Nitrox?

[mac66]

I'm a fairly new OW diver (26 dives) and was recently diving in Curacao on a cruise. The DM asked if I was nitrox certified. Said it would help with extending time under water even if not AOW (which I dont plan on doing due to time and expense, I dont live near water, I dive on cruises only)

So is Nitrox something I should consider even w/o AOW? Pros/Cons?

 

[tbone1004]

I'm a fairly new OW diver (26 dives) and was recently diving in Curacao on a cruise. The DM asked if I was nitrox certified. Said it would help with extending time under water even if not AOW (which I dont plan on doing due to time and expense, I dont live near water, I dive on cruises only)

So is Nitrox something I should consider even w/o AOW? Pros/Cons?

If your dives are being ended because of hitting NDL, then nitrox is going to help. If your dives are being ended because you hit a gas limit then it won't extend your bottom times.
Only you know from your experience which one you hit first.

There are other physiological benefits from diving nitrox without extending your bottom time that you can research on this forum as well, but specific to your question, it all depends on which limit you hit first.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Learning something new in diving is always a good thing. There's really no negative to taking the Nitrox course, except time and cost of course. Whether diving with Nitrox will be of immediate benefit to you depends on your air consumption rate. Do you find that you are ending dives because your tank pressure is getting low, or because you are nearing the no-deco time limit (NDL)? If air consumption is the limiting factor, Nitrox will not be of immediate help. Nevertheless, air consumption rate tends to improve (that is, your tank lasts longer) as a diver gains experience, becomes more comfortable, etc. So Nitrox will almost certainly be of benefit at some point. If you have the time and money budget for it, might as well take the course now, I would advise.

Edit: I was typing while tbone posted. So, same as tbone said.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I'm a fairly new OW diver (26 dives) and was recently diving in Curacao on a cruise. The DM asked if I was nitrox certified. Said it would help with extending time under water even if not AOW (which I dont plan on doing due to time and expense, I dont live near water, I dive on cruises only)

So is Nitrox something I should consider even w/o AOW? Pros/Cons?

You don't live near water? Your profile says SE Michigan. I lived in Indianapolis and pretty much dived monthly. There is water to dive in all over the Midwest! The Great Lakes have some of the best wreck diving in the world!

Regarding nitrox training, what @tbone1004 said. He covered it perfectly as he typically does.

 

[mac66]

Recreational dives for cruise ship passengers never go beyond 45, maybe 50 minutes on the very outside. Usually they are 35-40 mins.

At this stage in my experience I'm using up gas pretty fast, usually get low at about 35 mins.

 

[Ross19966]

My dad liked Nitrox just because the higher 02 concentration made him more alert and he felt better after a dive. I never payed much attention to it, but I never found myself "needing" nitrox over air. By the time I'm done with a HP100 or 120 I'm ready for a break anyway. I've used it many times, but never needed it.

His take reminds me of my Air Force days. After a hard night of partying, the first thing we would do is head to the first plane we saw, climb in and take a few hits of 100% 02. Great way to chase off a hangover.

 

[mac66]

You don't live near water? Your profile says SE Michigan. I lived in Indianapolis and pretty much dived monthly. There is water to dive in all over the Midwest! The Great Lakes have some of the best wreck diving in the world!

Regarding nitrox training, what @tbone1004 said. He covered it perfectly as he typically does.

I meant warm water.
I'm 68 years old...Strictly a warm water diver

 

[Belzelbub]

It’s a pretty useful certification. As the posters above have said, there isn’t much of a downside.

If you do charters you may find that some are starting to require it. Benefit for them is it allows for scheduling more dives in a shorter amount of time. Often by shortening the surface interval. With EAN giving increased NDL, the shortened SI still allows for adequate dive time.

I dive Nitrox almost exclusively. Only time I’m using air is if I’m at the aquarium, or the dive shop near me is unable to fill Nitrox.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @mac66

How long were your dives in Curacao and at what depth? Did you run low on gas or NDL or neither? I assume you went up as a group. For shorter group dives like you would do from a cruise ship, nitrox may or may not be valuable to you as others have already pointed out.

I generally tell new divers that nitrox certification is the best training to do during or right after OW. The didactic can all be done with eLearning. A quick visit with your LDS to go over your exam and practice analyzing and logging nitrox tanks and you are done,

Edit: you answered some of my questions while I typed. On short, shallow dives, in general, you will not benefit from using nitrox

 

[tbone1004]

Recreational dives for cruise ship passengers never go beyond 45, maybe 50 minutes on the very outside. Usually they are 35-40 mins.

At this stage in my experience I'm using up gas pretty fast, usually get low at about 35 mins.

Still need to know if NDL is limiting that amount of time for you, without knowing the depth profiles and what you are using for a computer or tables it is difficult to quantify. Either way, it sounds like you are hitting your gas limit and calling the dive based on your pressure gauge vs. your computer or tables so I would not say that nitrox would give you any benefit in terms of your dive time at this point.

Some more diving experience locally would certainly help, as would something like a coaching program with a good diver in your area. James Mott would be my first recommendation who is in the Detroit area and a couple of days with him will do wonders for your in-water comfort and air consumption.