Mailing List Archive Mailing List Archive
Rich, You wrote: >>>>The problem comes when your OC bailout reg fails, or you run out of OC supply on your own pack and need to access your buddy's gas supply. Basically any situation that requires you to stuff something else in your mouth.<<<< That's why I've incorporated a quick connect in between the 1st stage and second stage of my bailout hose - you can swap out gas supply from a buddy (if he is close by) or can hook up to hang bottles with the appropriate fitting as needed. This is really designed for those times where you would need extra gas, or were going to hook on to the suspended O2 lines like Farb invented. If your second stage goes "boom" - and your rebreather is out of commission, then I think I would be in a world of hurt already. Allah would be callin' my name... You bring up a good question of redundancy that has been addressed before on this forum - how much is enough? EX: Your rebreather craps out totally: --> You gotta go to your open circuit bailout. a) How much gas do you carry? Some folks say "enough to complete your deco" which makes total sense. Others say "Just enough to bail." Some, like Leon, actually advocate and teach NO open circuit bailout - total reliance on the unit. But say you've decided to carry enough open circuit gas to do your deco up to 20 ft. where you've got your O2 hung. Now - do you carry ONE second stage reg, or TWO, in case one craps out? If you advocate TWO - then what happens if your first stage blows (which I have seen happen)? Do you carry a second bottle? If you do, do you use ONE second stage or TWO? See where I'm going? Redundancy can be carried to an extreme level. For total safety, you could carry 2 bailout bottles with 2 regulators each. Then you'd have a total of 5 regs down there (actually 4, but lets pretend your mouthpiece is a reg for the moment). This gets even more complex if you decide to carry bottom mix, and travel mix. Shee-utt. Now you look like me in one of those stories I write... When it comes to rebreather bailout, the coolest thing I saw was the "Y" hose connectors that Leon had for his CCR-1000. It allowed a second set of hoses and mouthpiece to be worn on the back of the unit. If your unit took a dump, you would swim over to your buddy (which is required in this particular scenario), and latch on to his back like an abalone, and start breathing through that spare pair of hoses, through his breathing loop. Leon states unequivocally that the CCR-1000 can keep two divers alive this way. I have no idea if that is completely true, but if so, that's the ultimate "buddy" system. Of course, you'd have to deal with the garlic and anchovy sandwich your buddy had for lunch too, but that is just slightly better than dying... As you know, I'm still new to this rebreather game, but I can see that it is easy to start sliding down the slope of multiple redundant systems to the point where you are wearing so much gear its impossible to swim, or that the logistics of hanging bottles is so complex as to make each dive a major production. I know there is a compromise somewhere in here, but I haven't quite found it yet. BTW - I think I've made this clear in previous posts, but I'll mention it again - I am currently using Farb's methods for bailout and backup - He tells me that once I can snatch the pebble out of his hand, I'll have to pick up a urn filled with hot coals that will leave a brand of two naked Hawaiian women in hula's on my forearms... Kevin aka Grasshopper. BTW, Rich, you missed a great BBQ at my house. Dick King, Rod, John, Pete Heseltine, Leon Scamahorn, and another fellow whose name escapes me (sorry) came over, talked rebreathers, ignored the two young women there, ate BBQ chicken like it was going out of style - drank beer, and walked out the door, still debating the merits of some rebreather part. All in all, a great evening. When I come to your side of the Pacific, I'll buy you dinner, but lets talk something else, like Dry Cleaning, or which is the best solvent to get BBQ stains out of carpet...
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]