Rebreather Pro

Video: Jill Heinerth Rebreather Message

Have you got your Rebreather Forum 3 tickets yet?

RF3 is quickly approaching. There are some good deals on early ticket purchases. Click here. 

 

When Should I Start CCR Diving

I just received a question from the "Ask Jill" link that is worth sharing.

A reader with a young family was eager to start rebreather diving but was somewhat financially strapped, wondering whether purchasing an older used unit was a good idea. Learning on any rebreather gives you an opportunity to build hours on CCR technology and that knowledge will transfer to other units in the future. However, the most important thing to secure is excellent training and to dedicate yourself to very diligent behavior using checklists at all times. It is a very big decision when you have a young family, because there is additional risk involved with rebreather diving.

Accidents generally result from how we use the equipment rather than equipment failure. So ultimately we have a reasonable ability to control our results. If you choose to buy a used rebreather, you should send it to the manufacturer for assessment and service. There may be small issues or developing problems that you are not trained to detect. The factory should be able to find those problems and fix them, giving you peace of mind to begin your journey.

I'm a tough person to ask about jumping into rebreather diving. I love it, but am very cautious. CCRs are tools, not toys. You need to have a purpose for a CCR, not simply a desire to use one. I don't like suggesting that anyone take on additional risk in life. If I had a young child, I would ask myself... "should I start rebreather diving with something less than I really want?" or "should I wait until I have saved enough money to buy the best unit and training I can afford?" Ultimately only you can answer that question adequately. It is a tough one, but make sure your whole family embraces it and understands why you do what you love! --  Jill Heinerth

Rebreather CO2 Incident

 

CO2 Incident

I’ve posted this video link before, but I want to highlight it again, because there is so much to learn from this incident:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/diving/video/co2video.htm

This time you view it I would like you to consider bailout volume and scrubber ratings. Many people look at the scrubber rating that is verified through CE testing and say, “yeah, but that was in really cold water and at a ventilation rate that only an Olympian could maintain.” The ventilation rate of the diver in this video while using bailout was estimated to be over four times the rate that is tested by CE standards.

It is a terrible cascade when CO2 begins to elevate in the diver. Bailing out as soon as possible is critical or the cascade can lead to the point of unconsciousness… essentially suffocation by over ventilation as this diver experienced.

At some point, any scrubber design can be over-breathed. They all have their extreme limits.

This video is a terrific learning tool and I am grateful to the participating divers and manufacturer who realized it was more important to send a safety message to the community than to worry about the embarrassment of being a part of an incident. -- Jill Heinerth

 

Rebreather Fundamentals Workshop - Sunday March 25 from 9am - 4pm

 

Rebreather Fundamentals Workshop with Rebreather Pro Jill Heinerth -

Sunday March 25 from 9am - 4pm

at the Beneath the Sea Diving Symposium.

Meadowlands Exposition Center, Seacaucus New Jersey

Classroom session: $95 will include many educational resources to take home

Tickets available online at: www.BeneathTheSea.org (space is limited)

Enjoy a full-day academic session with CCR expert Jill Heinerth. Using fascinating stories and a multimedia presentation, Jill will cover all the essentials of rebreather diving.

 

If you are looking to purchase a rebreather, this is an opportunity to learn how to be a wise consumer and make the choice that is right for you.

If you already own a rebreather and want a review of academics, new trends and the future of CCR diving, then this seminar will offer an opportunity to gather new information.

If you want to prevent yourself from joining the ranks of 20 or so people who perish each year on rebreathers, this workshop will inform you about accident analysis and prevention.

If you want a day with an expert who will carefully answer your questions and help you find solutions, then this is your best opportunity to spend a day with Jill.

If you want to see how rebreathers are being used in exciting expeditions around the world, this full-day road show will entertain and motivate you to participate in CCR diving.

The workshop is non-denominational… all training agencies and all manufacturers are welcome. All levels of divers are welcome from recreational through technical divers.

Topics:

Rebreather operations and procedures

Basics, types, operation and essential care

Selecting a rebreather: comparing apples and oranges

Selecting an instructor

Understanding CE testing

Myths and misconceptions about rebreather diving

Carbon dioxide: dangerous and ignored

Reducing oxygen issues

Planning for the future: deep mixed-gas operations

Accident analysis and prevention: beating the complacency trap

Traveling with rebreathers: tips and warnings

Lots of time for questions...and answers

See you there -- Jill

 

Posting On a Plane Again

I seem to get caught up on blog posts when I am flying around the world. There is nothing like the isolation of a long flight to brew up my writing and creativity. Several years ago, I was returning from Toronto on a New Year’s Eve flight. Suddenly, a rather nervous sounding pilot announced to the cabin crew to take their seats and asked all the passengers to buckle up and listen to the flight attendants. After an uncomfortably long discourse between the pilot and the head steward, we were briefed on the situation. A serious fault with the aircraft required that we immediately divert to Detroit and prepare for an emergency landing. Halfway through instructions, the address system died and the flight attendant had to yell the commands down the cabin, telling us to relay instructions to the back of the plane. “Take out your emergency instruction seat cards,” she said. “Review the ditch position. Practice it now! If your neighbor doesn’t understand, help them practice it now!” Whatever was going on in the cockpit was serious, because we were rapidly descending, essentially bailing out.

Pilots and divers have at least one thing in common. If you still have air, you are okay. I kept calm, figuring that planes, like rebreathers, were meant to be operated in manual mode in the event of an electronics failure.

We came down rather heavily with our heads between our knees and surrounded by flashing lights and sirens. Immediately after landing we were rushed from the plane as quickly as possible into the night. Up until that point, everyone had done very well following instructions, yet with the crisis still apparently facing us, some people tried to retrieve their cabin baggage. Suddenly their personal belongings seemed more important than getting everyone off the plane.

I thought about the parallels to diving again. I’m aware of at least two separate fatalities where divers spent unnecessary time trying to bring broken or useless equipment out of a cave, perhaps sacrificing their lives for a piece of gear. Your dead scooter, empty stage bottle or camera won’t help you get out of a cave or back to a boat in a current. Ditch the useless gear and go back for it later.

I spent New Years Eve in an airport without food, a wallet or even adequate warm clothing. But New Years Day saw the return of my personal belongings from the plane and my return to Florida. It was inconvenient, but I was grateful for the well-practiced skill of the flight crew and happy to get home.

If you see me on a plane today, I’m the geek who always reads the emergency card and scopes out the exits. My wallet is on my body now and so is my warm coat! -- Jill Heinerth

 

 

Phil Short: "Analyze your gas!"

Analyze Your Gas - Constantly! My dear friend Phil Short recently asked conference attendees at Baltictech, “would you ever jump in the water without analyzing your gas?” Of course, everyone voiced a resounding, no!” He then reminded the participants at his rebreather seminar that if they were not checking their PO2 often, then that was similar to jumping in the water with un-analyzed gas. Know your PO2 at all times. Don’t allow complacency to creep into your practices. Visit Phil at Phil Short Technical Diving.

 

From DEMA: A Bailout Rebreather

Mike Young was showing this little GEM at the DEMA trade show. Here's a link to a video from Curt Bowen and Walter Pickel: http://vimeo.com/31822198

Breaking News: VR and Hollis Reveal Recreational Rebreather!

VR Technology and Hollis Gear have teamed up to launch the worlds the most revolutionary piece of diving equipment since the BC.

The Explorer sport rebreather.

In 1992 VR Technology launched the world’s first multi-gas dive computer. Since that time VR Technology has lead the charge in revolutionizing diving equipment and achieved no less than 21 “worlds Firsts” in underwater technology.
Hollis Gear has unrivaled manufacturing and distribution capability and has built one of the best brands in the SCUBA Industry.

 “The strengths of both companies were effectively utilized to produce a product superior to what could have been achieved individually. I can’t say too much today, but the Explorer will revolutionize the way we think about sport diving.” —Kevin Gurr

The Explorer sport rebreather will make its début at DEMA on November 2, 2011 at the Hollis Booth # 1747 and boasts technology never before seen on any underwater apparatus. The unit is neither a fully closed circuit rebreather nor a pure semi-closed system, but an intelligent hybrid that utilizes the best of both worlds. It’s compact, lightweight and extremely easy to use. The Explorer is unique in using a single gas; Nitrox, and is electronically controlled to achieve an optimal balance of PPO2 and dive time. Plug and Play absorbent cartridges, easy guided setup with “go or no go” mechanism that insures a cartridge is fitted, CO2 tracking, and 2 hour design duration make this a dream for any recreational diver. The Explorer diver will benefit from breathing warm gas, have lots of bottom time, and since it does not produce any invasive bubbles, see more sea life than ever before. Yes, this ESCR (Electronic Semi-Closed Rebreather) is designed to meet the PADI Type R requirement.

The Explorer package is supplied complete with regulator, cylinder, BCD and onboard decompression computer. It is ready to dive out of the box and at an amazing price given the technology and cost of alternative systems in the market.