to spend the money then some say you are better off not having done a lot of open circuit.

The more OC diving you have done the argument goes - the more you need to unlearn as aspects of CCR diving are different.

Sure rebreathers can kill you but as Paul says so can open circuit - personally I think rebreathers are a heck of alot safer in many respects.

Keep us in the loop on how you decide!

Stuart

PS let me guess - well which Rebreather should I go for!

Beanie

well I think that if you thinking of going rebreather its best to do it sooner rather than later as then you don't have to unlearn bad habits

also you make more of a saving

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caveseeker7

Welcome to the board, Tammy.
Asking us is like asking alcoholics "Should I have a drink?".

If you have a look in the articles section you'll find some pretty good ones
on rebreather basics and tryouts. Read through some of those.

Feel free to ask any particular question that comes up.

As for the number of dives, for most units and agencies 50 is a minimum
requirement, and depending on your skills you shouldn't need more.

Rebreather diving is different, but not really all that much harder to do.
There has been at least one project doing OW certification on SCRs that
I know of and was well received.

What rebreather does your husband have in mind?

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"Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority,
and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media,
which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.!"

EBT

A rebreather is simply a gas extension tool. You need to ask yourself why you need that tool and how you plan to mitigate its risks.

If you're only doing shallow (<40m) and short (<90mins), you don't need a rebreather. But then, if you're doing photography (dont want to scare the pretty fishies) or diving in a remote location (gas logistics), you may find one beneficial.

Theres never an easy answer eh??

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Crazyduck

Oh mY gOd… that’s funny!


That’s like asking who put the Mezcal worm in my counterlung?

Oh we need to get this group together at a bar we could cause some real hell.

The group therapy question should be – How does diving a rebreather make you feel?



Tammy you could support his decision to start down the road and join in for certain elements and see how you feel about it. If you feel that it is too much risk then just stay on scuba (open circuit.)


But ultimately, if you are pushing your NDL (No Decompression limits) or diving past recreational limits then the gas savings is probably worth while long term investment. But you have to be comfortable with your decision.

Please tell us more about you and the diving that you enjoy and want to work towards?

For me, I am working towards a rebreather and my girlfriend is not interested so that’s fine by me.

Regards, Andrew

(That Tequila worm in the counterlung.)

Padowan

Best thing to do is research at this stage. Read everything you can about rebreathers, how they work, what they do, the different types, failure modes etc. If this is too much information, then you're not ready for a Rebreather.

You have to be a thinking diver to safely dive a Rebreather - you can't get away with taking it out of the garage, slinging it on checking you've got gas, and jumping straight in, then chucking it back int he garage when done. There's pre and post dive maintenance that should be performed, and you have to understand what the unit is doing as all stages of the dive, and be prepared to mitigate for any failure.

A Rebreather can kill you in more ways than Scuba, and some of those ways are very insideous and you have to be on top of things to make sure these don't bite you.

I'm not being negative at all. I think RBs are great, I love mine, wouldn't switch back for love nor money. But you should get it for the right reasons, and with full knowledge of the implications of your decision.

__________________

EBT

You git! Granted it was cold water, but I think you're being a tad uncharitable about my anatomy

Tammy, despite being another victim of Kato, Padowan is making sense. You might want to look at Jeff Bozanics book "mastering rebreathers". Its not comprehensive, but a good grounding.



/Zak

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Drmike

Yes (in my opinion)

also - do you need a rebreather? They are far more troublesome, more expensive and more dangerous than Open circuit.

If your only doing shallow reef dives I doubt if the pros outweigh the cons.