My very first rebreather...

[Todd]

Hello all:

This is the first thread I have started on ScubaBoard, and I think I have an appropriate occasion. I just bought my very first rebreather.

I would first like to thank all of the ScubaBoard members who have taken the time to share their insight and experience in this forum with those of us who are simply trying to learn–you have been an invaluable resource. I would also like to thank Joe "padiscubapro" and Sharon "shas" for going beyond the call of what could be considered reasonable in their willingness to assist me in my learning and my decision making process.

I am at DEMA in Miami, sleepless, after a most rewarding and emotionally exhausting day. It took all of the patience I could muster, a few timing issues, and some practical experience for me to wait until DEMA to buy my rebreather, and I am so glad that I did.

Many rebreather companies are represented at DEMA this year. Gordon Smith is here with the KISS, Barney Lambert with the FROG, Peter and Sharon Ready with the PRISM, Leon Scamahorn with the Megalodon, Jarrod Jablonski with the RB80, Nicki Finn with the Inspiration, and others including the Azimuth and something new from the folks at Delta P. I am sure that there are other rebreathers here as well that I missed. One rebreather that was not here, at least on Wednesday, was the all-illusive Infinito.

So which one did I buy?

Well, none of them. One of the first booths my friends and I stumbled upon by sheer luck was manned by the nice officers from NEDU (Navy Experimental Dive Unit). They have Mk 16 on display, and it was love at first sight, at least on my end. I have never seen any piece of diving equipment so well designed and engineered, although I admit my experiences are quite limited, that it just made me teary. I remembered seeing months earlier a brand new, never in the water Mk 15 online, and a few hours later we became family.

I know that the Mk 15 has a few drawbacks, and the technology is a bit dated, but it is unquestionably the right unit for me.

I would greatly appreciate comments, questions, words of encouragement and the like (a bit needy?). I will start training in just a few weeks, and am hugely looking forward to the process.

Thank you, all, again.

Best,

Todd.

 

[caveseeker7]

I think ... I certainly hope you'll be happy with your choice. I had the chance to dive an original MK16 this summer, one of Peter Ready's, after taking a spin with the Prism. While I was very excited diving that legendary unit, I also realized that I rather not have one. The breathing comfort isn't close to either Prism or Inspiration, spares can be hard to source and are usually fairly expensive. Out of the three MKs I'd prefer the 15.5, with the smaller 15's case and the updated 16's breathing loop.

You might want to see if Kevin's at the show to get some decent electronics. Peter might also be able to help in that regard, he used to install Prism electronics and turn MKs into SM1600. Both might be able to help when you need parts, too.

As for MK users, I don't know if there are any on this board. Maybe 'saturated'. 'JasonM' and 'SteveP' at Dive-Oz dive them, the latter converted it to KISS though.

Good luck and be safe
Stefan

 

[Todd]

caveseeker7 once bubbled...
I think ... I certainly hope you'll be happy with your choice. I had the chance to dive an original MK16 this summer, one of Peter Ready's, after taking a spin with the Prism. While I was very excited diving that legendary unit, I also realized that I rather not have one. The breathing comfort isn't close to either Prism or Inspiration, spares can be hard to source and are usually fairly expensive. Out of the three MKs I'd prefer the 15.5, with the smaller 15's case and the updated 16's breathing loop.

You might want to see if Kevin's at the show to get some decent electronics. Peter might also be able to help in that regard, he used to install Prism electronics and turn MKs into SM1600. Both might be able to help when you need parts, too.

As for MK users, I don't know if there are any on this board. Maybe 'saturated'. 'JasonM' and 'SteveP' at Dive-Oz dive them, the latter converted it to KISS though.

Good luck and be safe
Stefan

Hi Stefan:

I know, it certainly does have a few drawbacks. I was able to try a PRISM in Dallas a few weeks ago, and tried to take work of breathing into consideration before making my purchase. It will be a while before I know for sure .

I do think, however, that all of the rebreathers out there have some sort of drawback within the design. I like one of the first pages of Gordon's website, where he states that you can have it one way or the other, but not both. My goal was to identify the things I thought important with the rebreather that most closely matched my criteria.

I talked to both Peter, who is at DEMA, and Kevin, who will be at DEMA on Thursday. I have decided to dive, and really get to know, the unit as is before making any changes. Part of the fun for me with this particular unit is that it is completely unmodified at this point.

I hope to run into, not literally, you at some point tomorrow.

Thanks.

Todd.

 

[DennisS]

Just curious. How much does a MK15 rebreather sell for?

 

[Raven C]

Congratulations. I am so jealous. I watched a special on the military influence on dive gear and there was a segment on rebreathers. I would love to dive one. That's so very cool. R

 

[BigJetDriver]

Welcome to the world of silent diving! If I may toss in a caveat, set yourself a mental task of ALWAYS doing your preflight checks, including your pre-breathe! ALWAYS know your PO2, and always do your postflight maintenance. If that becomes routine, diving a CCR is a breeze.

Try also Tracy Robinette for parts and advice.

<http://www.divenet.com/divematics/>

 

[saturated]

Welcome,

First things first. The marks are great units, they are however like an old harley......they work well, get attention and require a good bit of maintenence. The down side is cost and parts availability. For a new rebreather diver an Inspiration or even a topaz may have been a better fit. (just my opinion). If you havent purchased it yet I would do a great deal of research prior to the purchase. They are great and I love mine to death, but to be honest the huge majority of my dives are spent on the inspiration. Parts are reasonable(and available for that matter). If I go down its usually only a couple days before I can get parts in to repair it. Tanks are easily filled anywhere that has pure O2. Alot of shops will give you fits about filling the spheres. It will be best to get a small booster and fiull them yourself at home. Either way way you will be happy, maybe happier with the "mark", but the inspiration is definately a more practical daily diver...just my .o2

 

[Todd]

Hello:

Thank you all for the great notes. I just arrived home for DEMA, exhausted and excited. I leave for Los Angeles on November 3rd to start my training.

A picture of my new child can be seen at:

http://www.electricfilm.com/sale.htm

RavenC once bubbled...
Congratulations. I am so jealous. I watched a special on the military influence on dive gear and there was a segment on rebreathers. I would love to dive one. That's so very cool. R

Thank you so much.

Todd.

 

[Todd]

DennisS once bubbled...
Just curious. How much does a MK15 rebreather sell for?

Truthfully, I am not very sure. Peter mentioned that he recently sold a Mk 15 for $5,000, and I think that would represent the low end of the spectrum. There is an unit in Europe with Kevin's electronics for sale for $9,000. I think they can easily exceed $10,000, but I don't know by how much .

Todd.

 

[Todd]

BigJetDriver69 once bubbled...
Welcome to the world of silent diving! If I may toss in a caveat, set yourself a mental task of ALWAYS doing your preflight checks, including your pre-breathe! ALWAYS know your PO2, and always do your postflight maintenance. If that becomes routine, diving a CCR is a breeze.

Try also Tracy Robinette for parts and advice.

<http://www.divenet.com/divematics/>

I just hope after a *lot* of practice in beautiful Lake Travis (sarcasm alert) that you might consider letting me dive with you in the Gulf sometime .

I plan on some sort of formal pre-dive checklist. I like to laminate things . If there is only one thing in life that I need to know, I know that it is my PO2 .

Todd.