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The Three Dollar Rebreather

This rebreather can kill you just as quickly as many others... and if it does, it is YOUR fault and not mine.  That being said, here is how to construct a quick and easy rebreather by combining the hobbies of diving and dumpster diving.  Few tools are needed and it can be assembled in a few minutes under any conditions.  The few parts which needed to be purchased cost around $3.  If you decide to build it, send me a picture of it being used. chickenheadlab@yahoo.com

Oxygen rebreathers are so simple.  We only need a scrubber, a counterlung, some tanks, fittings, a valve, a mouthpiece and some hose. A water bottle makes a nice scrubber... and it comes  with a molded mouthpiece at one end which is prethreaded to accept a watertight cover.  It costs almost 50 cents when full of water... but it we don't want any water in it... so it is free.  Poke many fine holes in the bottom to allow breathing gas to pass into the counterlung.  Place some wadded up pantyhose in the top to keep scrubber out of your mouth. A heavy-duty bag is required to contain 7 pounds of sugar.  The same bag holds a couple picograms of air pretty well.  Clear packing tape connects the scrubber to the counterung.   As we all know, tanks are the expensive part of homemade diving equipment... until now, that is... Muah ha ha ha ha ha! As it turns out, I have tested plastic 1.5 liter Coke bottles up to TEN atmospheres and they seemed like they could take more.   Actually, I HAVE had these explode but only when used at very high pressure as short-term combustion chambers for disposable rockets.    I wear eye protection (and now, ear protection) but the worst was some minor cuts from flying plastic when it blew up in my hand (plastic hits terminal velocity quickly). So... let's do some math.  If a person consumes one liter of O2 every minute and I have two 1.5 liter bottles at 10 ATM, that gives THIRTY minutes of oxygen... although you will have to squeeze them flat to get the last 3 minutes out.  Want more time?  Add more "tanks" (and weights).   I would have made this a Trimix rebreather but I didn't have another empty Coke bottle. After all this work and expense, I couldn't figure out how to make a 10ATM valve with what was in my trash can (although I did find a rusty old faucet in a trash pile later on the way home) .  I had to break down and use just under $3 worth of fittings and hose from my junk drawer. Well, by looking at the pictures, it should be clear how everything was put together.  Now, simply fill the scrubber, put 10ATM of oxygen into your tanks and it's off to the sea!

Well... would you look at that.  All those little parts I need are sitting right there in the trash... ...and they are for free. Just think... most of those silly, normal people would consider it only garbage.

Attaching the scrubber to the counterlung... with tape.  Is it waterproof?  Who cares.  It'll last as long as your oxygen supply.

Coke makes a plentiful source of low-cost o-rings!  Put all the metal caps in a bag and you have manufactured a weight belt!

The completed unit... with waterproof threaded mouthpiece cover installed.

Ready for action.  The next model will have the tiny oxygen addition valve on the LEFT side of the scrubber... you know... to keep my gun hand free. And, what next?  How about scrubber chemical made from a blender, drain cleaner and industrial soap... nawwwww. A disposable full facemask, maybe?  No, not today... that is another story.

And just how did you keep those fittings from shooting off at the speed of sound?