I want to go the route of rebreather diving i just need some advice or help:
Which rebreather should i choose i was thinking of an inspiration because i can buy a second hand unit i don't know whether other rebreathers are readily available second hand?
Training i was going to use dennis wigg as i can hire a unit of him do the course first then once i'm hook borrow loads of money and buy a unit......Any advice is much appreciated
Do a try dive on several units. It will help you, and you can ask a huge number of questions about rebreathers, training, costs, upsides and downsides etc.
There's several instructors running try dives on several different units for a very sensible cost. Not a million miles from you is Andy Hayhurst, who does a lot of rebreather training and is very very good. Dales Divers Homepage - they will also advise you on what unit is right for you, will help buying secondhand units, and can provide world class training.
The option of hiring a unit for the course isn't a bad one - it means you'll get several days to see whether a unit is right for you, if it is then you can go ahead and buy that unit, if not you can try another unit and the crossover course won't be expensive.
Ask yourself, then answer yourself honestly why you want one.
"Because I want a new toy!" is a perfectly valid answer - however, your reasons for wanting one may well help direct you down the path for the ideal RB for you.
Most CCR are available second hand with the possable exception of the JJ and the Hammer Head which will be hard to get.
If looking for an Inspo then get the Vision rather than the cheaper but more hassle Classic
If looking wider than just UK based companies then consider the rEvo KISS and the JJ (any of these would be my choice over an over complicated Inspo and Sentinel)
As a new CCR diver don't be fooled into thinking a unit that does it all for you is a good unit. More often than not the all singing and dancing units just mean more cost and more hassle.
I started on an Inspo Classic in 2004 then went Hammer Head, KISS, rEvo, JJ.
If you want to train in the uk you are limited to a ce marked unit. I'm not really qualified to advise you, having just bought my very first unit but imvho...don't fanny around for a year like I did. You can pick up an inspo classic for well under 2k or a vision for 3.5k. Personally I went for a new vision but that's because my wife wouldn't let me have a 2nd hand unit. If you then decide you want to try something else, sell it..
You won't lose any money. If you're going to do it..get it done.
The reason i want to go rebreather is to dive for longer periods of time I'm not a depth junky but if i decide to go down the trimix route rather than first learn on open circuit then closed circuit i can just continue training on the rebreather.I was thinking of spending in the region of £2000-£4000 hopefully i can buy a unit and get trained for that...
Thanks for all your advice so far.....
Then id allow 3250 for the unit and 750 for training.
You should be able to rustle up a Inspo Vision for £3250. There shouldent be a problem getting a rEvo II or a KISS. I paid £2750 for an A1 condition KISS with no wing back plate or tanks.
Try and get one with a BOV fitted and if you can get a KISS with a HUD its a good investment as well.
If you go for the Inspo Classic make sure its got a coax loom upgrade and again try and go for a unit with a BOV. Vision Classics will need inspection by someone who knows about their little foybals. They can be cheep to buy and then shortly after they are expensive to fix.
If on a tight budget remember that less electronics = less to go wrong = fewer bills to pay post purchase.
I had Inspo Classic and Hammer Head ECCRs and spent 1000s on repairs and a load more paying for missed dives. I then had the KISS MCCR on which I did considerably more diveing, spent zero on repairs and never missed a dive.
If you insist on ECCR then the Vision is the only afordable unit for you that has a fairley strong reliabuility record in recent years. The Meg rEvo Hybrid and the JJ are all out of your price band
I was in the same position as you, a year ago. As I didn't have an unlimited budget and none of my buddies dived on a rebreather, I went for a second hand inspo classic. Had my instructor come and check the rebreather before the purchase. Spent under £2,000 for the purchase and course.
No big expenses so far and no missed dives.
Laughing now when I go trimix diving, specially when the gas bill comes up.
I don't regret the decision at all.
Hope that helps.
I went for the easy option and asked the people who did my Mod 1 course. Failing that, i was going to try friends of friends and the like. Failing that, there's a place where my brother did his Mod 1 (though that's abroad!) and lastly, very lastly, eBay.
Oh and like the others said, try as many as you can beforehand! If nothing else, it's interesting to see the different solutions to the same problems.
I'd suggest avoid ebay unless you know breathers and can comportable judge a unit from data and pictures provided. With spending that sort of cash I always take a view if I can't try it out and test it before parting with cash walk away as its not worth it!
Theres usually enough unit s available through instructors and places like here and RBW. I'd give Ebay a very wide berth unless you can go and see the unit and take someone who knows the unit with you to check it out.
Yes it was my first proper CCR (though I'd owned a Draeger and various homebuilt CCR's). The KISS is a fairly simple unit to check over and not a hell of a lot to go wrong on it that isn't cheaply fixable. Like I said, I gambled that there was only so much that could go wrong on it and as it was (at the time) a fairly small community of divers it was reasonably easy to check its background.
I did the same with my Mk15, bought from someone on the other side of the world and the first time I saw it was when the Fedex van turned up. It needed a bit of work doing to it but again the price justified it.
I guess both these units have one thing in common, they are easy to fix without going back to the manufacturer. An Inspo is a bit less flexible, I don't think I'd buy a unit in that way when it requires a lot more support from the manufacturer.
Try to take someone with you who knows a bit about rebreathers and/or get someone to give you a full overview of a similar unit before you trundle off to view. Thanks Scribley and SimonA
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