Sorb use

denka

Hello,

Say i do a dive 15 meters deep and 10 C water temp for 45 minutes. The sorb in the pelagian (3,5 kg) can do 4 hours. Can i use the sorb agian and how is it kept in the pelagian. Do you store it in a bag can the scrubber be seald off

Greatings Dennis

Abbo

Take a look at the thread "Video of a CO2 hit"
http://www.rebreatherworld.com/rebre...o-c02-hit.html
The message is clear: once the scrubber comes out of the 'breather it goes in the bin; do not attempt to load it back in later. Leave the partially-used scrubber in the can till your next dive. If the next dive is more than a couple of weeks later you might consider pitching the scrubber - but with a new 'breather to dive you're unlikely to want to go that long without a dive anyway!
Dive safe and enjoy,
Nicholas

Brainx3

I think this issue has been discussed several times before. My personal opinion is that to keep it packed in the cannister if you will be making another dive shortly after the first (for example within 1 week). Otherwise I wouldn't think to keep it for a month or 2 then use it again so it would be wise to dump it and use a new filling again. The bottom line of all discussions were that life is much more expensive than sorb.


Best Regards. Wael

Bech

That's the advantage of the rEvo...

Raph

Inspired Trainer

Like any sorb...using partially used media is increasing your risk. Rebreathers can give cost advantages on deeper dives but, sadly short 'scubee do' dives will cost more on a box than on OC all things considered. Using partially used lime in any rebreather is a dicey business as unlike a box of quality street you dont know whats coming if the lime has dried out. If the £6-£7 for a refill of lime is truely prohibitive for you then consider the following:

If you keep the sorb in the scrubber tube and it is kept cool and the top sealed from the atmosphere you COULD use the scrubber again for a sensible amount of time. Time between dives should be minimised - there is no golden number...at 2 weeks personally i would discard it. The longer you leave the lime in situ the shallower you should consider making the next dive.

If you did 45mins then I would personally be happy doing another 2hrs on the same lime if it was stored in the way mentioned above. Of course you should be especially vigilant to co2 breakthrough anyways...even more so on partially used lime. Be ready to switch to OC as soon as you can while you still can.

NEVER remove the lime or store in a plastic bag...this is madness...leave the lime in the scrubber, unmixed, sealed and cool. Do not leave in a car to turn to dust.

just my penneth

M

Gill Envy

the guy in the video used sorb that was poured out and re-mixed, there is little controversy about that practice being a bad idea, it would seem from the poll that followed that it's pretty universally understood that that is russian roulette.

storing sorb in it's canister that is previously used but has significant duration left in it is pretty common if the subsequent dives are to be not so deep (I use the rule of thumb of being within recreational limits and tend to do progressively shallower dives.) I've heard of some people storing it for months but it seems that many folks are more comfortable with a week or so.

Does the Palagian have a removable sorb canister? If so, than taking it out and bagging it still packed should be no different than any other rebreather, and just as controversial. if the Palagian does not have it's own scrubber canister then it's probably possible to seal the can up, as long as it stays packed!! Bottom line, it's never worth risking your life for a few bucks...it's best to be conservative within reason and different folks have different ways of calculating their comfort zones.

do a search on the forum on the subject, there are some interesting threads on it. After reading up quite a bit and talking it over with some trusted folks, here is what I have come to:

-deep dive (below 130 fsw), fresh sorb, no question

-I always leave a significant buffer in my duration calculation (sorb duration is not a simple linear equation, variation in depth/gas density and respiration rate/dwell time and metabolic co2 production make estimating it's capacity a guestimation...best to pad the equation in your favor)

-I never re-mix sorb

-post dive I will remove the sorb canister and let it dry over night, then seal it up the next day-I was taught this (since there is no circulation going through it there is little issue with it absorbing co2 from the room)

-I have kept it stored for up to two weeks, though the time that it's sealed up likely has little effect.

-use a system for recording the total scrubber time since last changed.

-I avoid heavy exertion/heavy breathing in general with Rebreather diving, especially as I get closer to the sorb duration limit.

hope that's helpful

__________________
Gill Envy

...Because I wasn't born with gills!
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Inspired Trainer

Hello

The Pelagian scrubber is filled directly - there is no insert to remove.

I agree...there are no 'golden' numbers regarding timings but there are some 'golden' practices to avoid

I would suggest not drying the lime overnight or indeed for any amount of time outside of the scrubber. Moisture is the catalyst that helps remove co2, if the lime dries out it is useless. Lime is inactivated by drying out just the same as if it had absorbed co2, except dry lime doesnt 'look' used unlike lime that has been exhausted by use which tends to clump.

Ideally the lime would be discarded after each dive. Remember the cause of death of ccr divers in virtually all cases remains a 'mystery' and mysteries only protect the guilty....mahahaha cryptic i know

I heard a UK instructor teaching how to remove the lumps between dives as he had been shown in the mob! I can confirm he still teaches ccr. Drying scrubbers overnight is about extending the life of the cells and wires - it does nothing to extend the life of the lime

all in my humble opinion of course

Hello Rodge...you lurker ;-)

ianfirmin

The lime is dry out of the tub and moisture in the breath is required for the reaction to remove the CO2. I can't see how it's inactivated by drying out...But I can now! Please read the Sofnolime FAQ (see below)

However..

This seems very good advice...


ATB
Ian

mik

Eeek! With friends like this who needs enemies? It is kind of scary that you are handing out advice like this. Sofnolime is up to 20% water (usually 17%) which is used in the chemical reaction to scrub CO2, it does not rely on water vapour in your breath. Check the Link. Read the FAQs "what is sofnolime?" and "what can make the absorber fail prematurely?"

__________________
It just fell apart in my hands, Chief!

ianfirmin

I'm not handing out advice but expressing ignorance. Thanks for the information which is something everyone who uses the stuff should know.

Cheers
Ian