My very first rebreather...

[Todd]

saturated once bubbled...
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

I am planning on a field trip to visit Kevin and learn how to tear things down and put them back together. I really want to learn just exactly how everything works. I am just hoping that Kevin, Patrick, Tracy et al. can keep me in parts. Please let me know of any other good sources for parts.

I am good to go for local fills. For when I travel, I think Gordon's mini booster might be just the ticket .

I have never been accused of being practical, and I think that sometimes shows. I have a feeling that I am about to take on quite a project in just about every way. I do already own the Mk 15–it should arrive on Wednesday .

Saturated, one thing I need to figure out before training is how to attach a harness and wing to the unit. If you would be willing to share, how did you accomplish this? Have you heard of other solutions? I would really appreciate any help you might be able to give.

Todd.

 

[caveseeker7]

Okay, a brandspanking new MK15 IS very nice. Almost sad to go diving with it.

With Peter I asume you mean Ready. He still has a couple of spares listed on his site for sale, and might be able to point you in the right direction for sources. Again, in Australia there are a couple of those rigs, and they've got their own supply of spares down there. You might want to touch base with them. One of the guys had a pretty nasty accident, and posted a good report on it. See if you can find it, or PM me, I will.

Also on your list should be Dave Sutton.
http://www.nobubblediving.com/mark-15.teardown.htm

Other sites to look at are:
http://www.metacut.com/rebreathers/mk15_manual.htm
http://www.deepdiving.net/15/15v155.html
http://www.cybermaps.co.uk/cyberbarics/

Dive safe
Stefan

 

[Otter]

I was wondering how many OC dives you have? Rebreathers are not for the faint of heart......don't take care of them and before you know it, you won't. Read Stefan's signature carefully.

Dive Safe

P.S. How did you get into DEMA?

 

[caveseeker7]

(she's got blonde hair )

 

[Todd]

Otter once bubbled...
I was wondering how many OC dives you have? Rebreathers are not for the faint of heart......don't take care of them and before you know it, you won't. Read Stefan's signature carefully.

Dive Safe

P.S. How did you get into DEMA?

Hi Otter:

I have 114 dives so far, and should be over 125 dives before I start my Mk 15 training. I feel very comfortable with what I have been doing to date, and plan on driving very slowly and carefully down the rebreather road. I have done my research, the next step is quality training, and then I will see where things go from there.

Thanks for your concern.

Todd.

 

[caveseeker7]

Todd once bubbled...
... I start my Mk 15 training ... the next step is quality training ...

Who are you signed up with for your training?

 

[Todd]

caveseeker7 once bubbled...


Who are you signed up with for your training?

Hi Stefan:

I met Jeff Bozanic at DEMA, liked him, and signed up the next day.

My Mk15 is in transit, and I am waiting patiently (yeah, right) for its arrival. I just want to see what I am getting myself into . The first step is to figure out the backplate, wing, and harness situation...

Todd.

 

[Bob3]

My very first rebreather...

With a header like that, I almost thought I'd see some pics of an old Jack Browne DESCO unit.
http://www.divedesco.com/fyi_page_2.htm
I had a "B lung", still have the "bunny suit".
I just got back from DEMA last night, minus luggage.

 

[Hootis]

Hi Todd....
Met you at DEMA....congrats on your "new" 15!
I have a couple of 15's that I bought from Kevin, too. I have replaced many parts on my 15's...I woudn't worry about the parts thing as much as some people say....most of the parts can still be sourced or converted to current "standards." The plumbing is mostly Swagelock....if you can bend the tubes (or know someone who can) you can replace every pneumatic piece. Some of the "toughies" might be some of the canister pieces and the counterlung. Dick King has a bunch of parts still, too. I've built a couple of parts (sealed nut for Fischer connectors and working on the O2 sensor bridge....I'll build many of each while I'm at it for others) I don't expect many of the stainless canister items to be failure points with proper maintainance. We'll stick together to keep these things in the water!
Good luck.
Ryan

 

[Todd]

Hootis once bubbled...
Hi Todd....
Met you at DEMA....congrats on your "new" 15!
I have a couple of 15's that I bought from Kevin, too. I have replaced many parts on my 15's...I woudn't worry about the parts thing as much as some people say....most of the parts can still be sourced or converted to current "standards." The plumbing is mostly Swagelock....if you can bend the tubes (or know someone who can) you can replace every pneumatic piece. Some of the "toughies" might be some of the canister pieces and the counterlung. Dick King has a bunch of parts still, too. I've built a couple of parts (sealed nut for Fischer connectors and working on the O2 sensor bridge....I'll build many of each while I'm at it for others) I don't expect many of the stainless canister items to be failure points with proper maintainance. We'll stick together to keep these things in the water!
Good luck.
Ryan

Hey Ryan:

Good to hear from you, and thank you for the great news regarding parts–it is seriously nice of you to build extras . I have contact information for Dick King, and should likely start building up a small stash of spares.

The Mk15 leaves for Los Angeles tomorrow, and I will be a week behind. I am very much looking forward to the start of training.

Todd.