Nitrox on OW course

[SkimFisher]

- SkimFisher
[PADI AOW, Nitrox]

("dove" is a bird, not a verb)


Actually in my Random House Webster's College Dictionary "dove" is a verb, past tense of "dive".

Here we go again. In proper English "dived" is the correct past tense form of "dive". "Dove" - when not being used to describe a type of bird - is common speech. Much like "ain't". You can also find "bling-bling" in the dictionary. Just because it's there doesn't make you look like any less of a moron when you use it in a sentence.

I'm going to go ahead and just add this to my sig...

 

[Tigerman]

There was a lengthy discussion about this topic (dived/dove) before and both is actually accepted as past tense of dive. IIRC there was also some information indicating that different parts of the US had preference for the different versions..

 

[rstofer]

This was an OW course. The students don't know how to do anything (by definition). Yet we are willing to let the instructor lead them to unfathomable depths (well, probably 30' or so) but somehow we have a problem with the instructor serving up Nitrox?

This just isn't a concern. The student is already trusting their life to the instructor.

Richard

 

[Teamcasa]

This was an OW course. The students don't know how to do anything (by definition). Yet we are willing to let the instructor lead them to unfathomable depths (well, probably 30' or so) but somehow we have a problem with the instructor serving up Nitrox?

This just isn't a concern. The student is already trusting their life to the instructor.

Richard

I don't have any problem with it. But there are some that feel serving up this super secret, high tech voodoo gas to students is some sort of thinly veiled method to garner huge extra profits at the expense of their personal safety.

 

[cellmer@cox.net]

I have ben reading these threads about Nitrox. I am a recently certified OW diver and i am currently preparing for my Nitrox class and certification. The dive center i use does not require any additional dives for the Nitrox certification, and as ar as i know additional dives are not required by any school. Safety has always been my #1 goal, and I plan on using Nitrox as an added safety factor for my diving. If i use the air based (21%) dive tables while diving EAN32 does this not provide an added safety factor?. I understand that i will loose the added benefit of longer bottom time and shorter surface intervals that you gain with Nitrox, however my reason for taking this class is added safety. I would like your opinions on Nitrox certification for this purpose. Am i making the correct decision or should i continue to dive with air (21%) I am here to learn from the people with experience and value your opinions.

 

[Don Burke]

I have ben reading these threads about Nitrox. I am a recently certified OW diver and i am currently preparing for my Nitrox class and certification. The dive center i use does not require any additional dives for the Nitrox certification, and as ar as i know additional dives are not required by any school. Safety has always been my #1 goal, and I plan on using Nitrox as an added safety factor for my diving. If i use the air based (21%) dive tables while diving EAN32 does this not provide an added safety factor?. I understand that i will loose the added benefit of longer bottom time and shorter surface intervals that you gain with Nitrox, however my reason for taking this class is added safety. I would like your opinions on Nitrox certification for this purpose. Am i making the correct decision or should i continue to dive with air (21%) I am here to learn from the people with experience and value your opinions.

Taking the course can only do you good, but there is no point in using EAN until nitrogen loading is the limiting factor on a dive.

Most newly certified divers consume gas too fast for nitrogen to be an issue.

 

[CamG]

Greetings Candudave and your thread has sparked some really great conversation. I think you can agree that more information about the situation would be a great help in determining just exactly what was going on. I hate to speculate and since we do not know if this was a combo OW / Discover Nitrox which I personally have not heard of or seen offered with OW as of yet. That does not mean the student's were not properly briefed for the discover portion of the dive. This is where it get's sticky and my comments are based on training experience and observation / assistance.
While assisting OW training I have used Nitrox only several times for the simple fact that share air situations for the student's if not properly trained and certified do not understand the rules of Nitrox. This is the practice of the instructor I assist, we have offered Discover Nitrox after OW or while doing AOW. I do not want to speculate about this particular situation BUT the big issue here is IF's of the situation. I guess everyone lived but does that make it OK? Understanding Nitrox and diving it properly, under 40% for basic Nitrox / over 40% - 100% Advanced Nitrox is not a matter to be taken lightly.
Improper understanding or mistakes can be fatal when dealing with Partial Pressure of 02 or Maximum Operating Depths. This is the reason for real time training is important IN MY OPINION. That is all it is and whether I agree with others or they agree with me is not concern. Safety of the OW student's is the point and unfortunately we do not have enough information to make a proper determination.
It sounds concerning to me and I feel pretty strongly about the Nitrox training being done properly, face to face with dives to show your understanding of the skills involved. Again my opinion and not a popular one these days but when it is my reputation or my instructors on the line, SAFETY IS #1. No one buy's a card you earn them by demonstrating you know the material and can perform the skills. I did not use the "buy a card" for any particular reason other than when student expect to pass a class just because they paid for it. It is unethical to give anyone a card who can not pass the requirements. This is not aimed at any particular agency or instructor just more opinion. Good luck and thanks to everyone for the interesting read through this thread. For those interested in Nitrox training it is awesome and do the instructor led classroom and ask for the dives to check out. Pay the extra and you will not be sorry. ALWAYS CHECK YOUR OWN MIX! IT IS YOUR LIFE NO ONE ELSES!
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!

 

[DCBC]

I have ben reading these threads about Nitrox. I am a recently certified OW diver and i am currently preparing for my Nitrox class and certification. The dive center i use does not require any additional dives for the Nitrox certification, and as ar as i know additional dives are not required by any school. Safety has always been my #1 goal, and I plan on using Nitrox as an added safety factor for my diving. If i use the air based (21%) dive tables while diving EAN32 does this not provide an added safety factor?. I understand that i will loose the added benefit of longer bottom time and shorter surface intervals that you gain with Nitrox, however my reason for taking this class is added safety. I would like your opinions on Nitrox certification for this purpose. Am i making the correct decision or should i continue to dive with air (21%) I am here to learn from the people with experience and value your opinions.

There is no need to dive Nitrox on air tables for safety. In-fact this would be unsafe! Always use the correct tables for the right mixture.

Diving responsibly means not pushing the tables. If you're concerned, slow your ascent rate even further, add more time to your safety stop, a bit more time between dives, watch your depth & air consumption, plan your dive carefully and maintain good buddy contact.

Dive known sites and continue to work on your skills. Learn by doing; remember that the real classroom is underwater. Be patient and prudent. Rack up hours and slowly expand your experience. Continue to expand your knowledge by reading and taking further courses when you can. Choose your Instructors carefully; remember no one certification agency has the monopoly on knowledge.

The most fun in diving is the enjoyment of getting there. Take your time and relish the journey!

 

[AndyNZ]

I hate to speculate and since we do not know if this was a combo OW / Discover Nitrox which I personally have not heard of or seen offered with OW as of yet.

This is certainly allowable under PADI standards.

Which does make me laugh.... there is a certain irony (not a negative comment aimed at you CamG) that PADI have been criticised so much in the past for *NOT* promoting the use of nitrox, yet now that they have integrated it into their OW course (along with other agencies, BSAC, CMAS and GUE spring to mind) there is such horror that an OW student dived nitrox....:cool2:

 

[rstofer]

I have ben reading these threads about Nitrox. I am a recently certified OW diver and i am currently preparing for my Nitrox class and certification. The dive center i use does not require any additional dives for the Nitrox certification, and as ar as i know additional dives are not required by any school. Safety has always been my #1 goal, and I plan on using Nitrox as an added safety factor for my diving. If i use the air based (21%) dive tables while diving EAN32 does this not provide an added safety factor?. I understand that i will loose the added benefit of longer bottom time and shorter surface intervals that you gain with Nitrox, however my reason for taking this class is added safety. I would like your opinions on Nitrox certification for this purpose. Am i making the correct decision or should i continue to dive with air (21%) I am here to learn from the people with experience and value your opinions.

You will learn the limits of Nitrox when you take the course. Nothing is free in life! If you want Nitrox for bottom time, you incur the penalty of not being able to dive as deep as you might wish.

You also have to deal with total oxygen exposure over a moving 24 hour window.

You can't just blindly use the air tables because they will happily allow you to dive to 130 feet. You can't go that deep with EAN32.

And so it goes... Nitrox is not the be-all, end-all of diving.

Richard