How Much More Would You Pay for Nitrox?

[KeithG]

There's no questions about nitrox being better than air--but how much is it worth to you? Only shop near me charges $6 for air, but $15 for nitrox, so I can't justify it no matter how much I prefer it. $10 is okay, but $15...Doing 3 dives twice a week would come out to almost $400 a month just in fills.

What's everyone else's dividing line for choosing between air and nitrox?

I dispute your premise. For my style of diving (lazy, slow, deep or shallow!) there is no advantage to Nitrox. So I am not willing to pay an extra cent for Nitorx. It actually becomes a depth limitation on lots of dives...

And I always get a laugh every belize liveaboard trip when the voodoo gas divers have to completely purge their nitrox tanks, fiddle with their computers and move to "safe" air for the dangerous "deep" dive.

If you manage your depth air works just fine. In my experience there is lots to see at all depths. No need to bury the needle of your depth gauge.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I rarely make more than two dives per day, and I've never made more than three. Air is fine. I used nitrox on a recent trip to Vancouver Island because I was diving every day, but I regret that decision because I couldn't dive deep enough to photograph cloud sponges.

 

[tomfcrist]

I think most shops charge entirely too much for nitrox. I get it for free, so I dive Nitrox most of the time unless im doing deep stuff. But I also dont pay for straight O2, so I do ALOT of deep stuff.

If i had to pay for it, I would buy a bottle of O2 and fill in my garage to save a considerable amount of money. There are shops in my area that retail O2 for $1.50 per cuft and charge $27 for a Nitrox fill <36%....that is rediculous. The same people charge $15 for an Air fill.

I would suggest that $15 for Nitrox isnt a bad deal, but as the OP said, if you are diving frequently it adds up in a hurry.

Honestly the same applies to Trimix. If you are actually paying for your fills, you are better off getting some gas blending training, procuring your own helium/O2 and filling yourself. Quantify better off? Paying on average 30-40% of local retail for gas fills. (this does not apply in cave country...Everything is cheap as dirt there).

 

[Lopez116]

I like to dive it when doing multiple dives in the 50-90' range. Makes a big difference for the second and third dive. Everybody on air will be jealous! [emoji39]

 

[drrich2]

Let me put some additional qualifiers on the question to make it more practical. Let us say, for me, I am...

1.) Going to a destination where I expect the diving to be quite good, I'll only get to dive there 5 or 6 days, and the bottom time may be compromised by the combination of depth (e.g.: Jupiter, FL) and frequency (e.g.: Bonaire shore diving, or a live-aboard), and I expect that I'll hit NDL faster, or cut bottom time short, on one or more dives in a day if I don't use nitrox.

Or

2.) I'm going to be doing a lot of repetitive diving, such as Bonaire or a live-aboard, and the not-data-supported speculative desire to reduce nitrogen accumulation in my tissues to offset risk of DCI type issues is the goal, such as my last week in Bonaire with 28 dives over 6 days, then plane rides the next day.

For 1.), $10/tank. I'm hoping that perhaps I'll get 1/2 - 1 minute/$1 extra nitrox cost. If $10 would buy me 10 extra minutes bottom time on a nice ocean dives in a trip, that's worthwhile.

If you want $15/tank extra for nitrox, then I'm apt to take a harder look. How deep, how long, how many dives? And nitrox limits depth.

Shorter trips can be important. Let's say you're going to do 2 tanks on the Oriskany wreck out of Pensacola, FL. And you want to get down to 130'. If someone can offer you EAN 28, how much extra will you pay for a once in a lifetime trip to a really deep wreck? What if we were talking 5 days wreck diving with sand tiger sharks out of North Carolina, wanting the option to hit 120 feet? Would adding several minutes/dive be a nice perk?

For 2.), I might pay $5/tank. Emphasis on might. If I were sure I wouldn't hit NDL's despite repetitive diving, and would have a good 18 hour surface interval before flying, I might dive air. But probably not.

Richard.

 

[Storker]

30 meter dive, Nitrox or Air, easy decision EAN32 gives me 30 min bottom time and Air gives me 20 min bottom time

I guess you're not diving single Al80s, then. Doubles? Or are you talking about multiple dives?

For me, nitrox would only be useful in terms of bottom time if I strapped on my big-a$$ 15L 300 bar tank. Of course, if I were diving multiple dives during one day, or if I believe that nitrox reduces post-dive fatigue after a couple of dives close to the air NDL, the situation would be different. But for a single dive? My air time and my NDL are close enough that it doesn't really matter which of the two I consider, on any depth in the range from 18m to 30m. at least with the standard Euro tank size (10L 300bar, or 15L 200bar, about 100 cu.ft of air).

EDIT:
Personally, I'm still undecided on whether or not I'm going to take a nitrox class and participate in my club's nitrox program (a modest annual fee to cover fixed costs for the nitrox blender, and fills at the cost for the oxygen). For my typical outings, there's really no benefit to nitrox, since my profiles usually allow for a bottom time between 45 minutes and an hour, after which I'm usually cold enough and my bladder full enough that I want to get out of the water anyway. However, if I'm diving more than one dive per day close to the NDL, I'm usually a complete zombie in the evening. I've heard enough anecdotes to believe that the fatigue I experience may be due to asymptomatic bubbles, so I'm willing to try nitrox for that kind of diving. But for the typical single-tank club day outing? Not before I'm starting to feel like the geezer some of those young'uns think I am

 

[boulderjohn]

I think most shops charge entirely too much for nitrox.

I agree.

It is hard to pay more for nitrox than I do locally. It is rarely used in my area, so I can't just go to the shop and get a fill. When I needed some for a trip with some people, I rented an O2 supply bottle and partial pressure blended all the fills we used. I didn't get any special deal on the price of the O2, and it is a slow and labor intensive process to make those fills. Charging my students top dollar for those fills would not put me anywhere in the vicinity of being able to justify of the $15 per tank price the OP paid.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I rarely make more than two dives per day, and I've never made more than three. Air is fine. I used nitrox on a recent trip to Vancouver Island because I was diving every day, but I regret that decision because I couldn't dive deep enough to photograph cloud sponges.

Really? Where were you diving? Cloud sponges usually start somewhere between 90 and 110 feet ... that's EAN32 territory. Some places they're even shallower than that.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added November 20th, 2014 at 12:12 PM ----------

There are shops in my area that retail O2 for $1.50 per cuft

Holy cow ... that's a rip-off! I don't even pay that much for helium ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added November 20th, 2014 at 12:14 PM ----------

I like to dive it when doing multiple dives in the 50-90' range. Makes a big difference for the second and third dive. Everybody on air will be jealous! [emoji39]

I remember my first trip to Catalina Island. Couldn't even buy nitrox. Did three dives at Casino Point, including one on the Valiant. By the end of the third dive my PDC was telling me I had something like 29 minutes of deco obligation ... :shocked2: On EAN32 I wouldn't have had any for the same three dives ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[jodylynn007]

I rarely make more than two dives per day, and I've never made more than three. Air is fine. I used nitrox on a recent trip to Vancouver Island because I was diving every day, but I regret that decision because I couldn't dive deep enough to photograph cloud sponges.

What?! HUH?

I am from this area you just recently visited and dove... cloud sponges start at 70(ish) ft which is plenty of territory for a nitrox dive (no matter what blend you were on) and nitrox would give you more bottom time at those depths for your photographs.

In fact, there is a dive site called sponge bob out in Howe Sound that starts at about 85ft and goes down to about 130 where "slightrox" is the best blend... gives you the benefit of more bottom time if you pick your depth based on your mix and not exceed it. Even if you had the standard 32% there are TONS of cloud sponges to see above 111 ft.

PS - Guess I should answer the original question too. The closest LDS to me doesn't offer nitrox so I don't often dive it. On vacation, usually I buy the package that includes unlimited nitrox diving, whatever the price. If I am paying extra per fill, depending on the diving I would usually pay whatever but if I am given a choice, I prefer to shop around. Recently did some research on a dive op in Roatan and found the add on price of nitrox ranged from $3 - $15 extra, such a crazy variance. I did pick the shop that charged $3 however they were also the shop that offered night dives with only a 2 person minimum (most others were 4) and no other shop offered that so they were the best for two reasons.

 

[Vegan Shark]

at least with the standard Euro tank size (10L 300bar, or 15L 200bar, about 100 cu.ft of air).

Isn't 15L equivalent to over a 120cf tank? I think 12L was 100cf.