I'm VERY lucky to have been able to purchase this NEW never used LAR V O2 rebreather. You see, Drager will not sell these to civilians, only to military, government, or law enforcement agencies. So, after wanting one for a few years, I managed to get in touch with a doctor that has ties to NASA who in-turn had a few (legally with bills of sale) and decided to sell 2 of them- I got one! These rigs are safely rated to 20 FSW for 240 mins or 30 FSW for 80 minutes. As this unit works on 100% O2, there are a few safety issues to work though when planning a dive: Oxygen Toxicity (Central Nervous Syndrome -CNS and Pulmonary Oxygen Toxicity) and scrubber duration. So, like mixed gas CCRs (closed circuit rebreather) these units maintain a constant PPO2 (partial pressure of oxygen) and at 20 FSW you have 1.6 ATA of O2 (the upper limit of exposure).
So, I'll get a few pool hours in before taking the unit out for lobster dives this winter. I'm really looking forward to using this unit as it is small (chest mounted), light, and very efficient. I'll post more pics from my pool dives at some point.
The hard aluminum case, opened, and the unit out ready for pre-dive
The unit flipped over to show the counterlung, scrubber, and manual add O2 valve
The inside of the cowl with the guts removed, The O2 manual add valve and pressure reducing regulator
Here is the "loop"- DSV, lung, scrubber. The connector from the exhale into the scrubber is milspec. The inside of the scrubber with the lid removed (5.5 lbs of lime go in here).
The SPG (Submersible Pressure Gauge) is in bar- gotta love those Germans!
So, I'll get a few pool hours in before taking the unit out for lobster dives this winter. I'm really looking forward to using this unit as it is small (chest mounted), light, and very efficient. I'll post more pics from my pool dives at some point.
The hard aluminum case, opened, and the unit out ready for pre-dive
The unit flipped over to show the counterlung, scrubber, and manual add O2 valve
The inside of the cowl with the guts removed, The O2 manual add valve and pressure reducing regulator
Here is the "loop"- DSV, lung, scrubber. The connector from the exhale into the scrubber is milspec. The inside of the scrubber with the lid removed (5.5 lbs of lime go in here).
The SPG (Submersible Pressure Gauge) is in bar- gotta love those Germans!
