Vintage Scuba: Build Your Own Rebreather - S02E06

Long ago, in a very different time, four divers built a home made rebreather. Alec shows his do-it-yourself rebreather worked pretty well and was dived a few times before being put away.
** In this episode of Vintage Scuba **
- Alec's 1963 home made rebreather
- high tech materials: plexiglass, tin, old fire extinguisher, double hose regulator, a rubber hot water bottle, web belts, a scuba regulator
- the raw chemicals were sodium hydroxide purchased at a local drug store in paper bags by the pound
- the old fire extinguisher was cleaned and filled with 100% oxygen
- please do not attempt to build a home made rebreather
**** Alec Peirce Scuba ****
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[@destry5250]

Yup. Q: "How do you become an expert in diving?" A: "Outlive everyone else . . . "

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

More truth to that than you realize Destry. In the last dozen years, I've been offered numerous awards, certifications and accolades, many from individuals or institutions that I've never heard of. I assume it's because I've been around so long more people have heard of me. Sometimes I think they want to add my name to their list of supporters in the (mistaken?) belief that will enhance it. Whatever. What I have definitely learned is how much I don't know! Of course, that could be because I've learned so much that there's little left so I know exactly how much it is I don't know! What do you think? Laughingly, Alec

[@isaackalashnikov3681]

The presentator is so charismatic and the device is incredibly ingenious yet simple. I'm very glad i found this video

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thank you Isaac. Lots more tips to make you the smartest diver in the water.

[@jtomas321]

Always amazed by the ingenuity of the founding fathers of scuba! Really enjoyed the video thanks for sharing Alec.

[@schmedlywhiplash6267]

That is the coolest real life story with true invention and into adventure I've ever heard! You and your past friends who built that rebreather lived a life of achievment and adventure! Congratulations to you all in your contributions of genius and knowledge for us all in the dive world. Thank you all and for shareing that with us Alec!😀

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thanks Whipper! I sure had a lot of fun back in the 50's and 60's. I'm not sure if the things we did could even be done today. I'm thinking that with computers, Facebook, email, etc, there wouldn't be any time left over to 'play around and try things'. Back then we had to find things to do in our spare time and anyone with an imagination, a fertile mind as they say, had no problem doing so. "Getting into trouble" my Dad said but boy it was fun and I think we contributed a lot to the enjoyment of scuba. Thanks for watching. Alec

[@charlesthomas7970]

This is the Wright brothers of rebreather diving! A few guys building something just because they could, probably while having some beers. The wild underwater blue yonder, must have been an amazing time coming up with things like this. BTW, you are an interesting story teller, something that is largely missing today. Thanks for the history lesson and insights!

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

I'm glad you're enjoying the videos Charles and the old gear. You're right. Growing up in the Do-It-Yourself world of the 1960s was so much fun. And divers today benefit from our ingenuity and daring-do. Take care. Alec

[@amcaesar]

This is so delightful, Alec! Not only is the ingenuity on display, but the explanation of CCR is something I've always been curious about.

[@overcash007]

I love all your videos the vintage scuba as a new diver having only experience on modern equipment I respect everything you did back in the Wild West of diving to make it such a fun and enjoyable sport for me and my loved ones to enjoy today I’m honestly surprised any of you old timers ever made it 😂😂 thanks for the insight to how crazy things used to be I started watching your channel as I was going through certification in 2020 I’m now a technical diver and this channel is definitely a big part of my respect for the old timers in diving

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

I'm happily surprised to be here too! So much of early diving was DIY as there were no LDS, just mail order. Some of the things I look back at and shake my head as I know what NOT to do today. Thanks for watching and more Vintage Scuba from this stone age diver coming. A

[@benheckendorn2696]

I have even a much more higher respect to those divers at the stone age of diving, I really didn't know it's possible to create a rebreather. Chapeau to the guy who builded this. 👍

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thanks Ben, glad I'm still here after making it. A.

[@pavcomputerrepair8522]

This is very interesting project, technology even today. Vintage scuba videos are my favourite

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

I lived through the early days and still love vintage diving. A

[@GospodinJean]

BEST VIDEO SO FAR, and great presenter by the way!

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thanks Jean. Alec

[@itsmeben604]

You sir are a treasure to the diving community!

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

A very nice compliment, thanks tripp. Glad you learned something. Keep watching, lots more to come. Alec

[@Josh-hr5mc]

This is content that is priceless

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Sure is. I'm still hear to tell you about it. A.

[@michaeldallas]

The beauty of the videos is your experience. You don't have to be omniscient. Thanks.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

I appreciate that! If I knew back then what I do today, none of these would ever have been started.

[@ES1976-3]

It's amazing how much ingenuity and do-it-yourself knowhow we have lost over the decades I could never even attempt to begin to replicate something like this. Reminds me of how everyone's dad used to build their house. Just amazing to me.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

I was raised in that era and it was wonderful, not just for the skills developed but also the attitude. My dad would say to me, "Let's build a (whatever) today." And I'd reply, "How do we do that?" His response was, "Not sure yet. Let's get started and we'll see how it goes." That's how great things get done in the world. Trust me that Edison did not go to Google and type is "How do you make a light bulb". Take care. Alec

[@karoshidewanai9540]

Alec Peirce Scuba This mindset is not completely lost. There are some millennials out here who like to tinker with stuff and build things, FYI. Although I will say, especially with the availability of information on the internet, I'm always surprised by people lacking confidence in their own abilities; simple oil changes, for example. Anyway, great video. It was interesting to learn that calcium hydroxide scrubs carbon dioxide from exhaled air, and I enjoyed your explanation of the mechanics of the rebreather that you guys built. Thanks!

[@willymueller3278]

Yes, right, we built aircompressors and rebreathers in the sixties as well, even then music was better then !

[@bradhoughton1288]

Love it. Thanks for the video Alec. I went ahead and shared it with our Okanagan Dive Club. Hope you don't mind. We have a very active club that seems to enjoy all things Scuba.

[@SuprSi]

Hi Alec, that was very interesting. I'm only open circuit certified, but from my understanding I think you may have gotten the explanation wrong on the 2nd stage, I imagine you'd want it adding oxygen when the counter lung becomes deflated past a certain point, the volume decreases as the oxygen is used and co2 scrubbed. If it does add oxygen when the lung is full it would make the lung expand more and keep adding. Either way, extremely cool to see this hand built vintage rebreather, thank you very much for showing us!

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Sorry if I was confusing. You are quite right. Initially oxygen is added manually to inflate the bladder. As the oxygen is depleted, changed to carbon dioxide & absorbed, the bladder deflates & activates the regulator valve to add oxygen. It's so much simpler than todays computer-controlled rebreathers! But not nearly so safe. In many respects we were trying things to "see what happens". I have no idea how I made it to 75 years of age! Alec

[@SuprSi]

@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter Thanks for your reply. I think it's incredible to have come up with such a simple analogue way to get the job done! I'm so glad I found your channel and I'm very glad you're still around to share your knowledge and enthusiasm. All the best!

[@Kebekwoodcraft7375]

HOO boy what you got me on to , like the hot water bag idea Nice video Alec and Kevin

[@MrRodgerMoore]

Thanks for the video Alec, and I can see why you would want to spend time at your lovely ranch!

[@johnwijers1919]

A great video! As a math teacher and diver I really enjoy this creativity. Today a re-breather costs thousends of dollars and a training which takes weeks or months....... Anyway a fantastic example how you can teach the basic principle of a rebreather.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thanks John. Alec

[@brennenbeck7311]

I love your show and this video was certainly very neat. However, I've been reading about the people killed by re-breathers the last couple of days. This is DEFINITELY one of the "don't try this at home, kids" videos. I did a dive on a re-breather many years ago, and in hindsight it was probably a commercial version of almost this exact rig. But knowing what I know now, this thing has "Russian Roulette" written all over it. Pure oxygen is toxic at about 18ft depth. It's less of a problem the smaller the percentage of O2 until you reach the 21% oxygen of normal air which is toxic at around 215ft. On the surface this toxicity just makes you go into convulsions and there's no guarantee of exactly when or if the convulsions will happen, but you can imagine what happens at depth when you go into convulsions and can't hold your regulator in your mouth. And from what I've read, oxygen at depth that is breathable, may not be breathable near the surface. For example, oxygen with a partial pressure of 20% at 4 atmospheres may be breathable, but at 2 atmospheres it's 10% oxygen and the closer you get to 1 atmosphere the closer it gets to 5% oxygen. I'm not sure 5% oxygen is breathable. People have died from this using rebreathers when they near the surface, pass out, and it falls out of their mouth due to this. There are also serious problems related to carbon dioxide, especially under pressure. And how do you know you don't have a leak in this system allowing pure carbon dioxide to build up in the air. For that matter, how do you know the exact percentage of oxygen and thus what is a safe depth for oxygen toxicity. Those $10,000 rebreathers have sensors to measure these things. But that being said, that is a pretty cool little device, especially for "home-made".

[@Sgyozo]

This pure O2 rebreather is kinda safe, if you don't go below 5-6 meters. Partial pressure is also measured in atm, depends on the pressure of the whole gas mixture and the percentage of the gas you need. Oxygen toxicity happens at (give or take) 1.5 atm partial pressure, hence the 5-6m limit with pure O2. With 50% O2 1.5atm partial pressure of O2 is at 3 atm total pressure -> 20m depth. Rebreathers use a diluent, and pure O2, opening their valves automatically, to the sensor signals, etc. That's why you need redundance, but they can break anyway, and if you're down at 20m, and get 100% O2 because of a sensor or computer failure, you die. Decompression dives can also be dangerous if your scrubber is flooded, or whatever problem happens, you probably won't have enough bailout gas to do proper deco stops. However, i guess most of the deaths can be taken back to human errors, inappropiate training or gear checks, etc. You HAVE to know what you are doing all the time, scuba is more forgiving.

[@ivoryjohnson4662]

I finally understand how rebreathers work now!!! Thank you again for sharing your knowledge

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Great to hear!

[@jamesireland3768]

This is phenomenal!!! I'm relatively new to diving, just over 100 dives, and I'm thoroughly enjoying learning about the history of the equipment. I think getting into rebreathers is a bit beyond what I need but it's so interesting. Also, you're such a great presenter. You would have been an amazing instructor.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Awesome, thank you James. A

[@TheSphere07]

Alec, Thank you so much for all of your videos. I am 59 and just getting into diving. I recently received my OW with SDI. I have picked up so much useful information from so many of your video & had many laughs along the way. Keep up the good work. My question about the re- breather apparatus is, how did you know when it was time to open the 02 tank to introduce more oxygen into the system? You would not have had any way of monitoring gas ratios.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Welcome to a great sport Keith. You can enjoy scuba diving your whole life - I mean right into your 90's if you're that lucky. So long as you can get up in the morning and brew a cup of coffee, you can scuba dive. The only reason any of my friends and students stop diving is because their doctor tells them to. My advice to them is to change doctors! Preferably find a diving doctor. Scuba has less impact on you than 9 holes of golf. Knowing when to renew the oxygen was a problem before gas analyzers and computers. It may sound very odd but we actually used experience and common sense (wouldn't work today - no common sense!). Hypoxia can be detected in numerous ways as its effects on the body progress from low oxygen level to unconsciousness. Each diver may experience different symptoms so making lots of dives is important to learn what you personally feel as the oxygen level drops. In my case, I begin the see black dots in my eyes and I often find that my eyelids flicker as well. Other divers had ringing in the ears, or felt shortness of breath, or coughing or faster heart rate. It took awareness and common sense to notice and realize what was happening. Unfortunately one of the symptoms of hypoxia is confusion which could lead to a diver NOT knowing what to do so we always had another diver close by. It is hard for someone else to see any overt sign of hypoxia until a diver passes out. With the automatic O2 feed, although it might have wasted some oxygen by replenishing sooner than absolutely necessary, at least you were less likely to have a level of O2 that was too low. If this all sounds dangerous, I suppose it was but probably no more so than using our own homemade scuba tanks and regulators. It wasn't dangerous at the time. It's what we had. We just had to be careful. That introduces the premise that scuba diving, as with many activities today including driving a car, is so safe today with all of the great equipment available that divers are not as careful as before. Very few divers today know anything about their gear and certainly don't know about the symptoms they might experience if the gas mixture is bad. And that fact is the best proof that scuba diving is safe. Thanks for watching Keith and have fun diving. Alec

[@KayakDIY]

With your gas mixture knowledge you should try to create a simple open source medical ventilator for coronavirus. Italy might be imposing triage protocol that would leave most 80yr olds to die. Just something I’ve been thinking of. An open source home medical ventilator might save lives. I work in hospital as a vascular nurse. I see how quickly hospital resources could run out should the coronavirus crisis get truly worse. Ventilators will he needed.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

I read a company in Italy is making 3D ventilator valves to fill supply. Making a functional, life saving device is beyond me but there are very smart folks working on it. Wish them success as many more of these critical devices will be needed soon. Alec.

[@714Goldenboy]

The art of teaching. Take something complex and break it down that everyone can understand. Alex is extremely talented and could very easily talk over someone’s head but, he is here to educate and make everyone better. Thank you for being an ambassador for the industry. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to pay it forward like yourself. Also thank you to your wife for supporting your passion throughout your lifetime. God bless you!

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thanks for your kind words. I simply hope that someone has picked up some useful information. Or at least a good laugh. Either is a pleasure for me to give. Alec

[@firejim1232]

Thanks for sharing Alec! My wife's son in law briefly used one in his army special forces training back in the 90's. Great explanation of how it works!

[@SeattleRingHunter]

Awesome to see how far we have come in the developement of SCUBA over the years. At 49 years old I remember back at the size of our computers we had as a kid and now we all enjoy the benefits of the modern mobile phone the size of a chocolate bar. Thanks for sharing your groups vintage rebreather that was very interesting and historical to see. ❤️🤿👌 Cheers, #SeattleRingHunter

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Very welcome my friend. Lots more vintage items to remember and laugh at. A

[@AT_Diving]

Looks like an early prototype of the Halcyon PVR-BASC. Thanks for your video!

[@wimm1392]

I didn’t use it, “ I’m still here” hahahahahaha Awesome video, very good explanation. I would love to build one myself. Thanks

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Easy to build. Don't use it!! LOL. Take care. Alec

[@1gapinghole]

You sir, are my hero.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

My grandkids say the same thing. Thanks. Alec

[@OverlandTT]

Great video, we so enjoy watching your videos

[@ronaldpurvis4293]

Thanks 😊 Alec for your quick response. You are such a pioneer in scuba and have so much knowledge in scuba. Appreciate all that you share with us 🇺🇸.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

So nice of you, thanks Ronald.

[@floydoroid]

You're a great man. Thank you for sharing your expansive knowledge sir

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

I appreciate that! A.

[@zoubtube]

Thoroughly enjoyed this video. thanks for the efforts

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Pretty neat stuff we made in the DIY era. We weren't necessarily smarter than today's kids. We just had no option other than to build stuff we wanted PLUS we had the tools and skills to do so. Alec

[@kurtsteiner8384]

Hi Alec! i first got into Diving back inthe early 1980's with our Royal Navy. We did use rebreathers for mine clearance diving. But these things looked very much like you saw in the old war films. they had a canvas pouch and crisals. they were very time consuming in maintenance after each dive thescrubbers and filters needed changing and cleaning, and cristals needed to be balanced. if you get this wrong you were a dead man. i am very envious of modern rebreather sets, but guess they are expensive really to consider unless you are into comercial diving, but have heard they also have problems with electronics and computors systems. I just do BSAC And PADI Diving thesedays, always like your programes. Nice place you have, my cousin is Canadian they live in Vanccouver, she married a Canadian 20 years ago and emigrated there, but they come over once every two or three years to visit family and friends

[@downlink5877]

The famous CDBA? Always liked the look of that!

[@saraha3958]

That’s so amazing. It was real DIY back then

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Absolutely DIY. Want to dive, make a mask or find a buddy who does. Want regs and a tank, off to the war surplus store. Need lead, to the auto shop and melt your own. It was 'normal' for divers to all do this before dive stores and manufactured gear came along.

[@John2023london]

I always enjoy your your sense of humour and explanation of our great intelligence in 50 you And the amazing time it was . You left the part! that where would go the used air in the end Because you mentions adding extra air from the bottle to the chamber.. i couldn't really grasp you

[@TheBelldiver]

I built a surface supplied compressor from a painter’s compressor and painters can ans a garden hose with a one way diaphragm regulator. The compressor was a constant flow system so it took some getting use in breathing from it but I actually earned money as a commercial diver collecting star fish and sand dollars for the Shell Factory in Ft. Myers, Florida in 1968 and 69. I was 15 and 16 years old. It was my own business and I earned $40. A day. Tax free. Only few men earned that.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Wow! True DIY! I love it. I tried a similar project when I was about 10 or 12 without success (thankfully). Great work. Thanks for watching. Alec

[@GIJOE573]

Using a hot water bottle for a counter lung and to add O2 is ingenious and terrifying, I want to make one and fill it with fish tank gravel for display someday

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

So much safer to buy a working model as someone may try and dive it. Stay safe.

[@richgran]

Very interesting, your experience is very valuable

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thanks for watching. Alec

[@vladimirnekic3241]

wow, awsome lesson. Thank you for the explanation and it was def worth the time to watch.

[@losttreasurehunt]

Great job thanks for sharing

[@hunter1029016]

Wow. This is awesome. Did you guys know about controlling PPO2 levels when you built this? Quite a feat of engineering and innovation!

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Not really. That was rocket science stuff to us stone age divers.

[@nitroxdiver461]

That is absolutely awesome! Thank you for sharing all your knowledge with all of us, and I had a good laugh at " it all household stuff.. you could swipe it from your mom"

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

I did swipe it and eventually got in trouble for it. But my dear mother knew I was using them to experiment and learn. However my dad was not keen on my burning his workbench to mould lead weights.

[@nitroxdiver461]

@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter haha!

[@laurenceperkins7468]

You can still get bulk sodium and calcium hydroxide, just not at the corner drugstore. Soap-making supply companies are your best bet if you want it cheap, but hobby shops usually have some as well. Lithium hydroxide is much more potent and lasts longer and is what they use on spacecraft, but I'm not sure where you'd get that as I've never needed any. (The other two are useful for all kinds of things.) If you were going to build something like this yourself today, you'd definitely want to throw some of the modern sensor technologies into it. Tank pressure, blood oxygen sensor, O2 level sensor, and CO2 level sensor at a minimum I would think. That way you'd be able to detect malfunctions and switch to a backup air supply before you were too far gone to know what to do. Computerizing would help idiot-proof it, but really just having the readouts in front of your face so you could keep an eye on them would be sufficient as long as you didn't get distracted and knew what each one meant. For that matter back in the 60s you should probably have used an earlobe blood chromometer with it. They're not very precise, but they're sufficient to let you notice if you're feeding too little or too much oxygen, and relatively easy to build. It's what they used in early space suits to give the astronaut a visual indicator of whether he needed to adjust the oxygen feed back before computers were small enough to be built into the suit and handle it automatically. Best to get a commercial rebreather these days. The high price is because they do massive amounts of testing on them to make sure they won't malfunction and kill you. By the time you build your own and test it to the same level of reliability the cost won't be much less anyway.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Good information Laurence. An 'earlobe blood chronometer" would have been a good idea in the 60's, if I'd ever heard of it, much less had a place to buy it! It was a different world back then. If you couldn't make it from wood or steel, it didn't get made!! Take care. Alec

[@laurenceperkins7468]

Heh. It's a fancy name for what was basically a light bulb and a bit of fiber optic cable, or a mirror in the right place so you can see what color your blood is. The modern blood O2 monitors they use in the hospital do basically the same thing on the end of your finger, only these days the computer can read it for you and give you a precise number instead of trying to guess where you are between "too red" and "not red enough."

[@broderickwallis6641]

Sorry Alec my real point was you have a definite Mike Nelson sound. As a kid Sea Hunt was definitley after school fair. Love your enthusiasm. Never really into scuba, l have been spearfishing since those times with relative enjoyment but surfing got me late 1960s (and has still got me to rhis day). Great to talk with you. See you later (on hughy... tube)

[@davidjones4452]

what a great presenter

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thanks David, hope you picked up something new. Alec

[@alabamadeep4471]

As a 8 year old I made a scuba system using two 3 liter Pepsi bottles lol. I was a kid and didn't understand Boyle' s Law. I did get sick. So my parents got me certified asap so I would be safe.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Probably the best solution for everyone. Hope your still diving safe.

[@divewithderek]

Thanks for posting, I really enjoyed the video. Its amazing and inspiring what you guys used to create yourself. Nowadays as long as you got a credit card you can buy whatever you want.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Seems that way. The good thing is what they make today actually works, not like our home made gear. Thanks for watching Derek.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Injury & death is an unfortunate by-product of man's curiosity & search for improvement. How many died in the early days of flight? Automobiles? Electricity? At least those deaths were not in vain. I am reminded of the pioneers who ran risks, often unknowingly, in the development of our modern machines.

[@killerorca1]

back into my time way cool!!!!

[@nickmartin6481]

Great vid Alec and Kevin....would you consider making a video on how training has changed from then to now?

[@Sharkie936]

Amazing lesson Alec, thank you.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

My pleasure!

[@johanlusari639]

Great video, I think diving with DIY scuba gear needs GOOD LUCK, let's get that at the DC.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

I hesitate to agree but there's no doubt someone was watching out for me over the years. I've done things, built things and tried things that I shake my head at now. If one of my kids or grandkids even talked about such stuff I'd freak at them!!. So, you may be right!. Thanks for watching. Alec

[@williamgauthier9294]

Interesting. Nice home too.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thanks for watching. Alec

[@jessereiter328]

Too late before I saw this I started building my own rebreather.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Neat! Send me pictures - before you try it!!!!!! Alec

[@Monmorrangr]

This video makes justifying 10k for a new one much more difficult.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

You should have 2-3 dive buddies to test it on first. A

[@FedericoLucchi]

Actually you can get rebreathers for a lot less nowadays, and they can run on air or trimix, unlike the older ones which ran only on oxygen, thus limiting their max depth. With modern electronic controllers, you can also change the oxygen ppm based on depth, allowing to dive much deeper than on OC and also allowing for faster deco

[@dgordon130]

This is just brilliant! Alec, there was a club back in the day who were apparantly dedicated rebreather folks. They were called the K-W Dolphins. At the time, I understood a condition of membership was to build your own. Don't know if they just met for coffee and such on the weekends, or if they were active at all. Wondering if in your work with this perhaps you knew of them or anything. They were a club which was hard at that time to get any information on. I have huge respect for the work you've done with yours and always thought these were wicked cool. Just so dang expensive and at the time taboo and dangerous for sport divers.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

The Kitchener Waterloo Dolphins were a very active scuba club at one time but I've not heard from them for many years. I don't know if they were dedicated rebreather fans. They did a lot of regular scuba diving. Thanks for watching. Alec

[@gruesume]

i would love to just go to your place for one day just to enjoy how beautiful it is.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Other than this tiny pandemic! You can see almost all of the ranch by watching by other KZbin channel At The Ranch. I have videos from the roof to the back woods, inside the house, fireplace, standby generator, horses, garage, windmill, etc. Lots for you to pick up something new.

[@SethMcClaine]

Thats awesome Alec! Thanks for the share!

[@broderickwallis6641]

From Australia; Alec... you talk like Mike Nelson. But to us aussies you Americans all sound the same. Good shows!

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

You're right. A lot of Americans sound the same but, ALL Aussies sound the same. Anyway, I'm Canadian. Just another colonial. Thanks for watching. Alec

[@barrymoat5078]

An Austrian named Hans Hass and his wife Lotte made a big hit movie( Under the Red Sea ) in colour, both of whom used Navy rebreathers. They both made films of their under water adventures continuing with the use of Rebreathers. They lived a long and colourful life.They never used SUBA gear? I dont know why. It was his books that kindled my interest in diving and within months bought my first primitive SCUBA outfit and continued to Dive for most of my life At 80yrs of age I am too old to dive. Boy I do miss it.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Hans and Lotte were pioneer photographers and hand there own 1967 board game "Undersea Adventures". Watch my Vintage Scuba S02E10 to see this and other scuba board games in S06E14. Thanks for sharing Barry.

[@richardcurrin8940]

Awesome video! I watched the Sea Hunt episodes that featured rebreathers but did not learn nearly as much. Also I have to ask has anyone ever told you that you resemble Kurtwood Smith from That 70's Show?

[@jacobgillespie4758]

What an excellent lesson! I'm so glad I stumbled across this episode. Gotta sub now so I can dig through your other videos. Keep it up!

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thanks Jacob. I have lots of subjects covered and my other playlists. Lots for you to learn or laugh at. Take care. Alec

[@uncatila]

I'm an la county underwater instructor certified on the inspiration rebreather. I once flooded my loop on the SPORT MISS rebreather. Burned my throat for 24 hours. Anyway. Dive rite just came out with a chest mounted electronic rebreather that weighs 14 lbs. You clip to the front of your bcd and lets you use your 80 cf cylinder as a bail out and loop pressurizer as you decend. This gives you options. It is computer driven with 4 O2 sensors so you can take it deep. THE UNIT IS $6000.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Wow, $6k. I may have spent that in my first 25 years of diving. I'm looking forward to the 1ATA 'personal submarine' that dives to 1,000ft for 4 hours, recharges in 30 min and costs $500 (wake me when it happens). Thanks for watching Pat.

[@uncatila]

I'm tempted to just get a 1971 Soviet O2 rebreather for $500. It's built like a tank.

[@Fronabarger1]

I love watching your videos, the vintage stuff you show is very cool. I have wondered how a rebreather worked. I guess it makes sense to have a scrubber unit to clean the air, basicly the same principle that we use for cleaning the exhaust on the power houses (SCR units).

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Yep. Almost the same. Thanks for watching. Alec

[@mattMcLovinisbae]

nice ranch cool gadget

[@hollandhollywood329]

Beautiful home.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thanks Holly. Alec

[@giornogamer3618]

what a nice house

[@AlecPeirceAtTheRanch]

Thanks Chris. Not pretentious but really comfortable. Alec

[@karlmarx7450]

wow, you are amazing! Really ingenious!

[@AlecPeirceAtTheRanch]

Well thanks Karl. I'm not going to argue with you! You know me well so I'll have to take your word for it LOL. Alec

[@Alfa011]

Love your videos!

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thanks for watching Alfa. Alec

[@data790]

So much joy watching these vintage videos. I would love to know if you have done one on full face scuba masks. I am aware you did the snorkling ffm. Would love to see the vintage masks to todays and get your opinions. Great channel, boss.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

I did indeed. Look under Vintage Scuba playlist for video S04E02 Scubapro's Visionaire Full Face Mask. Enjoy Marc. A.

[@daimionwho9889]

Awesome. Just awesome!

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Glad you liked it!

[@uncatila]

omg in Italy makes a nifty o2 rebreather with a large scruber for 2500 euros. its light and simple and realy cool.

[@taoisttiger4702]

Dude that is super cool thanks for the share!

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Glad you liked it!

[@leondustar]

wow i guess the sixties were pretty wild.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

We didn't think so at the time. We were just having fun with what we had, which usually wasn't much. If we needed something, we made it, like this rebreather. If that's wild to you, I guess it was wild. We couldn't buy it. Most advanced tech stuff was not available or too expensive. So we made it. My dive buddies and I made a rebreather, more than one tank and regulator set, several diver tows (DPVs), surface supply air systems and more. It was fun to make and more fun to use. Thanks for watching. Alec

[@xeddtech]

I love this guy

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Me too.

[@marphy2004]

thank you sir

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thanks for watching. Alec

[@OnlyKaerius]

Home-built rebreathers are quite fascinating. Btw rebreathers predate open circuit regulators! The first self-contained diving equipment was pure oxygen rebreathers. Lots of CNS problems back then. Then Jacques Cousteau invented the regulator to make diving safer. I've got a guy I'm buying a second-hand rebreather from, for about $3560, and then I'm spending another $960 or so for a couple of parts(battery, 3rd O2 sensor pod) and a fresh set of oxygen sensors. New it'd be $11590. I'm already certified on the model.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Your last line was what I was hoping to read, certified on model! I could buy a lear jet but to be certified... Nope! Good luck and enjoy the really silent world. A

[@OnlyKaerius]

@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter Yeah got my certification just as Covid spread was starting. Haven't had a chance to dive it since, but I've got about 20 hours on it. Last year I went to Cozumel and was hoping to certify on another model, but the island's only tech diving shop didn't have rebreather rentals. Returning late november again, and since I want to rebreather dive, I'll just have to bring my own unit!

[@uncatila]

I'm getting a Soviet ida -71 I want to use Sodium hydroxide. This are the mig 25 of rebreathers. Built like a tank. I'm certified on an AP inspiration but I intend to stay at 20 feet so don't worry. I got certified in scuba in 1971

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

That's an old system Pat. Maybe test it in a pool with a buddy before going open water to practice all the skills and recovery methods first. Safety first and have fun.

[@jessereiter328]

Two questions 1. how do you control the input of oxygen ? if you use a hard case for the scrubber then you would need a depth compensated demand regulator Right wrong. I know they use o2 sensors to control when to inject o2. Second question how do you keep water and moisture out of the scrubber filling with water would be a disaster for sure but you can't avoid moisture from breathing and that would collect on your scrubber material. I remember many years ago I would watch sea hunt and mr bridges talk about going to deep with a rebreather and the diver was being poisoned By carbon dioxide I would think that moisture would cause that problem too. Just for fun someone tried to build a rebreather that he could stay 24 hours underwater. They wore using LOX but it overheated and of course he had to surface.

[@MAGAisacult]

I believe, the 1st commercial rebreathers were developed by a Dr. Stone. If I remember correctly, he actually helped develop the technology for NASA before it was ever used for diving applications. For some reason, a Company names Cis-Lunar (?) comes to mind. Now you can buy a "low end" sport/tech rebreather for around $8000. However, that are still fairly complicated, require extensive maintenance, and a lot of assembly/prep before use. Wonder what we'll have in 20 years? Do you think rebreathers will be $$2000-3000 and common in sport diving? I do. Dive safe!!

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

It's hard to predict anything William but I doubt it. Rebreathers not only have a higher risk factor but also require much greater attention to maintenance and there's no easy way to avoid that or offset it. Recreational scuba divers hate maintenance and much prefer to dive it and forget it. With the depth limitations plus the initial and on-going cost of rebreathers, I can't see them getting beyond the "nice toy for rich boys" stage. Alec

[@laurenceperkins7468]

There are some experimental devices that extract the dissolved oxygen from water much like a fish's gills do. Pair that with a rebreather and you could theoretically stay down for days... I doubt it'll catch on for recreational stuff since few people have that kind of time to spend exclusively underwater, but would be handy for all kinds of underwater jobs where the size and weight of tanks gets in the way.

[@MAGAisacult]

Appreciate your opinion...many said exact same thing about dive computers in the 80's!!

[@ronaldpurvis4293]

How does the re-breather work without some form of preasursization? You can't suck in air without some form of pressure. I'm a old timer to from the 50's and 60's and' was trying to figure out a way to breath under water. Tried to hook a hose to a large bottle. But when I went under water it failed and consequently chucked on a lot of water. That's when I realized It had to be pressurized to work. Appreciate your follow-up to my question. I enjoy 😉 your program and watch it regularly. I'm also a former scuba diver. U.S. DIVER equipment only. Loved Shaun Qusto. Wanted to go on the Kalypso.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

It needs pressure to work Ronald. If you look at the bottom of my rig, there is an old fire extinguisher bottle, of pure O2, with a 1st stage from a US Divers Aqua-Metic reg that feeds into the scrubber. This home made setup worked, to 10', which for us was amazing. As they say, don't try this at home Ron.

[@garciacontracting]

Thank you, Sir.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thanks for watching. Alec

[@in2scuba2]

You should of mentioned that this unit would only be used to about 20 feet due to the partial pressure of pure oxygen being so high.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Yep. Even 20' was pretty nerve wracking. The air (O2) flow was so smooth that you don't realize you're using a machine. Unlike a regulator, there's no mechanical movement, sounds or a feeling of moving parts. It would be very easy to forget what you are doing and just drift off. Fun though. Alec

[@stevegardner1321]

in the early years of using oxygen rebreathers the accepted wisdom was that you could safely go as deep as 33ft. This was reviewed by the Navy medical researchers/physiologists in 50's and 60's after some cases of oxygen convulsions during dives. As most Navies have some dive teams who use O2 rebreathers, the work of the medical researchers with volunteer divers led to the conclusion that 20ft is the max reliable long term safe depth. However. some ex-Royal Navy divers I know who use the Drager LAR - V oxygen rebreather are happy to go to 40 ft for short periods but that's their choice. I agree that for extended dives and to keep within safe limits, 20ft is the right limit for us mere mortals.

[@ganeshrajkannan53]

Awesome work !!

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@mdovideo1414]

Very interesting

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thanks for watching. Alec

[@Spacefish007]

Really nice design and well build! Must have taken hours to build this thing :) all the work carving out the channel for the o-ring which seals the sidewals to the main body must have been hard.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Labor of love never takes too long. In those days it was nothing to sit down, plan, scrounge materials and then build some pretty impressive devices. One of my early scuba clubs built 3 Underwater Scuba Tows. One of the enterprising guys built one using the blast from a sump pump for propulsion - sort of a jet powered DPV. Back then, if you didn't build it, you didn't have it. You couldn't buy this stuff! Thanks for watching. Alec

[@hugomendes3130]

Sodium hydroxide is caustic soda, is easy to buy

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

It is today. Back then you needed a chemist to make it for you. So much easer and safer today. A.

[@hugomendes3130]

@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter Oh, OK! Thanks!

[@idiot_in_a_box]

Man I love vintage scuba stuff it super interesting how much did vintage scuba stuff weigh

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

A LOT. It was either steel, aluminium or rubber long before plastics became accepted.

[@idiot_in_a_box]

@@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter oh wow and I thought regular scuba equipment was heavy

[@tomhyde9293]

From the technical gadget lover standpoint, the old days were much more interesting, although not as safe as today. Much of what we have now is due to those experimenters from the past.

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Some of those experimenters are no longer with us. We should all be grateful for their efforts to make scuba diving the fun and safe sport it is today. Thanks for watching. Alec

[@ultimatevintagescuba925]

nice build

[@xjester60x]

I have everything I need to whip up one of those this weekend! Except A hot water bottle.....but I would use aluminum & carbon fiber layup. To the batcave!!🐙

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

You can still buy the old-fashioned hot water bottles at a big drug store. I checked. Go crazy. Let me know if I can help. For the few viewers who delight in chiding me when I seem to promote an unsafe practice, this is NOT a suggestion to anyone to actually make and use such a device. That would be stupid. Take care all. Alec

[@ALL_ONE_SUN]

Don't use aluminum with sodium hydroxide!

[@ALL_ONE_SUN]

Don't use aluminum with sodium hydroxide!

[@sbcinema]

very Interesting !

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thanks for watching. Alec

[@russellcampbell9641]

Now that is Cool! Man, today you have all these whiners who would throw a fit over making your own rebreather. Thanks agian for showing and sharing again Alec. How's the book going?????

[@peteranddorothybowles5428]

what a guy He is Mr good sense

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Thanks Peter. Wish my wife though I had good sense too.

[@neal3800]

Hello Alec, once again a great video and one of the most interesting that I have seen yet! I had a quick question for you though, unrelated to the current video. What is your opinion on Hollis gear, specifically their regulators? I am considering purchasing the 500se side exaust reg, and there seem to be varied opinions on it vs. the omega 3. Thanks, and again, great videos, keep it up!

[@caio1502]

Hey Alec ! awesome video ! thank you very much ! (Question) Have you ever built a Rotary pump? [Crankshaft] for "Surface supplied" back in those days ?

[@Dive_Me_Crazy]

That is so neat.... You guys must have had so much fun building that beast. How much work way is to breath through?

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Drawing from the intake chamber was easy. There's no valve there. Taking oxygen from the tank was another story. The old USD Aquamatic reg that we used was notoriously hard to breath. But, what did we know? As far as we knew that is the way it was supposed to be. Alec

[@rhtrps]

I love you segment on the two hose regulators all that old stuff just fascinates me! One thing I think you touched on that I always been curious about is how did Mike Nelson dive with a mask without being able to pinch his nose?was it just jiggling your jaw and swallowing?

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

Yep! The earliest masks like Mike's Voit B4 did not have a double seal like today. You may have noticed in the TV episodes that his mask always had an inch of water in it. That's the way is was! And to equalize we would swallow, move our jaw, try to hold the mask tight to our face a blow a bit. It wasn't easy but we didn't know any better. Besides we were scuba diving! It was great. And we were young too. Thanks for watching. Alec

[@rhtrps]

I did notice the water in his mask and it always made me giggle that he couldn't clear his mask completely. Lol now I know why!

[@CheekiBreekiEnterprises]

Hello Alec and Kevin, thank you for this video even though it is a couple years old! I have got to say using the hot water bottle was an ingenious solution but it left me with one question: after you have exhaled and it filled up and actuated the flap, how did it deflate and where did the used air that was in it go (and what was the mechanism that enabled it to do so)? Really thank you for all the knowledge you guys bring to us and has a new diver I find them incredibly helpful and fascinating. Thank you again! Nikita

[@AlecPeirceScuba_SeaHunter]

The air bag (hot water bottle) was the last part of the mechanism before the diver's inhalation tube. So it was filled with 'good' air - exhaled air that had been scrubbed of CO2 and had been topped up with O2. There really is no 'used' air in a rebreather. Technically at least there is only 'exhaled' air that's on it's way to the scrubber to have CO2 removed and there is 'cleaned' air that has been scrubbed and there is 'oxygen'. On exhalation, the 'exhaled' air went to the scrubber first so that no CO2 entered the inhalation part of the system. From there the 'cleaned' air went into the bag where 'oxygen' was added if needed and then into the inhalation tube. The activation of the oxygen feed into the bag was pretty ingenious, if simplistic. I didn't get into that in the video. I may have to do an update to that video - "Build You Own Rebreather II". A large metal paddle sat against the side of the bag. It was attached to a very simple second stage lever and valve. When the bag deflated enough, the flap would move, the valve would open and pure oxygen from the tank would flow into the bag to refill it. It automatically stopped when the baq filled and the flap moved back up. There was no science to this. It simply added oxygen to the bag when the bag deflated - whether additional oxygen was needed in the mixture or not. We had no way to measure the oxygen content at that time. Lots of fun - but dangerous. Alec

[@CheekiBreekiEnterprises]

Thank you very much for the detailed reply Alec. Now that you described it I can easily comprehend how it worked, very simply!

[@laurenceperkins7468]

It would be ok as long as you didn't go very deep. The lost air volume is assumed to all be CO2 getting scrubbed out, and is replaced with pure oxygen, so as you go deeper and the overall volume decreases, it will be replaced with pure O2, which can end up being toxic. To go more than swimming-pool deep you'd want to have some plain air to mix in as well to keep the volume up, and some sensors to make sure you're getting the mix right.