I almost bought the Prism. But didn't because:
1. Could not change the setpoint underwater. I could change the set point manually, I suppose, but then the flashing lights would probably irritate me. Then what would be the point of electronics? This was a show stopper.
2. I prefer rear mounted CL's, even at the expense of WOB.
3. I dive deep. Maybe for liability reasons the depth of the Prism was limited. But I know of another rebreather that has been proven at extreme depth.
4. No guaranteed delivery date from Steam Machines.
The Cis-lunar is very expensive to maintain because of it's complexity.
The Ouroboros is not out yet.
The Megalodon seems awesome, but I did not want to wait for delivery with the radial scrubber that I wanted, plus no training available in Hawaii.
KISS didn't have a big enough scrubber.
So I bought Pete's personal Mk 15.5, and paid out the nose for it (supposedly there are only 10 original Mk 15.5s in the world). Paid thousands more to have the unit restored to a clean diving condition and then thousands more to have Hammerhead electronics installed. I am fairly confident I have among the most expensive rebreathers in the world. Obviously, price was not extremely critical for me.
I also want to put Suunto transducers on the regulators so that I can monitor diluent and O2 pressure with my hoseless D9 computer. By having absolutely no rubber hoses on the unit, it reduces the risk of a gas loss.
Now after having dived the toy that I just purchased, there are some not insignificant issues. Moving 75 pounds of mass around is some work. Add that to the 40cf bailout I carry, and my ability to maintain position in a current is significantly hampered. I definitely appreciate my graphite free diving fins.
If I had my choice of dream rebreather, it would probably be the Ouroboros with larger scrubber, and Inconel spheres from my Mk 15.5 if I could modify it. Would also try to have DIN valves instead of the O-ring'd oxygen post valves that are currently on the Inconel spheres.
OR, rip the electronics out of a Prism, replace it or modify it so I can change the setpoint mid-dive, trick it out for deeper depth, and then I might be able to get used to over the shoulder C.L.
1. Could not change the setpoint underwater. I could change the set point manually, I suppose, but then the flashing lights would probably irritate me. Then what would be the point of electronics? This was a show stopper.
2. I prefer rear mounted CL's, even at the expense of WOB.
3. I dive deep. Maybe for liability reasons the depth of the Prism was limited. But I know of another rebreather that has been proven at extreme depth.
4. No guaranteed delivery date from Steam Machines.
The Cis-lunar is very expensive to maintain because of it's complexity.
The Ouroboros is not out yet.
The Megalodon seems awesome, but I did not want to wait for delivery with the radial scrubber that I wanted, plus no training available in Hawaii.
KISS didn't have a big enough scrubber.
So I bought Pete's personal Mk 15.5, and paid out the nose for it (supposedly there are only 10 original Mk 15.5s in the world). Paid thousands more to have the unit restored to a clean diving condition and then thousands more to have Hammerhead electronics installed. I am fairly confident I have among the most expensive rebreathers in the world. Obviously, price was not extremely critical for me.
I also want to put Suunto transducers on the regulators so that I can monitor diluent and O2 pressure with my hoseless D9 computer. By having absolutely no rubber hoses on the unit, it reduces the risk of a gas loss.
Now after having dived the toy that I just purchased, there are some not insignificant issues. Moving 75 pounds of mass around is some work. Add that to the 40cf bailout I carry, and my ability to maintain position in a current is significantly hampered. I definitely appreciate my graphite free diving fins.
If I had my choice of dream rebreather, it would probably be the Ouroboros with larger scrubber, and Inconel spheres from my Mk 15.5 if I could modify it. Would also try to have DIN valves instead of the O-ring'd oxygen post valves that are currently on the Inconel spheres.
OR, rip the electronics out of a Prism, replace it or modify it so I can change the setpoint mid-dive, trick it out for deeper depth, and then I might be able to get used to over the shoulder C.L.