oxygen cleaning for nitrox (partial pressure) fills

[barnacleben]

hi,
ben here in santa cruz. i'm a new diver who recently completed basic naui and nitrox certification and am pursuing advanced and rescue certs as well. now i am picking out my scuba "package" (reg, b/c, computer) and TANKS...

because i want to dive nitrox, and my local shop fills using nitrox partial pressure (100% o2 plus "air" to 32%-36% EAN) my proposed tanks need to be "OXYGEN CLEANED."

i've read the thread on this forum regarding manufacturer recommendations...
http://www.luxfercylinders.com/support/faq/aluminumoxygen.shtml
http://www.catalinacylinders.com/oxycomp.html

and i see that some scuba retailers provide free "VIP"
http://scuba.com/shop/diving.asp_ca.../031967_pn_XS-SCUBA-NITROX-ALUMINUM-TANK-80CF

while others offer "nitrox ready"...
http://www.diveriteexpress.com/gas/aluminum.shtml
...with a BIG FAT ASTERISK
http://www.diveriteexpress.com/library/nitroxready.shtml
that essentially says the tanks are NOT oxygen cleaned.

am i the only one who can't make heads or tails of this quagmire?

more to the point, where can i buy (for a fair price) tanks that ARE actually nitrox ready (for partial pressure fills) or where can i have tanks and valves oxygen cleaned in the greater san jose/monterey metropolitan areas?

"tanks" so much,
ben
:14:

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Luxfer will supply O2 cleaned tanks but they have to be ordered that way as they no longer come that way as standard. Unfortunately unless the LDS orders them that way by the pallet, they probably do not fall in the "fair price" range.

My suggestion would be to ask your LDS if they sell O2 clean tanks, do they O2 clean tanks, and if they don't do it, who does.

 

[barnacleben]

thanks for your reply aquamaster.

LDS, i presume is short for local dive shop, not latter day saints

i'm not clear whether buying a "precleaned" luxfer cylinder and having a oxygen compatible valve put in--without the benefit of a clean room (how many dive shops have that?) will invalidate the precleaning? i'm assuming of course that luxfer ships precleaned tanks without valves already installed.

btw, my LDS does not provide o2 cleaning--even though they do partial pressure nitrox fills.

peace,
ben

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

There are places in Monterey that do O2 cleaning and can certainly sell you an O2 clean tank. Monterey Bay Dive Center cleans them as do others.

I'm pretty sure techdivinglimited.com sells O2 cleaned tanks.

 

[barnacleben]

t'anks for reply humuhumu...
i've checked out the websites for mbdc and techdivinglimited.

mbdc does not list merchandise or prices on its site, so i'll need to make a trip down there sometime. they do list prices for cleaning, however, and it's not cheap! but who said scuba is inexpensive, right?

as for techdivinglimited, i've checked their site but can't make too much sense of it. apparently they target a niche of well-informed divers who already know exactly what they want.

peace,
ben

 

[Mark Vlahos]

t'anks for reply humuhumu...
i've checked out the websites for mbdc and techdivinglimited.

mbdc does not list merchandise or prices on its site, so i'll need to make a trip down there sometime. they do list prices for cleaning, however, and it's not cheap! but who said scuba is inexpensive, right?

as for techdivinglimited, i've checked their site but can't make too much sense of it. apparently they target a niche of well-informed divers who already know exactly what they want.

peace,
ben

With regards to Tech Diving Limited, I have purchased cylinders from them in the past; and those cylinders were cleaned for Oxygen Service, new from the factory with appropriate valves, also clean. Your best bet is to call them on the phone and talk to Joel, Randy, or Scott. Talk to them and tell them exactly what you want. Let them know your experience level and be honest with them. I am pretty sure they can help you out. Tell them you were referred by me, here on ScubaBoard and ask how the current sale works. (They are having a really good sale right now, just ask Randy how it works).

I don't work there, I am just a satisfied customer. The shop is located in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, so it would probably be a bit far to go to pick up cylinders, but they do ship to pretty much everywhere.

Mark Vlahos

 

[JeffG]

ti'm not clear whether buying a "precleaned" luxfer cylinder and having a oxygen compatible valve put in--without the benefit of a clean room (how many dive shops have that?) will invalidate the precleaning?

LOL....but the monkeys need their bananas

 

[XS Scuba]

DA Aquamaster:
XS Scuba is the largest distributor of Luxfer scuba cylinders on the planet. Every aluminum cylinder we sell is oxygen cleaned at Luxfer's factory. No special ordering is required by our dive stores, cylinders do not need to be ordered in pallet quantities and there is no added cost. Luxfer cylinders that are oxygen cleaned can be easily identified by looking at Luxfer's Warning Sticker affixed near the base of the cylinder. The border of the sticker is green in color. If you read the words on the sticker it clearly states that it was cleaned at the factory for use of up to 100% oxygen.

Luxfer will supply O2 cleaned tanks but they have to be ordered that way as they no longer come that way as standard. Unfortunately unless the LDS orders them that way by the pallet, they probably do not fall in the "fair price" range.

My suggestion would be to ask your LDS if they sell O2 clean tanks, do they O2 clean tanks, and if they don't do it, who does.

 

[Leadking]

Luxfer will supply O2 cleaned tanks but they have to be ordered that way as they no longer come that way as standard. Unfortunately unless the LDS orders them that way by the pallet, they probably do not fall in the "fair price" range.

My suggestion would be to ask your LDS if they sell O2 clean tanks, do they O2 clean tanks, and if they don't do it, who does.

EveryLuxfer tank we sell is oxygen clean. All of our inventory is ordered O2 clean and costs no more than a standard cylinder. Look for the green warning label, it states the cylinder is cleaned for oxygen use (vs the red label for air use)

Lee
www.seapearls.com

 

[Spratman]

All well and good....however, most shops are going to charge you a VIP before filling anyway. Buy them O2 cleaned or just buy tanks and have the shop O2 clean them....you are going to pay either way....