What does the future hold for rebreathers?

[Sipadan]

thanks for the info and opinions

[Luddite]

The submatix is built for recreational diving. In SCR configeration it is like having a nitrox twin set on your back. A reg can be put on the unit so you don't have to carry a bail out. You can breath off the gas used in the unit which is ajust a nitrox mix.

Because it uses 2 2L bottles you can get an upgrade to have a switchable travel and bottom gas.

If you the choose to it can be upgraded to mCCR. where the reg will breath of the diluent gas.

If the fancy takes you again you can upgrade to electronic CCR.

Fully loaded it weighs in around the some area as a 15l steal.

Its a nice unit and I enjoy diving on it

[Sipadan]

Originally Posted by Drmike

An rb is not the right tool for shallow recreational dives. It adds considerable unecessary risk, complexity, cost and hasle.

sorry missed this post.

perhaps i should have been clearer, i wasn't referring to 8m bimbles, more toward the upper limits of recreational diving, in the 40 - 50m range. the perfect 'nitrox' mix at every depth and no worries about gas consumption seem pretty appealing to me.

[Mark Chase]

Originally Posted by AlanP

I have just been reading about this, and it looks really cool and a really positive step.

Will watch this with interest POSEIDON - The Ultimate Dive

No its very un cool and taking CCR in totaly the wrong direction. But thats just my opinion



Diving a unit with the mind set i don't know what its doing or how its doing it but it works, will kill you sooner or later. This unit is aimed at that market and I find that scary.


I once posted all divers should do at least 100hours on a MCCR before they are allowed to dive an electronic CCR. I was quite surprised at the support I got but i suppose i shouldn't have been as many MCCR divers have grown to understand how in tune it makes you with the unit.

MCCR has little to fail and they are cheaper than ECCR so my 2p is forget technology to keep you alive, and work on common sense and simple equipment instead.

ATB

Mark

[Drmike]

Originally Posted by Sipadan

sorry missed this post.

perhaps i should have been clearer, i wasn't referring to 8m bimbles, more toward the upper limits of recreational diving, in the 40 - 50m range. the perfect 'nitrox' mix at every depth and no worries about gas consumption seem pretty appealing to me.

Oh I see. Certainly 40-50m range is getting to the depths where rbs benefits start to outweigh their risks, but at those depths your talking about deco diving. I would strongly caution against doing 40-50m deco dives without reasonable independant bail out volumes. Worst case you could be sat at 50m at the end of your dive with only half pressure left in your tank and you flood your unit. When I did that in france my RMV was over 45LPM! Luckily I had enough bail gas. A half full 3L tank would last maybe a min or two at that depth and RMV which should be just enough time for an uncontrolled rapid ascent and cry for help



At those depths IMO you would be wise to carry additional offboard bail tank

[wreckweasel]

Originally Posted by Mark Chase

MCCR has little to fail and they are cheaper than ECCR so my 2p is forget technology to keep you alive, and work on common sense and simple equipment instead.

Yeah but mark, it took us all years of slapping you verbally before you saw the light

Depending on who you speak to, the future holds;

a. A technological nirvana that will fly itself, tell you how to dive and nag you with alarms. basically its a woman that doesnt make the tea
b. A simplified unit, where you have to take responsibility and use your brain (sometimes taking things as far as SCR for example.

No-one really knows, its mostly marketing hot air. Dr Mike hit the nail on the head though, lots of folks do die on the machines, so whatever you choose make sure you understand it, its operational procedures and be honest with yourself at all times. Some of the best lies going are;

- I've planned my bailout (yes, usually on your resting OC rate, not on a CO2 elevated rate
- xyz is a dive god and doesnt need bailout, I've seen the photos (behind the cameraman is often a pile of bailout gas that gets staged because it doesnt look 'cool')
- I wouldnt ever jump in the water with something wrong.

For me personally, I'd like better oxygen sensors and a nice bailout breather.

/Z

[Drmike]

Originally Posted by Mark Chase

so my 2p is forget technology to keep you alive, and work on common sense and simple equipment instead.

couldnt agree more!
For this type of diving 'forget technology, use common sense and keep it simple' - buy a twin set and dive OC.

[Drmike]

Originally Posted by wreckweasel

Yeah but mark, it took us all years of slapping you verbally before you saw the light

Yeh but aint that just marks posting history in a nutshell

[PeeBee]

Originally Posted by wreckweasel

For me personally, I'd like better oxygen sensors and a nice bailout breather.

/Z

This is my concern (although I acknowledge I know very little), I know of so many people who have had trouble with sensors, doesn't matter how good you are but they are a serious failure point. and if you are rninng three of them then to my mind that can make things worse, 2 reliable ones would be far better, a primary and a backup. But what do I know!

[Mark Chase]

Originally Posted by Sipadan

sorry missed this post.

perhaps i should have been clearer, i wasn't referring to 8m bimbles, more toward the upper limits of recreational diving, in the 40 - 50m range. the perfect 'nitrox' mix at every depth and no worries about gas consumption seem pretty appealing to me.

More importantly it makes trimix so cheep its worth using it on dives 30m and over.

OK trimix is not esential on a 30-40m dive but it is much niceer diving with a clear head.


A 3 hour 50m dive running 21/35 trimix will set you back about £15 in gas lime
even using trimix.

If your doing 20+ 40m+ dives a year its worth it


I jave a J of 18/45 a J of 02 and two 12ltrs of 10/70. With those i can do all my fills for the year and save a fortune on trips to the dive shop.

Missed dives are no longer a problem, left over mix is no longer a problem.

And the kit for a weeks 70m trimix diving including ALL gas looks like this



ATB

Mark





ATB

Mark