Rebreather Pro

Tom Iliffe and Jill Heinerth to 448 fsw on CCR

Jill and Tom dove to 448 fsw yesterday during the NOAA Ocean Explorer Bermuda Deep Water Caves project. Jill was on her Sentinel and Dr. Tom dove his trusty Megalodon. These are the deepest dives ever conducted off Bermuda. Here's quick pic of the sea bottom at 448. More to come.

Video: Critical Rebreather Pre Dive Checks by Paul Heinerth, Brian Kakuk and Jill Heinerth on NOAA Research Mission

This is a good little sample video shot and edited by Nic Alvarado. It gives a sneak peek into our pre-dive regimen on the Bermuda Deep Water Caves Project. We all use checklists to prepare our rebreathers as well as signed gas logs for every tank. Each diver must also have a witness for critical points in their pre-dive check such as inserting a fully packed canister into the rebreather. On the boat, prior to leaving the dock, we go through a group check where each diver touches and verifies that their tanks are onboard, personally analyzed and checked in the gas log. Check lists are cool and they save lives.  -- Jill Heinerth

Here is the video link. You can download whichever version will best play in your browser.

 

Jill Heinerth on Deep Ocean Rebreather Expedition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Follow Jill and a team of divers and scientists on NOAA's latest deep ocean adventure at:

http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/welcome.html

Jill is diving a Sentinel, Brian Kakuk a Meg, and Paul Heinerth an Optima to some deep ocean caves!

Innerspace Earns CE Certification

Congrats to our friends at Innerspace Systems! Check out the details over on Rebreather World.

Rebreather Diving Consumables

I get asked about the cost of consumables for rebreathers quite often. Here is a breakdown based on an average rebreather. Many variables exist for particular units and tank sizes.

Oxygen - in North Florida a tank is filled for about $4 - $6 and lasts up to ten hours, independent of depth
Diluent - depth dependent, but lasts for a good day of diving for $4
Bailout - these are likely plumbed to your inflator and/or dry suit, but won’t be used for anything beyond safety checks, practice or open circuit bailout, therefore will last up to months prior to refilling unless you have had an incident
Batteries - depends on your unit. Mine is rechargeable, so extremely low cost. My first rig had batteries that were $100 for about 40 hours of use!
Sorb - averages between $25 and $30 per fill or cartridge for most people. These may last from two to six hours depending on your unit, although it is always advisable to start fresh for deep.
Trimix - local prices vary dramatically, but you will likely only need 13 cft (2 liters) of mix for a deep dive. If you keep a filled pair of bailout tanks, you’ll only be refilling the onboard tank for dives. It is cheaper to store an extra set of bailout tanks than fill and dump on a regular basis.
Service - don’t forget to factor service into your life. Don’t wait for something to break. Be proactive.  Jill Heinerth

Rebreather Presentation Pt.6 Diluent Gases - Jill Heinerth

Extreme Cave Diving DVD

  Extreme Cave Diving DVD now available in our online store at www.JillsDiveShop.com

This is the recent expedition to Bahamas Blue Holes with Dr. Kenny Broad, Wes Skiles, Brian Kakuk and Jill Heinerth. Stunning underwater footage! Even a bit of rebreather controversy stirred up in the silt. Plenty of rebreather footage, as Jill, Brian and Kenny push CCR technology to the limit.

Buy it today and own a copy of one of the most beautifully filmed expeditions to earth's most dangerous frontier!

New Oxygen Connection to Meg Head

Recent Megalodon models have been shipping with a screw fitting to the oxygen injection in the head rather than a quick connect fitting. In both cases, it is extremely important that this fitting is kept clean prior to connection. Anything in the opening of the hose or on the quick connect can be forced into the solenoid valve. Salt water over time can cause corrosion of interior parts. Blow a little gas through the fitting before connecting.
The threaded hose is a very secure connection, however, it is a little inconvenient in the prep process. You may not be ready to connect to the head, but you have an open LP hose. Purchase a small slider valve to protect the hose end when it is not attached to the head. Leave it in the off position. Now you are able to check tank pressure if you need to. Use the slider as a bleed valve to depressurize the line. Then unscrew before hooking up to the head. Think of it as a cap for the hose, keeping it clean.
I’m not a fan of sliders that are used to disable oxygen supply to the solenoid. I think they leave room for mistakes. I prefer feathering the tank valve on and off in the event of a high PO2 failure.

Pathfinder Rebreather from Innerspace

Innerspace Research was showing their new Pathfinder and Predator rebreathers at the DEMA Trade Show this week.

The small Pathfinder system is used primarily with one oxygen cylinder mounted on the unit. The diluent cylinder is mounted as a stage bottle to supply diluent, wing and bailout. The Pathfinder may be operated off of two out board supplies only, if desired.

The Pathfinder comes with the new Manta Lung which sits on top of the shoulders of the diver, leaving the front area free, but Meg owners can also use their own Meg loop on the rig since the fittings are compatible.

It’s aimed at being a three-hour rig or to be used by sidemounters or for bailout. If using a small Micropore canister, the test data allows for two-hours at 1.35 liters CO2 production.

The system promises to be very modular for people who wish to make this their primary rig allowing for options like a Shearwater or Liquivision computer, solenoid injection or BOV.

The Predator rig is even smaller and will use new miniature Micorpore scrubbers. More on that as test data becomes available.  From DEMA, Jill Heinerth