Enjoying your dive on a CCR

**jepuskar** · 22nd December 2006, 17:22

Compared to OC it is quite obvious you have more responsibility while diving on a rebreather...and this is at all stages, surface, descent, bottom, ascent, surface.

Your cert class should instill go habits, like monitoring your PO2 atleast once a minute and I'm sure more during the first few dives post cert. There is a lot to monitor on a rebreather throughout the course of a dive, so at one point did you start enjoying your dives without becoming complacent on the monitoring or did you find yourself becoming complacent?

I guess I want to hear about the transition from cert to post cert and at what point did you start enjoying your surroundings more.

I know because I am new with no experience yet, it seems like you spend your whole dive monitoring your gauges and I know this is not the case..otherwise what fun is there?? Does listening for the solenoid become 2nd nature, or noticing your HUD LED's, checking your other displays if you have them.

As an open circuit diver I check my computer regularly, probably more than most, yet I still enjoy my dives...I suppose its the same thing.

Thanks,

J

***ScubaDadMiami*** · 22nd December 2006, 18:28

The multitasking while still having fun comes sooner for some, later for others. If you keep working at it, it will come. I would say that somewhere around 25 hours, things started to settle for me. Of course, at this stage, maybe I just think it settled!

Ask me after I reach 100 hours, and then ask me again after I reach 500.

**nigelh** · 22nd December 2006, 18:46

Quote: (Originally Posted by jepuskar)

I guess I want to hear about the transition from cert to post cert and at what point did you start enjoying your surroundings more.

Half way through the course I hated the d*mn thing and was regretting the whole sordid business.

By the last dive of the course it was fun and even though the instructor put me on manual (solenoid jammed open) mode and then took us through a bunch of wreck swim throughs and finished up by leaving me to hold a simulated one meter stop while he sat in the water having a conversation with somebody and ducking his head occasionally to see how I was doing.

decoweenie · 22nd December 2006, 18:50

Think of it like learning to ride a bike or drive a car.

At first, you are all nervous and continue to monitor all your mirrors a lot more often than needed as well as your speedometer, et al. But the more you keep up with the process (drive or dive), the easier it seems. Then it became second nature...

I suggest that once certified, continue to do a lot of long easy dives that you don't to do a lot of multi-task so you could devote all your time to recognizing how your unit is working:

sound of solenoid firing, or sound of continuous flow of O2 (on mCCR)
sound of gas swooshing in (with solenoid firing)
sound of the gurgling to start in your hoses after a certain amount of time
how long between solenoid firing for different exertion level
how close is the set-point being kept
etc and etc

There is no fix duration of time as people are all different.

However, if you do immediately after the course to keep up the momentum, it will be easier. If you take some time off, the first dive back will be a little awkward with no one to supervise to let you know that you are still doing it all correct.

If you have a good instructor and a good foundation, it will be a synch!

dive2dive2000 · 22nd December 2006, 20:41

Quote: (Originally Posted by jepuskar)

Compared to OC it is quite obvious you have more responsibility while diving on a rebreather...and this is at all stages, surface, descent, bottom, ascent, surface.

Your cert class should instill go habits, like monitoring your PO2 atleast once a minute and I'm sure more during the first few dives post cert. There is a lot to monitor on a rebreather throughout the course of a dive, so at one point did you start enjoying your dives without becoming complacent on the monitoring or did you find yourself becoming complacent?

I guess I want to hear about the transition from cert to post cert and at what point did you start enjoying your surroundings more.

I know because I am new with no experience yet, it seems like you spend your whole dive monitoring your gauges and I know this is not the case..otherwise what fun is there?? Does listening for the solenoid become 2nd nature, or noticing your HUD LED's, checking your other displays if you have them.

As an open circuit diver I check my computer regularly, probably more than most, yet I still enjoy my dives...I suppose its the same thing.

Thanks,

J

Hi J,

Around 25hrs things started to become fluent. Around 50hrs (here now) I am starting to relax more on boat and my routine is starting to become 2nd nature.

I was told from my instructor, that around 20 hrs things will start to click around 50 hrs you will start to think how much you know about ccr diving and around 100 hrs you will realise how much you don't

Mark Chase · 22nd December 2006, 21:19

Quote: (Originally Posted by jepuskar)

Compared to OC it is quite obvious you have more responsibility while diving on a rebreather...and this is at all stages, surface, descent, bottom, ascent, surface.

Your cert class should instill go habits, like monitoring your PO2 atleast once a minute and I'm sure more during the first few dives post cert. There is a lot to monitor on a rebreather throughout the course of a dive, so at one point did you start enjoying your dives without becoming complacent on the monitoring or did you find yourself becoming complacent?

I guess I want to hear about the transition from cert to post cert and at what point did you start enjoying your surroundings more.

I know because I am new with no experience yet, it seems like you spend your whole dive monitoring your gauges and I know this is not the case..otherwise what fun is there?? Does listening for the solenoid become 2nd nature, or noticing your HUD LED's, checking your other displays if you have them.

As an open circuit diver I check my computer regularly, probably more than most, yet I still enjoy my dives...I suppose its the same thing.

Thanks,

J

It was about two seconds after I fitted a URI HUD and it was on my second OW dive.

I now dive with a HH hud which is not as good as it only has the single LED but I still find i relie on that a lot more than the handsets.

As far as the unit was concerned the only thing i had to get past was boyancy issues. I still find it harder to hold stops on free ascents than with OC and its over 200hours on the unit now

ATB

Mark Chase

cameron · 23rd December 2006, 06:01

I guess after about 100 hours or so things started to be really comfortable. Now I find that the unit will tell me when something is not right rather then having to be in a constant state of awarness.

If your bouyancy changes then you check your displays, if you change depth, check your displays, if the lung volume changes, check your displays....

I have found that my dives are slower, longer (duh!), and more enjoyable now that I have the "comfort zone" on the KISS, it just takes time, patience and practice, not gadgets and short cuts.

silent running · 23rd December 2006, 06:35

Quote: (Originally Posted by decoweenie)

Think of it like learning to ride a bike or drive a car.

At first, you are all nervous and continue to monitor all your mirrors a lot more often than needed as well as your speedometer, et al. But the more you keep up with the process (drive or dive), the easier it seems. Then it became second nature...

I suggest that once certified, continue to do a lot of long easy dives that you don't to do a lot of multi-task so you could devote all your time to recognizing how your unit is working:

sound of solenoid firing, or sound of continuous flow of O2 (on mCCR)
sound of gas swooshing in (with solenoid firing)
sound of the gurgling to start in your hoses after a certain amount of time
how long between solenoid firing for different exertion level
how close is the set-point being kept
etc and etc

There is no fix duration of time as people are all different.

However, if you do immediately after the course to keep up the momentum, it will be easier. If you take some time off, the first dive back will be a little awkward with no one to supervise to let you know that you are still doing it all correct.

If you have a good instructor and a good foundation, it will be a synch!

Like Phi said. I'm lucky that my diving habits allow me to take trips for 2+weeks at a time and rack plenty of hrs...

That being said, everytime I get back in the water, it's all brand new for the first 20 minutes or so. It keeps me very aware, the only good thing about diving infrequently... -Andy

silent running · 23rd December 2006, 09:00

Quote: (Originally Posted by jepuskar)

Compared to OC it is quite obvious you have more responsibility while diving on a rebreather...and this is at all stages, surface, descent, bottom, ascent, surface.

Your cert class should instill go habits, like monitoring your PO2 atleast once a minute and I'm sure more during the first few dives post cert. There is a lot to monitor on a rebreather throughout the course of a dive, so at one point did you start enjoying your dives without becoming complacent on the monitoring or did you find yourself becoming complacent?

I guess I want to hear about the transition from cert to post cert and at what point did you start enjoying your surroundings more.

I know because I am new with no experience yet, it seems like you spend your whole dive monitoring your gauges and I know this is not the case..otherwise what fun is there?? Does listening for the solenoid become 2nd nature, or noticing your HUD LED's, checking your other displays if you have them.

As an open circuit diver I check my computer regularly, probably more than most, yet I still enjoy my dives...I suppose its the same thing.

Thanks,

J

Jason, to be more specific, there are limited variables in constant Po2 diving and it easily becomes 2nd nature. The trick is being honest about the risks and managing them in addition to your own limitations. I stopped riding motorcycles in an urban environment partially because I had too much on my mind to give enough mental energy to riding in city traffic-I just didn't have enough to go around. Consequently, I find CCR diving to be way more relaxing and easy to manage, with much more benefit, IMHO. It's mostly about prevention and risk management in a way that allows for much more planning/reflection before a crisis, hence much of the chatter on this site. Oh, and BTW, get a unit with HUD and your risks decrease substantialy.

It doesn't matter how much you try to anticipate having a truck switch lanes suddenly in front of you in a rainstorm on an oily city expressway. There's no really effective way to train for it. When it happens, you either react quickly enough, or you don't. The odds are either with you, or they're not. You won't know until it's too late.

As I've said before, the balance in CCR diving is between how much you believe the unit should do vs. how much attention you think is required to have a safe dive-How much diver involvement is required by the unit design? And the cool thing is you have a choice on what you think that proportion should be...

But it's really not that nerve racking, most any CCR emergency will be much more slo-mo than even a 25 mph motorcycle accident. With good planning, you can handle all CCR emergencies, not true of many other "sports".

Depth-junkie · 23rd December 2006, 17:04

Quote:

devote all your time to recognizing how your unit is working:

sound of solenoid firing, or sound of continuous flow of O2 (on mCCR)
sound of gas swooshing in (with solenoid firing)
sound of the gurgling to start in your hoses after a certain amount of time
how long between solenoid firing for different exertion level
how close is the set-point being kept
etc and etc

There is no fix duration of time as people are all different.

Spot on

P.S i use my unit for all my diving, regardles if it's 10m or 90m. It's just a peice of diving equipment and i enjoy it much more than diving OC. Learn how to use it, what it's doing and when it should be doing certain things. Then it does become second nature and i find it no more time consuming or complicated than a dive on OC. Some people like to make it out as if it's piloting a space shuttle or really techey and complicated, but it aint. Granted some people are not suited to CCR, but i would sugest certain people should not be in the water full stop. If you feel totaly comfortable in the water and at ease you should take to CCR without any problems.

ATB
Gareth
ATB
Gareth

22nd December 2006, 17:22	#1 (permalink)
jepuskar NA Current Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 389	Enjoying your dive on a CCR Compared to OC it is quite obvious you have more responsibility while diving on a rebreather...and this is at all stages, surface, descent, bottom, ascent, surface. Your cert class should instill go habits, like monitoring your PO2 atleast once a minute and I'm sure more during the first few dives post cert. There is a lot to monitor on a rebreather throughout the course of a dive, so at one point did you start enjoying your dives without becoming complacent on the monitoring or did you find yourself becoming complacent? I guess I want to hear about the transition from cert to post cert and at what point did you start enjoying your surroundings more. I know because I am new with no experience yet, it seems like you spend your whole dive monitoring your gauges and I know this is not the case..otherwise what fun is there?? Does listening for the solenoid become 2nd nature, or noticing your HUD LED's, checking your other displays if you have them. As an open circuit diver I check my computer regularly, probably more than most, yet I still enjoy my dives...I suppose its the same thing. Thanks, J __________________ Donate to the Barack Obama campaign: https://donate.barackobama.com/match
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22nd December 2006, 18:28	#2 (permalink)
*ScubaDadMiami* Moderator Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 1,896	Re: Enjoying your dive on a CCR The multitasking while still having fun comes sooner for some, later for others. If you keep working at it, it will come. I would say that somewhere around 25 hours, things started to settle for me. Of course, at this stage, maybe I just think it settled! Ask me after I reach 100 hours, and then ask me again after I reach 500. __________________ Howard Packer IANTD CCR Instructor Miami Beach, Florida CCRDiveTraining.com
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22nd December 2006, 18:46	#3 (permalink)
nigelh New Member Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Other CCR Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Other CCR Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Brighton, Sussex, UK Posts: 786	Re: Enjoying your dive on a CCR Quote: (Originally Posted by jepuskar) I guess I want to hear about the transition from cert to post cert and at what point did you start enjoying your surroundings more. Half way through the course I hated the d*mn thing and was regretting the whole sordid business. By the last dive of the course it was fun and even though the instructor put me on manual (solenoid jammed open) mode and then took us through a bunch of wreck swim throughs and finished up by leaving me to hold a simulated one meter stop while he sat in the water having a conversation with somebody and ducking his head occasionally to see how I was doing. __________________ nigelh
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22nd December 2006, 18:50	#4 (permalink)
decoweenie Crash Test Dummy Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Other Rebreather/s: Other CCR Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Cairo Posts: 5,510	Re: Enjoying your dive on a CCR Think of it like learning to ride a bike or drive a car. At first, you are all nervous and continue to monitor all your mirrors a lot more often than needed as well as your speedometer, et al. But the more you keep up with the process (drive or dive), the easier it seems. Then it became second nature... I suggest that once certified, continue to do a lot of long easy dives that you don't to do a lot of multi-task so you could devote all your time to recognizing how your unit is working: sound of solenoid firing, or sound of continuous flow of O2 (on mCCR) sound of gas swooshing in (with solenoid firing) sound of the gurgling to start in your hoses after a certain amount of time how long between solenoid firing for different exertion level how close is the set-point being kept etc and etc There is no fix duration of time as people are all different. However, if you do immediately after the course to keep up the momentum, it will be easier. If you take some time off, the first dive back will be a little awkward with no one to supervise to let you know that you are still doing it all correct. If you have a good instructor and a good foundation, it will be a synch! __________________ "...after a while you get bored offering advice to a bull that like to keep butting the fence with its head rather than walking through the open gate..." - Rebreather World PM
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22nd December 2006, 20:41	#5 (permalink)
dive2dive2000 PRISM DIVER & LUVIN IT! Current Rebreather/s: Prism Topaz Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 776	Re: Enjoying your dive on a CCR Quote: (Originally Posted by jepuskar) Compared to OC it is quite obvious you have more responsibility while diving on a rebreather...and this is at all stages, surface, descent, bottom, ascent, surface. Your cert class should instill go habits, like monitoring your PO2 atleast once a minute and I'm sure more during the first few dives post cert. There is a lot to monitor on a rebreather throughout the course of a dive, so at one point did you start enjoying your dives without becoming complacent on the monitoring or did you find yourself becoming complacent? I guess I want to hear about the transition from cert to post cert and at what point did you start enjoying your surroundings more. I know because I am new with no experience yet, it seems like you spend your whole dive monitoring your gauges and I know this is not the case..otherwise what fun is there?? Does listening for the solenoid become 2nd nature, or noticing your HUD LED's, checking your other displays if you have them. As an open circuit diver I check my computer regularly, probably more than most, yet I still enjoy my dives...I suppose its the same thing. Thanks, J Hi J, Around 25hrs things started to become fluent. Around 50hrs (here now) I am starting to relax more on boat and my routine is starting to become 2nd nature. I was told from my instructor, that around 20 hrs things will start to click around 50 hrs you will start to think how much you know about ccr diving and around 100 hrs you will realise how much you don't __________________ Safe Diving, Martin "but what's the fun of getting what you need, instead of what you want?"
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22nd December 2006, 21:19	#6 (permalink)
Mark Chase I go down for ages Current Rebreather/s: Classic Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Kent Posts: 2,417	Re: Enjoying your dive on a CCR Quote: (Originally Posted by jepuskar) Compared to OC it is quite obvious you have more responsibility while diving on a rebreather...and this is at all stages, surface, descent, bottom, ascent, surface. Your cert class should instill go habits, like monitoring your PO2 atleast once a minute and I'm sure more during the first few dives post cert. There is a lot to monitor on a rebreather throughout the course of a dive, so at one point did you start enjoying your dives without becoming complacent on the monitoring or did you find yourself becoming complacent? I guess I want to hear about the transition from cert to post cert and at what point did you start enjoying your surroundings more. I know because I am new with no experience yet, it seems like you spend your whole dive monitoring your gauges and I know this is not the case..otherwise what fun is there?? Does listening for the solenoid become 2nd nature, or noticing your HUD LED's, checking your other displays if you have them. As an open circuit diver I check my computer regularly, probably more than most, yet I still enjoy my dives...I suppose its the same thing. Thanks, J It was about two seconds after I fitted a URI HUD and it was on my second OW dive. I now dive with a HH hud which is not as good as it only has the single LED but I still find i relie on that a lot more than the handsets. As far as the unit was concerned the only thing i had to get past was boyancy issues. I still find it harder to hold stops on free ascents than with OC and its over 200hours on the unit now ATB Mark Chase __________________ Is it supposed to make that noise ? I took my unit to the dive shop and demanded they bolt on every thing that would fit. Join my elite diving teem and get a Tshirt "Doing It Chasey"Hammerhead Eccr Advanced Diving System
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23rd December 2006, 06:01	#7 (permalink)
cameron Classic Kiss 124 Current Rebreather/s: Classic Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Posts: 241	Re: Enjoying your dive on a CCR I guess after about 100 hours or so things started to be really comfortable. Now I find that the unit will tell me when something is not right rather then having to be in a constant state of awarness. If your bouyancy changes then you check your displays, if you change depth, check your displays, if the lung volume changes, check your displays.... I have found that my dives are slower, longer (duh!), and more enjoyable now that I have the "comfort zone" on the KISS, it just takes time, patience and practice, not gadgets and short cuts.
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23rd December 2006, 06:35	#8 (permalink)
silent running Mature mouth breather Current Rebreather/s: Prism Topaz Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: U.S.A. Brooklyn, New York Posts: 1,748	Re: Enjoying your dive on a CCR Quote: (Originally Posted by decoweenie) Think of it like learning to ride a bike or drive a car. At first, you are all nervous and continue to monitor all your mirrors a lot more often than needed as well as your speedometer, et al. But the more you keep up with the process (drive or dive), the easier it seems. Then it became second nature... I suggest that once certified, continue to do a lot of long easy dives that you don't to do a lot of multi-task so you could devote all your time to recognizing how your unit is working: sound of solenoid firing, or sound of continuous flow of O2 (on mCCR) sound of gas swooshing in (with solenoid firing) sound of the gurgling to start in your hoses after a certain amount of time how long between solenoid firing for different exertion level how close is the set-point being kept etc and etc There is no fix duration of time as people are all different. However, if you do immediately after the course to keep up the momentum, it will be easier. If you take some time off, the first dive back will be a little awkward with no one to supervise to let you know that you are still doing it all correct. If you have a good instructor and a good foundation, it will be a synch! Like Phi said. I'm lucky that my diving habits allow me to take trips for 2+weeks at a time and rack plenty of hrs... That being said, everytime I get back in the water, it's all brand new for the first 20 minutes or so. It keeps me very aware, the only good thing about diving infrequently... -Andy
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23rd December 2006, 09:00	#9 (permalink)
silent running Mature mouth breather Current Rebreather/s: Prism Topaz Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: U.S.A. Brooklyn, New York Posts: 1,748	Re: Enjoying your dive on a CCR Quote: (Originally Posted by jepuskar) Compared to OC it is quite obvious you have more responsibility while diving on a rebreather...and this is at all stages, surface, descent, bottom, ascent, surface. Your cert class should instill go habits, like monitoring your PO2 atleast once a minute and I'm sure more during the first few dives post cert. There is a lot to monitor on a rebreather throughout the course of a dive, so at one point did you start enjoying your dives without becoming complacent on the monitoring or did you find yourself becoming complacent? I guess I want to hear about the transition from cert to post cert and at what point did you start enjoying your surroundings more. I know because I am new with no experience yet, it seems like you spend your whole dive monitoring your gauges and I know this is not the case..otherwise what fun is there?? Does listening for the solenoid become 2nd nature, or noticing your HUD LED's, checking your other displays if you have them. As an open circuit diver I check my computer regularly, probably more than most, yet I still enjoy my dives...I suppose its the same thing. Thanks, J Jason, to be more specific, there are limited variables in constant Po2 diving and it easily becomes 2nd nature. The trick is being honest about the risks and managing them in addition to your own limitations. I stopped riding motorcycles in an urban environment partially because I had too much on my mind to give enough mental energy to riding in city traffic-I just didn't have enough to go around. Consequently, I find CCR diving to be way more relaxing and easy to manage, with much more benefit, IMHO. It's mostly about prevention and risk management in a way that allows for much more planning/reflection before a crisis, hence much of the chatter on this site. Oh, and BTW, get a unit with HUD and your risks decrease substantialy. It doesn't matter how much you try to anticipate having a truck switch lanes suddenly in front of you in a rainstorm on an oily city expressway. There's no really effective way to train for it. When it happens, you either react quickly enough, or you don't. The odds are either with you, or they're not. You won't know until it's too late. As I've said before, the balance in CCR diving is between how much you believe the unit should do vs. how much attention you think is required to have a safe dive-How much diver involvement is required by the unit design? And the cool thing is you have a choice on what you think that proportion should be... But it's really not that nerve racking, most any CCR emergency will be much more slo-mo than even a 25 mph motorcycle accident. With good planning, you can handle all CCR emergencies, not true of many other "sports".
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23rd December 2006, 17:04	#10 (permalink)
Depth-junkie 10/52 Psycho Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Wrexham Posts: 288	Re: Enjoying your dive on a CCR Quote: devote all your time to recognizing how your unit is working: sound of solenoid firing, or sound of continuous flow of O2 (on mCCR) sound of gas swooshing in (with solenoid firing) sound of the gurgling to start in your hoses after a certain amount of time how long between solenoid firing for different exertion level how close is the set-point being kept etc and etc There is no fix duration of time as people are all different. Spot on P.S i use my unit for all my diving, regardles if it's 10m or 90m. It's just a peice of diving equipment and i enjoy it much more than diving OC. Learn how to use it, what it's doing and when it should be doing certain things. Then it does become second nature and i find it no more time consuming or complicated than a dive on OC. Some people like to make it out as if it's piloting a space shuttle or really techey and complicated, but it aint. Granted some people are not suited to CCR, but i would sugest certain people should not be in the water full stop. If you feel totaly comfortable in the water and at ease you should take to CCR without any problems. ATB Gareth ATB Gareth Last edited by Depth-junkie : 23rd December 2006 at 17:23.
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