Overbreathing the scrubber

[Dsix36]

Hey the thread finally got interesting!

I suppose we could talk about masks on foreheads, nitrox, and where to stay in Key Largo

Tell em to forget about spiderman. Let them all know about you playing Batman when exiting Devil's Ear.

 

[Tienuts]

Better be careful with those guarantees...



1. Cavern class (Devil's Ear)
2. Rebreather class (instructor wanted to make a point of how well the Meg breathes even inverted, unlike some other units)
3. Fooling around in Ginnie Ballroom
4. Fooling around in Morrison Cavern
5. Fooling around in Jackson Blue.

You never play spiderman?

I give up Perrone

I was under the impression if we did stuff like that the "real" cavers would kick our asses.

Let me also add, the WOB is not by any means difficult when I noticed it while inverted. It's is just noticeable.

 

[Tienuts]

Tell em to forget about spiderman. Let them all know about you playing Batman when exiting Devil's Ear.

YES thank you Don - I forgot about that. Too bad we didn't get a picture.

My new thing is to deco on the underside of the log at Devil's Ear WHILE INVERTED. WOB still rules!!!! :mooner:

 

[PerroneFord]

My new thing is to deco on the underside of the log at Devil's Ear WHILE INVERTED.

Talk about fun in the summertime!

 

[ScubaDadMiami]

Tony, I'd be curious to know if your experiments included scrubber that had been used for long enough to expand with moisture, or if it was fresh scrubber. One of the things that I love about the Optima and the EAC is the fact that the WOB does not increase during the dive. With expanding moisture in pellet scrubber, the WOB increases during the dive, and causes the most fatigue at the end of the dive, when the muscles involved in breathing have already been taxed the most during the course of the dive. The more fatigue, the more CO2 that is produced, too.

The only time that I notice any difference in WOB in my unit is during the brief period when I roll so that one counterlung is higher than the other, such as when I roll to my side to fit through a hatchway on a wreck or some other equivalent restriction. Otherwise, the WOB is consistently easy so long as proper volume in the loop is maintained.

 

[Tienuts]

I'm reluctant to admit, my experience on the Meg was when a friend of mine and I traded units for a few dives. There was an hour on the 5.5 axial meg scrubber when I took it over.

Truthfully, I noticed no difference whatsoever in WOB, and neither did my buddy using my unit.

 

[Mr.X]

Some of the scrubbers designs have a compensatory spring-loaded mechanism which allows for particle expansion, and sorb packing tension. I haven't noticed much WOB differences with AP scrubbers, Meg or even LAR / Dolphin cans of this design. Can't remember much with the Cis Radial scrubber either. I have noticed WOB issues with the KISS classic. The design of the scrubber allows water to rest in a minimal catch space which leads to a higher accumulation of water. This inevitably increases WOB after ingress, or time in the water. Not my favorite scrubber design.