ScubaForce 2 Backmount
The first rebreather that is actually mine! It started out as a lone and ill-forgotten CCR. Left alone in the corner of a room, gathering dust and rust, to be sold for money that would go towards baby clothes. Some diving men turn into fathers and that costs them dearly...
In this case, the guy had the SF2 early model for sale for quite some time and I managed to pick it up for a nice bargain. Knowing I would have to change and refurbish a lot anyways since I want things my way and wouldn't dive the unit as is. It had an old OMS wing on it that the buyer would trade for a reduction in price. Also, the older MAVs didn't look too great anymore and needed a service.
642 days since the last dive... Mostly recreational dives to +/- 30 meters.
After picking it up and taking it apart for cleaning I found that the MAVs were beyond proper repair. It also needed some new loop hoses and I was planning on diving the shorter loops anyways.
A friend of mine works as a spray painter, so I gave him the frame to be sand blasted and repainted.
Obviously new cells and I did buy new 200Bar 3L ccr tanks while these 300bar ones were off to get hydro tested. I also ordered one of those Xdeep camo wings. I later found out that I had to modify it in order to have the houses routed through the center. Every o-ring was to be found and replaced. The dsv is the earliest model and barely has any o-rings.
They did update this to be safer. We'll see how it goes. So far I didn't have any leaks from it. But new parts were on their way.
The bill started ticking...
Bcd was adjusted with the newly acquired sewing skills. These also helped me with making custom tank sleeves and loop covers. I decided to go with a full camo option in combo with the black carbon from the SF2 itself and the limited edition Softdura from Ursuit in black and dark green. Also remember those old black MAVs? They got replaced by their new CNC versions. I also decided to apply some of the camo fabric to my yellow fins. I noticed that carp got spooked by the yellow whilst backfinning away from them.
UPDATE:
After having dived it for +40h now, I still am very happy with the unit. I had the head sent to Germany to have it re-wired. Two of the solenoid wires started acting up and couldn't really do it myself regarding parts but also they inject a resin into the wire segment to prevent corrosion.
Anyways, even after all this, this unit is still very much a bargain.
Things I find less convenient while diving it, is that the gurgling in the loop can happen within an hour diving and needs a full barrel role to have it properly removed from the loop. Looking up and shaking the loop doesnt do it a 100%. Also the whole setup is 40kg. This includes the extra argon bottle and using 300b steel 3L tanks. Makes it just perfect for winter salt diving when I would need the thickest undergarments and weight compensation for the salt water. Will change to 200bar 3L tanks during the summer.
And I find it difficult to remove the head after some dives. There is no real handle to pull on and the foldable tool they give you can only do so much. Workaround is properly lubing up the o-ring for the head and also the inside of the tube. Still... A minor annoyance...
Future courses will be my cave certifications while on this unit. I'm curious to be put through the test while diving this rebreather. And also curious how it compares with other units. Keen to keep on learning the bubble-less part of diving.
