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How much does an O2ptima cost?

A better wording of the question might be 'How much does it cost to switch from an open-circuit diver to an O2ptima CCR diver?' A complete ready-to-dive O2ptima unit with cylinders, harness and wing is about $8200 and to this you might add: off board bailout about $500, and initial stock of consumables about $300. Training, particularly if travel is required, will be a significant cost. I suggest planning on a total amount from $10,000 to $12,000. These are estimates, the total could be less or more depending on what suitable equipment you already have and what additional equipment you might choose to purchase.

How long does it take to get an O2ptima rebreather?

Dive Rite O2ptima rebreathers, along with all options, accessories and spares are usually in-stock for immediate shipment and also available for local pickup at Fill Express, our local dive shop in Pompano Beach, Florida. Occasionally, demand or logistics will cause brief stock-outs of the base O2ptima unit but delays beyond 30 days are very rare.

How much does the O2ptima training cost?

There is wide variation in CCR training costs due to a variety of factors, although location is often a major influence. At Fill Express the cost is $1500 for instruction only. Fill Express also offers an all inclusive version which includes the cost of pool rental, consumables, teaching materials, boat charters, and so on for a price of $2000. There is now a geographically diverse group of instructors and you might have an O2ptima instructor in your local area. If you prefer to learn about your O2ptima at Fill Express, training can be organized to accommodate your schedule and rebreather courses run every month.

How much does O2ptima routine maintenance cost?

You should budget routine maintenance costs of approximately $500 annually. Dive Rite recommends the canister O-ring set, wiring harness and three oxygen sensors be replaced annually. They also recommend the first stage regulators be serviced every 18 months or 100 dives, although I recommend the oxygen regulator be serviced more frequently. You will also need to replenish minor consumables such as lubricant and disinfectant from the annual maintenance budget.

How much do the O2ptima consumables cost?

As with all rebreathers, the major consumable cost is CO2 absorbent. An O2ptima absorbent cartridge is about $30 and typically can be used for several dives, but there are other smaller costs such as batteries and gas fills. Keep in mind that for both open-circuit and rebreather divers, consumables costs are usually insignificant in relationship to the investment in the equipment, training and other diving costs such as boat charters and travel.

How long do the O2ptima consumables last?

O2ptima sport divers, when tracking their CO2 production by monitoring their O2 consumption, are reporting scrubber durations in the range of four to six hours and battery durations of twenty hours. The durations in actual use depends upon many factors related to the individual diver, specific dive conditions and particular brands of consumables. These are observations of what experienced divers are reporting and in no way suggests exceeding manufacturer recommendations or that novices should expect these durations.

Why does the O2ptima use a cartridge CO2 absorbent instead of granular?

The cartridge is easier to use than granular, with a lower work of breathing and a much more consistent duration. For equivalent CO2 absorbtion capacity, the cartridge weighs significantly less than granular absorbent. There are some other benefits as well; the cartridge is not subject to channelling and cannot introduce absorbent dust into the breathing loop.

Is the O2ptima CO2 absorbent cartridge more expensive than granular?

Compared to granular in the US, the cartridge costs about $3 to $5 more per hour of sport diving using a duration of three hours. But even assuming the cartridge is more expensive than granular, this is justified because the cartridge absorbent offers important and valuable advantages over granular.

What about the possibility of a 'caustic cocktail' with the O2ptima?

Inhaling a mixture of CO2 absorbent and water while diving with an O2ptima is very unlikely. The O2ptima is a modern CCR design that includes several features to manage and remove water from the breathing loop. The O2ptima cartridge also eliminates granular absorbent dust contamination, even further diminishing the risks. The 'caustic cocktail' is a concern from an earlier era of rebreather diving that has been overly dramatized, akin to the concern new divers express regarding 'shark attack'.

How available is the O2ptima CO2 absorbent?

Micropore, the US manufacturer of the Extendair absorbent, has several strategically located warehouse distribution centers. In the global economy, absorbents are sold and shipped all over the world. As a result, supply logistics for absorbent is becoming less of an issue. The number of dive shops that stock absorbent is consistently growing, and you can always order on-line to be delivered to your door or directly to your travel destination. Unlike granular absorbents, transport of the cartridge does not raise hazmat objections by carriers and often costs less to ship.

Is a granular absorbent option available for the O2ptima?

No. The O2ptima scrubber has gas flow characteristics optimized exclusively for the cartridge. A granular adapter retrofitted to the O2ptima scrubber would have significantly shorter duration, along with reliability issues.

Does the O2ptima have a CO2 monitor?

No. As a practical matter, there may be little value to detecting CO2 already in the loop as it could be too late to warn the diver in time to react appropriately. You should not confuse a CO2 monitor with the breathing loop temperature monitor or the scrubber temperature monitor offered by competing rebreather manufacturers. The temperature monitor does not provide any information or warning regarding actual CO2 levels in the breathing loop. Regardless, the CO2 absorbent used in the O2ptima has an extremely consistent duration from cartridge to cartridge, so a temperature monitor is unnecessary.

What cylinders should I use with the O2ptima?

For O2ptima FX "Sport" configurations I suggest aluminum 13 cubic foot capacity cylinders, which minimizes the O2ptima total weight. The AL13's are more than adequate to support over three hours of sport diving, although I recommend an AL19 off-board bailout cylinder if using the AL13's. Most wetsuit divers using AL13's will find they will need only one or two pounds in each canister weight pocket. The O2ptima FX may also be configured with aluminum 20 cubic foot capacity cylinders. With the AL20 cylinders, diluent capacity is sufficient to support on-board bailout for the sport diver, drysuit inflation and provides plenty of oxygen capacity even with transfer under filling.

What BC should I use with the O2ptima?

Use whatever backplate and harness style system you prefer. For sport divers, I suggest a TransPac because the harness is comfortable, easily adjustable and available in a wide range of sizes. For divers using the aluminum 13 cubic foot supply cylinders, I suggest the Dive Rite Venture Wing, because it has a shape carefully tailored to work well with the O2ptima and offers very low drag. Divers using the larger steel supply cylinders will need a wing with 50 lbs of lift such as the Dive Rite Rec Wing, and technical divers should consider a redundant bladder wing. You might also take a look at the Dive Rite Nomad system; a modified version of the Rec Wing and TransPac harness that was originally intended for side mounting. The very streamlined design of the Nomad works well with the O2ptima and merits consideration by both sport and technical divers looking for an 'expedition' level CCR configuration.

Does the O2ptima accept a fourth Oxygen sensor?

Technical divers will be pleased to know the O2ptima has provisions for an optional fourth oxygen sensor. We can deliver your O2ptima customized with a pre-installed cable for a CCR dive computer of your choice such as the Nitek X or VR3. The additional dive computer allows independent monitoring of the fourth oxygen sensor and together with the O2ptima handsets provides triple redundant monitoring of PO2, depth and time as well as dual (optionally triple) redundant real-time decompression status.

What is the O2ptima maximum dive time and depth?

Rebreathers carry many hours of breathing gas regardless of depth. The O2ptima can accept auxiliary outboard plug-in gas supplies as well, so dive time is no longer limited by gas volume. As with most rebreathers, the O2ptima diver is typically limited by the duration of the CO2 absorbent, so multi-hour runtime dives are routine. As with open-circuit nitrox diving, rebreather divers must also track their decompression and oxygen exposure; depending on the dive profile these may also limit the dive time. The O2ptima rebreathers are suitable for diving at all sport depths and have been tested to a depth exceeding 300 feet. There are some individuals who routinely dive the unit that deep and deeper. Although the rebreather can function at depths much deeper, there are numerous additional considerations. The O2ptima rebreather is a popular choice for divers who wish to dive to extremes.

Does the O2ptima take a long time to maintain?

Yes and No. Many rebreather sport divers, including O2ptima divers, find they spend noticeably more time on equipment compared to open-circuit because the rebreather diver must always be careful and disciplined about maintenance. However, compared to most other rebreathers the O2ptima takes less time to setup, in part because of the cartridge. If you have been habitually careful with your open-circuit dive equipment and treat your equipment with respect, as an experienced O2ptima sport diver you will spend only slightly more time with your O2ptima maintenance than you did with open-circuit. In multi-dive days and multi-day diving, because the O2ptima rebreather needs very little attention between each dive in a series, considerably less total time may be spent on setup and maintenance than with open-circuit.

How well does the O2ptima travel?

The O2ptima is one of the most travel convenient rebreathers available. A key design goal was to minimize size/weight and divers are able to travel by air with the O2ptima as carry-on luggage in most circumstances. Regardless of the brand of rebreather it can be annoying to travel with cylinders because they are carefully examined by security personnel, and occasionally even confiscated. You may prefer to rent cylinders at the destination or ship the cylinders ahead by a package carrier such as UPS or DHL.

How is an O2ptima different from other rebreathers?

All of the major rebreather models are good quality units. There is no perfect rebreather; they all have strengths and weaknesses that make each uniquely more or less suited to your needs. Beyond the features of the rebreather itself, you should consider the supplier along with how the model was designed and has been supported. Only a very few rebreather models are supplied by large and well-established dive equipment companies. The Dive Rite O2ptima is from a large US based dive equipment company in business over 20 years. As an independent dealer, we stock O2ptima units, spares and consumables with online ordering and same day shipping.

Is the O2ptima rebreather safe?

The O2ptima is a tested modern electronic CCR design by a collaboration of industry experts which incorporates every safety feature recommended by those experts. One expert on recreational sport and technical diving has said closed-circuit rebreathers are safer than open-circuit for the diligent diver. No type of rebreather can be said to be categorically safer than another. The quality of training is a major factor affecting rebreather safety. No rebreather is foolproof, and the fact remains that compared to open-circuit there are a disproportionate number of rebreather fatalities; nearly all of which have been attributed to diver error. Your safety while diving is controlled by you, not by your rebreather.