Regular air vs nitrox

[NewbieToDiving]

Besides nitrox being oxygen and nitrogen what makes one better than the other? If im looking at buying a tank and I don't know which to get. Does on cost more than the other? Thanks!

 

[k ellis]

Well there is no scientific proof behind it but Nitrox does make me feel much better post dive then air does. I usually am the only one in my group awake enough to drive home post dive. The others use air. On a more obvious factor though it does greatly increase bottom times though as opposed to air

Now the cons are the Maximum operating depth does get reduced the higher the percentage of oxygen used. Thats all explained in the class though

I highly suggest nitrox and its all I ever dive except in the pool!

as to the question at hand Nitrox is a little more expensive but if your in the states its usually not alot more.

 

[RJP]

May want to ask a mod to move this thread to "Basic Scuba Discussions" forum. You'll get more responses.

As K said, some (many?) folks report feeling less fatigued diving nitrox vs air. There's some controversy (ie lack of solid proof) around this idea, but there seems to be enough anecdotal support to suggest that this is true for some people for whatever reason.

For beginner divers the question of whether to dive enriched-air nitrox (EANx) often comes down to whether your dive times are limited by gas supply or no-deco limit. If you're running low on gas before you're running low on no-deco time, EANx will provide limited practical benefit. (ie having more no-deco time when you're out of gas is meaniningless) There is some safety margin when diving EANx vs air due to less nitrogen loading, but this is hard to quantify and likely of limited value when diving conservatively.

 

[herman]

To a large extent it depends on where you are diving. If you are doing quarry dives or just a couple of shallow reef dives nitrox does not make sence, for those dives it has no advantage and cost a good bit more. It's major advantage is it will give you longer (allowed) bottom times- NDLs which you will learn about in class- HOWEVER that assumes you have enough gas to need more time and almost no new diver does. If I understand your motive for asking the question, a nitrox tank is nothing speical, it's just a standard scuba tank that has special marking on it (and maybe a special cleaning done on it). Those marking can be added to any tank at pretty much any time. At this stage, just buy a tank you intend to use for air and if later you need to use if for nitrox you can have the markings added. My guess is you will be doing most of your local dives in the Lake Norman quarry for a while so air is all you need. For air travel, you don't take tanks and I personally do not take tanks on long road trips unless I need something special, it's just easier to rent them when I get there. Unless you are doing a lot of coastal diving, there is no need for nitrox tanks, its easier just to rent them until you start going a lot . Honestly, unless you start diving a lot, it's cheaper and easier to rent all your tanks, at least for a while. There is annual and 5 year inspections that must be done on tanks which run up the cost of ownership and you will want at least 2 tanks. My suggestion for now is to rent any tanks you need until you get some experience then you can make a better decision on what is the best choice for you.

 

[TSandM]

Most new tanks come ready for Nitrox. You only have to choose when you are buying used tanks, and even then, "normal" tanks can be cleaned and rendered serviceable for Nitrox, if you choose to do that.

Nitrox is used either to get longer no deco limits for moderate depth dives, or, when dived to air decompression limits, in an attempt to increase dive safety. For people diving within their OW certification limits (i.e. shallower than 60 feet), whose dives are generally limited by gas consumption, Nitrox offers very little benefit.

 

[stairman]

You can look at your nitrox dive planner and see at what depths it helps with bottom time and at others it doesnt. I dive 30 - 32 % exclusively in my twin tanks where deco time is reduced. It does costs more for fills, a course is advised and a 2 gas computer is usually needed for sawtooth profile diving. As for it making you feel better after a dive Im not sure about that but deepbreathing will make you feel better on land so it only goes to believe with full inhales and full exhales while diving as is best, you would feel better and the added O2 could play into that.

 

[NE_SSI_Diver]

Everyone above has already done a good job at explaining the differences between Air and Nitrox, so I will focus on the tanks. If you are willing to pay about 5 or 6 dollars more per fill then go for Nitrox, or if you are planning on doing multiple dives a day for multiple days (like 3+ dives over 7 days). However, an experienced local diver diver told me that it is possible to do 6 dives a day with an average depth of 80ft on air (based of personal experience). So, Nitrox thanks are not necessary, but can be useful.

When I bought my tanks I had them cleaned for Nitrox and fortunately my LDS offers hyper-filtrated air which can be used in O2 clean tanks (no extra cost). I would check if your LDS offers this type of air because then it wouldn't make sense to not get it cleaned. However, if they don't I would buy the tank which fits the majority of your diving. If your are always in the Caribbean and diving 3+ dives a day get Nitrox for sure. If you dive at a local lake or quarry and only dive twice I would not buy Nitrox because it is not needed. What I just said can be deemed irrelevant if you can/want to pay that bit extra for the fill, then by all means go for the Nitrox.

 

[reo]

Pros:
Nitrox gives you extended NDLs at moderate recreational depths.
Nitrox is useful for repetitive recreational dives. Nitrox will allow you to have shorter surface intervals and increased NDLs, or you can use it to provide an extra margin of safety.

Cons:
Nitrox is more expensive than air.
Nitrox limits your depth to avoid oxygen toxicity.
Nitrox is not available in some places.

A Nitrox class will explain the pros and cons of Nitrox, and teach you how and when Nitrox can be used. Please don't use Nitrox without receiving training.

Ron

 

[skankpile]

No such thing as a nitrox tank, nitrox reg etc.. they are just all clean enough for 40% O2 from the factory. Just get a tank and be happy.

By the time you worry about cleaning tanks you'll likely be past nitrox limits anyway

 

[NewbieToDiving]

Is it not allowed to take a tank on an airplane?