Diver one of sixteen to die using high-tech gear

[DiverMole]

I am one of the people who have heavily modified my unit. I admit that but thats me (I've done the same to my car ). This is because that original unit is good but not perfect. PS I modified my DV's (detuned) my backplate and harness (extra D rings) and ost of my other dive gear

DRE: There is a small metal screw inside the oxygen sensor compartment, it is located directly across from sensor number two. Condensation often forms on this metal screw and will allow droplets to fall onto the oxygen sensors. This will happen particularly if the diver moves from side to side as in dumping gas from a drysuit or if they invert from horizontal for any reason.
Condensation is inherently found within this area and will form on the oxygen sensors even without this metal catalyst. The O2 sensors are located on the inhalation side of the breathing loop, so you have warm gas that just went through the scrubbing process meeting with cooler gas that you will inhale thus the condensation forming on the cell faces. This condensation causes discrepancies/inaccuracies within the cell readings and they begin to VOTE trying to figure out which one is more than .2 bar out of line with the other. Cell warnings will manifest within this period of time and the diver will begin to get audible and visual alarms ...task loading increases.

True there is a screw there. But when you are in a normal position the screw is designed to be at the bottom of the area and hence it doesn't matter unless you do the whole dive upside down. The cells are at 90 degrees to each other so any drops can only go on one (where is would run off the Teflon coating instantly)

The screw is fully enclosed inside the unit and will be at internal ambient temperature and hence not a condensation seed point. haveing opened my head after many dives there has NEVER been condesation on that screw. I have recently been doing some Ice diving and cold water diving with my unit. This has produced the highest condensation in my unit that I've ever seen (mainly of the metal fittings that penetrate the head). I have had no moisture on the cell faces or even a blip from any cell while on a dive

This paragraph is an old quote from George Irvine and was long ago proven to be not true. If a large drop fell on a cell face it would almost certainly be dispelled before affecting the reading, and even if it did, it would generate a cell warning, the user could then decide if this was transient or permanant and terminate the dive if needed. There is 6L a breath of gas rushing past these sensors, they would soon dry off.

After all you have metal bits in OC regulators, maybe these are bad as well

Not an issue, never been and issue except for those who listen to rumours spread by non Inspiration trained divers who have a monitary and political interest in putting other makes of rebreathers down


DRE: The unit alarms if it senses a PO2 over 1.6, which is a good thing. Problem with this is that many of the divers will run 100% oxygen at 20 ft which is a PO2 of 1.6, if they drop below the 20 ft they get an alarm, fair enough. If you have several Inspiration divers in close proximity with cell warning alarms, and high PO2 alarms it becomes very difficult to know if the alarm is coming from your unit or from another diver. Some will be able to assimilate this to being in an area where several cellular phones begin to ring and everyone pulls out their phone to see if it was theirs. Mix this with CCR divers using wrist computers that alarm and you really have an orchestra playing down there, so much for the peace and tranquility of "no bubbles".

I have heard the alarm twice in 100 dives!!! (Both cell failures), My VR3 doesn't make a sound. You are over exagerating.

DRE: As the diver descends they must equalize the counter lungs, if this procedure is not adhered to and they begin an uncontrolled descent the lungs collapse and the diver is not able to breath, an automatic diluent add is an aftermarket product which does combat this. But since we are talking factory here the diver is faced with equalizing counter lungs, ears, sinuses, mask drysuit, BCD, monitoring PO2 on handsets, buddy position (as far as they dive with buddies), light and depth in the water column. Seems to me like this might be a busy time in which things could move very fast, especially when going wrong.

Your out of date. The Inspiration currently comes from the factory with an ADV (Auto Diluent Valve fitted). Manully flying the unit is a piece of cake and only took any brain power for about the first 3 or 4 dives. Yes, if you are manually flying you do need to do the one extra task but its easy. MOST users have fitted a third party ADV (I have) I have added an auto dump as well, so no extra tasks on way down or way up.

I'm so taks loaded on my dives, NOT. In fact on thursday I had to do a controlled bouyant lift on a trainee from 35m, guess what, I didn't have to touch any of my kit on the whole ascent. As I dont use my BC for trim, I had my counter lungs and drysuit on autodumps etc. This whole task loading thing is not true, you do have a little more to do when you first start, but by the time you finish your training this is just not true