Nitrox

[Charlie99]

Since just about everyone is up in arms about the dive op offering nitrox, I'll jump in with my 2 cents worth.

There's trust and then there's blind trust. We pretty much blindly trust boat operators to supply good air without contaminants such CO or oil.

We trust boat captains to come pick us up after a drift dive, and we trust them to run the boat safely to and from the dive site.

Yeah, Scubaag03 is putting himself in a position where he is trusting the diveop to properly analyze his mix and explain MOD to him, but it's not that different from the other sort of blind trust he is already extending to that dive op.

While it is a bit unorthodox for the dive op to offer nitrox to someone that he apparently knows is not certified, the required briefing isn't all that complicated -----
DON'T GO DEEPER THAN 112' or whatever the MOD is for the intended dive.

Yeah, it's a violation of rules and standards, but it's not like it's the end of the world.

Charlie Allen

p.s. Scubaag03 -- the suggestion to get a nitrox cert before the trip is a good one. As others have noted, there are some nitrox classes that are classroom only, without any dives. Breathing nitrox is just like breathing air. There are just some issues about maximum depth & time that you need to be aware of.

 

[TheRedHead]

The modus operandi in Coz is to do the 1st deep dive on air and the 2nd dive on Nitrox. He should just take the course while he is there.

 

[DeputyDan]

Screw the nitrox question - this is about diving before flying - 18 hours is the minimum time (regardless of the Nitrox) and 24 is safer.

I use the 24 hour rule - no exceptions!

 

[scubaag03]

I trust the Dive op, my OW instructor has been using them for years and she recommended me to them.

 

[TheRedHead]

I trust the Dive op, my OW instructor has been using them for years and she recommended me to them.

Do you have a Nitrox computer? Or are you going to dive it as you would air?

 

[Tigerman]

Do you have a Nitrox computer? Or are you going to dive it as you would air?

Wont the only accurate info you get from the computer be depth and dive time if you use nitrox and it think its air?
And ascent rates, possibly?

 

[TheRedHead]

Wont the only accurate info you get from the computer be depth and dive time if you use nitrox and it think its air?
And ascent rates, possibly?

It won't be accurate, but it is more conservative. The computer thinks you are diving air and it will give fewer NDL minutes. A lot of people dive Nitrox on air computers. I don't. I want all the minutes.

 

[ScubaSteve]

The result will be a more conservative Nitrox dive and lower nitrogen levels. The danger is the depth concern. Nitrox is not intended for deeper dives as oxygen toxicty becomes a real concern. Nitrox can increase bottom time (or reduce surface intervals) at "shallower" depths than air.

 

[Tigerman]

My computer goes to EAN36 so personally I could just put that into it, but thats not a topic for me quite yet.
Just wondered.
Was also thinking ppo2 levels as a thing that would get inaccurate if you dive nitrox with air settings, but that again is also related to depth, so paying attention to the depth should prevent that from being an issue, right?

 

[ScubaSteve]

I think the important thing here is to know that to safely dive Nitrox and to understand the inherant risks and dangers, it is important to take the Nitrox course before diving it. Nitrox has a great deal of advantages under certain circumstances but can be very dangerous if the rules are not followed.

Comments and opinions are a great thing however nothing goes farther than proper training. Just my 2 psi towards safe diving.