Rebreather Diving Introduction
ProTec Dive Center's & Advanced Training Facilities has supported rebreathers and rebreather diving communities from the very beginning starting in the year of 2000 in Playa del Carmen and now in 2011 bringing it to Tulum. The reason for this is simple as the owners and most of the staff have dived rebreathers from the time they came on the market and where available for scientific, photographic, and exploration purposes.
We continue to support the cutting edge of rebreather diving in many ways, starting with providing support for rebreather divers here at our facility.
Rebreather support goes further than just our stock of CO2 absorbent and high pressure oxygen filling. We offer diver training and instructor training, in both open water and CCR cave diving as well as CCR wreck diving. We train and dive on most units available on the market including the Dive Rite O2ptima, the Innerspace Systems Megalodon, the AP Inspiration and Evolution, the Jetsam Classic and Sport KISS, Prism, all Drager Units and P-SCR Halocline, to name a few.
ProTec offers training on all of the units that you see listed here in the SCR and CCR. Some units are only available certain times of the year in certain locations but at the ProTec Dive Center & Advanced Training Facility here in Playa del Carmen you will find that most are available year round.
Please don't hesitate to email us if you have any questions or need assistance.
We have provided units here on this list of the units that members of our staff dive and use. Even if we do not teach on the unit, we do know they exist, we do dive them, and we will tell you where to train on them.
CCR Rebreather Diving
Closed Circuit Rebreather (CCR) diving is a great way of diving but does have serious consequences if one is to violate the rules and procedures. Failure to do so might prove fatal. The CCR Diver course is an intense training program with large potential for frustration.
The Machines
Each and one of the CCR Rebreather units from all the different manufacturers have two things in common. They recycle the breathing gas and effectifly remove Co2 (Carbon Dioxide) out of the recirculating breathing gas, and that the metabolized oxygen needs to be replenished either electronically or mechanically.
The Co2 absorbent is one of the key ingedients why Rebreathers work. Without Co2 absorbent (Sofnolime & Extend Air Cartridges) the Co2 that is produced as a waste product of our metabolism would be recirculate and be reconsumed, building up to intolerant and toxic levels. The propper changes of absorbent as well as staying inside manufacturer limits for absorbent duration is paramount to survival.
There are two different types of Closed Circuit Rebreathers on the market in regards of how the oxygen is injected and controlled in the Rebreather.
Electronically contolled CCR's have electronics built into the unit that measure the oxygen content in the breathing loop via oxygen sensors and will inject oxygen via a solenoid magnetic valve into the loop when user established setpoint values are not reached, thus bringing up the oxygen content in the loop back to user setpoint value and replenishing the metabolized oxygen.
Mechanically controlled CCR's have some electronics located in the Po2 readout located either in the handset or within the lid, and oxygen sensors. The replenishment however is done mechanically with constant flow injection and mechanically top up of oxygen by the diver with manual injection in order to bring and keep the Po2 at user selected setpoint.
Examples of electronically controlled CCR are the APECS Megalodon & Pathfinder, O2ptima, Prizm Topaz, Cis Lunar, Inspiration, Evolution, Sentinel, JJ, HammerHead, Mentis and OuroBuro.
Examples of mechanically controlled CCR are the Sport KISS and Classic KISS, Megalodon COPIS & Predator, IDA 72, rEvo and Submatix.
Buoyancy
Buoyancy is one of the most crucial skills in CCR diving. It provides the diver with a stable position to run lines, do tie off's, work with reel’s and pass easy through the water column.
Neutral buoyancy in a horizontal position with the legs up provides the CCR Diver with a streamlined and balanced profile while that particular position does protect the cave or wreck environment. What looks to us solid may be fragile speleothems, coroded superstructure or soft silt that can be agitated or broken with one uncontrolled touch of the hand or fin. Divers must be able to turn in a horizontal position, maintaining the horizontal position and depth without touching anything. While this requires practice it requires dedication for reef, cave or wreck preservation as well.
Mental considerations
A mental conditioning is vital for survival with a positive attitude for survival, with an understanding of the inherent risk associated with CCR diving, the willingness to strife for perfection in the art of CCR diving, the willingness to practice emergency exercises again and again until they become second nature. CCR diving is potentially not for everyone but for experienced divers willing to make an effort and these divers will be rewarded with some of the best diving on this planet, and a truly unique experience.
Commitment
The commitment needed for CCR diving goes beyond the time spend in the water but does include serious challenges to one self physically and mentally. The rewards are great and satisfying. Enrolling in a CCR diving course is a step into a new world.
Long term commitments do not only include the investment for the proper training needed to dive a particular Closed Circuit Rebreather safely. The financial commitment includes the equipment needed for this type of diving, the necessary life support equipment and the diving to come, to continue and practice what was learned during the training program, not to get rusty but to practice and practice again.
Training
In today’s world a variety of Rebreathers are available for the avid CCR Diver. Rebreathers are usually used to extend gas volume in remote locations, cave diving in the beautifull caves of Mexico or wreck diving applications where the needed gas volumes are not feasible to carry. Personal preferences and logistics dictate the choice of a particular unit. Most divers will choose a path that before CCR diving the diver has to be trained and experienced on open water diving and then can expand on rebreather technique and technology with an experienced CCR Instructor.
Few divers choose to take the initial and following training on Rebreathers and never take a single breath on open circuit SCUBA. But it can be done.
In order to learn CCR diving propperly a training program has to be completed either in stages or in whole, with considerable amount of time to be invested learning and repeating new diving skills and procedures. Your commitment and resolve will be tested here through intense training days filled with awesome diving experiences.
The level of Advanced Nitrox Diver is a prerequisite in order to enroll into a CCR Diver course. If you do not have previously done your Adv. Eanx course we can combine both training programs into one.
A minimum of six complete training days is required to complete the training neccecary for the basic or Mod. I CCR Diver.
Please don't hesitate to email us if you have any questions or need assistance.