Northwest Dive Club

Do you find that having a rebreather tends to limit (on the shallow/short end) the sorts of dives you do and the people you dive with?

Since it's a big time investment to prep and clean the rebreather, does that make you hesitant to blow it on a short, shallow dive? And by extension, does it make you not want to dive with less experienced people on recreational dives?

Also, does switching between OC and CCR throw you off?

With CCR, you'll discover you can dive much much longer, and with the setup/take down, clean, etc, its alot of work for one short dive 50m-1hr dive, when on CCR you can dive several hours easily or longer.

That doesn't preclude me from diving with the bubble blowers, as long as its several dives. Going out for just one dive, uh uh. Not Unless it was one spectacular dive.

As for depth, doesnt matter, while I prefer deeper dives, thats my own choice and has nothing to do with CCR. I find shallower dives more challenging on CCR (less than 50ft).

I no longer dive OC, and havent for several years now. But I guess if I had to dive so badly, that 1 short dive was in the cards, I'd still dive CCR anyways. Practice practice practice. Only thing I practice OC for is bail out.

Switching between OC and CCR can be done, but its difficult for some people to adjust.

[quote="fnerg"]

Since it's a big time investment to prep and clean the rebreather [\quote]

I might be in the minority, but if you take into account the time it takes you to refill your OC tanks (even with your own compressor), I'll be completely cleaned, put away, filled and ready for the next dive day.

I do it all the time. My CCR buddies always move after they get certified, so everyone I dive with is OC. As far as switching, I used to, but now I'm CCR only even on short/shallow dives... Train how you fight, fight how you train...

I do it all the time. My CCR buddies always move after they get certified, so everyone I dive with is OC. As far as switching, I used to, but now I'm CCR only even on short/shallow dives... Train how you fight, fight how you train...

I go back and forth... had a rebreather for 12-ish years now, I think...grabbed it right after open water class, so 190+ of my first 200 dives were on a rebreather.

I prefer rebreather diving to O/C. It's more comfortable, warmer, quieter, and frees me from worry about bottom time, depth limitations (somewhat), etc. That said, the last couple years I've been enjoying the sidemount caves, and sidemount rebreathers just aren't there in any practical/well engineered sense of the word. I like the small restrictions, no mount stuff, and the challenge, and that necessitates o/c in that environment.

My first non-open-water-class O/C dives in Seattle were in prep for Antarctica a few years back. It was O/C with a double reg / H-valve setup, so I decided to do a couple dozen practice dives up here for that. Now I trot out the pink double steel 80s I put together for that just to make fun of people who are too serious about being in the water.

I don't like to set up the rebreather for short dives... it's a lot of work - you're right - and it's a lot of gear. On the other hand, I don't do short, shallow dives up here, anyway, so rebreather or not, I've got enough dives that I'm just not interested, for the most part, in doing those kind of dives. Come to think of it, I've never been interested in those sorts of dives, even as a new diver So it's less about rebreather and more about "that's nice, not interested in it."

I don't care what my buddy's gear is - OC, CCR, 50 foot one-way-lemon-powered-snorkel, powdered oxygen, it's all good. In a recreational scenario, honestly, everything to me is treated as a solo dive, anyway, and it's my 100% expectation that my buddy is on the same page. I'm expecting people to fend for themselves in the water and be capable of self-rescue, and that we're just looking at stuff together, or I've asked you to film/look/observe something about me in the water (or I'm doing the favor the other way). Equipment that they're diving has no bearing on whether I'll dive with them or not. What matters to me is whether I know them or not (physically or virtually) or whether someone I trust has introduced us to one another and vouched for their in-water skills. Then I'll happily dive with them... I don't like "unknown unknowns" in life, in work, and definitely not in the water.

I wasn't thinking from a safety perspective as much as just a time perspective. Inexperienced divers blow through air faster, leading to the aforementioned shorter/shallower dives.

Although with a rebreather, it might actually be more dangerous for the new diver, since their first reaction on OOA is to grab the reg from your mouth, and that doesn't work as well with a RB.

then learn underwater combat

Jeff Pack wrote:then learn underwater combat

Is that the martial art that requires double hose regs so you can only cut the exhaust hose?

Worked for Mike Hunt didnt it?

Jeff Pack wrote:Worked for Mike Hunt didnt it?

Mike Nelson?

Dammit. :-)

Bric Martin wrote:

Jeff Pack wrote:Worked for Mike Hunt didnt it?

Mike Nelson?

Sea Nelson, starting Mike Hunt.

damned lysdexia...

I personally dont care for the hassle of the CCR on recreational dives. For me its about 1.5 total hours more in pre and post dive work on a CCR than on my OC system. but to be fair, I dont rinse my OC gear at home. it gets a fresh water / luke warm rinse at the dive site after the dive for 5min and thats it, everything stays assembled and I fill and store as-is. The CCR is a another ball game and I am very meticulous and paranoid about checklists, maintenance and care.

I dont mind diving with OC people on rec dives, makes no difference to me.. And switching between OC / CCR is no issues either.

I also found that CCR dives on Recreational dives are more expensive than nitrox dives for me personally.. I fill my own gas, so a nitrox dive is pretty cheap and CCR dive gas + scrubber + sensors ends up more than three times the expense of a 32% nitrox dive.

CCR Dive:
Scrubber = $20 per 3 hours = ~$7 per dive (if I can do enough rec diving to use the entire thing)
Gas = $5 (combined O2 and 15/55 trimix.. i dont swap tanks for rec)
O2 Sensors = $30 per month = ~$5 per dive ($120 x 3 sensors per year)
TOTAL = ~$17 per dive

OC 32% Nitrox Dive (asuming 100cft spent):
Gas = $1.00 (I get oxygen at $0.06c per cft)
Compressor = $4
Total = $5 per dive

I can stay down for just about as long as I care to stay on a recreational dive using my doubles, so a CCR has no advantage for me personally there..

Also keep in mind that the GUE CCR configuration is built around making it more useful on bigger dives and less so on rec dives and in contrast to OC diving, when you do a 250ft dive, the cost stays EXACTLY the same on CCR, cost is mostly independent of depth on a CCR.

ALL this said, there are clearly Recreational CCR's on the market thats targeted specifically to this niche.. so I'm sure they may (or may not) make it easier on pre and post care..