Nitrox course. What's the point?

[boulderjohn]

In the US, where obviously, Nitrox is available everywhere, is it more expensive to dive Nitrox than air?

It varies dramatically from place to place.

I knew a shop that sold it all at the same price, but it is no longer in operation.

I heard of a shop that sold air at $10 per tank and nitrox at $25 per tank.

Most are in between charging between $5-$10 extra for nitrox.

Nitrox is not available everywhere, though. Because almost all of the local diving where I live is very shallow, only a few shops offer it, with the only customers being people who travel to another state where deeper diving is available. I make my own nitrox and trimix, and with my low volume gas costs for the oxygen, it would cost me a couple dollars to add the oxygen for a 32% blend. If I were a high volume dealer, it would be a lot less.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

In the US, where obviously, Nitrox is available everywhere, is it more expensive to dive Nitrox than air?

Yes. Some places easily twice the price. In South FL where I dive when bought in bulk (fill card) it is much more reasonably priced. I get it for just under $10 US a fill.

 

[Dody]

It is important to understand that NO decompression MODEL guarantees that you will not get bent.

There are many variables, some of which are not fully understood. Because we don't really understand the biology or physiology of what is happening we have made assumptions. Then tested these assumptions (see Haldane and his goats).

If you want to be aggressive, you dive to the edge of the NDL.

To be conservative you either dive well inside the NDL, add stops on the end of the No-stop dive (safety stops), or remove the gas that is the issue, Nitrogen.

Understanding that workload, temperature, fatigue, dehydration, medication, mental exhaustion, stress, etc all change the decompression obligations is fundamental to safe diving.

I am 51 years old. I don't want to be aggressive. I want to learn as much as possible to safely dive within the limits. No decompression. No deeper than 40 meters. I also understand that modern medecine does not fully comprehend DCS. For the last 10 days, I was having a painful back problem. Spine and shoulder blades. At some point, I started to wonder if it was DCS but my dives in the previous days were at 25 meters max and I have never had a fast ascent. Yet, I got scared . After a professional massage, everything went back to normal.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I understand. I believe that my dives are more limited by NDL than by gas so Nitrox when it is available could be of value. But really, my post was about the value of taking the Nitrox course if you already know the theory. Now, I know why I need to take it. I need the card to dive nitrox.

Specifically you need the card to get a nitrox fill or to rent a nitrox tank in most locations.

 

[Gareth J]

In the US, where obviously, Nitrox is available everywhere, is it more expensive to dive Nitrox than air?

There is generally always a charge for Nitrox. There is an additional cost for the O2, and someone has to mix it (unless it is premix - which is certainly not a popular way to supply it in the UK).
However, most of the companies that provide live aboard trips to Egypt, which is a very popular destination for European divers (British), Nitrox is inclusive. Nothing is ever 'free', but you have already paid for it in the trip cost. Partly, this is due to competition, but also, there is a lot of diving (time in water), on a Red Sea Liveaboard trip, providing Nitrox increases the safety factor for the charter company.

 

[Belzelbub]

I am 51 years old. I don't want to be aggressive. I want to learn as much as possible to safely dive within the limits. No decompression. No deeper than 40 meters.

Then it sounds like the EAN course would be good for you provided you can get EAN fills where you dive. Though your dives to 40M shouldn’t be done on banked EAN, which is usually 32% or 36%. For the shallower stuff it will be fine, and safer with regards to DCS than normoxic nitrox, AKA air.

 

[Raphus]

I am 51 years old. I don't want to be aggressive. I want to learn as much as possible to safely dive within the limits. No decompression. No deeper than 40 meters. I also understand that modern medecine does not fully comprehend DCS. For the last 10 days, I was having a painful back problem. Spine and shoulder blades. At some point, I started to wonder if it was DCS but my dives in the previous days were at 25 meters max and I have never had a fast ascent. Yet, I got scared . After a professional massage, everything went back to normal.

Thats something nearly every new diver goes through .
Getting back pain from the heavy tank, or arm/hand issues, because of the wetsuit(putting it on and off) is quit normal, when diving a lot and not used to it.

I had heavy pain in my shoulder, which made me scared of flying back home. (flying with dcs is very bad)
Turns out it was just to much weigth on my shoulders, because of 3 weeks diving.

As i said before, get the niteox card. And use it if you can/ want to. Its one of the few good specialty. U probably dont learn a lot, but u need the card.

 

[Storker]

There is generally always a charge for Nitrox.

Unless your club has decided that nitrox should be subsidized since it (generally) makes for safer diving. As my club has. I pay exactly zero for air fills and exactly zero for rec nitrox fills. Included in the membership fee. Not that nitrox fills cost my club very much, last time I checked I think we paid some 0.005€ per liter of O2.

 

[Storker]

I am 51 years old.

I'm older than that. Standardizing on EAN32 was one of the smartest choices I've done in my diving career.

 

[Celt]

Diving nitrox is not safer than air if both are dived to NDL.