An inline solenoid shut off valve should be installed on every rebreather. It gives control back to the diver for dealing with ascents and troubleshooting. We originally had an inline option but the location was less than optimal. The rear location made it an emergency shutoff rather than a tool.
The new EZ shutoff is a culmination of ideas from some O2ptima divers using various components to reposition the shutoff near the manual addition valve. The idea was sound, but available components added to many parts. Our manifold, which feeds the solenoid, puts everything together in a very streamlined package. It also allows for easy connection of an off board oxygen source. Only one hose leaves the oxygen cylinder and plugs into the manifold mounted to the oxygen addition.
I have been diving it for a couple of months now and find it for more convenient and useful than the original rear mounted inline shutoff valve. It can re retro fitted to any O2ptima.
Pics are forthcoming on our website. For now you can see it in the RBW video here: Rebreather World O2ptima Video
Lamar
We’ve just launched a weighting system for Nomad sidemount divers. The Nomad Weight Plate attaches to the back of the rig in the existing grommets. We’ve had some inquires about the spacing of the grommets on the plate not lining up with the Nomad. This is intentional. We added an extra 1/2-inch of spacing to the weight plate so that once it is filled with weight, it will align with the grommets on the rig. The extra 1/2-inch accounts for the thickness of the plate once loaded.
Scott and I have been diving prototypes since late fall. Neither of us can tell you’re wearing the plate – it’s that well conformed to the rig. Keep in mind it is to be used when sidemounting, not backmount.
Lamar
Nomad Weight Plate
I just finished teaching an IUCRR course. The course is a public safety course I do at least once a year to teach cave divers procedures for interaction with law enforcement and extraction techniques for victims of overhead environment fatalities. This one was interesting because for the first time there were more participants wearing their cylinders sidemount than back mount. Of the ten participants, five were in sidemount, one was in a rebreather with sidemount bailout and three wore conventional back mounted doubles.
The class allowed me to see how people are using equipment and I always learn from what other people are doing. With so much going on in sidemount these days, it’s easy for the new sidemount diver to get lost in contradictory information. We’re working on some new articles and videos that can help with that.
The IUCCR class was a good group of divers. Special thanks to Wendell Nope for assisting me with the class.
Lamar
*** The IUCRR – International Underwater Cave Recovery & Rescue group are a nonprofit organization of cave divers that make their training and services available to law enforcement around the globe for cave rescue and recovery efforts. Lamar Hires is the Training Chairman of the organization.
Made in the USA has become more important than ever in the dive community. As the economy slows and the unemployment rate rises, we’re seeing boutique scuba gear brands appear. The problem is that these guys are often buying directly overseas and have no QC procedures in place. If you don’t have a reputable manufacturer overseas, eventually there will be a product quality issue and it can be serious. If the product fails, the boutique guy simply closes his garage door or moves to another apartment. There’s no recourse for the consumer. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this happen in the past 25 years in the business.
We try to build as many products in the USA as possible. That’s not to say that every product that is manufactured overseas is a problem. Take gauges, for example. These come out of Italy and are excellent. However, when we get products overseas we scrutinize the production process and make sure our vendor adheres to our quality control standards. In some cases, we even ship proprietary parts overseas rather than accept knock-offs. This means the external look of some of our gear might look like another overseas brand, but internally it’s not. We’ve got our OEM parts inside. We’ve tried off-the-shelf products years ago and learned quickly that the extra investment is worth it. You won’t find a Dive Rite product distributed in the original box it was shipped to us in either. We personally inspect and QC our products, whether it be from the USA or overseas.
The reason I bring this up in my blog is that Dive Rite is receiving more and more customer emails from dissatisfied customers of these boutique brands. They’ve found a good deal on the Internet and when the product fails, they aren’t getting the support they need. Thankfully, they turn to us and we’re able to help them.
This isn’t to say that all boutique brands are bad. Do your research and ask questions. A busted hose or delaminated wing isn’t worth the savings when your safety is at stake.
Lamar
The O2ptima rebreather uses the ExtendAir cartridge for a number of reasons. Some like to argue that granular is cheaper and easier to get. I won’t argue with that because if that’s your belief then my arguments won’t matter. However, convenience is key for me and that’s what the ExtendAir rebreather cartridge provides. Duration sometimes comes into question. Let’s look at that.
The cartridge is designed to scrub 240 liters of CO2 and since you metabolize 1 liter of oxygen for every .92 liters of CO2 its basically liter for liter. So it’s easy to look at your oxygen gauge and calculate duration based on oxygen use. We did a rebreather dive two weeks ago at Peacock Springs, swimming from Orange Grove sink to Peacock Springs and back. The swim took 150 minutes and the team average was 30 bar of oxygen to do it. The quick math for usage is 240 liters (cartridge rating) divided by the bottle size ( in liters). I was using a steel 27 LP (4 liter), so 240 divided by 4 equals 60 bar. Using this math I only used half of the cartridge duration, so I actually had a 5 hour cartridge duration for that particular dive.
This is very important because canister duration is really about workload and the amount of oxygen you use (or CO2 you produce). Using the cartridge gives me peace of mind for scrubber packing and repeatability for doing the calculations for canister duration. My point is any canister time quoted by someone is based on a set rate of CO2 production and oxygen usage that may not be matched with how you dive. The cartridge testing is done based on 1.35 liters per minute, I know CE is 1.6 liters per minute, but I challenge anybody in reasonably good physical shape to maintain that rate. I know I can’t and people tell me I swim fast. More advantages later.
** tests based on MicroPore testing at 40m at a 1.35 liter CO2 production.
Lamar
After the hectic pace of DEMA and the dealer open house we hosted afterwards, it was good to be back in the water teaching. I had two, midwest dive shop owners, plus their friend come down to North Florida for Full Cave. One shop happened to be a Dive Rite shop, the other was not. That’s okay with me. All the guys were good in the water and I gave them more than just a cave class.
As the week progressed, I made time to take the guys through our equipment line and gave them a taste of sidemount and the O2ptima. By the end of their class, they not only became certified Full Cave divers, but also found that they liked diving rebreathers.
This is what I enjoy about teaching and making gear. I don’t just teach the class, but give my students the advantage of experimenting with gear so they find what works best for them.
Lamar
Has it been 25 years? In 1984, we started with 13 products; six of them were lead weights and I actually poured the lead myself. Today we have multiple product lines with more new product development underway. We’ve grown from being the very first tech equipment manufacturer, centered on cave diving equipment, to a worldwide technical dive equipment company.
It has been a good 25 years of business and personal growth and we aren’t stopping. As we debut our new logo this month it tells me there are new ideas on the horizon and we aren’t settled into old habits. Look for more first ideas and cutting edge diving from Dive Rite in the years to come.
Lamar
The NiTek X has all the features needed in a hi tech computer without the extras that make scrolling through the menus difficult. Most divers can program the computer within five minutes of pushing the first button. I wanted to bring you up to date on the Nitek X. The X has proven itself in the field on both deep and exploration dives. When we released the first 100 beta units earlier this year, consumers needed to keep up with the updates on our website. The first software release was version 1.0, we released version 1.0.1 within 30 days of the initial release. Consumer input was invaluable to its success. Six months later we released version 1.1.0 to fix a few bugs. These bugs included a patch for shallow stop stability while using 4th cell integration and changing the surface time from gas destaturation time to the standard 24/48 hour countdown timer. Three preset gradient factors are accessible from the menu and custom gradients as well. To check your computer for the latest software, remove the battery and replace it. When you tighten the cap a splash screen will appear with the current software version on the computer. The backlight is enhanced and brighter than the beta units, the LED back lighting is spread over the display with a fiber optic sheet for even lighting. The back light timer is in set up and can be switched to constant on but this will drastically reduce battery life. When replacing the battery be sure to use the battery door tool to ensure the battery cap is tight. If it is not installed with the tool the battery could lose connection while diving causing the computer to rest.
The NiTek X transfer cable is in stock. A low profile USB cable that plugs into the Fischer connection also used for 4th cell integration. The Nitek X Workbench is a web based program you install on your desktop to access the features of the program that include 1) Nitek Control – On this panel you can program gases and other features accessed under the “SET” menu on the computer. If you don’t like to push buttons all set up can be done here 2) Dive Log – down load up to 15 hours of dive time with programmed gases and dive profile. The download records the serial number of the computer so multiple computers can be downloaded 3) Dive Planner – This tab includes dive planning, gases and blender including mixing and top off function. Dive tables that match the X parameters can be generated from this tab for back up. 4) The dive log will always display PO2 when using 4th cell integration – this will show up as blue dots on the graph – I find this very valuable information for loop management 5) The program is now set up for offline use, after you install the program and upload the your X the first time the program will set up for offline use. Now you can use the program without an internet connection but remember program updates only happen when you have an internet connection. 6) Easy installation on both Mac and PC – you must have administrator rights when installing on a networked computer.
Right now we have special pricing on the NiTek X and/or the Transfer Cable. Ask your dealer for details, it’s only until supplies last or Nov 21st.
Lamar
After spending two weeks teaching in Australia I remember why I like the country and most of the dive sites. I have to say however, that there are a couple of training sites I can do without diving again, after spending many hours on multiple days diving them. I know that Australia has some great cave diving though and I do plan to come back and do some fun dives out on the Nullarbor.
I like to use every class as an opportunity to grow and observe as an instructor. I am very active in my personal diving, so watching students deal with tasks helps me formulate alternatives and safer practices. This was the case in Australia as well, as I was teaching the O2ptima rebreather course.
During the course, we discussed bailout options and gas management options and actually implemented some new techniques for bailout. The students found them easier and from my perspective they are much safer. In the absence of a BOV, position the second stage of the bottom gas bailout around your neck on a necklace as if you were on open circuit. We found this to be more efficient when having to bailout than going for a regulator secured to the neck of a sling bottle.
Training has always been a key part of what we offer at Dive Rite. We have four instructors on staff teaching all levels of diving. We offer this for our personal enjoyment as well as to support our dive shops who don’t have a full time instructor, yet wish to build their tech diving business. You can read more about our instructors in the TRAINING section of our website.
Congratulations to all the Australia students and in particular Chris Bojarski for becoming an O2ptima instructor.
Lamar
Sometimes the simple things are the best. Edd Sorenson of Cave Adventures, suggested we manufacture a stage strap for sidemounting a stage bottle when sidemounting primary cylinders. While we were diving Jackson Blue, Edd showed me his set up. James Clark came up with the idea. It looked too simple to work, but it did. Back at the office, we made some samples of this bungee stage strap and we’ve been using them on exploration dives ever since.
On the first sidemount, stage dive into a snarly area I used Edd’s system and didn’t even realize I had the extra bottle on even though I was moving through turns and squeezes. I even had Wes Skiles’ son Nate sidemounting four bottles, two on each side through passage divers with backmount can get stuck in.
The sidemount stage rig is designed to work with the Nomad. A couple of points to make the rig work, use it with aluminum 80’s or the new al 77 – don’t try it with steel cylinders. The bottom clip is 15” from the bottom of the cylinder. Both straps are made from 3/8 diameter bungee and just enough stretch so they clip in and stay out of the way behind the primary bottle. It’s not for everyone but if you want to stage with sidemount it’s the slickest thing I’ve seen. BC2720-STAGE is the model number if you’re interested.
Lamar
Sidemount Stage Bottle Set Up
