Nitrox With A Drysuit?

[garak]

Hi everyone,

Sorry if this has been discussed, but I using the search function but got nothing.

I just took the SSI drysuit class and got my certification. In the book, they say NOT to use Nitrox with a drysuit due to increased oxidation of the drysuit with the higher level of oxygen. I was curious about this so I emailed the manufacturer of my drysuit directly. Here is their response:

"I can't say I've read the reports that SSI is basing this info off.
The theory behind it is, the higher levels of oxygen will result in more oxidation.
Without proper long term testing it hard to say, how much it will affect/ shorten the life span of a dry suit?
That being said we've never had anybody express concern that their suit was damaged due to using Nitox."

I much prefer diving with Nitrox, and based on their response I was considering using Nitrox with my drysuit.

My question is, does anybody on this board dive using Nitrox with their drysuit? Any opinions about the SSI assertion?

Thanks in advance,
Brian

 

[JohnN]

Hi everyone,

Sorry if this has been discussed, but I using the search function but got nothing.

I just took the SSI drysuit class and got my certification. In the book, they say NOT to use Nitrox with a drysuit due to increased oxidation of the drysuit with the higher level of oxygen. I was curious about this so I emailed the manufacturer of my drysuit directly. Here is their response:

"I can't say I've read the reports that SSI is basing this info off.
The theory behind it is, the higher levels of oxygen will result in more oxidation.
Without proper long term testing it hard to say, how much it will affect/ shorten the life span of a dry suit?
That being said we've never had anybody express concern that their suit was damaged due to using Nitox."

I much prefer diving with Nitrox, and based on their response I was considering using Nitrox with my drysuit.

My question is, does anybody on this board dive using Nitrox with their drysuit? Any opinions about the SSI assertion?

Thanks in advance,
Brian

Yes

Sounds like a pile of horse poo

 

[tbone1004]

everyone I know dives dry with nitrox.... I know the cave instructors have thousands of dives on nitrox on their drysuits and don't have issues. I have no idea where SSI got that load from, but it certainly sounds like a load to me. Keep in mind we are only talking about fractions of a PO2 delta, otherwise if it was a real concern we would all be diving argon only.

100ft on air is a PO2 of 0.8, 100ft on EAN32 is a PO2 of 1.3
That isn't that significant in terms of oxidation of the suit. As a textile engineer, the butyl rubber that seals your suit isn't going to degrade, the latex might degrade faster, but the seals will rip before that happens. You're going to see more damage from sun or the fumes in your garage than you will from nitrox...

 

[KevinNM]

Don't dive with one of those chemical heaters in your suit using nitrox for inflation. Extra O2 causes extra heat...

 

[garak]

Thanks for the info guys. I was a little skeptical of the SSI claim and I'll dive with nitrox and my drysuit.

 

[CT-Rich]

Don' light farts in a nitrox dry suit. Knew a guy that did that he was blown to kingdom come, tore the dry suit, too.

 

[sheeper]

i dive always with nitrox (or trimix). never a problem with nitrox and drysuit diving. That report is highly suspect to me and i'm a drysuit instructor.

 

[WarrenZ]

I'd worry more about wasting trimix on inflating a drysuit and feeling colder than most nitrox. I wouldn't use any high O2 deco gas to inflate though.

 

[Reku]

I dive nitrox regularly and I've yet to see any excessive drysuit damage caused by using it for inflation. I would avoid high o2 gases and trimix (it's a waste and you'll get really cold fast) - like WarrenZ mentioned.

 

[Subcooled]

A drysuit is a piece of clothing. It wears out, darling.

On the other hand: I have done a modest number of nitrox 32% dives with my drysuit (just a hundred or so) and my suit is still dry. High partial pressure oxygen is bad, though. It has not yet destroyed my suit, but it has destroyed the lungs of a person I know. Observe the limits. Stop worrying about socks and other clothing.