Sport KISS Rebreather

This is the newest prototype of the Travel KISS, now being called the Sport KISS Rebreather. I saw parts of this new unit being made at the Jetsam facility near the end of july 04 and it looked like it was very close to being done. In August, at Zero Gravity in Grand Cayman, Gordon and Kim Smith brought along two of the units to dive for the week as well as allow demo’s of them. I got a chance to dive one, as well as take some pics during the tech session that Gordon presided over.

The concept of this unit is to fill a niche in the rebreather market for the folks who want to dive a rebreather, but not spend a fortune on it and to eschew some of the features of the technically aimed units, thereby reducing weight and complexity as well as cost. Gordon, is by trade, a tool and die maker and his parent business makes plastic injection molds. By making most of this RB using injection molded plastic, not only can he keep most of the process under his own roof but it is a very economically reasonable way to make parts. The targeted price for the Sport KISS is $4550 including tanks, valves, BC, sensors, displays, and all plumbing. The weight of this unit is another benefit, for smaller divers, or just those who do not wish to deal with a larger unit, as this unit with an aluminum housing is only 37 lbs. The unit is also available with a stainless steel housing and it tips the scales at 45 lbs. In the colder water, the SS housing’s extra weight means less on a weight belt. If one were traveling, the alum housing might be the best choice.

In function, the Sport KISS is almost exactly the same as the full size unit, it works by flowing, through an orifice, a constant quantity of oxygen into the loop to replace that metabolized by the diver, usually around .6 to1.0 liters per minute with the rate controlled by adjusting the IP of the oxygen first stage regulator. The KISS valve that plumbs that flow also has a bypass button that allows a higher flow for purging, or bringing up the partial pressure up during a dive. It is basically a manual rebreather with a slower decay rate. For more information on how the KISS valve works read the section of this website on How it Works. The units that were at ZG were using the generation two KISS valve, with fluted sides (the original KISS valve was a cylinder), the third generation KISS valve, still in the works, but expected to be on the production models, will be molded also. Very similar to a BC inflation valve or a Dive-Alert.

The complete unit fitted with 13cf cylinders and the stainless steel housing. This pic shows the rear of the unit.

The previous “travel kiss” that was written up and seen at DEMA last year has been updated. The counter lungs are now mounted below the scrubber, not around it and they are now made of urethane coated nylon instead of neoprene. The scrubber is now a rotomolded plastic hard shell canister, but the multi pass design of the scrubber remains. One nice feature of this unit is the quick change scrubber canister, the cost of the canister is much less than other units, which might prompt owners to have a spare, fill two or more canisters at one sitting and then just swap them out after they are used up. This would also help for resorts wanting to rent the units out, they could have pre-filled scrubbers that are capped off ready to go. I estimate that once one practiced at it, you could swap out a scrubber canister in about one minute.

A side shot of the scrubber canister. The black fittings on top and bottom are quick connects, one quarter turn will lock the pods on the top and the counterlungs on the bottom.

The top side of scrubber, notice the screening on the bottom side, to keep the soda lime from coming out into the counterlungs.

Here are the pods in place on top of the scrubber canister, the breathing hoses slip over the top fittings of the pods and hose clamp in place. Both pods (the red parts) are exactly the same, to simplify the manufacturing process, but the ends (black parts) are different. The pod on the left is fitted with a port for injecting oxygen and an ADV (automatic diluent valve) for maintaining loop volume during the divers descent, both on its left side. The SS fitting on top is the oxygen input, the swivel fitting, on this side is the diluent input. This fitting also supplies the bailout mouthpiece. The right side of this pod is a OPV (overpressure relief valve) similar to a dry suit valve, to prevent too much pressure from bursting the loop, or injuring the diver. The pod on the right is fitted, on its right side, with three K-1d oxygen sensors individually plumbed with ambient pressure lines housing the wiring, to a wrist unit with 3 PPO2 displays, the same unit used on the full size KISS RB. These pods mount to the top of the scrubber canister, by placing them 90 degrees off, into the canister, then twisting them 90 degrees clockwise, which seals them in place. There is a link cable that prevents them from rotating back, until it is removed. (not shown here)

This is the pod with the sensors, the three white objects in the bottom are the K-1d sensors, I believe that they are the smallest galvanic oxygen sensors that Teledyne makes.

A pic of the counterlungs. This unit will be available with two sizes of counterlungs, 2 and 4 liter, which may be mixed and matched giving the diver many choices to match up with his or her lung volume. Not only that, but the rebreather housing is also fitted with a hinged flap that allows an almost infinitely variable lung volume match. The counterlungs mount to the bottom of the scrubber canister in exactly the same way, with a bayonet type mount, 90 degree twist. Then the whole thing slips down into the housing.

A bit hard to see here, looking down into the top of the RB housing, but the flap will slip into any of the slats at the bottom to hold the Counterlung volume down, thereby helping the diver maintain better neutral buoyancy. Closed circuit rebreathers seem (to me anyway) to work best when the CL volume is very close to the divers own tidal volume.

A close up of the exhale side pod, injection ports and OPV. O-ring makes the seal to the scrubber canister and a screen to capture the soda lime.

The sensor pod and its displays. Also notice the cable to lock the pods from backing out. I noticed when diving the unit that the K-1d sensors responded much faster than the R-22’s I am used to, when injecting oxygen or adding diluent, I saw an almost instant change in the displays.

The Sport KISS also comes with the Jetsam, open circuit bailout mouth piece that comes on the normal KISS. One thing I failed to get a picture of is the new molded tank mounts for the side of the Sport KISS, they are quick attaching, slide type mounts. One component mounts to the side of the RB and the other side mounts with hose clamps to the cylinder. Probably only strong enough for 13 cf cylinders, the plastic mounts made swapping or filling tanks a very quick job. A small lever presses in on one side to release the mount and the tank lifts up and pulls straight out. Very simple.

Diving the unit is very much like the full size KISS, with a couple differences. One, the ADV feels more like a scuba regulator than the ADV on the full size KISS, which is rather tight and will not deliver the volume of the one on the sport KISS. It is still tight to crack, but once it is cracked it will deliver plenty of volume. I found on the full size KISS, it was sometimes easier to take a breath off of the bailout mouthpiece and blow it into the loop, then depend on the ADV. The Sport KISS is also not as sensitive to body position as the KISS, as long as you have sufficient volume in the counterlungs. Just like anything, it can take some getting used to. The real beauty of this unit is the size and weight, I have never felt so unencumbered under the water, my CCR dolphin is pretty small, but this is even smaller. It was a joy to dive. The ease of assembly and disassembly, coupled with its “travelablity”, I believe, will make this, quite possibly, the most popular rebreather in the marketplace. Look out Drager, a fully closed rebreather, in the same price point as their SCR, could certainly carve a big piece out of their marketshare. Jetsam is tooling up to make a bunch of these units and I am sure they are not far away from being shipped. Last I heard from Gordon, the only thing still to be built was the third generation KISS valve. I will find out more when I see Gordon and Kim at DEMA.

Speaking of DEMA, Gordon debuted his new nylon KISS valve there and here is a pic of it. Also are some pics of the second generation KISS valve and the original model.

New nylon KISS valve.

The second Generation Stainless Steel KISS Valve.

The first generation KISS valve.

The man himself, Gordon Smith.

Kim Smith, with Penny, wait, that’s not a KISS Rebreather Kim’s wearing!! Has she jumped ship and taken up with the Inspiration crowd?

Now that’s better, here is Kim diving her Sport KISS. Photo by Kurt Bowen, of ADM.

Look at the difference in size of the Inspiration on Kim, vs. the Sport. Kim is not a big person, hmm 70 lbs versus 37… We report, you decide, with apologies to Fox news.

I hope you have enjoyed this little look at the newest version of the KISS rebreather. Questions? Feel free to email me, or, contact Gordon or Kim at Jetsam. The website is www.jetsam.ca

Ron Micjan

7 October 2004