1919 SS-1, 1920 SS-2 en het 1921 SS-gerät
In 1921, Dräger developed one of the first Seitenschlauchgeräte, a device in which the hoses run under one arm to the back of the wearer. A positional injector was also introduced. A pressure gauge on the wearer’s side shows the bottle pressure. The large scrubber gives a two hour wearing time. The injector system was completely released and the breathing cycle was lung-controlled and directional with valves.
Here the predecessor of the 1921 version of the SS-gerät. A significantly simpler device , but also with seitenschlauch breathing hoses
The SS models were equipped with a chemical cooler about which little was explained. The cooler was commonly constructer in copper and looks like a little scrubber scrubber but it is not! It is the Cooler! The cooler is a flat oval copper container having the filler on the side. The cooler has two connections, a female for connecting to the breathing bag / canister and a male at the top for connecting to the breathing tube. To ensure that the oxygen passes round the inner container a baffle plate is fitted in the outer container. (see picture below). Into the inner container is poured the cooling agent, approximately 10 oz. (284 grams)of calcium chloride (hexa hydrate , antarcticite =mineral, note author). In crystallised form at normal temperatures, calcium chloride has the property of absorbing large amounts of heat before beginning to liquefy at about 86 degrees Fahrenheit ( 30 degrees Celsius). This container with its filling cap is placed inside and is integral with the outer container which has the two mentioned connections. The latter is on a swan neck and connects to the breathing bag, whilst the inhaling tube is attached to the male connection of the cooler. After use, cold water must be circulated around the outer container to revert the calcium chloride to its crystallised form. Under no circumstances should the cooler be polished since a polished surface attrackts exterior heat and this effect will obviously reduce the efficiency of the cooler! The latest cooling agent to be used is sodium phosphate which begins to liquefy at 97 degrees Fahrenheit! Cooler where also integrated in the Siebe oxygen rebreathers from that same time-period. (not yet find much who was the actual inventor..)
Not much can be found about the SS device. If you have additional information and would like to share it, please let me know about it!
Therebreathersite was founded by Jan Willem Bech in 1999. After a diving career of many years, he decided to start technical diving in 1999. He immediately noticed that at that time there was almost no website that contained the history of closed breathing systems. The start for the website led to a huge collection that offered about 1,300 pages of information until 2019. In 2019, a fresh start was made with the website now freely available online for everyone. Therebreathersite is a source of information for divers, researchers, technicians and students. I hope you enjoy browsing the content!