Joined
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44 Posts
Hi all
I finally got the chance to dive my Apoc today at Long Beach in Simons Town. The site meets the definition of confined water for some training agencies. There was no wind, no swell, the viz was about 8 meters and other than a bit of rain while kitting up, it was a great day to go diving.
The machine held pos and neg tests for several minutes at home the night before, and just before we kitted up. Adjusting the harness was hardly necessary, except for the crotch strap.
Putting the crown strap on and the feeling of the ALVBOV pushing against my lips/gums was unfamiliar and took some getting used to. Initially I had the trigger necklace too tight and I could not get the unit to stay on CC ... it kept on bailing out. After a bit of fumbling (wearing 5mm gloves) I got that sorted out.
First thing I noticed besides buoyancy and trim which was spot on to start with, was that the cracking pressure of the ALVBOV is quite high in CC mode. I'm not sure if its supposed to be like that. Its harder to activate than any rebreather I have ever used before. Swimming with the unit seems easy and doesn't require much effort.
The cylinder valves are very easy to reach, and the unit is very comfortable in the water. Initially I had some trouble locating the bailout actuator and the purge button on the ALVBOV. By the end of the dive, it was no longer an issue. At the beginning of the dive I needed two hands to get the ALVBOV from OC into CC mode, but by the end of the dive, I could do it with one hand in quite a smooth, quick motion.
I suspect I may have to adjust the length of the breathing hoses, and it took some getting used to having breathing hoses running so close to either side of your head. Its much easier to turn your body than turning your head, and - although you can turn your head if you want to - it requires effort and is a bit uncomfortable. The ALVBOV does rest nicely against your chin and I think that it would work well when scootering with a minimum of strain on your mouth.
There was a bit of gurgling in the ALVBOV and breathing hoses during the dive, and I tried the water drain and it works a treat. After the dive it turns out that there was about a cup of water in the exhalation counterlung which I think was loose lips and/or because the crown strap was too tight and became progressively more uncomfortable during the dive.
When i tried to reach the counterlung pull dumps during the dive all I could reach were the first stage dust caps. The dust caps will definitely be left on land in my dive box next time
Next time I will also strap the cylinders onto the case higher up so that I can locate and pull the pull dumps during the dive.
The location of the manual add valve takes some getting used to for me since every other unit I've ever owned or built has it on the right chest, and I find my hand going there every time I want to add O2. I could reach it with my left and my right hand, so it would be possible to add O2 while scootering without coming off the trigger. When you add manually you can hear the gas enetering the loop quite clearly.
The WOB seems great in all orientations as far as I can tell. The difference in WOB when inverted, vertical and on your side is much less pronounced than in any other unit I've owned or dived before.
OSEL were spot on in saying that apart from the 4kg trim weight I would not need anything extra. Over and above my regular weight belt, I added the 6kg which is usually made up by a SS backplate, and a p-weight and it was perfect.
Cleaning the unit at home was an absolute pleasure. Really simple and quick.
In summary: I'm a very happy early adopter and I can't wait to do more dives with the unit. I need to add all my regular kit to it and find a good place to put primary & backup lights, suit inflation system, SMB, spools, reels, etc. for future dives.
Dive #1
37 minutes
max depth 5.1m
avg depth 3.3m
water temp 15 degrees
rgds
monty
I finally got the chance to dive my Apoc today at Long Beach in Simons Town. The site meets the definition of confined water for some training agencies. There was no wind, no swell, the viz was about 8 meters and other than a bit of rain while kitting up, it was a great day to go diving.
The machine held pos and neg tests for several minutes at home the night before, and just before we kitted up. Adjusting the harness was hardly necessary, except for the crotch strap.
Putting the crown strap on and the feeling of the ALVBOV pushing against my lips/gums was unfamiliar and took some getting used to. Initially I had the trigger necklace too tight and I could not get the unit to stay on CC ... it kept on bailing out. After a bit of fumbling (wearing 5mm gloves) I got that sorted out.
First thing I noticed besides buoyancy and trim which was spot on to start with, was that the cracking pressure of the ALVBOV is quite high in CC mode. I'm not sure if its supposed to be like that. Its harder to activate than any rebreather I have ever used before. Swimming with the unit seems easy and doesn't require much effort.
The cylinder valves are very easy to reach, and the unit is very comfortable in the water. Initially I had some trouble locating the bailout actuator and the purge button on the ALVBOV. By the end of the dive, it was no longer an issue. At the beginning of the dive I needed two hands to get the ALVBOV from OC into CC mode, but by the end of the dive, I could do it with one hand in quite a smooth, quick motion.
I suspect I may have to adjust the length of the breathing hoses, and it took some getting used to having breathing hoses running so close to either side of your head. Its much easier to turn your body than turning your head, and - although you can turn your head if you want to - it requires effort and is a bit uncomfortable. The ALVBOV does rest nicely against your chin and I think that it would work well when scootering with a minimum of strain on your mouth.
There was a bit of gurgling in the ALVBOV and breathing hoses during the dive, and I tried the water drain and it works a treat. After the dive it turns out that there was about a cup of water in the exhalation counterlung which I think was loose lips and/or because the crown strap was too tight and became progressively more uncomfortable during the dive.
When i tried to reach the counterlung pull dumps during the dive all I could reach were the first stage dust caps. The dust caps will definitely be left on land in my dive box next time
Next time I will also strap the cylinders onto the case higher up so that I can locate and pull the pull dumps during the dive.
The location of the manual add valve takes some getting used to for me since every other unit I've ever owned or built has it on the right chest, and I find my hand going there every time I want to add O2. I could reach it with my left and my right hand, so it would be possible to add O2 while scootering without coming off the trigger. When you add manually you can hear the gas enetering the loop quite clearly.
The WOB seems great in all orientations as far as I can tell. The difference in WOB when inverted, vertical and on your side is much less pronounced than in any other unit I've owned or dived before.
OSEL were spot on in saying that apart from the 4kg trim weight I would not need anything extra. Over and above my regular weight belt, I added the 6kg which is usually made up by a SS backplate, and a p-weight and it was perfect.
Cleaning the unit at home was an absolute pleasure. Really simple and quick.
In summary: I'm a very happy early adopter and I can't wait to do more dives with the unit. I need to add all my regular kit to it and find a good place to put primary & backup lights, suit inflation system, SMB, spools, reels, etc. for future dives.
Dive #1
37 minutes
max depth 5.1m
avg depth 3.3m
water temp 15 degrees
rgds
monty
