Do get a co analyzer or not?

[jfcl01]

My wife, also a diver, bought me an Analox CO monitor for Christmas. I will be using it this spring when I begin diving again and when I go to Cozumel in July. Depending on who I dive with, I may have the opportunity to test tanks before leaving the caleta and therefore can deal with it then, I guess by switching around tanks so I don't get poisoned. If I dive with an op that has already loaded the boat with tanks, and I find one or more or all of the tanks are contaminated, what then? Nobody dives? The op calls the dive until they get new tanks? I dive mine and tell the other folks, "good luck. Take your chances
I would think anyone properly trained would agree that it is the diver's responsibility to assure safe diving equipment for themselves and taking measures to do so. I believe the underlying question is what to do about it, which is to miss dives, enjoyment, revenue, etc. While the answer is obvious, life trumps fun, no one wants to screw it up for everyone else.

yup to everything you just said. It will be a painful and awkward transition while the frequency of testing increases and the question of "what to do" in that scenario arises more and more often. In a year or two-hopefully sooner-I bet we won't even need to ask this, because the standard will evolve according to sense, both common and fiscal. Which dive ops will survive if they refuse to "be against" their divers diving with bad air, when there are other ops that accomodate the new standard?

 

[jfcl01]

Interestingly, I have yet to have someone else on a dive boat ask me to test their tank when they ask about my monitor and why I am testing.

 

[markmantei]

I believe the underlying question is what to do about it, which is to miss dives, enjoyment, revenue, etc. While the answer is obvious, life trumps fun, no one wants to screw it up for everyone else.

If you dive with Aldora, as Dave has said, they test the tanks at their office so you shouldn't have any problems on the boat. You can still test your tanks to make sure no problems have slipped throught the cracks.

 

[cruiser]

Interestingly, I have yet to have someone else on a dive boat ask me to test their tank when they ask about my monitor and why I am testing.

You can be sure they were paying close attention, though, to what you were doing and maybe it piqued their interest as something to look into when they get home.

 

[Coral-Reefer]

It will be a painful and awkward transition while the frequency of testing increases and the question of "what to do" in that scenario arises more and more often. In a year or two-hopefully sooner-I bet we won't even need to ask this, because the standard will evolve according to sense, both common and fiscal. Which dive ops will survive if they refuse to "be against" their divers diving with bad air, when there are other ops that accomodate the new standard?

If you dive with Aldora, as Dave has said, they test the tanks at their office so you shouldn't have any problems on the boat. You can still test your tanks to make sure no problems have slipped throught the cracks.

Here on SB we all seem to be mostly very conscientious and knowledgeable divers. It continues to surprise me when I get on a dive boat and see equipment and practices pertaining to other divers that vary from annoying to downright life threatening; things such as mouthpieces that are more than half gone to one not breathing in their regulator before rolling in or striding off or verifying their EAN mix. So, to these divers, CO contamination may be a distant memory in their certification course and therefore would not be brought up as an issue. If we as knowledgeable divers head the spear with our dive operations, maybe the ops would move more quickly to assuring safe air. (A nod to the ones that have been pushing it up til now) I think most of the responsible shops would not mind testing but then what do they do about it? I have no idea how receptive the filling stations would be to doing anything about it....

 

[theduckguru]

[abstract] CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING IN RECREATIONAL DIVING: AN UNCOMMON BUT POTENTIALLY FATAL PROBLEM.

http://medicine-science.com/carbon-monoxide/

According to this data, 3% of the deaths were attributed to CO poisoning, but as noted in second link, the problem may not be from a contaminated tank.

The dive agencies say CO poisoning is rare, if you have other published data please post a link. Would like to read more than I was on a boat and the tank tested bad stories.

 

[MMM]

[abstract] CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING IN RECREATIONAL DIVING: AN UNCOMMON BUT POTENTIALLY FATAL PROBLEM.

| Medicine & Science - take care for your health

According to this data, 3% of the deaths were attributed to CO poisoning, but as noted in second link, the problem may not be from a contaminated tank.

The dive agencies say CO poisoning is rare, if you have other published data please post a link. Would like to read more than I was on a boat and the tank tested bad stories.

An interesting and well-written article (2nd link) which I, as a lay person, was able to understand. I wonder how many of the people worrying about CO exposure are smokers???

 

[jd950]

They are not on the boats, we check the tanks as they come to us with a hand held Analox. Now we fill our own tanks and have dual redundant, auto shut off Analox CO analyzers on both Bauer Compressors. That is new since last week.


Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

I did not know you guys were individually testing your tanks previously and will be doing your own fills (and I assume continuing to monitor CO). Bravo to you and other ops who are looking out for your divers this way. The ops who are testing tanks for their divers should publicize it more, as it would most definitely be a factor in MY choice of dive ops.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Right now we are filling only our tanks but we have the capacity to fill much more. I will be letting people know who is using our fills. The good news is that we have a membrane nitrox system which is much better and safer than the partial pressure method others use. With the membrane (Brownies Third Lung) it is impossible to make a mixture that is truly dangerous--that is it cannot make more than 40% O2.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[cruiser]

The dive agencies say CO poisoning is rare, if you have other published data please post a link. Would like to read more than I was on a boat and the tank tested bad stories.

The dive agencies (and DAN) aren't interested in championing the cause of contaminated air--it may be due to financial considerations, I don't know, but the subject doesn't get more than a passing mention. So you won't find a lot of documentation about it, other than what you read at the grass roots level (us) about "being on a boat and the tank tested bad."

Which is sad because the dive industry gets it when it comes to nitrox, where analyzing and reanalyzing your air is drilled into divers as part of diving procedure.