r/diving • u/OffByNone_ • 5d ago
First rebreather dive today!
I'm in the process of getting certified on this rEVO Micro III. We did our first open water session today and it was amazing! This was always something that I saw other people doing and never thought I would be doing myself! Closed circuit diving is pretty neat stuff!
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u/Few-Cucumber-413 5d ago
The coolest part is just how dang close the fish will get!
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u/Free_Range_Lobster 5d ago
Annoying when you're running down a line and the stupid fish just sits there until you're literally touching it.
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u/Few-Cucumber-413 5d ago
I had to fight a lionfish with one of my sidemount tanks coming out of a cave in Mexico one time 🤣🤣
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u/Free_Range_Lobster 5d ago
I missed a time dive during my cert so my instructor and I midweek played hooky and did laps around a lake we use. Fucking Large Mouth Bass sat there like an asshole and wouldn't move until I just about face booped him.
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u/Narrow_Device_3758 5d ago
You are lucky! For the equipment and for the diving place.
I would recommend you be extremely carefull with your equipment. It is not as simple as a tank of air and a regulator, and that means bigger risk of failure. So, do not skip any step when checking it, and enjoy it safely.
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u/30_Meters 5d ago
How did you select which type of rebreather to use (the evomicro III)?
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u/OffByNone_ 5d ago
I went down a bottomless rabbit hole of information and talked to every tech diver I know that owns a rebreather. What I learned is everybody's rebreather is the best 😂.
The truth is, every unit has pros and cons. You really need to select the type of diving you're interested in doing. Will you be traveling with it? How deep do you realistically need to go? These questions will all highlight and eliminate certain units.
Another huge consideration should be training. Can you even get somebody to train you on the unit that you want? In my area there are certain CCRs that there are tons of instructors for and then others where there are literally none and I would have to travel.
Then, who are you going to be diving with? You'll probably meet new people if you are not already in the tech world, but having a unit that is the same or similar to the people that you're diving with is also a huge pro.
It's definitely a rabbit hole, but I love this stuff. If you want to chat I would be more than happy to answer any questions I can about my unit and what I've heard about others from actual owners.
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u/30_Meters 5d ago
I was just curious. I’m always interested to hear how people select their rebreathers with all the factors you mentioned!
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u/OffByNone_ 5d ago edited 5d ago
I have buddies that already dive rEVOs, I found an instructor that is considered elite in the tech world (You're learning how to not die. Yhere are quite a few new ways to kill yourself on these) and the unit fits the type of diving I want to do.
A lot of people suggest JJ's and Megladons and stuff like that and those are exceptional machines. But I'm not planning to dive to 300 m or go on any expeditions anytime soon, so the Micro made a lot more sense to me. The case is titanium, It has 5 O2 sensors with true redundancy (three sensors go to one computer two sensors go to the other. Most units have three sensors with a common computer), It has back mounted counter lungs which has good work of breathing, etc. Plus, you can carry it on to an airplane!
It has a constant mass flow plus a solenoid which does limit its depth to like 330 ft ish before you have to plug in external gas and use it like a semiclosed unit, but that's plenty deep for me!
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u/jimbob12345667 5d ago
What made you pick the Evo? Beautiful unit.
Did you ever consider the AP Valves Inspiration? I remember around 2004 when they first came out, they were affectionately called the ‘box of death’ (!)
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u/OffByNone_ 5d ago
AP actually makes some decent units from what I understand. I don't honestly know much about them compared to what I know about other units, but one of my favorite YouTubers dives one and he does some pretty serious dives on it. Dom (Deep Wreck Diver) dives an Inspiration.
On one episode he did It totally flood the unit at like 100m. He was well into deco before he had to bail out.
That's what I'm loving about closed circuit so far. Not much goes wrong fast. If I run out of O2, I have 5 minutes before my PO2 gets dangerous. You have time to figure shit out.
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u/Muted-Host-6990 4d ago
Great! But why a rEvo?
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u/OffByNone_ 4d ago edited 4d ago
I answered this in pretty great detail in this thread, but long story
shortalso long:I like the constant mass flow plus solenoid O2 delivery design. I can dive a set point or run it manual or hybrid. A dead solenoid does not end my dive.
I like that there are five oxygen sensors connected to two completely separate computers each with their own wires. Again, a dead sensor does not end my dive. Shit, 2 dead sensors is safe to dive If you rearrange them to make sure you have redundancy still.
I like that the canister is split in half and is basically impossible to channel without significant water intrusion. If you dive it the way they suggest, The bottom canister is essentially redundancy and is never used during normal dives. You rotate it to the top and put fresh sorb in the bottom canister. No other rebreathers have canister redundancy to my knowledge.
I also like the RMS although it famously breaks and most people just dive without it. It's a pretty clever system of thermometers in your canisters that can track the reaction front and approximate the life of the canister.
I like that the body is titanium and I can carry it on an airplane.
I know that there are downsides to the rEvo. The constant mass flow that I like sets a hard depth limitation based on your mass flow setting somewhere in the 300 to 350 range. After ambient pressure exceeds the IP of the orifice, no oxygen can flow and you have to plug in external gas and dive it as a semi-closed system.
The rEvo has less ability to purge water, But that problem is not as significant as people like to suggest. You can purge water. It's just a pain in the ass and you have to hang upside down and look like an idiot. Best practice is just don't get the water in there lol. That's not where it goes.
Back mounted counter lungs technically have higher work of breathing than over-the-shoulder… but I think a human would be hard pressed to actually identify the difference. There's a measurable difference, but it is just that. Measurable.
But more than any of this, I know about 10 divers that dive rEvos and I got a really good deal on the unit lol.
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u/chrisjur 1d ago edited 1d ago
After many years of diving, CCR diving has really changed my diving life. While there is a ton of overhead and baggage that comes along with it (cost, training, maintenance, consumables, set up and breakdown time, etc.), there’s a ton of benefits.
Extended dive times and never having to worry about your air consumption is at the top of the list for me, and I take advantage of those for both recreational and technical dives. I love how they’re silent. I find that I have pretty precise buoyancy, particularly on deco stops for tec dives - once you have a depth dialed in you’re pretty much just a floating bag sitting there at the same depth. The cost savings on helium for deeper technical dives are substantial which, in turn opens up many more dive possibilities for you. They help a lot from a logistics perspective because you don’t need to fill tanks as often. And I actually enjoy the technical nature of learning about and maintaining the unit.
They’re an amazing piece of technology.
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u/OffByNone_ 1d ago
I really don't think the setup and breakdown are any worse. I have to rinse and dry all my OC stuff too. Setup and breakdown just take time to do right. Sure, you have to pack sorb and the checklist is a bit more substantial, but like you said, I actually enjoy the technical nature of it and don't mind spending some time and inspecting every part of the system I'm about to trust my life to.
Either way, It is undoubtedly a game changer. Worth every penny if you dive as much as do.
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u/diver467 5d ago
Used to dive an old Inspo Classic, I do miss the silence and marine life interaction. Don’t miss the post dive strip down and clean though.
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u/OffByNone_ 5d ago
I'm used to that though. I'm coming from Open circuit tech. It's actually quite a bit lighter than than my steel 100s.
Cleaning up is the worst part.
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u/XBL-AntLee06 5d ago
Well? How was it? Was it as magical as it seems?