Nitrox

[scubaag03]

Ok, So here is the situation, I will be in Cozumel Friday Aug 31- Monday September 3rd. My flight leaves at 11am Monday morning, I wanted to try and get a 3 tank dive in on Sunday. The dive OP I am using suggested I dive NITROX and we could be done diving by 3pm Sunday and I should be okay to fly the next day. I told him I have never dove with NITROX and have no training with NITROX. He said, no problem since you will not be planning the dives. Is this true? I thought you had to have been through a NITROX course to dive NITROX, please help me out on this.

Thanks!!

 

[ScubaSteve]

Who is the dive OP that suggested this? They do not sound very responsible and if it happened to me, I would steer clear of them. You need certification to dive Nitrox and anybody that offers the opportunity to dive without it is putting your well being aside. Just my 2 psi.

 

[ghostrunner007]

You need the training to use Nitrox. It has advantages and hazards just like any other scuba level ( wreak diving, ice diving), when you want to move to the next level you take the course

 

[scubaag03]

ok, that is what i thought!

 

[Tigerman]

I would simply ask myself this question..
"Would I drink from an opened container offered me by a stranger on the street?"

 

[pir8]

There are programs that will allow you to dive nitrox under supervision. But I would recommend taking the full class. You can usually get it done in a day now that the actual dives are no longer required.

 

[nereas]

I suggest you stick with air until you become nitrox trained.

You need to be able to test the mix in your tank to verify that it is in the range of 32% to 36% O2.

Then you need to keep your dive shallow enough based on the mix. Normally that would be 100 ft or shallower.

And you need to be able to set your dive computer with the nitrox mix, so that it correctly computes your repetitive dive NDL limits. Or you need to know how to do this with a manual nitrox dive table.

 

[ronbeau]

Ok, So here is the situation, I will be in Cozumel Friday Aug 31- Monday September 3rd. My flight leaves at 11am Monday morning, I wanted to try and get a 3 tank dive in on Sunday. The dive OP I am using suggested I dive NITROX and we could be done diving by 3pm Sunday and I should be okay to fly the next day. I told him I have never dove with NITROX and have no training with NITROX. He said, no problem since you will not be planning the dives. Is this true? I thought you had to have been through a NITROX course to dive NITROX, please help me out on this.

Thanks!!

You do need a Nitrox certification to dive with Nitrox. It agree with ScubaSteve001 that it is irresponsible of the operator to suggest that you can dive Nitrox since you are not "planning" the dive.

You would have a 20 hour dive-to-fly window assuming the last dive does complete by 3:00 PM on Sunday. I always plan a minimum of 24 hours even though the absolute minimum is 18 hours.

Also, I don't suppose the operator indicated the Nitrox mix being used or the depth of the dives. This would also factor into your decision relative to Nitrox diving if you were in fact already Nitrox certified.

There is a Maximum Operating Depth (MOD) associated with each Nitrox mix. Nitrox is a gas that contains a higher concentration of oxygen and a lower concentration of nitrogen. Standard air contains 21% O2 and 79% Nitrogen (ignoring minor trace elements present ins air). Two common Nitrox mixes are EAN 32 (32% O₂) and EAN36 (36% O₂)Effectively the higher the O₂ content the shallower the MOD.

In short, there is a risk of getting oxygen toxicity with at higher partial pressures of O₂.

A Nitrox course is a very worthwhile course to take and is required prior to diving with Nitrox.

I would find another dive operator that takes dive safety seriously.

 

[Igodeep]

Nitrox is a very easy and quick course. There are no dives required for the class since it is all theory. You could probably get Nitrox cert before you go.

The dive operator does worry me. To start with, you do need the training to understand the down side of Nitrox and avoid any problems. The other problem I have is with the dive operator planning your dives for you. I can't speak for anyone else, but when I go diving, I am responsible for me, and NOBODY plans my dive for me. It is normal for the Divemaster to give an overview of the site, max bottom time, max depth, etc., but you should always plan your own dive and plan it within your limits.

 

[scubaag03]

Sorry, this is exactly what he said

Diving with Nitrox is not a problem as you won't be using Nitrox tables to plan your dives, in this case the Nitrox tanks will help you to reduce your Nitrogen levels and be on the safe side the next day you flight, please let me know if we get you Nitrox or regular air