Gang,
I was reading another forum and someone reminded me of this. I remember wandering into the LDS that certified me when Nitrox was just beginning to be discussed. I forget what year that was... Maybe early 90's?
Anyway, I asked about it and the owner spit right back "What? That Devil Gas? We'll never fill any tanks with that stuff here!" I tried to turn down the emotion and actually talk about the physiology but she was having nothing to do with it. Just more ranting about "Devil Gas." Seriously here. I felt like I was talking to some 13th century alchemist who was trying to turn lead into gold. I was just silly and not the first, nor last time I'd heard that term used when referring to Nitrox.
I remember a bunch of people got together and tried to ban Nitrox from the DEMA show floor one year. Ban it? Come on now. This is an industry that thrives on change. We need change. We need to constantly be looking at better ways to do things. I sure don't remember anyone crying when those silly horse collar BCs with the stupid CO2 cartridge went away.
A couple of years later that same LDS mentioned above started filling Nitrox. But even then, it was rather bizarre. They'd ask you where you were diving and would refuse to give you any more of a mix than the maximum depth you could hit on that site. Even if you clearly explained that you were going to stay on top of the wreck, you still got a mixture for the bottom. Made for some really silly mixtures sometimes. I remember once they told me I was getting 25%. Please. That isn't even worth the effort. Or extra money.
Now everyone offers Nitrox. Any LDS that doesn't is probably going to be short lived. I dive it every chance I get. I know it's just human nature to be resistant to change but it's still disappointing to see people just knee-jerk a response and call it "Devil Gas."
-Charles
