So now I'm an SF2 instructor...

[kensuf]

Things I have changed:
-Swapped to Cooper hoses. When I ordered my unit they still came with the 15 foot long loop hoses. The current ones are an appropriate length.
-Added a Shrimp BOV
-Added an AV1 HUD. That thing kicks ass. About the size of your thumb and plugs straight into the fischer connector. no battery box, no additional cable. You can get them from Silent O Solutions.
-removed the inline shut off on the O2 side first stage.
- I didn't like that the dill MAV and the wing inflate hang on top of one another with the add buttons on the same side (added dil instead of adding air to wing more than once), so I swapped out for a shorter infiltrator hose (12" I think) and turned around the MAV. So MAV button in inboard, inflate button is outboard and higher on my shoulder.

Overall I really like the unit, but I'm still trying to determine if the condensation thing is a design issue or a "I don't know how to dive it" issue. I haven't heard anyone else complain about it.

Since we're talking modifications..

Because the majority of my diving is in a cave, I drive my DIL from off-board sources like many of my friends. I have a QC6 that goes into a splitter to drive BOV (shrimp), ADV, and MAV.

I also removed the O2 shut-off. Not a fan of them, can see how it would be too easy to accidentally have it engage on a boat.

I've toyed with the idea of getting the TekMe 2 gas MAV and routing DIL and O2 to a single MAV on the right shoulder. This will also allow me to get rid of the Y splitter that is used for the manual gas feed. I'm talking about the double gas MAV at Constant mass flow

I haven't seen the #2 cell problem, but know someone else that has seen it.

 

[sea_ledford]

Since we're talking modifications..

Because the majority of my diving is in a cave, I drive my DIL from off-board sources like many of my friends. I have a QC6 that goes into a splitter to drive BOV (shrimp), ADV, and MAV.

I drive dill from onboard, but BOV comes from offboard. That reminds me of something else I'd like to change- swap the direction of the QC4's on the O2 and Dil MAVs so you can't plug the wrong gas into the wrong side. Not sure why it doesn't come that way from the factory. I think I need an adapter nut that I haven't figured out what size I need to make the swap.

So are you running dual O2 on your back, or just have redundant dill?

I also removed the O2 shut-off. Not a fan of them, can see how it would be too easy to accidentally have it engage on a boat.

I thought long and hard about when I would need that thing, but could never come up with a reason that wouldn't be solved by shutting off/feathering the valve.

I haven't seen the #2 cell problem, but know someone else that has seen it.

Glad to hear it isn't common!

-Chris

 

[kensuf]

I drive dill from onboard, but BOV comes from offboard. That reminds me of something else I'd like to change- swap the direction of the QC4's on the O2 and Dil MAVs so you can't plug the wrong gas into the wrong side. Not sure why it doesn't come that way from the factory. I think I need an adapter nut that I haven't figured out what size I need to make the swap.

So are you running dual O2 on your back, or just have redundant dill?



I thought long and hard about when I would need that thing, but could never come up with a reason that wouldn't be solved by shutting off/feathering the valve.




Glad to hear it isn't common!

-Chris

Back left is just drysuit and wing inflation. Even though I use 3L steels, I have had a few dives where I've burned through a lot of gas because of constant depth changes.

I removed the QC4 from the O2 MAV and plugged it with an HP port plug (it's the same thread size). I also fit the drive side port of the O2 MAV with a Schrader nipple and use an inflation hose, that way, if I need extra O2, the feed will be from a standard inflator hose.

 

[lermontov]

I dove a KISS for a year and a half logging around 250 hours on the unit. I loved my KISS, and it was a great unit to get me started on diving CCR's, and I had a couple of opportunities to become a KISS instructor but there was one thing that kept troubling me. My KISS had zero flood tolerance and for the diving I was doing, it was possible I could be 4 or more hours away from the surface. Without the ability to recover a flooded loop, this could be a disaster and I decided I needed to look at other options.

Last fall James Draker from ScubaForce USA let me take an SF2 on a try dive. I told him one of my concerns with my KISS was the inability to recover from a flooded loop, and that my goal on the try dive was to put the SF2 to the test.

Five minutes into the try dive I took the DSV out of my mouth, turned it upside down, and completely flooded the unit. James had a horrified look on his face as I shook the loop hoses making sure every last bit of gas was out of the unit, mostly because he expected that like most sane people, I would try the flood test at the end of the dive. After de-watering the unit I stayed on the loop for an extra two hours, never once having to go to the surface or bailing out. The SF2 performed wonderfully and I ordered mine the very next day.

Since receiving my SF2, I've put it through it's paces in many different and challenging environments.

7 hour dives in Eagles Nest? Check.

350' dives in salt-water? Check.

12,000' cave penetrations in 15' of vis? Check.

Traveling to foreign countries? Check.

My SF2 has been flawless and I've enjoyed every minute of diving it. The more I dive it, the more I realize it's an incredibly robust, yet simple, machine. Care and maintenance are quick, assembly is straight forward, and with no over the chest counter-lungs, the unit is very clean and uncluttered.

Fast forward to last week.. James Draker ran an SF2 instructor institute for Carsten Huppertz from Florida Keys Dive Center (FlaKeys) and myself. Our student, Tracy, managed to put up with countless boom drills, shooting lift bags at turtles, and even a monsoon. At the end of the week, Tracy was a new SF2 diver and Carsten and I were new SF2 instructors.

I'm going to be helping with a CCR "Try Dive Weekend" on May 6th and 7th here in High Springs, FL. It'll be a two day event and an opportunity to learn about, play with, and try several units including the SF2, JJ, Fathom, and KISS Sidekick. If you're interested in rebreathers, but not really sure, please feel free to join us. Details are at the event page, Rebreather Workshop

whats the main advantages /disadvanatges between back amount and side mount of the sf2 - im pretty keen wreck diver so would love to use it for such but also like to do some deep dives . Im currently using sidemount OC so would be comfortable with the sidemount version. and like the option of bringing the unit forward too reduce profile is there any differance in performance or is it just preference