Nitrox Certification

[fbk]

Doing 3 or 4 dives/day on a trip is where Nitrox pays off, longer NDL's towards the end of the day. Also being somewhere remote, it is a little bit extra safety margin against DCS where a trip to a chamber might be a day away.

I see courses advertised for $99 at LDS often... well worth doing.

 

[dfx]

Had my first direct experience with the raw benefits of nitrox just a few days ago. Did two morning dives, both relatively deep, and planned to do them on nitrox, but a combination of tanks with the wrong valves, regs with the wrong connector and the lack of adapters, left us diving on air. With the short surface interval given to us, we were getting very close to NDL (5 minutes and less) on the second dive and had to go shallower in order not to exceed it. Managed to get some nitrox going on subsequent diving days and never had such a problem again. So yes, under the right circumstances, it's definitely worth it.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

The SDA and "online Nitrox lessons" site are the one I was considering.

Suggest you do a bit of online research about this company ... nobody I know of recognizes their c-card ...

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/q-scuba-certification-agencies/459631-sda-nitrox-scuba-lessons.html

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Foxfish]

One major benefit of EAN not mentioned here is recovery and feeling after diving. I regularly used to use a 40% mix for all the shallow dives when assisting AOW courses (4 dives, PPB, night, Naturalist, Nav) and air on the deep. using air for all 5 dives on the weekend I would go home tired each night of the weekend and unable to do anything that night. on 40% I'm feeling chipper and OK to see friends and actually have a social life.

Personally I don't notice a lot of difference in how I feel using Nitrox.

I can easily get to within ten minutes of the NDL which is my target limit on the first dive diving to depths of 20 to 25 m.

 

[mostlyirish]

Suggest you do a bit of online research about this company ... nobody I know of recognizes their c-card ...

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/q-scuba-certification-agencies/459631-sda-nitrox-scuba-lessons.html
... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Thanks. Colliam7 also alerted me to them in post #5. Its folks like you who are so helpful to less experiened divers like me. Your comments in post #2 regarding benefits based on dive type and experience in addition to the comments about learning style and self-discipline were particularly helpful.

 

[DiveNav]

Once you are Nitrox certified, make sure to always check your tank and label it.

Alberto (aka eDiver)

 

[dfx]

Personally I don't notice a lot of difference in how I feel using Nitrox.

ACK to that.

 

[Bob DBF]

Doing 3 or 4 dives/day on a trip is where Nitrox pays off, longer NDL's towards the end of the day. Also being somewhere remote, it is a little bit extra safety margin against DCS where a trip to a chamber might be a day away.

There is no extra safety in nitrox if you approach NDL the same manner you do with air. If you are at NDL with Nitrox, it is the same as being at NDL with air, it just takes longer. If you limit the depth with the Nitrox mix MOD, and dive the Air tables you will have the safety cushion between the two NDL's, but defeat the purpose of Nitrox which is to extend your dive time.

The safety is how you choose to dive, not what gas you are diving.



Bob
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I think that advocating unsafe and dangerous practices is both stupid and foolish. That is why I don't tell people to do what I do. Dsix36

 

[fbk]

There is no extra safety in nitrox if you approach NDL the same manner you do with air. If you are at NDL with Nitrox, it is the same as being at NDL with air, it just takes longer. If you limit the depth with the Nitrox mix MOD, and dive the Air tables you will have the safety cushion between the two NDL's, but defeat the purpose of Nitrox which is to extend your dive time.

True but if 2 people are doing the exact same dives for the same time, as is usually the case on dive trips, then the one one on air is going to get closer to NDL than the one on EAN.

The purpose of Nitrox isn't just to extend dive (bottom) time. Plenty of people dive it on air tables for added conservatism.

 

[Keith.M]

I really saw the difference when I did a wreck class in San Diego earlier this year.

I pre-ordered nitrox for all 6 dives. 3 Saturday and 3 on Sunday.

First two dives on the Yukon at 100 fsw and then the third dive on The Ruby E at ~ 85 fsw. Never an issue with NDL.

Second day, we had a different diver join the group. I had dove with him before and I buddied up with him. He was on air.

All three dives on the Yukon that day and on the second dive, he comes over to me agitated and is pointing at his computer in anger. He let's me know he has just 1 minute of NDL left. Not an issue, I signal OK and let's ascend. I still had 16 minutes of NDL left even with the 3 dives the day before!

That drove home the value of Nitrox to me under these circumstances.

He sat out the final dive.