Diver Daves' CCR-1000 Page

Diver Daves' CCR-1000 Teardown

The CCR-1000 was the original civilian rebreather manufactured by Biomarine. A slightly revised system was later adopted by the US Navy as the Mark-15. There are a few slight differences, as the following photos will show. Basically, though, there are likely no "original" CCR-1000's presently in use, and all civilian owned Mark-15's have been modified with new electronics, so the chances of finding an "original" Mark-15 is also pretty unlikely. The bottom line is that both the CCR-1000 and the Mark-15 have become essentially interchangeable, and a diver should probably not worry about whether a rig started life as a CCR-1000 or a Mark-15, but concentrate on its present modifications status when considering a purchase. The Mark-15 systems are well detailed in the accompanying Mark-15 teardown, and will not be repeated here. What I will show below are the differences between the two units, as well as to document a different level of modification status as compared to the Mark-15 detailed on its own page.

Opening the box, we find the rebreather firmly held into the preformed cutouts of the carrying case. This case is actually a Biomarine Biopak-240 case, which fits the rig perfectly. Immediately noticeable is the exposed center-section, the main cosmetic difference between the CCR-1000 and the Mark-15. Most CCR-1000's were yellow. This one is sort of a hybrid, it being the one furnished to the US Army Special Forces for evaluation. It was simply a civilian CCR-1000 with a black case. The Army did end up buying a substantial quantity of the militarized Mark-15's, since retired from Army service.

With the rig on the bench, only very slight differences can be noticed. The lid is cut-out to expose the center section. Other than that, it looks like any Mark-15 would. Since the lids interchange, not even the lid is actually a really definite clue.

Here I've laid down the CCR-1000 lid (left) with a Mark-15 lid (right). The difference is obvious. The cutouts on the lower right side of the Mark-15 lid are not original, these are used to pass a hose from the 02 sphere for open circuit access to 02 for a bailout decompression in a modified Mark-15.

Here is the only really definite fieldmark for differentiation between a CCR-1000 and a Mark-15. On the Mark-15, the holes that allow water to pass to the counterlung are pierced through the fiberglass of the chassis. On the CCR-1000, this area of the chassis is cut-out, and a Teflon coated perforated stainless-steel plate is used in this area. The easy way to tell a Mark-15 is the completely fiberglass chassis, the fiberglass/stainless steel chassis is a CCR-1000. My guess is that the stainless steel of the CCR-1000 caused a magnetic signature for explosive ordinance disposal, since there would be no other reason for the change.

Opening the lid reveals the typically clean, yet tightly packed interior of the CCR-1000/Mark-15 family. This rig has a completely unmodified pneumatic system, as compared to my highly modified Mark-15 which has an offboard diluent selector, and open-circuit feed from the diluent to a bailout regulator. This photo shows the nicely routed soft-lines that feed the rig with 02 and diluent, as well as the gauge lines running to the top of the rig where they exit over the divers shoulders.

Here's a detail of the sphere and regulator installation. The black pod at the bottom is the electronics. You can see the care taken by the designers to fit everything in place. There is no wasted volume anywhere. The rubber sphere-retainers are well seen here.

One small change is the manual add valves. On the CCR-1000 they are flat plates, on the Mark-15 the 02 addition valve has a raised point to distinguish it from the diluent. This is a minor change. If you need to feel the point to tell that it's 02, you need to go back to class! Here, again, you get a good view of the manner of sphere retention.

Biomarine used Teflon-coated 4130 carbon-steel spheres on both the CCR-1000 and the Mark-15. The later Mark-16 used non-magnetic Inconel spheres for low magnetic signature. Some people seem to think that Inconel spheres are somehow "better" because they are an "improvement". I'm not so sure: The steel spheres are more rugged, and actually have a higher tensile strength. The Inconel spheres do have a "Cool Factor" as they are a nice shiny metal with no paint, and look very space-age. The bottom line is that you really don't have a choice, as these are rare enough that a buyer will get what's furnished, and that's it.

Metal spheres were made by Tavco, a maker of aerospace high-pressure vessels. These were not really made for diving reasons, but are an off-the-shelf sphere that happened to do the job. The spheres cost an unbelievable amount, as they are actually two half-spheres welded together. The quality control consisted of X-Ray inspection, as well as a certain quantity of each lot being intentionally destroyed by overpressure to obtain yield strengths. This resulted in a very expensive component. In fact, 2 spheres of this exact same type comprised the entire 02 supply for John Glenn's 3-orbit Mercury mission. They are not presently obtainable, however composite spheres of the same size are available if you want to have extras.

With the spheres removed, excellent details of the pneumatic system may be seen. This is a 'baseline' system, so only the original systems are installed. The left side is the diluent side, and the right side is the 02 side. The hoses tie-wrapped to each other on the centerline are the HP gauge lines, the lines running on the outside of the chassis supply diluent and 02 to the rig.

In contrast to the photos of the Mark-15 diluent system on it's own page, here is an original diluent system. This is the back of the diluent manual addition valve. One line in, and one out. Compare that to the photo of the modified Mark-15 on the Mark-15 page, and you can see what it takes to modify the rig for offboard diluent.

This particular rig has been updated with digital electronics, replacing the old Revision G analog electronics that were the last of the factory systems furnished. Part of the conversion, in this case, included removal of the original electronics pod, and installation of a Mark-15 pod containing the new electronics. The colored cables are the waterproof cables and quick-disconnect connectors used to route sensor voltage in, and to connect the switch, primary display, and solenoid to the new pod.

The primary and secondary display of the modified rig include a Mark-15 secondary (top) and a newly manufactured primary. This primary looks exactly like the original, but has LED indicators rather than the incandescent bulbs used in the original.

One more real improvement over the original system is the use if a remote on-off switch, which can by attached to the divers harness. The two holes just under where the wire of the new switch cross are the mounting holes used by the original switch. This position can be difficult to get to with a drysuited arm.

This is the original pod, now removed for replacement with the new Mark-15 pod. Other than the typical civilian CCR-1000 Yellow, it differs from the Mark-15 by using non-removable Swagelok fittings as bulkhead connections for the cables. The Mark-15 uses expensive but extremely reliable Bendix connectors in this area, which are waterproof to unlimited depth even when disconnected. The cables have been removed from this pod, with the exception of the solenoid cable, visible at the lower left.

Here's another view of the connections. Biomarine simply ran 1/4 inch cable through 1/4 inch compression fittings to obtain a waterproof cable-connection. It was a simple, reliable, and inexpensive method.

This is the original solenoid. It is attached to the pod by a potted cable that passes through a Swagelok connection. It was removed as part of the electronics upgrade. The original 24 volt solenoid used a battery pack consisting of 18 AA batteries that lasted perhaps 15 hours. The replacement 6 volt solenoid runs on a 9 volt transistor radio battery and runs 40+ hours. That's a big improvement!

Here are the original primary display (top) a the new Mark-15 primary (bottom). They do the exact same thing, measuring the voltage produced by the 3 sensors and displaying it as PP02 without using any power source. The only difference here is the layout.

One difference in the displays is the use of a 12-pin Bendix connection at the end of the secondary of the CCR-1000, and a Swagelok on the Mark-15. In this case, the engineers reversed the two, with the pod of the Mark-15 using Bendix while the CCR-100 used Swagelok, but the opposite is true in this case. I have no clue why.

Since the secondary must be calibrated to the sensors, there are trimming potentiometers in the secondary. In the Mark-15 these are accessed through one bulkhead port. On the original CCR-1000 there are three individual ports. Sensor 2 and 3 are on this side, sensor 1 is on the other side of the housing.

Rarely do we get to see an original CCR-1000 harness, as most have been changed to more modern backplates. This is the original shoulder-strap. You can see that the bolt would be screwed together after the loop in the webbing was passed through the slot in the chassis. Simple.

Simplicity did not follow to the bottom of the rig, however! These aluminum plates were screwed to the sides of the rig to provide lateral support, and the balance of the harness attached to it. The hole is for the manual add valve. I'm simply holding this up in place, installation requires the removal of the manual add assembly.

Here's a better view of the plate, with the snap-on shoulder straps. Hogarthian this is not.

In order to install more modern back-plates, I installed stainless-steel inserts into the rig to allow 1/4-20 machine screws to be used to hold on a backplate. This is the counterlung area as seen from the exterior of the rig. The external washers are simply sitting in place, held by the machine screws. You can see the plates behind the counterlung water-holes.

I made these backing plates to be as simple as possible. I found some stainless steel threaded studs at the local hardware store, and got some oversized washers to fit. These, some Goop, a drill, and five-minutes gave me a secure way to attach my backplates.

Here's the assembly ready to be installed. I used Goop to hold them in place so they don't fall off when I remove my wings, and they work great.

Two of these assemblies at the top, and two at the bottom finished the back-plates.

CCR-1000's and Mark-15's often suffer damage to the bottom of the shell from being set-down onto the thin fiberglass. I solved this by adding small stainless steel padeyes to act as bumpers. They work great.

Here is a padeye with it's backing plate. Drill two holes and install with stainless steel hardware. These are from a sailboat shop. They work well on the side of the rig as well as a place to clip-off the delicate secondary display while the rig is being handled.

Here's a view from the top, looking down. You can see that the padeye provides a small and unobtrusive bumper that allows me to shrug-off the rig on the boat without needing to treat it like eggs. This is a very worthwhile modification and one that costs nearly nothing.

I hope that you have enjoyed this. It is, as I wrote previously, merely a supplement to the Mark-15 pages. The CCR-1000 is a superb rig, and is exactly interchangeable with the militarized Mark-15. Once customized, the rigs end up as identical twins.

Thanks!

Dave Sutton

Return to Rebreather Teardown Main Page

	Opening the box, we find the rebreather firmly held into the preformed cutouts of the carrying case. This case is actually a Biomarine Biopak-240 case, which fits the rig perfectly. Immediately noticeable is the exposed center-section, the main cosmetic difference between the CCR-1000 and the Mark-15. Most CCR-1000's were yellow. This one is sort of a hybrid, it being the one furnished to the US Army Special Forces for evaluation. It was simply a civilian CCR-1000 with a black case. The Army did end up buying a substantial quantity of the militarized Mark-15's, since retired from Army service.
	With the rig on the bench, only very slight differences can be noticed. The lid is cut-out to expose the center section. Other than that, it looks like any Mark-15 would. Since the lids interchange, not even the lid is actually a really definite clue.
	Here I've laid down the CCR-1000 lid (left) with a Mark-15 lid (right). The difference is obvious. The cutouts on the lower right side of the Mark-15 lid are not original, these are used to pass a hose from the 02 sphere for open circuit access to 02 for a bailout decompression in a modified Mark-15.
	Here is the only really definite fieldmark for differentiation between a CCR-1000 and a Mark-15. On the Mark-15, the holes that allow water to pass to the counterlung are pierced through the fiberglass of the chassis. On the CCR-1000, this area of the chassis is cut-out, and a Teflon coated perforated stainless-steel plate is used in this area. The easy way to tell a Mark-15 is the completely fiberglass chassis, the fiberglass/stainless steel chassis is a CCR-1000. My guess is that the stainless steel of the CCR-1000 caused a magnetic signature for explosive ordinance disposal, since there would be no other reason for the change.
	Opening the lid reveals the typically clean, yet tightly packed interior of the CCR-1000/Mark-15 family. This rig has a completely unmodified pneumatic system, as compared to my highly modified Mark-15 which has an offboard diluent selector, and open-circuit feed from the diluent to a bailout regulator. This photo shows the nicely routed soft-lines that feed the rig with 02 and diluent, as well as the gauge lines running to the top of the rig where they exit over the divers shoulders.
	Here's a detail of the sphere and regulator installation. The black pod at the bottom is the electronics. You can see the care taken by the designers to fit everything in place. There is no wasted volume anywhere. The rubber sphere-retainers are well seen here.
	One small change is the manual add valves. On the CCR-1000 they are flat plates, on the Mark-15 the 02 addition valve has a raised point to distinguish it from the diluent. This is a minor change. If you need to feel the point to tell that it's 02, you need to go back to class! Here, again, you get a good view of the manner of sphere retention.
	Biomarine used Teflon-coated 4130 carbon-steel spheres on both the CCR-1000 and the Mark-15. The later Mark-16 used non-magnetic Inconel spheres for low magnetic signature. Some people seem to think that Inconel spheres are somehow "better" because they are an "improvement". I'm not so sure: The steel spheres are more rugged, and actually have a higher tensile strength. The Inconel spheres do have a "Cool Factor" as they are a nice shiny metal with no paint, and look very space-age. The bottom line is that you really don't have a choice, as these are rare enough that a buyer will get what's furnished, and that's it.
	Metal spheres were made by Tavco, a maker of aerospace high-pressure vessels. These were not really made for diving reasons, but are an off-the-shelf sphere that happened to do the job. The spheres cost an unbelievable amount, as they are actually two half-spheres welded together. The quality control consisted of X-Ray inspection, as well as a certain quantity of each lot being intentionally destroyed by overpressure to obtain yield strengths. This resulted in a very expensive component. In fact, 2 spheres of this exact same type comprised the entire 02 supply for John Glenn's 3-orbit Mercury mission. They are not presently obtainable, however composite spheres of the same size are available if you want to have extras.
	With the spheres removed, excellent details of the pneumatic system may be seen. This is a 'baseline' system, so only the original systems are installed. The left side is the diluent side, and the right side is the 02 side. The hoses tie-wrapped to each other on the centerline are the HP gauge lines, the lines running on the outside of the chassis supply diluent and 02 to the rig.
	In contrast to the photos of the Mark-15 diluent system on it's own page, here is an original diluent system. This is the back of the diluent manual addition valve. One line in, and one out. Compare that to the photo of the modified Mark-15 on the Mark-15 page, and you can see what it takes to modify the rig for offboard diluent.
	This particular rig has been updated with digital electronics, replacing the old Revision G analog electronics that were the last of the factory systems furnished. Part of the conversion, in this case, included removal of the original electronics pod, and installation of a Mark-15 pod containing the new electronics. The colored cables are the waterproof cables and quick-disconnect connectors used to route sensor voltage in, and to connect the switch, primary display, and solenoid to the new pod.
	The primary and secondary display of the modified rig include a Mark-15 secondary (top) and a newly manufactured primary. This primary looks exactly like the original, but has LED indicators rather than the incandescent bulbs used in the original.
	One more real improvement over the original system is the use if a remote on-off switch, which can by attached to the divers harness. The two holes just under where the wire of the new switch cross are the mounting holes used by the original switch. This position can be difficult to get to with a drysuited arm.
	This is the original pod, now removed for replacement with the new Mark-15 pod. Other than the typical civilian CCR-1000 Yellow, it differs from the Mark-15 by using non-removable Swagelok fittings as bulkhead connections for the cables. The Mark-15 uses expensive but extremely reliable Bendix connectors in this area, which are waterproof to unlimited depth even when disconnected. The cables have been removed from this pod, with the exception of the solenoid cable, visible at the lower left.
	Here's another view of the connections. Biomarine simply ran 1/4 inch cable through 1/4 inch compression fittings to obtain a waterproof cable-connection. It was a simple, reliable, and inexpensive method.
	This is the original solenoid. It is attached to the pod by a potted cable that passes through a Swagelok connection. It was removed as part of the electronics upgrade. The original 24 volt solenoid used a battery pack consisting of 18 AA batteries that lasted perhaps 15 hours. The replacement 6 volt solenoid runs on a 9 volt transistor radio battery and runs 40+ hours. That's a big improvement!
	Here are the original primary display (top) a the new Mark-15 primary (bottom). They do the exact same thing, measuring the voltage produced by the 3 sensors and displaying it as PP02 without using any power source. The only difference here is the layout.
	One difference in the displays is the use of a 12-pin Bendix connection at the end of the secondary of the CCR-1000, and a Swagelok on the Mark-15. In this case, the engineers reversed the two, with the pod of the Mark-15 using Bendix while the CCR-100 used Swagelok, but the opposite is true in this case. I have no clue why.
	Since the secondary must be calibrated to the sensors, there are trimming potentiometers in the secondary. In the Mark-15 these are accessed through one bulkhead port. On the original CCR-1000 there are three individual ports. Sensor 2 and 3 are on this side, sensor 1 is on the other side of the housing.
	Rarely do we get to see an original CCR-1000 harness, as most have been changed to more modern backplates. This is the original shoulder-strap. You can see that the bolt would be screwed together after the loop in the webbing was passed through the slot in the chassis. Simple.
	Simplicity did not follow to the bottom of the rig, however! These aluminum plates were screwed to the sides of the rig to provide lateral support, and the balance of the harness attached to it. The hole is for the manual add valve. I'm simply holding this up in place, installation requires the removal of the manual add assembly.
	Here's a better view of the plate, with the snap-on shoulder straps. Hogarthian this is not.
	In order to install more modern back-plates, I installed stainless-steel inserts into the rig to allow 1/4-20 machine screws to be used to hold on a backplate. This is the counterlung area as seen from the exterior of the rig. The external washers are simply sitting in place, held by the machine screws. You can see the plates behind the counterlung water-holes.
	I made these backing plates to be as simple as possible. I found some stainless steel threaded studs at the local hardware store, and got some oversized washers to fit. These, some Goop, a drill, and five-minutes gave me a secure way to attach my backplates.
	Here's the assembly ready to be installed. I used Goop to hold them in place so they don't fall off when I remove my wings, and they work great.
	Two of these assemblies at the top, and two at the bottom finished the back-plates.
	CCR-1000's and Mark-15's often suffer damage to the bottom of the shell from being set-down onto the thin fiberglass. I solved this by adding small stainless steel padeyes to act as bumpers. They work great.
	Here is a padeye with it's backing plate. Drill two holes and install with stainless steel hardware. These are from a sailboat shop. They work well on the side of the rig as well as a place to clip-off the delicate secondary display while the rig is being handled.
	Here's a view from the top, looking down. You can see that the padeye provides a small and unobtrusive bumper that allows me to shrug-off the rig on the boat without needing to treat it like eggs. This is a very worthwhile modification and one that costs nearly nothing.