Field Expedient Oxygen Rebreather
(FEOR)
Hall of Fame
(...just a few images of the many FEOR Divers from around the
world...)
Yours Truly during the first
weight & balance testing.
................................(Yes Ron, that is pressed ham under those
ten pounders.)
Wayne diving an early configuration.
(Still had the O2 connected to the tire valve.)
Ron, who always
looks at the world through Rose Colored glasses,
has just emerged after completing a high altitude endurance test (tenth
floor pool) with current production unit.
Jim preparing to take the plunge of his first familiarization dive.
Erick: FEOR & DPV a nice
match up. (This demo was conducted for the 1999 Los Angeles County Advanced
Diving Program class in the Cal State Northridge Pool.)
Erick and Me at Malaga Cove, California.
(And yes, we do use a snorkel during the surface swim to the dive site.)
FEOR in the Rough (or on the
rocks). White Point, California. (Muddy Water Testing.)
Last but not least, The FEOR was the first of my homemade Rebreathers that my wife Jane felt was safe enough to use. (I really love this lady ! )
Jane showing perfect form with the FEOR at rest, and while in graceful
motion.
Here are a few of the predecessors of the FEOR.....................
The Sioux-Air (SA-1) 
You read about the Sioux-Air, my first CCO2 Rebreather in
Aquacorps
Magazine. The image on the right is my friend Erick using
the unit for Garibaldi petting during one of the early test dives in Toyon
Bay, at Catalina Island, California. (FYI, Toyon Bay is where the OSS conducted
the first open ocean Operative Swimmer training using closed circuit oxygen
during World War II.)
The Genesis (SA-2)
The Genesis (SA-2) was the second CCO2 rebreather which I made. It was
actually conceived and built in one week. My friend
Ron
Edmundson provided the inspiration for it, as he had just
completed building a pretty front mounted unit with scrubber within the
counterlung. This unit is worn as you would a LarV, and it has the scrubber
canister inside the counterlung. This unit became my working test bed for
various rebreather design/configurations, to include mixed gas. (Though
not particularly fond of the positive pressure breathing characteristics
of a chest mounted counter lung, it did provide me with a unit I can Observe,
Evaluate and "Tweak" while in use. This unit was used in many
different tests and provided me with much useful data.)
Bones (SA-3)
...
When the Oxygen Sensor/Diluent Addition/Mounting Bracket (above
left) is added to the
Genesis oxygen rebreather, a Manual
Closed Circuit Mixed Gas Rebreather is created (above right).
This configuration is identified as the SA-3, and is named "Bones".
...
Bones, also as a testing platform has been used in various configurations
including a back mount, as tested by Wayne in the upper right. The upper
left picture shows me doing an open water horizontal bottom swim with Bones.
If you look closely, you can see that I am wearing a back mounted 72cuft
diluent/bailout bottle with its second stage in my right hand. I may be
crazy, but I am no fool at depth.
FEOR (SA-4)
And finally, what well dressed man or woman would not look good
sporting a FEOR.
Basic Black unit on the left, and the Party Color with it's "very
red...and sexy hoses" on right.
(Patrick, thanks for the description.)
The FEOR is the forth design that I assembled, is the most compact, and
has very comfortable breathing characteristics.(It's a keeper.)
What's Next? Nothing earth shattering, some "FEOR-ExCap" (Extended Capability) units are being assembled. These are the same configuration, but with a bigger scrubber bed, and a larger oxygen supply cylinder. ...And of course there are other projects on the breadboard...
Making, Using and Sharing Homemade Dive Gear Is
The Ultimate SCUBA Hobby.
Thanks for enjoying these pages.
-Smile, Bob
[email to doctrbob@gte.net]
(P.S. If you have made, and dived homemade gear please share your enjoyment
of this great hobby with the rest of us, and publish pictures!)