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My partner, John is absolutely correct on the rebreather maintenance stuff. Even though he is the most anal dude I have ever met (which, BTW, is a good thing to have in a partner when you're a slob like me) - even I was surprised at the level of care and attention these baby's need. John is quicker at his pre/post dive maintenance than me, but that's due to two factors: 1) He's had his unit a lot longer than me. 2) He doesn't do anything slow, just ask his wife. My pre/post dive maintenance takes me about 45 minutes, since I am relatively new to the unit, and take my time making sure EVERYTHING is checked properly. What he said about "packing your own chute" is true, even though I kinda hate to admit it - there is a part of me that would rather have someone else clean my mess, but then, I'm richer than him, so I can afford it... When you finish your dive, if you don't clean and wash that machine COMPLETELY, there are a million nooks/crannies where rust/corrosion could set in. If you don't disinfect your breathing loop (including the counterlung, which requires almost a complete teardown of the center section) then you are risking infection from your own exhaled microbes (who breed very nicely in warm wet environments full of O2). True story: I neglected to clean one of my absorbent filters from my unit. It was disinfected in alcohol prior to the last dive, so the microbes on it were from one short duration dive - It sat for about a month in a plastic bag. What greeted me when I remembered to clean it was a sight that you don't want to know about. Lesson learned - I'll never go without disinfecting everything on that machine within a few hours of diving it. But another point that John didn't make in his post is about the actual pre-dive rigging of the unit on your back. This is definately not for someone who wants to explore a reef in the Caymans at 40 ft. These suckers are big (at least the 15.5's are, the CCR-500's are half the weight, but almost the same physical size). You've got a primary gauge to attach, a secondary to attach, two pressure gauges to attach, then you've got to loop the hoses around your head - if you are using a FFM like me, you need someone to haul it over the top of your head so you can put it on. By this time, my heart rate is usually up to 120 from the exertion. I had to cut my doughnut intake by 1/3 to compensate. Once in the water, you have to remember that these units are NOT like scuba tanks (i.e. nice and round) - they are big and square and FLAT on the back. This might sound like a moot (notice I got the word right) point, until you are in a current. You've now got a friggin sail on your back that the current just loves to plane off of. Now concentrate on keeping close to the anchor line, while making sure you watch no less than 4 gauges/displays (5 if you count a dive computer in there) while decompressing - all of a sudden, open circuit starts to look quaint... When you look at it that way, rebreathers start to lose some of their romance. However, if you do what we do, or want to go deep without a bunch of stage bottles, support gear, etc., and you are competent technically and mechanically, then you should find owning/operating a rebreather enjoyable. To anyone who is thinking of buying a rebreather, or has ordered a CCR-500 : I will tell you what Farb & McKenney told me prior to my buying one - Don't get it unless you are committed to maintain it better than you currently take care of your scuba gear. In my case, that required a quantum leap of maintenance attention, since I usually throw my stuff in the corner soaking wet until the next dive - but even if you are really prissy (like John) about your gear now, just wait until Dick delivers your rig and you make your first dives with it - once you understand how each little piece in that machine is critical to keeping your ass alive, you'll become a maintenance weenie, or George will be hauling your dead ass out of some cave or wreck... As for me, thank goodness I've got a partner with an identical rig - whenever I bend something the wrong way, or something breaks, I just swap it out with his when he isn't looking... P.S. I only buy peoples used scrubber if their sister delivers it to me naked... Kevin HeyyDude
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