lmorin
Contributor
Every place I have dived with nitrox, be it a live aboard, two-tank boat or a shore-based dive operation renting tanks, there has been a nitrox analyzer available on site. IMHO, you do not need one.
New Nitrox Diver question: Must I purchase a Gas Analyzer?
- Thread starter Mortis65
- Start date
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I've been diving in some fairly remote places and I nearly always dive nitrox. In every place there has been nitrox there has been an analyzer available to check the mix. Due to this I have never bothered to get my own. I always check EVERY tank before I dive it. I NEVER assume it will be fine. Statistically my odds of getting a "bad batch" are probably so low as to not be relevant - unless of course I happen to have gotten the statistically insignificant - highly unlikely bad one. then it will suck and I MIGHT BE DEAD. Given the likelyhood of that happening I won't lose any sleep over it. I am totally satisfied by just taking the simple precaution of personally checking my gas.
You will find endless threads talkiing about the benefits of diving nitrox with the most common disagreement relating to whether or not using nitrox when doing multiple daily diving on consecutive days makes you feel "less tired". I can only relate my experience. I had never heard about nitrox helping one feel less exhausted at the time I became nitrox certified but within a day or so of 4 to 5 dives a day I realized I felt GREAT. I had no idea. I mentioned this at breakfast to some of the divers I was with (they were some of the Texas swamp divers I had met online, me being from Utah) and they commented that many felt this to be a benefit of diving nitrox. You may or may not experience this effect. I nearly always dive nitrox due to an unexplained DCS hit in Cozumel a few yrs ok so to be on the safe side I dive nitrox unless it is a deep dive AND because on dive intensive vacations (and all mine are dive intensive) I feel better
You will find endless threads talkiing about the benefits of diving nitrox with the most common disagreement relating to whether or not using nitrox when doing multiple daily diving on consecutive days makes you feel "less tired". I can only relate my experience. I had never heard about nitrox helping one feel less exhausted at the time I became nitrox certified but within a day or so of 4 to 5 dives a day I realized I felt GREAT. I had no idea. I mentioned this at breakfast to some of the divers I was with (they were some of the Texas swamp divers I had met online, me being from Utah) and they commented that many felt this to be a benefit of diving nitrox. You may or may not experience this effect. I nearly always dive nitrox due to an unexplained DCS hit in Cozumel a few yrs ok so to be on the safe side I dive nitrox unless it is a deep dive AND because on dive intensive vacations (and all mine are dive intensive) I feel better
General rule that I have observed is that all shops ask you to analyse the gas they give you, and sign their mix sheet to acknowledge the FO2 and MOD. In my experience shops have always had an analyser available for clients to use, and often they will analyse it together with you and together you agree on the %fill you have received.
Never had a shop let me take a tank that I had not analysed myself, or analysed together with a member of the shop staff.
So, unless you want to spend the money, there is no real need, although it is neat having one and being able to seperately analyse the gas supplied by the shop. Big advantage, especially if the shop does partial pressure blending is that you can test it a short while later. High pressure gasses are like jelly, and their high viscosity stops them from mixing well. I always learned to roll the tank around on the floor for a few minutes before analysing a partial pressure blended tank, and to wait about 30 mins from pp blending to analysing.
The disadvantage of owning one is of course the relatively short life of the electrochemical O2 cell, it probably lasts 18 months, or 2 years. They do cost some money, so, if you are only doing 10 tanks of nitrox a year it does start to look unreasonable.
When I get the time, I'll build an El Cheepo just for the fun of it.
Jon
Never had a shop let me take a tank that I had not analysed myself, or analysed together with a member of the shop staff.
So, unless you want to spend the money, there is no real need, although it is neat having one and being able to seperately analyse the gas supplied by the shop. Big advantage, especially if the shop does partial pressure blending is that you can test it a short while later. High pressure gasses are like jelly, and their high viscosity stops them from mixing well. I always learned to roll the tank around on the floor for a few minutes before analysing a partial pressure blended tank, and to wait about 30 mins from pp blending to analysing.
The disadvantage of owning one is of course the relatively short life of the electrochemical O2 cell, it probably lasts 18 months, or 2 years. They do cost some money, so, if you are only doing 10 tanks of nitrox a year it does start to look unreasonable.
When I get the time, I'll build an El Cheepo just for the fun of it.
Jon
As for calibration of the meter even if it is not your meter you should be using a tank of air to check the calibration prior to your use of it, at least anywhere I have dove nitrox that was the case. They had one small tank of air by each unit so you could check to make sure it reads close to 21%. So you actually do know if your meter or the meter your using is accurate and if its not by a percent or so then ask to use another one.
Have fun
Have fun
CamG
Contributor
Greetings Mortis and I would recommend looking into the build it your self analyzer.
I have two of them and they work very well.
I have used several other and analyze my gas before dives even if I watch them do at the shop.
I agree that most dive ops will have one but if they do not then what mix do you have?
Did you put the tape with the mix on the tank?
NO WAY I AM GOING TO TAKE THAT CHANCE!
Just my opinion but I was taught, 'It's Your Gas, So It Is Your AXX!".
Good judgement and conservatism will make diving much safer.
CamG Keep Diving....Keep Training....Keep Learning!
I have two of them and they work very well.
I have used several other and analyze my gas before dives even if I watch them do at the shop.
I agree that most dive ops will have one but if they do not then what mix do you have?
Did you put the tape with the mix on the tank?
NO WAY I AM GOING TO TAKE THAT CHANCE!
Just my opinion but I was taught, 'It's Your Gas, So It Is Your AXX!".
Good judgement and conservatism will make diving much safer.
CamG Keep Diving....Keep Training....Keep Learning!
I analyze every tank with my own analyzer. I often use the shops or boats analyzer to compare mine to.
You don't have to have your own, but over time it would be worth it to acquire your personal analyzer.
I have also noticed many divers on boats not analyzing their tanks, but what the herd does is of no concern to me.
-Mitch
You don't have to have your own, but over time it would be worth it to acquire your personal analyzer.
I have also noticed many divers on boats not analyzing their tanks, but what the herd does is of no concern to me.
-Mitch
I'm not sure what the PADI Nitrox e-learning course requires, but at a minimum I'd recommend you take a trip to your LDS and spend some time learning from a real person how to analyze bottles. I always check my own mix, and it's been the policy at every dive shop I've been to to have the customer be the final check on the FO2 and to fill out the N2 bottle log. I would call the dive operation you're going to be diving with and ask them about their procedures, including whether or not they will provide an O2 analyzer for you to check your gas before you take the tanks. As others have said as long as there is an analyzer for you to use you don't need to own your own.
Have a great time diving!
Michael
Have a great time diving!
Michael
I own my own and have for years due to bad experiences w/ "off-the-beaten-track ' dive shops in the past...rarely these days but I like the peace of mind of knowing exactly what I'm breathing....It eliminates the stress [and therefore air consumption] of wondering 'did they or didn't they' 
.....If you plan on diving for many years and frequently w/nitrox think about getting one.....You'll be surprised how many people will ask to borrow yours on dives........Small one time cost to avoid that one bad tank ........
.....If you plan on diving for many years and frequently w/nitrox think about getting one.....You'll be surprised how many people will ask to borrow yours on dives........Small one time cost to avoid that one bad tank ........
My LDS has a log that we fill out after analysing the tanks, along with tape and a marker to write down the %age and MOD.
Prior to using the tanks I always re-analyse them with my own O2 analyser and set my computer accordingly for the dive.
Prior to using the tanks I always re-analyse them with my own O2 analyser and set my computer accordingly for the dive.
If you do not trust your dive operation or dive guide to prepare your gas for you...why are you diving with them? Confirm your mix,sign the book,set your computer,& go diving. To be honest how many of you test your gas when you use air ? So how do you know it is 21% O2 or CO2... Check out the dive shop fill operation before you dive with them.
"living life without a hard bottom"
KT
"living life without a hard bottom"
KT
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