Nitrox on OW course

[idocsteve]

Like Jim said "another example of the dumbing down of certs in favor of profits." After my normal SCUBA program, all of my students could be briefed on Nitrox and Oxtox tables and in less than 30 minutes of instruction, dive Nitrox safely. Somehow it has been made into yet another program to turn a buck.

People seem to forget that AIR IS NITROX!

No doubt everything you say is true, but examples given on this thread were along the lines of "We don't know the first thing about Nitrox but the instructor does, he checked the tanks and we trust him".

For what it's worth, what used to require a course and two OW dives can now be done online for under $70 and no dives...and I can see how everything could be covered in a 30 minute lesson...

There's not much to it

- discuss MOD restrictions and associated problems
- advantages of Nitrox and how to use it to your best advantage when diving
- how to analyze a tank
- dangers of contaminents with improperly cleaned gear when exposed to pure oxygen
- myths and misnomers such as "Nitrox is not a gas for deep diving"..

Did I miss anything?

 

[Michael_Lambert]

Fact: Nitrox is cheap and certainly will do no harm to the student in a teaching environment. It only becomes dangerous at depths far below any open water student would be going.

But where does it stop?

Great the divers where using Nitrox, But what percentage?? 22% to 99% Give a diver doing a open water course a 32% mix sure they will come out of the water feeling better than 21%... however give them a 70% mix and they come out with a rocket under their ass and i assure you the 70% nitrox fill is not cheap.

To say that its only dangerous at depths is kind of fool harded, when you are saying that to the uneducated masses.

People need to understand the relations of there mix to the MOD that comes with it.

 

[DCBC]

No doubt everything you say is true, but examples given on this thread were along the lines of "We don't know the first thing about Nitrox but the instructor does, he checked the tanks and we trust him".

This is evidence of the efficiency of diver training today. These divers couldn't do what was expected of them and were most probably certified anyway. Afterall there will be someone to hold there hands.... I don't teach that way.

For what it's worth, what used to require a course and two OW dives can now be done online for under $70 and no dives...and I can see how everything could be covered in a 30 minute lesson...

Glad you agree. The greatest majority of what you have listed is covered on air. The additional information required is straight forward.

 

[Teamcasa]

But where does it stop?

Great the divers where using Nitrox, But what percentage?? 22% to 99% Give a diver doing a open water course a 32% mix sure they will come out of the water feeling better than 21%... however give them a 70% mix and they come out with a rocket under their ass and i assure you the 70% nitrox fill is not cheap.

To say that its only dangerous at depths is kind of fool harded, when you are saying that to the uneducated masses.

People need to understand the relations of there mix to the MOD that comes with it.

This is another example of the "Oh my!" over reaction. If the dives were shallow and the mix was indeed checked by a professional what's the big deal?
Fact: Nitrox is cheap and certainly will do no harm to the student in a teaching environment. It only becomes dangerous at depths far below any open water student would be going.

I guess you missed this part of my post.

To say that its only dangerous at depths is kind of fool harded, when you are saying that to the uneducated masses.

I don't mind being called "foolhardy" but really, who here are considered part of the uneducated masses anyway?

 

[Tigerman]

Nitrox and OW can be done in combination, but afaik it still require the theory and exams to be passed as if you took nitrox by itself?

 

[Michael_Lambert]

I guess you missed this part of my post.

I don't mind being called "foolhardy" but really, who here are considered part of the uneducated masses anyway?

I guess the point is Nitrox is considered anything 22% to 99% ( some will say any thing from 1% - 99% ) much of that range if dove with even with in recreational level training could cause serious issues.

Who are the uneducated masses... Simply the ones who are not trained on NITROX.

But i tend to over think things most of the time

 

[DCBC]

Who are the uneducated masses... Simply the ones who are not trained on NITROX.

Unfortunately some of the uneducated masses include ones who are trained in Nitrox, as evidenced by the OPs question.

 

[RonFrank]

Folks can squawk about the dumb down of the industry, but we are not discussion the failure to properly train divers who are getting Nitrox certified, we are discussing what one instructor did likely because he did not have non-O2 tanks. For all we know, that tanks have a heavy mix of 21%!

I see no problem with giving students (or anyone) Nitrox IF there is a hard bottom that is shallower than the O2 tox point based on the mix.

IOW's diving EANx 36% on a shallow reef with a hard bottom of 45' presents no problem as from a divers standpoint diving Nitrox offers no additional risk in that situation. Providing a non-Nitrox certified diver Nitrox on a wall with no rec bottom is a different story.

Nitrox training is trivial at best. Adjust profile/computer to handle a richer mix, set a hard limit on depth based on mix, and pay a bit more attention to P02. There, I believe that just about covers it.

I am discussing Nitrox for REC use. In tech diving it is still not rocket science, but there is more too it.

 

[walke121]

If you're not Nitrox certified you may not understand the true risk. Without getting too technical...if the mix is too high in oxygen, and you get too deep, you can get convulsions and be unable to breathe.

That makes staying alive somewhat "tricky".

Even a 36EAN mix has a mod of ~113'. I highly doubt if nitrox is used in that situation that OW divers are going to be diving to 113'. More than likely its a 32EAN mix which has a MOD higher than 130' which is outside the rec limits anyway. I have heard of an instructor using 30EAN on 60' checkout dives and continuing to make the students use air tables and computer settings to increase the safety level. I don't know who did this I was just told this by a fellow diver.

 

[AndyNZ]

This is much ado about nothing. Please don't harp on about lowering of training standards unless you are intimately familiar with the standards of the agency in question and what is actually happening.

I am assuming that this was a PADI course. PADI allow for a "discover nitrox experience" be combined with an OW class - it is *not* a nitrox class in itself, and has some fairly sensible limitations.

The gas is restricted to 32% only (I think, I don't have my manual to hand) and dives are planned using air tables. Instructors would normally analyse the gas, but do it in front of the students. Given that OW dives for PADI courses are limited to 18m, the chance of an OxTox situations arising are zero.

The discover nitrox experience is just a way of getting people interested about diving nitrox and to encourage them to pursue further training to allow them to do so independently and safely.