Nitrox for a beginner

[hawkeye_diane]

My dive store wants me to take the Nitrox class this winter. I'm a new diver, is this a class that a new diver should consider? I don't have much money, but I do want to take more classes. I plan to take the advanced open water class this coming summer. Can both classes be combined? Thanks for any help.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Please share with us why you think you should take the Nitrox class.

How often do you plan on using nitrox?
What kind of diving do you do? (Max depth, vacation vs. local, etc.)

 

[hawkeye_diane]

I don't know much about Nitrox. I will mostly dive a few times a year at a local quarry. So far my maximum depth has been around 45 feet. I would like to travel to some nice places, eventually.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

I would answer your question with more questions to you

1) Where do you think you will be doing your near-future diving?

2) What type of diving will it typically be?

3) What direction would you like to go with your future diving, if you know?

For example, my answers to those same questions when I started were as follows:

1) Florida Keys

2) Shallow reefs

3) No specific location or type of diving, but I would like to get my personal dive skills (buoyancy, trim, propulsion) up to snuff

For my three answers, there was no real reason to take Nitrox. When I did (eventually) take Nitrox it was for a specific purpose: My buddy wanted to do some wreck diving (which, in the area we were diving meant dives where Nitrox would be advantageous as compared to air), and so I took Nitrox in addition to some wreck/deep training.

That's not to say it would ever be "bad" to take Nitrox, but since you are on a budget, you might not want to take it "automatically."

Slightly off your topic: I would check into the AOW class and find out more specifics. I found that while it was fun, it wasn't necessarily the best value-for-dollar I could have had. I think that varies with instructor, so don't take my experience as gospel, but more as food for thought.

Blue Sparkle

PS: Thinking about your post further, I think it would be interesting to ask the LDS why they "want you to take Nitrox this winter." Their answer may help you to know what their reasoning is, and whether or not you agree with it. Reasons I could think of:

1) You plan to do some diving where it would be specifically preferable to air.

2) You have some reason to want to dive Nitrox on air tables for conservatism (health? or?)

3) There is another good reason that they know of (but for some reason they are not sharing it with you so that you can understand it...?)

4) They just want you to take a class and "stay active" with them, and they're tossing it off because it's a good progression for them, and not necessarily the best choice for you.

 

[DiveNav]

An alternative could be to take a look at our online class Introduction to Nitrox and see for yourself if Nitrox is for you.

[video=youtube;9wtNC-o6mN8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wtNC-o6mN8[/video]
​

Alberto (aka eDiver)

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I don't know much about Nitrox. I will mostly dive a few times a year at a local quarry. So far my maximum depth has been around 45 feet. I would like to travel to some nice places, eventually.

At this point, a compelling reason doesn't exist for you to take the nitrox class.

If you find yourself doing dives in the 60-100 ft. range, then you might want to take advantage of nitrox (longer bottom times, potential for increased safety margin regarding nitrogen-loading).

There are certain dive destinations, e.g., Bonaire, that provide easy, affordable access to 32% nitrox. Lots of divers who do liveaboard dive vacations prefer to use nitrox. If you plan a dive trip where nitrox is available and you want to use it, then it would make sense to get nitrox certified.

FYI, the PADI nitrox class is very brief and does not even require any class dives. It is typically completed in one session. I mention this because it would be very easy to put it off until you need to take it.

 

[drrich2]

From what I've seen, Nitrox (I took the PADI version) is a pretty easy, fairly interesting course and for some types of trip (e.g.: week long stays on Bonaire with frequent shore diving, or live-aboards) where you do a lot of dives (3 to 5 per day for a few days running), or where you are diving deep and want to extend your bottom time without hitting NDL limits & having to come up or incur deco. obligations, it's handy.

For what you're likely to do in the near term future, not so much. Then again, once you've got it, you'll have it in the future, even if you don't 'need' it for 3 or 4 years.

If it's new to you, here are the basics as I understand them.

1.) Regular air is mainly a mix of nitrogen (79%) and oxygen (21%), with trace amounts of other gases we ignore for practical purposes.

2.) You can get artificially determined mixes of nitrogen & oxygen (nitrox), usually with higher than air %'s of oxygen (hence 'enriched 'air nitrox, EAN), which has pros & cons.

3.) EAN is named by % oxygen, so 'EAN 32' is 32% oxygen.

4.) Oxygen is used as a cheap 'filler' in place of nitrogen; because EAN has less nitrogen than regular air, nitrogen builds up in your body more slowly when diving with EAN than with regular compressed air. Therefore, you have longer allowed no decompression times diving EAN than you do with air.

5.) Higher than usual oxygen does create a risk for oxygen toxicity at depth; for this reason, a given EAN mix has a 'maximum operating depth' (MOD). For EAN 32, that's 110 feet.

6.) Let's talk about what EAN does NOT do. Human respiratory drive is mainly driven by carbon dioxide buildup rather than oxygen depletion (I once read somewhere our exhaled air is about 17% oxygen), so the 'extra' oxygen in nitrox does not let you breath much slower. A tank will probably last you about the same length of time whether you dive air or nitrox.

7.) Oxygen is presumed to have a narcotic effect similar to nitrogen, so 'nitrogen narcosis' risk (e.g.: anxiety attacks, mental dulling) isn't seen as less risky with EAN than air.

8.) Another example of a dive where you might want nitrox is a 'once in a lifetime deep dive.' Let's say you're going on a wreck dive to 120 feet to see sand tiger sharks off the coast of North Carolina, or maybe going on a dive of the Oriskany wreck off Pensacola, and you've got a 130 cf steel tank so you've got considerable gas. Now, if you can get a custom nitrox mix of 28%, you can still dive deep, and you can stay down longer.

9.) Some people think diving air causes more rapid fatigue than diving nitrox; this is unproven & very controversial; some report the effect subjectively, some don't.

Bottom Line: I don't think you need a nitrox course right now. It would be a good course to take. If money's tight, you have to make the call.

Richard.

 

[beaverdivers]

Yes, taking a Nitrox course over the winter is an excellent idea. It maybe part of an advanced course depending on the training agency.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

Yes, taking a Nitrox course over the winter is an excellent idea. It maybe part of an advanced course depending on the training agency.

beaverdivers,

I'm curious as to your reasoning on this, given the information provided by the OP. Could you expand on why it's an excellent idea for her?

 

[jt83]

I just took the PADI nitrox class a couple weeks ago, BUT don't take it just because your dive shop wants you to. Take it because you want to take it.