93 replies to this topic

[secretsea18]

In most moves to CCR you will be changing BC setups tho some like the meg can go anywhere a tank can... , I've never see a meg attached to a SubaPro BC, but I suppose you could... BP/W on a STA are the more common implementation.

What is a "meg"?

[finGrabber]

In most moves to CCR you will be changing BC setups tho some like the meg can go anywhere a tank can... , I've never see a meg attached to a SubaPro BC, but I suppose you could... BP/W on a STA are the more common implementation.

What is a "meg"?

It's short for Megladon which is a brand of CCR rebreathers

[EASY]

In a forum that is trying to convert divers over to the world of rebreathers, you guys are not doing a very good job. ScubaDad started out strong and nearly had be drooling at the thought of one, but then the acronyms appeared. As soon as you guys start with your techno babble, it makes the eyes of us non-Mensa types glaze over. I mean that as a compliment and admire the passion that tech divers put into this activity. Unfortunately, until rebreathers become more idiot proof, I don't think you will see the general diving public gravitating to them. From the little I understand, there are still too many ways for the inattentive/novice diver to kill themselves with these systems. To me, it appears that rebreathers require a level of dedication that only a small percentage of the diving population possess. If I am wrong about your intended audience, by all means let the acronyms fly! Please prove me wrong, because I would love nothing more than to join your club.

Respectfully, Eric

[WreckWench]

In a forum that is trying to convert divers over to the world of rebreathers, you guys are not doing a very good job. ScubaDad started out strong and nearly had be drooling at the thought of one, but then the acronyms appeared. As soon as you guys start with your techno babble, it makes the eyes of us non-Mensa types glaze over. I mean that as a compliment and admire the passion that tech divers put into this activity. Unfortunately, until rebreathers become more idiot proof, I don't think you will see the general diving public gravitating to them. From the little I understand, there are still too many ways for the inattentive/novice diver to kill themselves with these systems. To me, it appears that rebreathers require a level of dedication that only a small percentage of the diving population possess. If I am wrong about your intended audience, by all means let the acronyms fly! Please prove me wrong, because I would love nothing more than to join your club.

Respectfully, Eric

Hey Eric I don't think anyone is really trying to convert anyone to anything...Oh wait...I'm always trying to convert you to becoming a SD.com trip diver!

But you know what I mean. In any event the idea is to educate and help people understand trends or even better prepare for those trends now vs later. And while there may be a lot of acronyms...you won't find eliteness and conceit when people ask questions from those capable of answering them. Granted some of them are pretty enthusiastic about the next level...recall how overly enthusiastic you were to people when you first learned to dive? I think the same holds true when you cross another level in diving.

You are right that the general population won't be diving rebreathers this year or even next but almost EVERY resort we go too these days has rebreathers or can support them...so someone is diving them and for that many resorts to be supporting them or able to support them...LOTS OF SOMEBODIES are diving them. Heck Robin took her CCR intro class YEARS ago so they have been around for a long time and just now becoming more mainstream.

I want to thank those who have asked questions and those who have replied. I am learning TONS from this thread and it is certainly clearing up some of the myths about the equipment.

Now to win the lottery so I can more readily afford one!

[georoc01]

And didn't Nitrox start as the 'voodoo' gas and has become so mainstream now that I try to push all of my dive buddies once they finish OW to take that class next.

So there is an evolution going on. Now it may take another 10-20 years for rebreathers, but who knows?

[EASY]

Hey Eric I don't think anyone is really trying to convert anyone to anything...Oh wait...I'm always trying to convert you to becoming a SD.com trip diver!

But you know what I mean. In any event the idea is to educate and help people understand trends or even better prepare for those trends now vs later. And while there may be a lot of acronyms...you won't find eliteness and conceit when people ask questions from those capable of answering them. Granted some of them are pretty enthusiastic about the next level...recall how overly enthusiastic you were to people when you first learned to dive? I think the same holds true when you cross another level in diving.

You are right that the general population won't be diving rebreathers this year or even next but almost EVERY resort we go too these days has rebreathers or can support them...so someone is diving them and for that many resorts to be supporting them or able to support them...LOTS OF SOMEBODIES are diving them. Heck Robin took her CCR intro class YEARS ago so they have been around for a long time and just now becoming more mainstream.

I want to thank those who have asked questions and those who have replied. I am learning TONS from this thread and it is certainly clearing up some of the myths about the equipment.

Now to win the lottery so I can more readily afford one!

I definitely don't get a sense of conceit or eliteness, just a sense of pride in something they are passionate about. Until the Rebreathers for Dummies book comes out, I will enviously be sitting on the sidelines! I had the honor of diving and having lunch with Tim a few weeks ago and he is an all around great guy! This is an excellent post and I can't wait to read more!

Edited by EASY, 30 June 2008 - 09:01 PM.

[shadragon]

Until the Rebreathers for Dummies book comes out, I will enviously be sitting on the sidelines!

Whoops... Time to get off the sidelines EASY...

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[ScubaDadMiami]

I did part of my class using an H-valve and the rest in double 100's. And the redundancy is either a double bladder wing ( which is what I use) or a dry suit

anyway, is there a good resource for the differences in CCR's?

For rebreathers, you need some type of additional gas source to get you home in the event that there is an equipment failure. For most divers, this means bringing along what most people refer to as a "pony bottle."

One of the reasons that I really like the Dive Rite Optima is that it allows the moderately shallow diver to connect a regulator to the rebreather tank, eliminating the need for a completely separate pony bottle. Many photographers consider this ideal because they like to go where the ambient sunlight gives good coverage for their pictures. Their goal is to be able to sit and wait for the great shot in the shallows.

Other rebreathers can also be configured this way though it takes more doing than on the Optima, which can do it right out of the box.

From the little I understand, there are still too many ways for the inattentive/novice diver to kill themselves with these systems. To me, it appears that rebreathers require a level of dedication that only a small percentage of the diving population possess.

You are almost completely correct here in some ways. Rebreathers require attention from the diver during the dive. If you are not the type of person that pays attention to your pressure gauge on open circuit, and you routinely start your ascent once you start noticing that your tank is empty, a rebreather is not for you. So, I would not advise the inattentive diver to actively pursue the rebreather route.

On the other side, once the diver learns the basics and always follows the rules, a rebreather can actually be even "safer" (which I put into quotes because all diving carries risk compared to not diving at all) than open circuit diving. The reason for this is that a rebreather can offer perhaps four different solutions to a problem where there would pretty much be only one or two on open circuit. We cover all of these different procedures in your training, and you will be pretty competent (but not an expert) in them by the time you leave your first class.

[shadragon]

For reference...

Optima Info (Not as $$$ as I thought!)

Megalodon Info

[diverdeb]

For reference...

Optima Info (Not as $$$ as I thought!)

Megalodon Info

scubadadmiami, correct me if I am wrong, but that is the price without instruction - - and instruction is REQUIRED in order to purchase. Correct? So that does bump up that price a bit.

[ScubaDadMiami]

scubadadmiami, correct me if I am wrong, but that is the price without instruction - - and instruction is REQUIRED in order to purchase. Correct? So that does bump up that price a bit.

Yes, you are correct. Realistically, I would prepare to spend about $10,000 for a new unit, instruction, and some likely equipment that most people need. It is possible for the cost to be less or more depending on what the diver already has that can be used.

Let's face it. It is a serious investment. However, for the right diver, it can pay for itself over time (as I stated above). However, most people don't buy a rebreather because of the financial benefit; they buy one because of the safety and increased benefits it brings to their dives. Each must decide for himself or herself if this decision makes sense.

My back and my knees have been very happy that I have made this decision.

[netmage]

In a forum that is trying to convert divers over to the world of rebreathers, you guys are not doing a very good job. ScubaDad started out strong and nearly had be drooling at the thought of one, but then the acronyms appeared. As soon as you guys start with your techno babble, it makes the eyes of us non-Mensa types glaze over. I mean that as a compliment and admire the passion that tech divers put into this activity. Unfortunately, until rebreathers become more idiot proof, I don't think you will see the general diving public gravitating to them. From the little I understand, there are still too many ways for the inattentive/novice diver to kill themselves with these systems. To me, it appears that rebreathers require a level of dedication that only a small percentage of the diving population possess. If I am wrong about your intended audience, by all means let the acronyms fly! Please prove me wrong, because I would love nothing more than to join your club.

Respectfully, Eric

No worries... keep an eye out on the Cis Lunar/Poseidon Mark 6.... it is being positioned solely for the recreational market, modular, self calibrating and dummy proof...

[netmage]

In most moves to CCR you will be changing BC setups tho some like the meg can go anywhere a tank can... , I've never see a meg attached to a SubaPro BC, but I suppose you could... BP/W on a STA are the more common implementation.

What is a "meg"?

Meg is one of my girlfriends.... Meg and Perl... you have to keep them separate, or else your in for a bit of a cat fight.... which, mind you is fun to watch...


Ok - geek joke.... As fingrabber mentioned, Meg = Megalodon... and Perl - well, it's a scripting language I use for all my heavy lifting at work...

[WreckWench]

As fingrabber mentioned, Meg = Megalodon... and Perl - well, it's a scripting language I use for all my heavy lifting at work...

And here I thought it meant TEETH!!!

as in Cooper River Megs!

[scubafanatic]

...well, while I certainly can't argue with scubadadmiami's technical advantages to RBs...I see severe restraints on them in any application outside certain wreck/deep/cave applications that are outside the range of elaborate support facilities. Unfortunately, for a recreational/traveling/reef-critter watching diver such as myself, I see enormous barriers to RBs:

...as the seas decline/die, one is increasingly forced to travel to ever more remote/ 3rd world locations to reach quality diving anymore....and in the vast majority of such places, it's a minor miracle to even obtain NITROX for OC scuba, much less RB supplies/support.

...are dive travel becomes ever more expensive/weight restricted, there will be an emphasis on traveling 'lite'....lugging an RB about flies in the face of future travel trends...heck, in many places there are already SEVERE weight restrictions, even before today's 'recent' fuel/airline crisis.

...unlike OC scuba, where a C-card is universally accepted, one must have a C-card to operate each and every different model of RB......so in the event you want to rent a RB at your dive site to simplyify travel 'issues', good luck finding on-site RB's of the same model you're certified on at home.

...when diving with a group amid OC divers, the OC divers will dictate the dive profiles/runtimes/SIs anyway...why fool with an RB then ? (ScubadadMiami used his in NC, but was just as runtime/profile limited as us OC divers, being able to stay UW for 12 hrs straight was pointless when the whole dive, from splash down to exiting the water was limited to 40 minutes each.)

...as Robin says, I've seen 2 RB's divers in my entire diving career (7 yrs)...a guy in Bonaire, and ScubadadMiami in NC.

...as per Netimage, it will be interesting to see the pending Poseidon recreational unit, to see if it more realistically priced...more travel friendly...and most importantly, 'idiot-proof'.

Karl