I don't even know what to say, this is wild, the amount of work put into this system is absolutely amazing, you're pushing boundaries not only in your diving but also your equipment.
Its beyond me how much of knowledge is needed to do and especially survive the stuff you guys doing. Im not a trained diver but I know that there are million ways to die waiting for someone with to little expertise in the field. This is nothing you can learn in diving schools so you are some kind of pioneers for all of human race in the field of pushing those boundaries.
Really put into perspective the requirements for deep diving. Amazing... Would love you to do a video on what exposure protection you are using under your Drysuit on cold dives and how much lead roughly your using. Thanks again
Looks pretty straight forward. I'm always curious what divers do to pass time on long deco stops for these kinda dives. Great vid and you answered the age old question.. "what do you buy a guy who has a Meg.. another Meg of course". 👌
I am loving all of these videos you have been uploading recently. Technical diving is infinitely fascinating/entertaining and these videos perfect encapsulate the level of complexity, design and planning that goes into these endeavors. Not that long ago it was nearly impossible to see content like this; now you can bring the world with you.
oh man this looks insane. I dive an old AP classic and already find it such a jump in complexity from OC. I couldn't imagine diving this thing at this point of time in my diving career. Some insane and amazing stuff you guys do!
I really love the valve to go from the primary loop to the bailout loop with virtualy zero chance to flood your loop and ccr divers we know thats a great option if you dive a ccr
As always a great and verry interresting video. Im looking forward to my jj-ccr class in 2 weeks. I think rebreather diving is one of the coolest things you can do.
That was really interesting and it doesn’t appear to be a task loading nightmare which I thought it would be. Think I’ll stick to the single unit! Great channel and thanks.
Thank you so much for this video. It is incredibly interesting and amazing how much work you put into this! My girlfriend and I just started diving the Meg (Tiburon and Pathfinder). It's awesome to see what they really can do! Greetings from France.
Thanks for giving us a run down on your set up. Awesome overload of knowledge, Back in Dec 99 I was learning and to head out on check dives with Drager. Stuff happened and most of my diving came to standstill. It's quite interesting to be getting back into diving and seeing the leaps forward in technology, equipment and safety.
Another great vid. As a person a little older than you and having has surgery for AF on more than one occasion I can no longer dive because when I do, I get fluid forced into my lungs and after surfacing basically can't breathe. As an X diving instructor with some trimix knowledge I would be very interested in how you handle nitrogen in your habitats when in deco. I would think this build up would become a problem.
The rebreather is a great setup. Very interesting. I've only dived with a regular tank not very deep in lakes. Unfortunately I don't get to dive anymore. Wyoming really doesn't have many diving places. I only dove when I lived in Iowa when I was younger. Okoboji lake. Do they still make prescription masks? I had one when I was young. In my 50s now.
Hi Richard, Great video! Would you be able to go into the Shearwater CAN BUS system you briefly mentioned during the video in an update for this? It's an incredibly interesting piece of kit both from a technical diving and engineering perspective. Would love to hear more about any updates you do to it! Cheers!
I'm afraid you have definitely asked the wrong guy about electronics! But this article from Shearwater may tell you what you need to know. www.shearwater.com/monthly-blog-posts/what-is-divecan-and-why-should-i-care/
Love your videos! One thing im curious to know is, if youre on a 16h dive in your drysuit like in the pearse resurgence, do you wear diapers like astronauts would or how does that work?
Are you using the secondary rebreather as a bailout rebreather or do some of your dives require it to be built into the dive plan? It is inspiring and humbling to watch people such as yourself pushing new frontiers. Amazing rig. Thank you for the instructional video. One the Meg sites referred me to this video saying you are the expert on dual Megs and this video proves it. .
Just as a bailout unit but we test and confirm it works as we descend. Definitely not an expert. My mate Craig Challen has a lot more experience. And som of the European guys for many years with other units.
Hey Richard, CCR is the next level up for me but also very expensive. I’m curious, how heavy is al of that and how long does it take you to put it all on and go? All of my caves are freshwater and we’re between 40 and 65M, so with multi tank sidemount we have a good length of time but nothing like a CCR can provide.
Yes very heavy, very expensive and very complicated. So I cannot recommended it for any dives unless the risks out weigh the benefit. For me, that begins when it becomes very hard (logistics, cave topography, cost) to stage sufficient OC gas. As a ballpark, caves or wrecks beyond 150m or very long caves. It's hard to be exact and as usual, it's a somewhat personal decision. I giove myself an hour at least to dress and go, especially if drygloves and thick suits are being used.
Yes, I worry about everything. I have a specific procedure for plugging in and checking the QDs. No question that the more complex the system, the more failure points.
Hello Harris, love your video and the dual BOV setup. One question I’m curious about: what is the interior design for the dual BOV like? And what are its drawbacks (say if one unit fail to work at certain depth, does the backup rebreather work just fine or not?)
The dual BOV requires some milling to join two Golem BOVs together...I had a friend do it for me. There is a common failure point at the mouthpiece and no doubt there is added work of breathing at the BOV as well. However we feel the benefits of instant access to OC gas and the second loop outweigh these issues. The second rebreather works fine.
Hi Richard, (as a non-diver) I'd like to ask you what's more dangerous or unconvenient about using this setup? I've read, in another comment, that you'd recommend it for dives deeper than 150m. In my mind, excluding obviously a higher maintenance time and a longer fitting time for the system, a double rebreather would actually be safer because of the earned redundancy. Hence, it would be a better than closed circuit.
Hi good question. It IS closed circuit (just to clarify your last sentence). There is safety in simplicity and there is inherent danger in using a very complex system with many moving parts and more failure points. The task loading inherent in using this system is also problematic. However, for some dives, these risks are outweighed by the possible benefits of the increased redundancy and efficiency of a dual rebreather system. In fact for some of the dives we are doing, it would in my view be impossible to do them without this technology.
Hey Richard, this question is probably way below your expertise but if you could point me in the right direction I would appreciate it. I think I would like to pursue a CCR. Can you point me to the first step in getting the total picture of what's involved? I literally know nothing about CCR, the set up, training required, gear to buy, etc.
The internet is your friend! Some initial research, talk to other divers who have experience. Some great books like Mastering Rebreathers by Jeff Bozanic. Find a CCR friendly dive shop. Do your nitrox courses if you haven't already so you are all over that stuff. There's a lot to learn but it's all so much fun! I am about to release a little rebreather 101 video on this channel as well. Good luck!
@@DrHarryH well I must be on the right path, I did find that book and one by Jill H. With everything I'm reading so far, I'm feeling like I need more experience. Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate your time.
I was using a back mount + sidemount bailout rebreather (BOB) for some years before changing to this system. The twin BOV was a big factor, but also the inferior work of breathing of any sidemount unit was a worry to me if I had to bailout at max depth. I have also used backmount plus chest mount...lots of options!
Thanks for the awesome video... how do you feel about having duplicates of nearly the same hardware (dual Megalodon), if the environment and depth causes one to fail wouldn't there be a heightened chance the same factors could cause the backup to fail as well? I would think in an ideal world, choosing two different systems would provide greater safety, or what do you think?
What are you using to vent gas effectively between the two on the ascent? What were the specific considerations you needed to make for the project that justified the decision?
I vent the primary loop in the usual way, and manually vent the second loop when I feel it starting to lift me a little. With practice you sense and anticipate all this. The decision to do this was simple...impossible to use open circuit bailout at the depths and distances we had reached. To qualify that statement, there are multiple reasons...logistical, physiological (e.g, respiratory thermal considerations), cost.
@@DrHarryH Yes he is definitely a LEGEND, he has recovered many divers remains and had saved many divers from death. I also like how he's so careful not to do any damage to the remains when removing the bodies, which tells me he cares.
This kit looks awesome! At what point would you begin to recommend a rebreather over a normal open circuit system? I understand the costs, just wondering what the biggest benefits for them are. Sorry if it's a commonly asked question, on a side note, are there any decent sinkholes/caves in the North Island of NZ you'd recommend checking out? Thanks a lot for taking the time to show us this gear, would never have known what half of that stuff is without it.
Not sure about sinkholes on the North Is. Contact the NZSSS for help. CCR has a role for many reasons (including for those who just like playing with the toys!). When do you actually need it? I think it comes into its own for deeper dives e.g. >50m when decompression comes into play. Also great for photography and marine life interactions, and longer distance cave diving to name a few reasons.
Why isn’t there scuba diving in the Olympics or something? You guys are so talented and brave, plus it’s so interesting. I would love to watch challenges or competitions but I know it’s gotta be too dangerous
Ideally you don't want it to be competition based or people take risks they don't need to in order to win. Cooperation is more beneficial than competition. This is why most of the big guys don't like ranking or comparing and are quite humble.
why not use the kiss sidemount set up, I'm newish to rebreathers, I have hollis P2, but if I was cave diving, which I'm not I've heard great things about kiss
WOB on a sidemount rebreather will allways be higher than a backmount with over the shoulder counterlungs. It would also be harder to build a proper dual setup you would need something like a sidekick as well and they just arnt designed for ultra deep stuff. Plus why? they don’t need SM what they need is a solid platform to put a lot of kit onto which BM gives you.
We work on half normal time given the depth and cold temps. It has an 8lb radial scrubber in the primary loop and a 4lb axial scrubber in the backup. So conservatively maybe 5 + 3 hrs? We have done 4.5hrs on the primary without issue.
I don't even know what to say, this is wild, the amount of work put into this system is absolutely amazing, you're pushing boundaries not only in your diving but also your equipment.
engineering student here seeing this as my first introduction to diving equipment and I am absolutely geeking out over this
That was such an amazing video, thank you.
The BOV combined with the first and second loop is pure magic.
Its beyond me how much of knowledge is needed to do and especially survive the stuff you guys doing. Im not a trained diver but I know that there are million ways to die waiting for someone with to little expertise in the field. This is nothing you can learn in diving schools so you are some kind of pioneers for all of human race in the field of pushing those boundaries.
Really put into perspective the requirements for deep diving. Amazing... Would love you to do a video on what exposure protection you are using under your Drysuit on cold dives and how much lead roughly your using. Thanks again
I certainly plan to do some episodes on thermal protection, thanks!
Looks pretty straight forward. I'm always curious what divers do to pass time on long deco stops for these kinda dives. Great vid and you answered the age old question.. "what do you buy a guy who has a Meg.. another Meg of course". 👌
I am loving all of these videos you have been uploading recently.
Technical diving is infinitely fascinating/entertaining and these videos perfect encapsulate the level of complexity, design and planning that goes into these endeavors.
Not that long ago it was nearly impossible to see content like this; now you can bring the world with you.
Many thanks!
Exactly the video i was desiring after seeing the deep cave dive! Thanks for the interesting details
This video is amazing.
It is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to understand since I heard you were diving on dual rebreathers
Very comprehensive breakdown of a complex unit!
This is a very amazing videos, can you share more of the scrubber sides of things? How long does one scrubber on one megalodon can handle?
Incredible Harry. Interested to know if use analog spg, transmitters, or both, on your oxygen and dil?
All analog.
oh man this looks insane. I dive an old AP classic and already find it such a jump in complexity from OC. I couldn't imagine diving this thing at this point of time in my diving career. Some insane and amazing stuff you guys do!
I really love the valve to go from the primary loop to the bailout loop with virtualy zero chance to flood your loop and ccr divers we know thats a great option if you dive a ccr
As always a great and verry interresting video. Im looking forward to my jj-ccr class in 2 weeks. I think rebreather diving is one of the coolest things you can do.
That was really interesting and it doesn’t appear to be a task loading nightmare which I thought it would be. Think I’ll stick to the single unit! Great channel and thanks.
Thank you so much for this video. It is incredibly interesting and amazing how much work you put into this! My girlfriend and I just started diving the Meg (Tiburon and Pathfinder). It's awesome to see what they really can do!
Greetings from France.
Thanks for giving us a run down on your set up. Awesome overload of knowledge,
Back in Dec 99 I was learning and to head out on check dives with Drager. Stuff happened and most of my diving came to standstill. It's quite interesting to be getting back into diving and seeing the leaps forward in technology, equipment and safety.
Another great vid. As a person a little older than you and having has surgery for AF on more than one occasion I can no longer dive because when I do, I get fluid forced into my lungs and after surfacing basically can't breathe. As an X diving instructor with some trimix knowledge I would be very interested in how you handle nitrogen in your habitats when in deco. I would think this build up would become a problem.
Haha I would die pretty quickly with cutting edge $20,000+ breathing apparatus. You’re the man, Dr. Harris.
The rebreather is a great setup. Very interesting. I've only dived with a regular tank not very deep in lakes. Unfortunately I don't get to dive anymore. Wyoming really doesn't have many diving places. I only dove when I lived in Iowa when I was younger. Okoboji lake. Do they still make prescription masks? I had one when I was young. In my 50s now.
Wyoming doesn’t have airports?
@@tingkka yeah we have some. But not many. Wyoming only has half a million people. More antelope than people.
That is insane and I love it. I want to do deep cave diving in my lifetime.
Nice one Harry.
What an interesting presentation Rich! Thank you very much. sign. Mike
Hi Richard,
Great video! Would you be able to go into the Shearwater CAN BUS system you briefly mentioned during the video in an update for this?
It's an incredibly interesting piece of kit both from a technical diving and engineering perspective. Would love to hear more about any updates you do to it! Cheers!
I'm afraid you have definitely asked the wrong guy about electronics! But this article from Shearwater may tell you what you need to know. www.shearwater.com/monthly-blog-posts/what-is-divecan-and-why-should-i-care/
@@DrHarryH - Thanks for the reply Richard. I'll give it a look!
Love your videos! One thing im curious to know is, if youre on a 16h dive in your drysuit like in the pearse resurgence, do you wear diapers like astronauts would or how does that work?
P valve and Urodome :-)
Are you using the secondary rebreather as a bailout rebreather or do some of your dives require it to be built into the dive plan?
It is inspiring and humbling to watch people such as yourself pushing new frontiers. Amazing rig. Thank you for the instructional video. One the Meg sites referred me to this video saying you are the expert on dual Megs and this video proves it. .
Just as a bailout unit but we test and confirm it works as we descend. Definitely not an expert. My mate Craig Challen has a lot more experience. And som of the European guys for many years with other units.
Thanks so much for the video! Loved it
Hey Richard, CCR is the next level up for me but also very expensive. I’m curious, how heavy is al of that and how long does it take you to put it all on and go? All of my caves are freshwater and we’re between 40 and 65M, so with multi tank sidemount we have a good length of time but nothing like a CCR can provide.
Yes very heavy, very expensive and very complicated. So I cannot recommended it for any dives unless the risks out weigh the benefit. For me, that begins when it becomes very hard (logistics, cave topography, cost) to stage sufficient OC gas. As a ballpark, caves or wrecks beyond 150m or very long caves. It's hard to be exact and as usual, it's a somewhat personal decision. I giove myself an hour at least to dress and go, especially if drygloves and thick suits are being used.
@@DrHarryH That really puts it into perspective, thank you.
With all the quick dis connections. Are you not worried about all the failure points?
Yes, I worry about everything. I have a specific procedure for plugging in and checking the QDs. No question that the more complex the system, the more failure points.
Hello Harris, love your video and the dual BOV setup. One question I’m curious about: what is the interior design for the dual BOV like? And what are its drawbacks (say if one unit fail to work at certain depth, does the backup rebreather work just fine or not?)
The dual BOV requires some milling to join two Golem BOVs together...I had a friend do it for me. There is a common failure point at the mouthpiece and no doubt there is added work of breathing at the BOV as well. However we feel the benefits of instant access to OC gas and the second loop outweigh these issues. The second rebreather works fine.
Hi Richard,
(as a non-diver) I'd like to ask you what's more dangerous or unconvenient about using this setup? I've read, in another comment, that you'd recommend it for dives deeper than 150m. In my mind, excluding obviously a higher maintenance time and a longer fitting time for the system, a double rebreather would actually be safer because of the earned redundancy. Hence, it would be a better than closed circuit.
Hi good question. It IS closed circuit (just to clarify your last sentence). There is safety in simplicity and there is inherent danger in using a very complex system with many moving parts and more failure points. The task loading inherent in using this system is also problematic. However, for some dives, these risks are outweighed by the possible benefits of the increased redundancy and efficiency of a dual rebreather system. In fact for some of the dives we are doing, it would in my view be impossible to do them without this technology.
@@DrHarryH Thanks for the clarification! Looking forward to new videos.
Hey Richard, this question is probably way below your expertise but if you could point me in the right direction I would appreciate it. I think I would like to pursue a CCR. Can you point me to the first step in getting the total picture of what's involved? I literally know nothing about CCR, the set up, training required, gear to buy, etc.
The internet is your friend! Some initial research, talk to other divers who have experience. Some great books like Mastering Rebreathers by Jeff Bozanic. Find a CCR friendly dive shop. Do your nitrox courses if you haven't already so you are all over that stuff. There's a lot to learn but it's all so much fun! I am about to release a little rebreather 101 video on this channel as well. Good luck!
@@DrHarryH well I must be on the right path, I did find that book and one by Jill H. With everything I'm reading so far, I'm feeling like I need more experience. Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate your time.
Any thought to switching to a side mount bailout rebreather over the dual back mount? Seems less cumbersome and simpler
I was using a back mount + sidemount bailout rebreather (BOB) for some years before changing to this system. The twin BOV was a big factor, but also the inferior work of breathing of any sidemount unit was a worry to me if I had to bailout at max depth. I have also used backmount plus chest mount...lots of options!
Guessing that's as sophisticated and technical as anything NASA uses. Nice!
Thanks for the awesome video... how do you feel about having duplicates of nearly the same hardware (dual Megalodon), if the environment and depth causes one to fail wouldn't there be a heightened chance the same factors could cause the backup to fail as well? I would think in an ideal world, choosing two different systems would provide greater safety, or what do you think?
Wow! That’s a lot of stuff to work. Clearly shows your years of diligent planning to get this working at your depths. Thanks for sharing
What kind of desinfectant do you use for counterlungs? Is it vircon S?
To be honest I don't use disinfectant. I just wash thoroughly with fresh water and allow to dry properly.
What does the whole rig weigh? I presume you have to put it on while in shallow water or can you walk with it?
Can stagger with it, I'd estimate about 50kg plus the off-board cylinders.
What are you using to vent gas effectively between the two on the ascent? What were the specific considerations you needed to make for the project that justified the decision?
I vent the primary loop in the usual way, and manually vent the second loop when I feel it starting to lift me a little. With practice you sense and anticipate all this. The decision to do this was simple...impossible to use open circuit bailout at the depths and distances we had reached. To qualify that statement, there are multiple reasons...logistical, physiological (e.g, respiratory thermal considerations), cost.
Do you know Edd Sorenson? It's probably a stupid question, but what do you think about the Liberty sidemount dual rebreather that Edd uses?
I have met Edd but I haven't had a close look at that unit so can't comment. Edd is a legend!
@@DrHarryH Yes he is definitely a LEGEND, he has recovered many divers remains and had saved many divers from death. I also like how he's so careful not to do any damage to the remains when removing the bodies, which tells me he cares.
This kit looks awesome! At what point would you begin to recommend a rebreather over a normal open circuit system? I understand the costs, just wondering what the biggest benefits for them are. Sorry if it's a commonly asked question, on a side note, are there any decent sinkholes/caves in the North Island of NZ you'd recommend checking out?
Thanks a lot for taking the time to show us this gear, would never have known what half of that stuff is without it.
Not sure about sinkholes on the North Is. Contact the NZSSS for help. CCR has a role for many reasons (including for those who just like playing with the toys!). When do you actually need it? I think it comes into its own for deeper dives e.g. >50m when decompression comes into play. Also great for photography and marine life interactions, and longer distance cave diving to name a few reasons.
Why isn’t there scuba diving in the Olympics or something? You guys are so talented and brave, plus it’s so interesting. I would love to watch challenges or competitions but I know it’s gotta be too dangerous
Ideally you don't want it to be competition based or people take risks they don't need to in order to win. Cooperation is more beneficial than competition. This is why most of the big guys don't like ranking or comparing and are quite humble.
Im confused, why haven't you got 10 million subscribers?
I would hate to guess how much money you have wrapped up into your gear! WOW And here I thought I was a gear head! lol
I find it best if I don't try and guess.
why not use the kiss sidemount set up, I'm newish to rebreathers, I have hollis P2, but if I was cave diving, which I'm not I've heard great things about kiss
WOB on a sidemount rebreather will allways be higher than a backmount with over the shoulder counterlungs. It would also be harder to build a proper dual setup you would need something like a sidekick as well and they just arnt designed for ultra deep stuff. Plus why? they don’t need SM what they need is a solid platform to put a lot of kit onto which BM gives you.
Hi William, see my answer to a similar question below.
Crazy setup whatever it takes for a deep cave dive.
Your positive and negative tests must be fun!
Fun when the work. A nightmare when they don't!
How do you do a negative and positive test?
In the same way you would for a single CCR, just do everything twice.
Between the 2 scrubbers what's total scrubber time?
We work on half normal time given the depth and cold temps. It has an 8lb radial scrubber in the primary loop and a 4lb axial scrubber in the backup. So conservatively maybe 5 + 3 hrs? We have done 4.5hrs on the primary without issue.
@@DrHarryH makes sense
Anybody interested in custom rebreather setups should go look at Brian Kakuk's video on his custom gear on TH-cam well worth a watch.
Yes Brian's video actually inspired this one, he's a legend.
W o w !