Reasons NOT to use Enriched Air?

[orch1ds]

Hello,

I'm fairly new to scuba diving. Started about six weeks ago and have been going nonstop since. This past weekend I finished my Nitrox and Wreck certifications through PADI. I used Nitrox for the whole weekend and thought it was great.

Question: Is there any reason why I should not use Enriched Air for every dive? Is there a reason why I would want to sometimes use AIR opposed to Enriched Air?

From my studys in the Nitrox class it seems ok for me to just stick to Enriched Air whenever I can.

Thanks for your advice... this site is great!

cmk

 

[diver 85]

What's the max depth on 32??

 

[orch1ds]

Is this a test?

You mean the mod? Its 111ft

 

[Jim Lapenta]

What was covered in your class? Did they talk about depth limitations, PPO2 levels, OTU's, or the CNS clock. If not it'd be a good idea to do some research on those topics before using it whenever you can. For me unless I'm doing 5-6 dives a day with students and don't have alot of SI time then it's not a big deal. I also will use it on deep dives to cut down on deco time. Also how big is your bankroll? Some shops will charge as much as 15 bucks for a nitrox fill while air is 5 or 6. If that's not an issue fine, but why spend the extra dough if you're only doing 2-3 dives a day over a weekend. Little different if it's on say a liveaboard and doing 5-6 or more for a week but then again you need to watch your PPO2 levels and the CNS clock as that stuff adds up.

 

[HowardE]

Within recreational limits - Nitrox is just fine.

Some people complain about the price, but for others (like me) the price of nitrox is the same as air, so I just about always dive nitrox.

 

[don Francisco]

Nitrox is an excellent option for extending bottom times, assuming the MOD isn't an issue.

But for many dive situations, especially where the bottom time is restricted by other factors before the NDLs, Nitrox is just expensive air.

My number one reason for skipping the Nitrox is cost, for the same dough I'd rather eat or drink better.

With the folks I dive with in Cozumel, a third tank is less expensive than the upcharge for just 1 tank of Nitrox. That means I can dive 3 tanks vs. two, and still have Tacos and beer on the savings.

 

[RonFrank]

Yeah, Fill Express rocks when it comes to Nitrox. I'd dive it full time just about if it were not so expensive. There are VERY few dives I've ever done where I could not be on some mix.

As it is, I dive it for deep dives to extend NDL, and for shallow dives, I tend to do air just because of the additional cost.

Nitrox Rocks! Just don't exceed the depth/PO2, and it is all good.

 

[orch1ds]

Thanks for the input people! For me, since I am diving exclusively in the Socal area right now, the cost is not a factor at this point. The dive shop I took the class at will fill my tank for free for life since I took the class with them. Its convenient to where I live too. I don't "plan" on diving anything beyond the NDL so I should be ok there too. I guess when I travel I'll have to evaluate the costs.

 

[hypertech]

Thanks for the input people! For me, since I am diving exclusively in the Socal area right now, the cost is not a factor at this point. The dive shop I took the class at will fill my tank for free for life since I took the class with them. Its convenient to where I live too. I don't "plan" on diving anything beyond the NDL so I should be ok there too. I guess when I travel I'll have to evaluate the costs.

WOW!

Are you sure? That sounds like a terriffic deal - if I could find that around here, I'd jump on it for sure. It doesn't take all that many fills to get to the cost of an OW course.

Even then, I could maybe see it for air fills where their only cost is the use of a compressor they presumably own, but to get it for nitrox is a really good deal.

BTW, I think you must have used the wrong abbreviation. Diving beyond the NDL will put you into deco. Diving beyond the MOD could put you in the hospital. I think you meant to say you don't plan on diving deep where the MOD will affect your dive plan.

 

[String]

Question: Is there any reason why I should not use Enriched Air for every dive? Is there a reason why I would want to sometimes use AIR opposed to Enriched Air?

Yes. If you don't know the exact site or depth in advance Nitrox can limit you.

No point turning up with a nice 32% mix then finding out its a 40m wreck dive and so on. Lots of times here sites are chosen when on the water and changed at last minute depending on conditions en route.

As to why you'd use air - anywhere below 40m as generally then the nitrox mix is so weak its not worth bothering with.

Those are the main reasons i rarely use nitrox - i cant be sure what im diving until on the boat. The other issue is cost as its 3x the cost of an air fill per dive.