| The
Rebreather Experience
By Russ Hrabchak
Take away the compressed air and pressure
reducing valves and you are left with the
serenity only a diver using a rebreather
and the fish can share. The semi-closed
rebreather has been available for recreational
use only since 1995. Drager has been manufacturing
rebreathers for military use long before
conventional open circuit SCUBA, compressed
air and demand regulators were invented
by J Cousteau in 1943. Rebreathers have
been protected by the military because of
this covert ability. They are so quiet they
are difficult to detect with sophisticated
underwater sonar.
Rebreathers operate on the power of your
lungs re-circulating air through highly
efficient hoses and check valves. This quiet
system offers incredible photography opportunities
as well as wildlife encounters previously
unthought of. Divers using rebreathers state
that fish such as large docile hammerhead
sharks in large schools normally a rare
sighting on conventional SCUBA, swim so
closely to divers on rebreathers their tails
brush them as they go by.
As sound is transmitted four times faster
underwater, the conventional SCUBA regulator
has a tornado like effect on underwater
life. Rebreather divers state that the approach
of open circuit SCUBA divers are announced
by migrating schools of fish being pushed
ahead of the open circuit divers long before
the divers can be seen. Rebreather divers
state the next indicator of approaching
open circuit divers will be the sound of
their valves hissing and bubbles releasing,
still long before they are close enough
to be seen!
Imagine the potential to get close to marine
life, not so much undetected but in an un-obtrusive
manner. Marine life is no longer scared
but curious. This is the future of recreational
diving. Not to replace open circuit SCUBA,
but to add an option with incredible benefits.
What serious photographer could resist.
No bubbles!
The logistics of a rebreather is a much
lighter unit. A 27 cubic foot tank of nitrox
trickling into the breathing loop will sustain
you at recreational depths for 2-3 hours.
The maintenance consists of changing the
canister of soda-lime every 2-3 dives (makes
good fertilizer for your lawn), refilling
the nitrox tank, and sanitizing the breathing
hoses when you put it away, a 20 minute
routine.
On April 7th, we are going at the Montreal
Olympic diving pool. We will be running
a rebreather experience for those of you
interested in trying it out. Call us
for more info.
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