It is with great pleasure that the CEDU Recognize and Present the "Honors of the Association"  Award to the following individual for outstanding achievement in the Design, Construction and Use of HomeBuilt Closed Circuit Rebreathing Apparatuses.

        Without instruction, coaching, reverse engineering or plagiarism, the the above named individual has designed, built, dived, and shared their enthusiasm and dive toys with friends, family, and the world at large.

    This CEDU Honors of the Association is presented to Mark Howell.

   Mark Howell is yet another graduate of the FEOR Training Class 2000/1  who has made, dived, and shared his homebuilt Manual-Add Closed Circuit Oxygen Rebreather.

    Proving Again the value of a total hands-on (from sewer to life support) education for which the CEDU is well known.    With another unit produced by CEDU/FEOR graduates, this Class (2000/1) is indeed turning out to be The Class of the Millennium.  (Maybe years from now there will be folk songs about this class.  Or maybe they will just "Dive Into Oblivion With The CEDU".  Only time will tell.)

Some details of the unit.

    In this first image you can see the O2 cylinder, Scrubber canister,  manual addition valve, and bottom of the Counterlung (which is made from a horse collar BC).

    The high pressure oxygen is reduced through a cleaned/modified scuba first stage regulator.  This reduced pressure oxygen is then fed through a low pressure inflator hose connected to the manual push to add valve.  This valve was obtained from the BC and repositioned to its current centralized location.  Oxygen is now in the breathing loop.    The one way valves in the mouthpiece direct gas flow through the loop, and the single counterlung is connected to the loop via the "H" connection of PVC.  The scrubber canister is  made of black ABS with hand cut Gaskets, not o-ring seals.

    Close-up of DSV in the Surface Position, a.k.a. "PIMP Position (Plug In the Mouth Piece) , or just plane "Corked".

     When there is no time to "Pre Breathe" the unit, the deployment of a compressed gas cartridge of CO2 is used to "Jump Start" the scrubbing chemicals, thus allowing for its immediate use.  (In this Emergency use, the unit is removed from its vacuum pre-packed container and the CO2 cartridge is fired.  A bolus of CO2 "shock starts" the exothermic chemical reaction of the scrubber.  The heat generated from this reaction can be felt through the scrubber housing within 18 seconds.  When this heat is detected, the remaining counterlung volume  is filled with oxygen.  The unit is now operationally ready.

    Note:  Deploying the Emergency Kick-It-Up-A-Notch Jump Start Procedure will REDUCE the overall duration of the unit.  Please see and commit to memory the 48 page manual  which describes in detail the overall Duration Reduction in expected canister life, and other Hypercapnia penalties which will  results from this maneuver.   Thus, this emergency procedure should only be used when Seconds are Critical,  and Only Minutes are Necessary to Saving Lives.

Pigs In A Test Tank:

    A world famous, yet secret west coast test facility of divingandsurfing was used for the first water testing of the unit.   (Initial tests were conducted within the confines of a 55 gal drum.  Knee and leg cramping severely limited these initial tests.)

    The water work conducted at this test facility included rebreather meditation on the pool bottom,  during which time Mark contemplated  the sound a silent bubble makes if it could ... .  Other testing of the unit was performed by fellow Honors Recipient, the Most Rev. Rude Dog, who sanctified this baptism with his Blessing.  Finally the Ever Famous Jocko completed the series by performing the High Workload / Low Cylinder Pressure test.  He dived to the deepest abyss of the Tank, under the pool drain grating while in VO2 max, and was not seen again until the gas cylinder was empty.   A third thumbs-up was awarded, thus proving "... once and for all that a neophyte scuba tech can copy, fabricate, steal, borrow, invent, innovate, brainstorm and or do what is necessary  to pass from the bubble makers to the bubble free."

    Welcome to the world of the Bubble Free.
 
 

    Out hat is off to Col. Bates for another outstanding performance in the world of  bubble free Double Hoses.

The Awards Banquet

    A Gala Celebration/Awards Banquet was held at Mark's house on 6/16/01.   Fine food, fine drink, and some fine stories were shared.  Libations included "Chateau Saint CEDU" the Rebreather Divers Champagne. (Which helped to put back some fizz in those CO2 depleted bones.)

  The unusual suspects arrived and a wonderful time was had by all.  (Though not pictured, wives also had a good time.  They left the boys to play with their toys, and they dug up some interesting finds at a local plant nursery.)

    As you see the price of admission included bringing, making, or wearing a rebreather. (Homebuilts got extra points.)

A Sneak Preview (Honors to come)

    El Jocko, from the south(land), gave us a sneak preview of another homebuilt-under-construction.  The unit shown is still in the bench-top trial stage.  There are still some minor details to be worked out before it gets put through its paces, in the tank.  It is a most interesting looking unit.

    I cannot disclose many details about his unit, (non disclosure handshake and all), but the final design will be showcased when complete.

    There are some aspects I can briefly mention as per contractual agreement.  I can say (1) it has a functioning DSV,  (2) the scrubber canister is being made from a  brass heat exchanger of a horseshoe shape, (3) it has dual oxygen injectors, and (4) enhanced venturi-driven gas flow path through the scrubber.

    It is a unit to keep an eye on.    Thank you Jocko.

(And now a word  from our sponsor.....)

OSHA States:
         "Compressed oxygen cannot be used in a device designed for compressed air because minute amounts of oil or other foreign matter in the device components can cause an explosion."  In fact, 30 CFR 11 prohibits certification of any device designed to permit interchangeable use of oxygen and air.
        It is an accepted safety rule that:  OXYGEN NEVER BE USED IN A DEVICE UNLESS IT IS SPECIFICALLY  DESIGNED FOR THAT PURPOSE.