This web page is a reference for CM Optima divers and students.

This Page Is Always Under Construction And I Do Not Guarantee All Information Here is 100% Accurate.
Last Updated 22 March 2024


NERDChop ManualHUD HUDHUD-Errors

Choptima has a five pound scrubber. Scrubber Duration for ExtendAir cartridges is: 300 Liters of CO2 @>70 degrees F is 220 minutes @1.35lpm CO2 production.
So: 300 Liters/1.35 LPM = 220 minutes is the duration of the EAC at 1.35 LPM CO2 production. At 50 degrees F scubber lasts 180 minutes.
*IF* your CO2 production is closer to 1 Liter/minute then this scrubber will last 300 minutes.

toucan
The Loop Gases Explained CCR Setpoints
Servicing the DSV Gas Density, WOB and CO2
Gradient Factors  

IF IN DOUBT BAIL OUT



At rest, CO2 production may be as low as .3 to .5 LPM.
At hard work it may be about 4 LPM.
1.0 LPM CO2 production is more realistic for what we are doing.
For most scrubbers output of CO2 stays at zero until 60 to 80% of the absorbent is used up.

Almost all standards for testing of scrubber endurance, for instance the European standard EN 14143, U.S. Navy, the U.S. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) agree that the cut-off level for pCO2 should be 0.5 kPa. There are two reasons:
1) how people react to inhaled CO2,
2) the rapid rise in pCO2 leaving the scrubber after it reaches this level.
.5 kPa = .072 psi, or .005 bar


Variables in scrubber efficency

Workload. How hard you work during a dive has the biggest effect on scrubber endurance: you may be waiting quietly for a fish to be visible for a photo or swimming very hard upstream in a high flow cave. Your breathing may vary from 10 to 15 L/min to over 75 L/min. The CO2 load that the scrubber has to manage will change with it. A 5-fold increase in work rate will not just reduce the scrubber endurance time by a factor of 5, but may actually decrease it by a factor of 10.

The water temperature is another big factor. If you are diving in warm water, the absorbent will be warmer than it would be in cold water. Generally the absorbent is better at removing the CO2 when it is warm. For instance, diving in 15 °C (59 °F) water may increase the endurance by 50% compared to 4 °C (40 F)water where the stated endurance was most likely determined in laboratory testing. Diving in 30 °C (86 °F) water may increase the endurance by another 25 to 40%.

Diving depth. The depth has an effect too. An increasing depth tends to decrease the scrubber endurance. However, the size of this decrease is hard to specify because it depends on the rebreather design and type of absorbent used. The likely reason for this decreased endurance is that increasing depth means denser gas which is better at cooling the absorbent.

Absorbent packaging. Most absorbent is sold in a granular form. The granule size is generally rated on a scale from 4 to 12, where 4 is a large granule and 12 is a small one. Often the absorbent comes in a range of sizes, for instance 4-8 or 8-12. Some pre-packaged canisters have other numbers. One manufacturer sells a product that consists of powdered absorbent mixed with a polymer, shaped with defined ridges and then rolled up. Generally, smaller granules have more surface area and tend to be more efficient than the larger granules, but increase the breathing resistance. A rebreather manufacturer has to decide on the trade-off between scrubber efficiency and breathing resistance when deciding which absorbents may be used in a particular rebreather. There is a similar trade-off when deciding on the shape of the ridges of the rolled-up type of absorbent.

Gas density / depth. With increasing depth, the gas passing through the scrubber gets denser and therefore cools the absorbent more, making it less efficient. At very great depths the rate of gas diffusion decreases. Simply put, other gas molecules are in the way of the CO2 on its way to the absorbent.

Before changing the absorbent, some divers will use their rebreathers much longer than the stated scrubber endurance. This can be a very tempting, but a dangerous way of diving because the safety margins are gone. When the scrubber is nearing the end of its endurance it is not capable of challenging use. An almost used up scrubber can’t handle a challenge

For civilian rebreather diving, the European standard EN 14143 specifies how a scrubber’s endurance time must be tested. The entire rebreather is submerged in water at a temperature of 40°F. A breathing simulator is set at a minute ventilation of 40 L/min with a CO2 production of 1.6 L/min.

Summary
The scrubber endurance time varies greatly due to many factors, primarily the diver’s workload and the water temperature. Therefore, the scrubber endurance time is given during conditions where the absorbent efficiency is expected to be low, i.e. at a moderate workload, in cold water and at the maximum depth that the rebreather will be approved for. Use only the absorbent that the rebreather manufacturer has recommended.

For every liter of O2 metabolized you make .92 liters of CO2.
For a 19FT3 O2 bottle - it has 537 liters of O2 (19 X 28.3 = 537.7) so 537 X .92 = 494 liters CO2 produced from a full 19FT3 bottle of O2.

An Extendaire cartridge will scrub 300 liters of CO2. So if you produce 1 LPM of CO2 an Extendaire cartridge will last 326 minutes, or 5.4 hours. If you use the .92 production rate.

Chop helitrox
air-deco Tmx-Inst IANTD Tmx It Tec-Cave CHOP-ART



The image above is looking at the front of the CCR.



Oxygen Usage

Oxygen Metabolism varies with workload
At Rest 0.3 to 0.5 Litres/minute (LPM)
Light to Moderate Work 1.5 LPM
Max work 3-3.5 LPM
1 cubic foot = 28.3 litres
one dry liter=.035 dry FT3

Oxygen Usage Calculation

Figure bottle size in metric where 1FT3 = 28.3 Liters
19FT3 O2 bottle X 28.3 = 537.7 Litres of gas
Then figure Oxygen metabolic rate = 1 LPM nominally
Then figure cylinder duration: 537 L / 1 LPM = 537 minutes, 8.9 hours

Oxygen Regulator max IP is 85 psi


Set Point/ATA = Oxygen Percentage. So if you are running a setpoint of 1.2 at 99 feet the Oxygen percentage is: 1.2/4= 30% O2, as shown in the table below..

Oxygen Percentage in Breathing Gas

Depth Feet Depth Meters Pressure-Bar PO2 FO2
10 3 1.3 1.2 .92
20 6 1.6 1.2 .75
33 10 2 1.2 .60
66 20 3 1.2 .40
99 30 4 1.2 .30
132 40 5 1.2 .24
165 50 6 1.2 .20


FO2


Oxygen Exposure

Oxygen Sensors

Sensors should read 10-14 mV in air at 1 ata and read 50-62 mV in pure O2 at 1 ata.
Analytical Industries R22 is the sensor brand/type.
Sensor Serial #103349155 - data plate shown below.
1 is manufactured year-2021. 03 is March mfg month.
The remaining numbers are sequential for identification.

Sensors 1 and 2 are shared between the controller and the HUD.
Sensor 3C is only connected to the controller.
Sensor 3H is only connected to the HUD.


Cell Data

The image above is from a cell showing the test results of that cell before it was shipped from the manufacturer.
The cell was tested in pure air at the surface with a resulting mV output of 11.86.
The cell was tested at the surface in pure O2 with a resulting mV output of 58.35.
The cell was also tested at 1.9 ata in pure O2 with a resulting mV output of 115.13.


Predicting Cell mV Output - Two Ways To Do This

21 is to 10 as 98 is to X --> 21/10:98/X -->X=46.6mV
The above formula/ratio is one way to predict the expected output in mV of an oxygen cell
based on the gas in the head ASSUMING the cell will output 10mV in air.
Where 21=FO2, 10=mV output in air at 1 ata, 98=FO2, and solving for X which is the predicted mV output for that FO2.

OR

1 atm / .21 atm = 4.76
eg. Cell 1 reads 11 mV in Air, Cell 2 reads 10.1 mV in Air, Cell 3 reads 12.5 mV in Air
To predict what each cell will read in 100% O2
11 X 4.76 = 52.36 mV for Cell 1.
10.1 X 4.76 = 48.0 for Cell 2.
12.5 X 4.76 = 59.5 for Cell 3.
Sensors should read 10-14mV in Air and 50-62 mV in pure O2 at 1 ata.


The graph below is actual, real-time cell mV outputs during a dive I made. These data were collected from the Shearwater dive logging software. The download of the dive is shown in the second image showing the cell outputs at 100 feet. Clearly cell 3 is the "weaker" of the cells.
Cell mV outputs actual dive

Ginnie Choptima Dive



Oxygen Sensors

Oxygen sensors are the Achilles’ heel of all modern rebreathers. Sensors have a finite life span and should be considered consumable items. They are prone to failure and it is important to know how and why they can fail.

Oxygen sensors are essentially oxygen powered galvanic fuel cells. They are electrochemical devices that produce a weak electric current in the presence of oxygen. Over time, the chemicals are slowly consumed and the sensor becomes increasingly unreliable.

A new sensor will have a linear response to the partial pressure of oxygen throughout the normal operating range used in rebreather diving. However, as they age, their output becomes increasingly non-linear at higher partial pressures of oxygen. This is commonly referred to as “current limiting.” The problem with this is that a sensor may appear to be acting normally, but display a lower PPO2 than what is actually in the breathing loop. If the diver (or electronic controller) is using this value to determine oxygen injection it can quickly lead to a hyperoxic breathing loop.

This is the primary reason for having multiple oxygen sensors. It allows the diver (or controller) to look at all sensor values simultaneously and easily determine if one is giving a different reading from the rest. If a discrepancy occurs, the diver has several options available to determine which sensors are reading correctly and which should be ignored. These procedures will be covered in your training. Any sensors that are suspected of being current limited must be replaced before diving the unit.

The response time of aging sensors will also slowly increase. If you notice one or more sensors responding slowly to changes in PPO2 compared to the other sensors, they should be replaced.

Many rebreather fatalities have occurred because of using old sensors. Dive Rite recommends that sensors be used for no more than 12 months. The clock starts ticking as soon as the sensor is removed from the original packaging. The 12 month limit is independent of the number of dives on the unit. Even if the rebreather is stored and unused for a long period of time, the sensors should still be replaced prior to diving if they have been installed for more than 12 months.

Even unused sensors still in their original packaging have a limited shelf life. Dive Rite uses Analytical Industries, Inc., sensors which have a “Sell by” date of 4 months after manufacture and a “Do not use after” date of 16 months after manufacture. Even if the sensor has been in use for less than 12 months and seems to be working correctly, it should be discarded and replaced once the “Do not use after” date is reached.

Because of the limited shelf life, it is recommended that you do not keep a large stock of “backup” sensors. It is much better to purchase fresh sensors as they are needed.

There are different theories about the best replacement schedule for sensors. Many divers opt to replace all four sensors at once during the annual service every year. An alternative replacement schedule is to replace one sensor every 3 months. The sensor that is replaced should either be the oldest of the set, or alternatively the one that is the slowest to respond to PPO2 changes. This method has the advantage that each sensor will be from a different manufacturing batch. Although rare, it is possible for an entire batch of sensors to be defective and fail prematurely. The age of the sensors will also be staggered with this method and will lessen the chance that multiple sensors will fail at the same time.

Replacing sensors in a timely manner will mitigate a lot of the potential issues, however it is possible for sensors to fail before their expiration date is reached. Even brand new sensors can fail. It is always best to keep a close eye on your HUD and controller for any discrepancies and replace any suspect sensors immediately.

Sensors should not be removed from the unit for storage in between dives. This practice is unnecessary and can lead to damaged sensors and increased wear and tear on the wiring harness. Sensors should never be frozen, vacuum sealed, or stored in inert gas or desiccant in an attempt to increase their life span. Any of these practices will likely damage the sensor. Sensors, along with the rest of the rebreather, are best stored in a cool (but not freezing), dry location out of direct sunlight.

Decompression

Gradient factors (GF) modify M-values (and consequently allowed gas supersaturation) to a fraction of the difference between ambient pressure and the original M-value. Thus, GF 80 modifies the M-value to 80% of the difference between ambient pressure and the original M-value. Typical proprietary implementations of the GF method require the diver to select two gradient factors: GF low modifies the M-values for the deepest decompression stop, and GF high modifies the M-value for surfacing (often designated as GF low/high, e.g. GF 30/80). The algorithm then interpolates a series of modified M-values in between these two user-specified points. If the GF low is set less than 100%, this forces deeper stops to limit supersaturation in the fast tissues early in the ascent, and setting the GF high to less than 100% will produce longer, shallower stops to reduce supersaturation in the slower tissues in the latter phase of the ascent

GF in a Post Deep-Stop world


MAV-Choptima

Image above is of adjusting the ADV. It takes a 3/16" hex key to adjust the spring pressure.

Open Circuit Bailout

How to Calculate Bailout Requirements for Cave Diving
The NSSCDS requires a minimum of 120 FT3 of open circuit (OC)bailout (BO)gas at the beginning of any CCR Cave training dive.

A diver must know what their OC SAC rate is in order to calculate OC BO gas requirements. Lets say a cave diver has calculated their SAC rate and has determined it to be 0.6 FT3/minute.

This diver swims at a rate of 30 feet per minute (FPM) in high flow and about 40 FPM in no flow.
This diver enters a cave with high flow and 95 feet deep and swims for 45 minutes.
Based on his/her SAC rate that diver would have used 105 FT3 of gas if on OC.

(Depth/33)+1=Atmospheres Absolute (ata)
95/33+1=3.87 ata.
3.87ata x .6 SAC Rate x 45 minutes=105 FT3 gas used.

Assume the CCR scrubber flooded completely at the 45 minute mark. The diver clearly has to rely on OC BO to exit the cave.
The diver will need 105 FT3 to exit the cave assuming his breathing rate does not increase due to the emergency.
However we should assume that divers' breathing rate will increase due to the CCR failure. How much will it increase is an unknown and completely diver dependent.
Lets say that the breathing rate will increase 50%. So that diver will need 157 FT3 of OC BO to safely exit the cave.

Bird

725 psi = 50 bar​
3000 psi = 204 bar​
LP 85 = 12 liter​
LP 104 = 16 liters​
AL80 = 11 liters​
LP 121 = 18 liter​
LP 95 = 15 liter​
28.3 liters = 1 cubic foot​


Steel LP 85's contain 6.4 FT3/100 PSI
If filled to 3600 then: 36 x 6.4 = 230.4 FT3 total volume.
Every FT3 = 28.3 Liters so: 230.4 FT3 x 28.3 liters = 6,520 total liters.
Bar x Dry Tank Volume=Volume in liters. So 204 bar x 24 = 4,896 liters total volume for double LP 85'2 filled to 204 bar.



iDEco

The image below shows one way to mount the Nerd 2 alongside the HUD. The problem I had with this mount was that it blocked my view while doing closeup work, i.e. tying in reels while cave diving. This is the mount that I got from Dive-Rite.


Nerd/HUD Mount

The three images below are of the NERD2 mount that came in the box from Shearwater. The NERD can be rotated forward and backwards as well as right and left while diving. The mount above cannot be rotated forward/backwards while diving but can be rotated right/left to a lesser degree. The mount below solved the problem I had with working closeup.

mountmountmount

wethead

orientation

Toucan

Oxygen Exposure Issues

The USN did some additional targeted research and was able to replace the O2 exposure table in the 1991 issue of the US Navy Diving Manual. As before, the new procedures allow somewhat more time for shallow water oxygen divers than for mixed gas divers. For mixed gas diving the Navy takes a fresh approach by setting a flat upper PO2 limit of 1.3 bar; below this level there are no time limits, and above this level emergency limits are set out in a chart that allows 30 min at 1.6 bar just as before and goes to a PO2 level of 1.8 bar where 15 min are allowed; approval by the Chief of Naval Operations is needed for mixed gas diving at a PO2 of greater than 1.3 bar.

Many incidences of divers being affected within the limits of this table appear to be related to high workloads or breathing resistance.

The research indicates that incidences are limited IF the diver is only doing Light Work and has a very low Work Of Breathing.

I find this compelling and reinforces my decision to keep my PO2 at 1.2 or below during my Choptima dives.

Toucan

The image below is an adaptor for the Choptima and a DPV. This helps prevent the DPV from pulling the Choptima up while riding the DPV.

DPV

Anyone arriving on this page interested in a class for the Chest Mounted Optima Closed Circuit Rebreather should contact me about the conduct of the class.



What to do after you are certified to dive the Choptima.

If you are trained on this rebreather, or any rebreather for that matter it should be your PRIMARY scuba unit.

Do not try to save money on cells or sorb. Bad cells and/or used up sorb will kill you and kill you quickly.

Keep it in muscle memory, keep it familiar. Dive it frequently.

DO NOT BE CHEAP Do not start a dive withn a known failure, abort a dive when a failure occurs.

Replace O2 cells regularly and particularly when one is not linear or acting like it should.

Track your O2 cells mV on a piece of paper or Excel spreadsheet.

Leave the cells in the head. Do not refrigerate or store them in an inert gas. You can best extend their life by leaving them exposed to air.

Store the unit in a cool, dry place.



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Jim Wyatt: 352-363-0013
e-mail: Jim@cavediveflorida.com
e-mail Jim Wyatt