What are the Benefits of a Rebreather? | SCUBA 101

In this video, Jonathan discusses the ways in which rebreathers can benefit diving, as well as the drawbacks about them that are less than ideal. To completely understand everything in this video, the viewer should be familiar with the basics of what a rebreather is, and also the basics of nitrox. We have done videos on both of these topics as well:
Rebreathers:
• What is a Rebreather? ...
Nitrox:
• What is Nitrox? | SCUB...
JONATHAN BIRD'S BLUE WORLD is an Emmy Award-winning underwater science/adventure series featuring underwater cinematographer/naturalist Jonathan Bird. BlueWorld_plus is our extras channel with behind-the-scenes, making-of, VLOG, scuba gear related content, and more!
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[@onearmedwolf6512]

Right now there is an airport security working cursing you out and mumbling above kitty litter 😂😂😂

[@symonxd]

Wow this man explains in so clear words I almost fainted. I find scuba so fascinating and this channel is exquisite

[@BlueWorldplus]

Thanks!

[@ericlakota1847]

Cave diving is got to be crazzyest sport on earth i dont think their is any thing more insane then diving a flooded cave .i love the video .if love to lern scuba diving i dont care if i have 40,000 dives im not going into a cave full of water and i think any one cought in cave should not even have a recovery team for them should be if you go into any blue hole black hole suger hole .your at your own risk .

[@katrinasomers687]

I agree. As long as you a fine with the potential high risk of dying. I'd say about par with free-running, base jumping, free-climbing maybe? or worse maybe

[@AirwolfCrazy]

I am still skeptical about getting a rebreather. The cost is the big negative factor for me. You also mentioned a good point about having buddies that may not have one. They do still them fascinating and I wonder if in future they will be the norm even for a newbie.

[@Teampegleg]

If you aren't tech diving, the case for going rebreather is very very slim.

[@Teampegleg]

@S. M. In OW Tech depth is generally the prime factor as the cost of trimix easily offsets sorb. Which makes the additional cost and risk worth it. You get the most benefit in overhead diving like wreck and cave. In particular the cave environment where you don't have the time constraints or extreme depths. So you can spend hours in the cave, for example a friend would wake up early and do a 3 hour cave dive a couple of times a week.

[@rabukan5842]

Very well put Jonathan. I think there is a misunderstanding about the universality of rebreathers that you have explained really well. Rebreathers, like OC gear, are just "tools for the job." If I'm diving deep, or in caves, sure, rebreathers are great (though sidemount is another great way of diving in those situations, to a certain degree.) But if I'm just going for an hour shallow reef dive, there's no real benefit to a rebreather, either CCR or SCR - easier to just grab a regulator, mask, fins, and go. Also, interested divers should understand, most accidents or casualties on rebreathers occur at or near the surface. So really proper training, like you (we) got from Edd, is just a beginning. You cannot be complacent at all on a rebreather. It is not as forgiving as O/C, although if properly trained and prepared, it can be safer.

[@BlueWorldplus]

This is the reason that I stopped using rebreathers for many years...they were just more trouble than they were worth for the kind of diving I was doing where a plain old scuba tank was the best option.

[@rabukan5842]

@@BlueWorldplus Exactly! The right tool for the right job. If they ever make a James Bond gadget that we can just stick in our mouths and breath down to 100' for two hours, I'd sell most of my gear :)

[@matt_hoaglund]

Can’t wait to see the types of trips and video segments you guys are gonna be coming up with while using your rebreathers. some exciting time to head for sure.

[@kimhilltv]

Very useful. Very clear. Thanks!

[@Captainwill55]

I would have add in your list of advantages the fact that you have way more problems solving options with a rebreather then what you have with an open circuit rig ex(bailing out of the loop to fix it, passing on semi open , or just simply bailing out o a completly redundant second loop , diluant flush etc), its a major perk in my opinion

[@BlueWorldplus]

There is no question that in overhead environments, a properly functioning rebreather relieves "air supply stress" associated with solving a problem (such as getting tangled in the guideline or getting lost) quickly due to a limited air supply.

[@elisioclaudio1960]

Rebreather is solution for a lot of problems that you wouldn’t have if you were on OC 😂

[@71sagittarius]

Brilliant videos Jonathan.

[@n8-cre8s95]

Some other cons are: If you get disorientated you can’t see the direction of your bubbles. You’d have to pay close attention to MODs for oxygen toxicity as well and more to the point about being the only diver on the boat with one is that you can’t stay down any longer anyway because the time is always limited and because the DMs want you to stay as a group you can’t really go super deep or they pick a dive site that isn’t deep anyway so unless you are going on a purpose trip and plan it ahead of time with the boat and go through advance prep and notify them etc it isn’t going to be that advantageous which also really makes this kind of another con in that you have to do a ton of extra planning to pull it off for it to count. Lastly when you travel with your tank and have to take the valve off as he mentioned you then can run into issues where the tank and valve need to be serviced/re-O2 cleaned just to be able to fill it again at your destination and that can not only take time and be difficult to get done but it’s yet another added cost. I’d certainly be interested to try one of these in the pool but don’t think I’ll ever get into them. Lots of people have died on these and you need a lot of focus and attention. The simplest thing could hurt or kill you in general while diving OC but this exponentially raises the bar and risk level

[@BlueWorldplus]

Rebreathers have about ten times the accident rate of open circuit scuba. Yet among the military, rebreathers have about 1/10 the accident rate. Why the difference? It seems to be that military divers are more careful about checklists with assembly. Accidents with rebreathers almost never turn out to be issues with the rebreather itself, but with mistakes made by the diver using it.

[@BOB-ks9sh]

Brilliant, clear and very informative about the pros and cons, subscribed!

[@jackjackattack9137]

Great explanation !!! Stay safe and keep blowing bubbles,,, or not.

[@joakimdiver1120]

This is one of the best explanations about rb that I’ve seen on youtube. Thank you sir👌

[@BlueWorldplus]

Did you see part one?

[@elaineb7065]

Budget & complexity would be two things putting me off rebreather use. For career divers like you we get it; have all the tools & use them in your work. But if I ever dove it would be for fun, so keeping it simple & affordable is key there

[@chisaquaticvibe6524]

The ocean is truly amazing!

[@andreykarayvansky9549]

Thank you for this educational video! Interesting as always!

[@BlueWorldplus]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@adam_sweeney]

Great video.

[@Smashachu]

I'd love to see the effects of Propranolol on extending oxygen during a dive. It blocks adrenaline from sticking to your muscles and prevents the sympathetic effects of the fight or flight response. It's used as a performance enhancing drug in sports like shooting, public speaking, and singing. It keeps your body relaxed even if your mind is freaking out. I've seen studies that seem to indicate that since it temporarily reduces metabolic activity in the body, it can help minimize the effects of decompression sickness. Less oxygen consumed, less co2 generated, less nitrogen entering the muscle tissues. I've been prescribed it for anxiety, but i'm interested in just trying it the next time I'm out scuba diving to see how much longer i can make a tank of air last for. Also to clarify, it's a beta blocker it's not a gaba receptor agonist like a muscle relaxer is, it doesn't induce intoxication or anything or force muscle relaxation, it just prevents adrenaline from taking over your body which increases respiratory rate

[@BlueWorldplus]

Whoa! Never heard of that!

[@stulada]

Great series!!! Big fan Love the CA shirt

[@tuckmw5537]

Well done, Super Cool Video!

[@BlueWorldplus]

Thank you very much!

[@rodolfoborrel1077]

Your series of videos "All about rebreathers" are absolutely perfect! I'm a technical diver starting to think about rebreathers and these videos was excellent as a first step to know an overview about it. Congratulations 👏🏻

[@BlueWorldplus]

Glad you like them!

[@alecorrea7767]

Great!

[@GeirEliassen]

Cool video, love your videos. I got my Rebreather in may 2022. A JJ-CCR . A big investment, but o boy how cool to dive with . You should have mentioned as number 4 in your list of benefits : logistics. Here in Norway we mostly dive on our own and in dive clubs, newer or rarely use of a dive centre. So when we travel in Norway we bringing a couple of oxygen tanks, sorbs, and some diluent tanks and we are self supporting our diving gas without bringing a compressor for a week of diving. When are blue world visiting Norway? We have some very cool dive sites here.

[@BlueWorldplus]

We just returned from Plura yesterday!!!

[@71sagittarius]

Fascinating machines really. I have always wanted to enjoy long hours under water, huge advantage of rebreathers. But as you mention in your comments below OC is much better and logical choice if you dive shallow. For me the main problem is the high price of the equipment, maintenance and travel difficulties. Seems like is suitable for well financed expeditions (like your documentaries Jonathan), or being rich person to afford or if you live by the sea and dive every week... and you're willing to undertake hours of cleaning and maintenance each time.

[@EricBoren]

I was just talking to some people at the dive shop about this today. I'm curious about rebreathers, but the maintenance time plus the high cost of something dumb like forgetting to flip a switch are keeping me away (not to mention a few more years of open circuit experience).

[@Raphael_NYC]

Very well done. raphael nyc

[@BlueWorldplus]

Thanks Raphael!

[@Engrave.Danger]

I imagine you guys have established a name for your Blue's Clues backdrop by now but the B Dub Hub might have been a good one. 😜

[@wetfun]

When planning to go on a "Rebreather" dive trip the BIG issue is not tank size, it is the availability of high-pressure oxygen, sure 2 or 3 liter cylinders are a plus, but without the ability to fill with oxygen, they are useless.

[@BlueWorldplus]

Absolutely true. Furthermore, you need sorb. Sometimes it's available locally and sometimes you have to bring it.

[@mirandahotspring4019]

I would add a big advantage of a rebreather for underwater photographers is the stable buoyancy it gives, no change in buoyancy when you inhale and exhale.

[@BlueWorldplus]

EXCEPT...that you can't fine tune your buoyancy with breathing, which is quite handy for underwater photography!

[@mirandahotspring4019]

@@BlueWorldplus Well you can actually, just add gas or breathe out through your nose.

[@souswes]

Great vid…..part three covering semi CCR? 😂 any experience with them?

[@BlueWorldplus]

Semi-closed and fully closed have many of the same benefits and disadvantages. I'll be doing a video about the different kinds of rebreathers soon.

[@jurgenblick5491]

I miss it

[@Mrveescuba]

nice one!! why kiss and not something else jj for example?? is kiss have CE yet?? can you xplain if im correct kiss is manual?? and whats the difference?

[@Captainwill55]

All kiss are manual mecanical , it means you manually operate the valves , meaning that there is no computer that will monitor your set point po2 for you and automatically fire the needle valves for you , it requires more knowledge to operate in my opinion then lets say , an inspiration silent breather rebreather , its also more versatile for the cave aplication since the depths are not always constents lots of up and downs so you want to be able to adjust your loop blends by yourself but for other aplications like really really deep dives (more than 300 ft aprox) , the mecanical rebreather is not an option anymore

[@Yggdrasil42]

@@Captainwill55 It can still be used deeper than 90m but will need some modifications.

[@Yggdrasil42]

Not manual but mechanical. There's a constant flow of oxygen into the loop (tuned to your body's metabolism) so you only need to occasionally add oxygen yourself. Maybe once in 15 minutes. It's not comparable to controlling a JJ manually (if the electronics are broken) which would require constant manual intervention. The Kiss is not yet CE certified but they're currently working on that. Probably late this year. Many cave divers prefer the Kiss over the JJ for two reasons. One, It's very streamlined, both the rebreather itself and the sidemount tanks you use for bailout/diluent. Two, the simplicity means that even if it breaks it's easy to troubleshoot and control manually so you can safely exit the cave. It's simplicity comes from the fact that's it's mechanical. No solenoid, barely any electronics.

[@Teampegleg]

@@Yggdrasil42 Yet the JJs have more cave exploration time than the KISS units. It seems to me that the whole mCCR vs eCCR is largely overblown or else major exploration projects would've standardized on one or the other instead of being a mix based on the needs or preferences of the divers.

[@BlueWorldplus]

The eCCR versus mCCR argument will go on for eternity. There are advantages and disadvantages for both. I'm going to work up a video on that, as well as another on the differences between the CCR and SCR.

[@DiverEgypt]

Johnathan you did not mention the cost of helium in rebreathers vs open circuit which is why so many divers moved to rebreathers

[@BlueWorldplus]

That's true for sure! I really haven't even touched on helium yet in any of my videos. Coming soon!

[@DiverEgypt]

@@BlueWorldplus really looking forward to those videos. I just bought my JJ rebreather a year ago when the prices of helium went crazy expensive where I live (Egypt)

[@jakeweaver7398]

Where can I watch or purchase Ancient Caves?

[@BlueWorldplus]

You have to find an IMAX theater that's showing it. macgillivrayfreeman.com/project/ancient-caves/

[@Thesandchief]

isn't using a rebreather more affordable thrn trimix gasses? Helium I think?

[@BlueWorldplus]

Yes. Advantage #2: better gas efficiency. So if you are using a very expensive gas like Helium, the rebreather reduces costs significantly. (That's the more advanced lecture! LOL)

[@matt_hoaglund]

Hey Johnathan. Wondering if you received my email regarding the Agronaut Kraken regular I asked about on your previous video? Thanks!

[@BlueWorldplus]

Got it. I just replied. We are in the field this week.

[@matt_hoaglund]

@@BlueWorldplus thank you for taking the time to reply and help me out! :) looking forward to the next segment series!!!

[@chengzhiwu7052]

do you rent a rebreather or you usually buy them?

[@BlueWorldplus]

Buy. Too much liability in renting.

[@chengzhiwu7052]

@@BlueWorldplus Got it, could you make a buy guide for rebreathers in your future vidoes

[@adam_sweeney]

I want to learn from the man himself, Edd Sorenson.

[@swagl3149]

so the counter lung is pure oxygen since the sorb only generate oxygen，what about nitrogen？ how can you get mix air which is suitable for breath？

[@swagl3149]

@S. M. ok，then how can I get mix air since I only have oxygen bottle supply？

[@BlueWorldplus]

Good question and will be answered in the next episode!

[@swagl3149]

@@BlueWorldplus looking forward to🤤

[@elisioclaudio1960]

For me, the worse part is travel with it…that’s why I’m looking for a Optima CM.

[@BlueWorldplus]

Try one before you buy it. I know several people who bought them and do not like them at all.

[@elisioclaudio1960]

@@BlueWorldplus thank you very much! Nobody ever said that to me, I was planning to try it first, but now I have one more reason.

[@oddivision9099]

So, let me guess: kitty litter doesn't do as a good job in a rebreather? ;-D

[@BlueWorldplus]

Well, it absorbs moisture! But not CO2!!