jaybombs25
Contributor
do you need seperate regs for nitrox and air, or is it fine to just use the same one?
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jaybombs25:do you need seperate regs for nitrox and air, or is it fine to just use the same one?
jaybombs25:haven't taken the class yet I was just curious
drrich2:The only piece of gear you're likely to own that's not recommended for Nitrox is your tank.
Sometimes Nitrox is pre-mixed & put in your scuba tank.
Sometimes, your tank is partially filled with a given amount of pure oxygen, THEN the nitrogen is added. Pure oxygen is potentially hazardous.
For reasons covered in the Nitrox course, a scuba tank (cylinder) is generally designated for enriched air (for practical purposes what you'd call 'Nitrox'), OR for regular compressed air, but you don't use the same cylinder for both.
But your BCD, first & second stage/regulator & octopus are most likely 'good to go' & can be used with either.
The main advantages with Nitrox involve slower buildup of nitrogen in the body, which lets you:
1.) Spend more time down on deep dives.
2.) Dive more often with shorter surface intervals (a particular issue with tropical vacation shore-diving sites like Bonaire, where you can dive 4 or more times per day if so inclined).
Many people encounter such situations mainly on vacations where they're using rental or 'package deal' tanks anyway, & use their regular tanks with compressed air for local diving, but some people may find it worthwhile to plunk down the cash for a dedicated cylinder for Nitrox use.
Richard.