how does the habitat work

[aclivity]

<font color='#810541'>I seem to be plaguing this forum with questions I'm sure I should be able to find the answer for - sorry about that.  In my defence, I have tried to search for an answer on Google but to no avail.

Anyway, the thread on 'run times in cave diving' has been fascinating to read, and the links to the EKPP pages worth a look - exactly the kind of conversation I came to YD (from lurking in dnet) for.

There's a few mentions of a 'habitat' used in the EKPP pages.  How exactly does that work?  Trying to guess, I came up with an upturned plastic box at the top of a cave filled with O2.  That somehow doesn't seem right - how would you get rid of the exhaled CO2, how much gas is required to displace the water?

Regards
Andy
(not yet 'personal preference', more like 'want to do it right but will settle for doing it not dangerously for the time being')

[db8us]

Hi Andy,

we use different types of habitats.
Reinhard has built them.
The general idea is to be able to sit in a &quot;dry&quot; area from you butt upwards.
Then you can eat, drink, it´s warm and cosy....
So you COULD use it only at 6m and do your O2 there.
In case you tox you would loose the reg in your mouth and gain conciousness when breathing the gas inside the habitat (due to the frequent breakes it has lesse then 60%approx)
You should not be able to &quot;slip back&quot; into the water when getting unconciuos, so the design should take care about that.
When using the habitat at 9m you can use O2 there and by that shorten the deco substantially. Of course gas-breakes then are critical and should be performed.
http://www.waldbrenner.de/db8us/rhabitat1.gif
shows the &quot;one-person-tent&quot;.
You fix them to the floow using spits and you usally use at least 6 of them to distribute the almost one ton lift amongst them.

We used a chemical container in the Gourneyras
http://www.ekpp.de/project....029.jpg
Having two persons in there makes it more easy to support them, also they can assist each other.
One person could (maybe) even change the suit inside such a habitat. (we never tried)
http://www.ekpp.de/project....021.jpg
shows us sitting inside.
These kinf of habitat, like the ones the WKPP uses in Wakulla are floated against the ceiling. We prefer that, since it does not damage the cave and it is VERY stable !

This year at the Coly we wanted to test some new stuff (the website is not updated...soon to come..) and so we used a
mechanism where we have entered the habitat as deep as 24m and did the deco all the way up to 9m in the dry !

This allowed us to have shrimps and other 4-courses dinner-stuff !


I will post, as soon as we have the pics online.

Hope this helps

Michael

[aclivity]

<font color='#810541'>Thanks for that Michael.

I realise I have much to learn and LOTS more diving to do, if I am to aspire to anything as exciting as the projects on the EKPP website!

[Mark Chase]

Do you sink the rig then fill it with gas to float it back up against the ceiling or do you weight it and swim it down full of air?

Must take a lot of gas to fill it.

I have to say that if you are willing to spend several hours in that thing doing deco the cave must be awesum.

ATB

Mark Chase

[Andy Phillips]

Oh my god,

I think you have found my limit, no thanks, no way.

Genuine pampers diving, I'd go nuts, can you get an X-Box in there. Where's the battery for the microwave kept.

Honestly, I am impressed, I just know for sure I could not do it, fair play to you.

Take care,

Andrew

[And]

<font color='#0000FF'>I D'know

Looks pretty cool.

Well done EKPP !

Andy

[db8us]

First, the caves ARE awesome and it is woth the effort !

We usually sink the habitat and then re-inflate it.
It is a very hard job to get it in place, especially since it tends to flip over.
The new one is assembled under water and it is very challenging if you have a silty floor.

We are working on the micro-wave and TV &nbsp;

[Pierre Farrugia]

<font color='#0000FF'>Hello,

Doing deco in habitat sitting up, so not in horizontal position does this makes difference? Do you notice any difference?

Regards

Pierre

[db8us]

since in the water it might be better to do the deco horizontal, in a habitat it does not matter, since you are surrounded by gas the pressure is the same everywhere in the habitat, cause it is made by the pressure of the watersurface at the bottom of the habitat.
So actually, if you set the habitat letßs say to 8,9m you will measure 8,9m everywhere inside even on the &quot;top&quot; on the inside...
That is pretty good for deco !

Michael