Diveing the Halcyon PVR witout training

Chii

This rebrether seems to have fallen out of time and has therfore no trainingprogram. The person selling the rebreather has learned to dive it by first-hand experience.

To me this seems a bit risky but since it is a passive semi-closed unit with what i understand minimal risk for classic rebrether hazards i figure i might be able to learn to dive this unit safely. Or is this one of those ideas that will add me to stathistics? If i purchase this unit my only chanse of training is the previous owner.

Please give me comments. I feel like i am diveing to deep on this matter, but still im very keen on purchasing this unit since it seems like a good beginner unit wit relatively simple design du to passive gas supply compared to the dräger

jaap

HI/Hej

That could be dangerous...for you, and most certainly for you back...

You know that the PVR-BASC is pretty heavy and very big. If we are thinking about the same unit that is for sale its even _very_ heavy with the fairly large tanks on it. Are they 10 or 12l? My guess is that the unit weight is over 75 kg with those tanks on the frame...

Ok you can separate the frame and Rebreather for transport but the tanks/frame is still very akward to drag along. Escpecially with those big tanks.

If its your first unit I wold say its not a good idea. Too big and also pretty complicated. I would buy something smaller. You get say a much simpler and smaller second hand CMF-SCR with an O2-sensor for about the same money. Like a Dräger Dolphin/Ray. Besides finding training would be so much simpler.

If you find that Rebreather's are something for you could easily sell/modify say a Dolphin and get something more capable without loosing much on it.

Sure the PVR-monster can be dived without the frame running it from say sling tanks only to reduce the weight.

There is also an extra potential danger on this unit. If the depth compensation system fails you might get stuck with a very low dump ratio coming back up. Ok its probably not very likely since there are two depth compensators. But if they are not tight and get equalized they might fail...

Strangely this potential failure is not discussed in the IANTD PVR-BASC manual (the copy I have is from 1998).

I recently bought the cheaper PVR-BASC the same guy sold. Just for fun since I'm interested in having a closer look at its workings and I sort of collect rebreathers.

Since I don't have any formal traning on it I can't comment on the intended safe diving practice of this unit.

The thing I'm working on now is to make an adapter to have a p-port O2-sensor on the inhale side (after the scrubber). Always know your po2...

Even if this sort of unit is supposed to feed you enough O2 with the rigth gas plugged in and that its fairly easy to calculate or look up the approximate fo2 drop for a given depth/gas.

But I feel that the "I'm guessing my fo2 game" some PSCR users play is not for me. Even more so since this unit has the depth compensation that could be behaving differently compared to what it should do...

So since the p-port thing is not done and a few other parts had to be fixed I have not tested the unit except swith 100% O2 to evaluate how it breathes and what noises it makes on dumping/adding gas.

I don't think I will dive my PVR regulary (its too big and heavy). And I would not get one as my first unit.

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My initials: JAAP

decoweenie

If you want to see how big they are, take a look at HERE. It is a "beast"

And if you want to know how dangerous it is to dive a PSCR without training, take a read that WKPP Accident thread being posted recently. It even happened to someone who is a lot more experienced and had "proper" training. That's what happened when you dive Rebreather without "knowing your PO2", IMHO.

I understand that you wanted cheap for the first unit, but I agree with JAAP that cheap will still equate to waste if it is not a proper unit. You will be stuck with an unit that has no training, no support, no spare parts and holds no re-sale value...

Just my opinion from someone who used to own one...

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"...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..."

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Marvintpa

That's a fairly complicated rig for an SCR, I certainly wouldn't recommend diving it without any training. They have one on display at Extreme Exposure in Florida, I think it's mostly to scare people away from ever wanting to dive a rebreather.

decoweenie

Can I rephrase your statement to "from ever wanting to dive a WRONG rebreather" ?

Sorry, I got to run to get a massage from just looking at my own pictures of diving the unit...

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"...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

Chii

You people have convinsed me, that refrigerator is not getting on my back