ghosty_old
Contributor
I am just starting to learn about nitrox. I read that nitrox will increase your Bottom time as well as decrease your surface intervals. My question is how much or any effect does it have on max depth and why.
Nitrox Question.
- Thread starter ghosty_old
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
The higher O2 content, the shallower your max depth will be due to oxygen toxicity.
raxafarian
Contributor
there are depth limits based upon what the ppO2 (partial pressure O2) is for your mix. Oxygen has the potential to become toxic above certain levels. The higher your % O2 in the mix, the shallower those limits are. I'm keeping this general, with no actual numbers, because those will be taught in your nitrox class.
On the plus side, as mentioned, the higher O2, and thus the lower N2, results in less nitrogen absorbed. You can either diver the same depth longer, or end up with a greater safety margin, or both.
But those benefits don't come without an increased risk somewhere along the line. Yes, if you make a dive to 80ft, your bottom time is greater on Nitrox than on air, and to make a repetitive dive back to 80 feet for let's say 20 minutes, your SI on Nitrox will be shorter than that on air. However, there are other factors to consider....such as the partial pressure of oxygen which can cause you to go into seizures at 1.4 ata or higher (this is what is taught in both PADI and NAUI nitrox courses, it is 1.6 in the IANTD manual...also this is an estimate it is where the majority of divers start to tox, not all divers). The amount of time you're exposed to the higher pressure of oxygen. All of these risks would be explained in a Nitrox class, as well as the importance of analyzing your own gas.
Slight correction Big-T - PADI teaches 1.4 for planning with a max (which other agencies agree with though no one rally has any proof) of 1.6 for emergency or contingency situations.
The problem with pp02 is no one really knows. I am sure we all know or have heard of people that have dived deeper than 66m on air and lived to tell the tale - though I would personally not advise trying it.
Jonathan
The problem with pp02 is no one really knows. I am sure we all know or have heard of people that have dived deeper than 66m on air and lived to tell the tale - though I would personally not advise trying it.
Jonathan
There is a good article in this months Rodales Scuba Diving Magazine on Nitrox that presents an overview of the benefits and drawbacks. While it is certainly no substitute for training, it may help you decide if you want to pursue training.
Mike
Mike
s.wright
Guest
Does anyone know why Apollo says not to use a Bio-filter with nitrox?
Nope. But I bet they have a "Nitrox" model, at a "Nitrox" price, just about ready for release.
E. itajara
s.wright
Guest
I'm sure that is true...
Wreck/Tec
Contributor
I went and got my nitrox certs., however, I'm not convinced NITROX is worth the money as a rule. If your diving deeper with a charter and time is a concern where you want shorter S.I.s, NITROX would help. Want a saftey margin doing air tables, great. For the extra expense, about double, I do 21% and pay some deco: On the other hand, if I'm doing deeper dives I don't want to grow old decoing using 50/50 or 100% expidites this just fine. Maybe it's apples and oranges? In any event it's your money!
Wreck/Tec
Wreck/Tec
Similar threads
- Poll
