I can not say enough about the Prism2!

[tstormdiver]

Just got home after diving 2hrs (two 1 hr dives) on my Prism2 at the local quarry. Got around to totaling up all my hours I've had on the unit. Right now I am 15 min shy of 84 hrs. Not too shabby :cool2:. The more I dive the Prism2, the more I love it! It is a sturdy & reliable unit! Chomping at the bit for more bottom time on it.

 

[mikeb21072]

What do you like most/least about the unit? I was planning to demo either the Prism or Explorer in a pool session next month, I will also do a discover dive with the Poseidon MKVI in August. Still doing my research, but a review would be appreciated.

Mike

 

[tstormdiver]

*What I like most about the unit- 1. Ease of breathing. 2 ease of use. 3. choice of how I fly it (manual or automatic- I typically manually fly it, with automatic as a back- up). 4. Ease of assembly. 5. A very tough unit that can take (although not recommended) a lot of abuse & keep on working flawlessly- I've had mine fall off a table & had it in some caves.
* What I like least- 1. even though easy to assemble/ disassemble, it is maintenance intensive (as is most any CCR) before & after the dive. 2. Having to manually pack the scrubber, at times I wish there were pre- packed canisters for convenience.

My instructor teaches the MK6/7, Prism2 & the explorer. What I know of the other 2 units you mentioned are:

MK6/7- Overall a god safe unit with many automatic safety alarms built in. The biggest minuses to it is- it can be temperamental to get started & the proprietary electronics can be difficult to get support on.

Explorer- A very nice recreational hybrid SCR. Not quite the bottom time as on the Prism, but not as many bubbles as open circuit scuba. Limitations on MOD for the drive gas.

 

[UnixMarine]

I've had my Prism2 since around last march and have to say I absolutely love it too! At depth it breathes like we do at the surface, it is extremely comfortable under the water and while you do have to pack the scrubber, you can make darn sure it has a well packed scrubber instead of trusting a manufacturing process. I think it would be nice if it could do both, but absent that ability, I prefer packing my own. It is cheaper than the other option. You definitely can NOT go wrong with the prism.

 

[BoltSnap]

What is the cost per hour of diving for this machine? Also, how often do you have to change the scrubber?

 

[Superlyte27]

Depends on where you are, but Cost Per Hour breaks down to about $10 per hour at any depth. So 30', $10 per hour. 300' still $10 per hour.

---------- Post added October 22nd, 2015 at 10:48 AM ----------

Also, the comment about the Explorer not quite having the duration of the Prism... That's the understatement of the thread. I know people doing 10 hour dives on Prisms. Good luck doing a 3 hour dive on the Explorer. 300% is a HUGE difference.

 

[packrat12]

I just started diving the Prism2 and love it also! I completed 2 days of diving the Spiegel Grove with it last weekend. Got a 72 minutes the first day, 104 minutes the second day without changing or filling a thing. Plenty of reserve gas left and still well below the 240 minutes scrubber time. We swam the entire wreck twice, including the props on the second day. Whoever said you cannot see the entire SG on 1 dive did not dive CCRs. I only wish I had started CCR diving sooner!

 

[Superlyte27]

I've spent 54 hours on the Speigelgrove and I don't think I've seen everything. It's a big ship inside and out.

 

[BoltSnap]

So the scrubber for the P2 needs to be changed every 240 minutes of diving? How much does it cost per change for the scrubber?

 

[packrat12]

So the scrubber for the P2 needs to be changed every 240 minutes of diving? How much does it cost per change for the scrubber?

The 240 min time is maximum time tested for breakthrough at 60' and 40 deg F using 1.3 l/min. Right now, I have no real plans to go past 3 hrs on a single pack. There are no effective CO2 monitors used (yes I know Temp Stick and O2 consumption etc but they do not directly monitor CO2) that directly monitor CO2 so you must believe it is working. The best way to do so is not exceed testing....

The Prism 2 uses approx. 6# of sorb. Here we get it for about 44# @ $140 shipped. This gives about 7 packings. Cost is approx. $20 per pack. I use about $10 - $15 in gas per fill. I did both dives for $30 in consumables. Keep in mind that the cost does not go up much as depth increases. On doubles, this would have cost me $80 or more for the 2 days.