Mailing List Archive Mailing List Archive
> I don't see anyone with a fully closed breather doing shit > except for Rod farb, and he is not cave diving. I guess 300-400 foot dives in Hawaii and Papua New Guinea don't quite qualify as "shit"...but that's not cave diving either, so I guess it doesn't constitute "real" diving anyway. Some time ago, someone asked about the Cis-Lunar Mk5 rebreather on this list. It's taken me a week to wade through all the techdiver posts, including some interesting, sometimes informative, sometimes humorous, sometimes ludicrous messages about various rebreather designs and their relative safety. I guess it's time for me to jump in the fray. Yes, the Cis-Lunar Mk-5 rebreather was on display at Tek and DEMA. Some folks suggested there was only one, but there were actually two in New Orleans that week. Other folks suggested that they were only for show and not really functional, but they were both operational. I know because I dived on both of them. Cis-Lunar was taking orders on the units, which are scheduled for delivery in August of this year. The price is $15,000, and they require a $10,000 deposit, with $5,000 balance due at delivery. I was especially pleased with the overall design, after having spent about 160+ hours on the Cis-Lunar Mk-4. I was so pleased, in fact, that I handed over a check to Richard Nordstrom for the full $15,000 price tag (that represents more than a year's take-home pay for me, folks - in case you were under the misguided assumption that I am especially wealthy, or that somebody else besides your's truly is paying for it). The buoyancy is about 4-5 lbs negative when the BC is empty and the counterlung volume is just right (that's with 812 Grade Sofnolime - LiOH would be about 2-3 lbs negative). The breathing resistance was considerably less than on the Mk-4, which is already less than an Open Circuit regulator when the thing is adjusted correctly. The gas control block is both more sophisticated and easier to operate than the gas control block on the Mk-4, and it's also considerably smaller and lighter. The weight of the unit on land is about 57 lbs with full cylinders and Sofnolime in the canister. Swimming resistance in the water is slightly more than a single aluminum 80, and considerably less than a set of double steel 72s. The elecotonics system is light years ahead of the Mk-4 (which was already very reliable), and the backup PO2 monitor system is better too. The decompression software has been expanded to include nitrox, heliox, and trimix diluents for both closed-circuit and open circuit decompression calculation. I've noticed that Cis-Lunar has been largely overlooked in email list discussions and an assortment of popular articles in dive magazines lately. I don't find this surprising, because Cis-Lunar has made very little effort to publicize itself. They have no representatives on the email lists (I am not a representative for their company; I just happen to know a lot about their rebreathers, having used them for the past year). Several years ago, they started down the same path that other rebreather manufacturers did - claiming that they'd have units available for sale in the near future. About a year ago, they stopped doing this, and spent all their efforts designing their next generation rebreather. I suspect that they didn't want to play the vaporware game. They intended to have a working unit available for sale this Spring, but because of some unanticipated delays in manufacturing certain components, they have had to postpone their release date until August. This is not because they could not build the units by then; this is because they want to allow sufficient time for thorough testing before releasing the units out to the general public. My understanding is that the August date is firm. Shifting gears, I've enjoyed reading the gross misconceptions about electronics and their role in reliability for rebreathers. George's comparison to Russian Roulette had me rolling on the floor. Folks, it's time to get a clue. Well-designed fully-closed rebreathers DO NOT depend on ANY electronics for operation!!! All rebreathers (all scuba gear, in fact) requires only one computer - the one located within your cranium. This is the most important dive computer in the world. Fully-closed rebreathers provide more advantages than semi-closed ones do, but they also require more cranial processing power. If your brain is programmed correctly, you can do most dives using a good fully closed rebreather with as much safety margin as a semi-closed one; and MANY dives with a much greater safety margin than semi-closed. If the electronics on a fully closed rebreather crap out, then it's a minor inconvenience for someone with a well-programmed brain. Aloha, Rich Richard Pyle deepreef@bi*.bi*.ha*.or* ******************************************************************* "WHATEVER happens to you when you willingly go underwater is COMPLETELY and ENTIRELY your own responsibility! If you cannot accept this responsibility, stay out of the water!" *******************************************************************
Navigate by Author:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Author Search Index]
Navigate by Subject:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Subject Search Index]
[Send Reply] [Send Message with New Topic]
[Search Selection] [Mailing List Home] [Home]