Where do you use your rebreather?

[john j]

Let's try to get some more rebreather dialog going. If you are a local rebreather diver, please let us know what kind of unit you have, where you use it and what benefits you see in using it. I think there are still many non-rebreather divers out there that are interested in learning more about rebreathers and why we use them.

[Inspirationdiver]

I just got back from a trip to the Florida Keys. I brought my Inspiration with on the airplane for the first time. No problems at all with security. I even brought scrubber chemical with. The newly sunk Spiegel Grove was pretty spectacular. Pretty busy wreck though. There are 5 mooring lines on the wreck and all 5 of them were tied up to with 20 divers on each boat. There had to have been 100 divers on the wreck at one time. It is a huge wreck though so it suprisingly wasn't too crowded. This really got me excited for the ice to go out, I can't wait to get out and do some more diving.

[john j]

Were there any other rebreathers that you saw down there? What kind? What advantages did you have over the OC divers that were with you?

[ghosch]

I dive a Draeger Dolphin (though I plan to upgrade to CCR, most likely an Inspiration, within the next year).

In the last six months I have had the rebreather to Bermuda, Florida, and Cozumel.

Bermuda was a pain, as the best fill I could find on the island was 40% Nitrox, and even that was tough to get. Florida was great, good access to Nitrox (obviously). Also got some good diving in in Cozumel where I would rebreather dive in the morning, and do a shallow OC dive in the afternoon.

The whole unit fits nicely (and well under 50 lbs) without cylinders in a Samsonite hard side case I have.

I normally bring the scrubber material along, since Going Under has much better prices than anywhere I have found while travelling (or locally for that matter). Had a little trouble in Cozumel (on the way back) but when I showed them the MSDS sheet they were fine with it.

Brought cylinders to Bermuda and Florida, but on the way back from Florida they removed one from my checked luggage (couldn't convince them that a cylinder without a valve had no compressed gas in it, I have since exchanged e-mail with the TSA, and they admit that was a mistake, but the TSA just took over on Jan 1, and they were all new). In cozumel I rented cylinders.

All in all, diving a rebreather while travelling takes more effort than OC (sourcing gas, chemicals, etc.). It also costs a little more (normally the tanks are included in a charter fee with OC). The benefits are limited by who you are diving with (in my cases OC buddies), but at least I know I'll never be the first one back on the boat. To sum it up, it doesn't make sense financially (while travelling, and doing recreational diving, makes great sense locally or tech) but the extra enjoyment I get is worth the added $5 a dive

On the last day we didn't dive, so we just bummed around town and wandered into Dive Cozumel (Dive Paradise). The owner there had just done a 471' dive with a Megaladon that morning. His shop does fill Nitrox on site (unusual for Cozumel), pure O2, and Trimix.

Attatched is a picture from Key Largo, note that there are some bubbles (SCR vs. CCR)!

[LKunze]

Ghosch, just curious as to what the bottle is mounted behind your left shoulder (right side looking at the picture)? Is that a OC bailout bottle? I see the normal horizontal one as well on the bottom but I was wondering what the other one is for?

[ghosch]

It is a dual purpose bottle, OC bailout and BC inflation.

[john j]

Ghosch;

When the airlines had a problem with you traveling with an empty cylinder, did they take it away from you or did you eventually get it back?

[ghosch]

John,

Northwest was the culprit (though it was the TSA screener that took it out of the bag). I had a lively discussion with the person at the ticket counter. Asked her to show me the appropriate FAA regs., and she brought up stuff about oxygen, propane, etc.

Fortunately, my parents live in Florida, so they went to the airport, got the cylinder, and shipped it back Fed Ex (on a plane, of course).

I Believe FAA regs allow a cylinder to have up to 40psi in it, but if you look at Northwests web site (as opposed to other airlines) they specifically prohibit SCUBA cylinders as company policy.

Sounds like a good reason to fly another airline to me!

[Inspirationdiver]

I flew ATA on my trip to Florida. I brought both of the bottles for the Inspiration and a 30 cu ft. stage bottle that I carried on the wreck dives we did. I drained all three tanks, took the valves out of them, and covered the tank neck with tape to prevent anything from contaminating them. I divided the tanks up into different bags to even the weight. I also brought sofnolime with. I enclosed the safety data sheet with each ziploc bag of sofnolime. They searched all my bags but didn't give me any trouble about anything.

[Mark Y]

Where can one find the FAA/DOT regulations re: the transportation of scuba cylinders (on planes)? - I've searched the FAA & DOT websites in vain. Also, where can one pick up a copy of the Sofnolime safety sheet?

Thanks