A modular system
I’ ve used the same unit in various guises over the years and though relatively trouble-free, after a period of quite sustained use, corrosion did become a problem, eventually resulting in a complete replacement of the co-axial wiring loom.
So how best to dry off your head? I’ ve never been an advocate of a( howevercautious) wipe with an absorbent cloth, using a hairdryer( not hot!) or leaving it out in the sunlight( especially in our nowtropical summers).
Most rebreather divers will be familiar with Narked at 90, a UK manufacturer, distributor and service centre for products aimed primarily at the technical side of things. Partners John Routley and Brent Hudson produce over 800 products at their premises in Northamptonshire, and among them is their rebreather Head and Loop Dryer Module.
This is an impressive-looking circular unit, machined in-house from a solid billet of Delrin. With so many CCRs available, John decided to make this a two-part modular system: the fan module itself plus a separate rebreatherspecific adaptor.
Fan and adaptor are mated together via a trio of Allen bolts, which can be fully tightened to keep them firmly together as a single item. If you have two different units or are sharing the dryer with a buddy on a different CCR, there’ s the option to leave them backed-off a little, then remove the adaptor with a quick twist before fitting the other.
Drying the head-only on my APD EVO took between 10 and 15 minutes – enough time to get my loom and sensors bone dry. Alternatively, the whole loop took in the region of an hour. The latter figure does depend on how much water can be eliminate prior to activating the dryer, but that figure is a good indicator of performance.
Sharing is caring
The supplied power cable, complete with on / off switch, will plug straight into any USB port, such as a mains adaptor, computer, in-car charger or the best solution – a compact, portable power supply.
I was able to utilise a small, 10,000mAh power bank that I keep handy for charging anything from a phone to a drone. Fifteen minutes of drying time only used around
Alternatively the head can be removed if preferred, powered here via a portable powerbank
5 % of its full capacity, making it an ideal portable source to carry with the dryer.
The fan module(£ 168) and adaptor(£ 110.40) for my AP unit would come to a grand total of £ 278. That’ s not an inconsequential amount, but for regular CCR users it’ s a small price to pay to keep your unit in tip-top condition.
Factor in that if you at some stage move over to a different CCR, there’ s only the adaptor to change. Without attempting to cut into Narked at 90’ s profit margins, sharing the outlay with a fellow CCR user, or as a club purchase also makes perfect sense.
Adaptors are currently available for the following rebreathers: JJ-ccr, Sf2, Kiss spirit, Kiss sidewinder, APD XPD, EVP, EVO and APD Classic plus Meg 15 and Divesoft Liberty. Narked at 90 are open to extending the range to other units too.
Detail of the efficient and almost silent fan
The fan can be used with a variety of unit-specific adaptors( front) which simply slide onto the CCR head( rear)
SCUBA SAYS
This compact, modular head and loop dryer from Narked at 90 is portable, adaptable between units and efficiently dries your CCR head between dives. It will also dry the loop if required, so you’ re ready to roll in a fraction of the time it’ d take without it.
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