Dangerous lies?

[Dan]

A lot depends upon the shop and how much control it has over things. If it is making its own mixes, they can take care of you easily. If they are getting standard fills from somewhere else, they might not be able to help you.

You do not need a specific mix for the dive you are planning; you just need to make sure you do not go beyond the mix's MOD. That gives you more options than you might think. THe shop has some options they might not realize, either.

• If the wreck is advertised as 130 feet, that probably means 130 feet to the sand. You don't have to go to the sand. If it is a good sized wreck like the Spiegel Grove, you can have a great dive without going below 110 feet.
• I dived out of a shop in Bali a few months ago. It filled its tanks out of sources--its bank of air or its bank of 32%. It sounds like you have only two choices, but that's not true. They can fill your tank say 80% full with 32% and then top it off with air. With a little math, they can give you any percentage you want. If you aren't particular, you can take anything in the range of 27- 30% and be perfectly happy.

When I dove in Crystal Bay, Nusa Penida, Bali, my Balinese DM told me that we might see the Mola Mola deeper than 130', so he blended me EAN27. We saw one being cleaned by Emperor Anglefish around 160', I went down as closed to it as I could (144') to take a good picture of it (see my avatar) & ascended to MOD (137'), where the DM was watching me. That was the deepest dive I made. The only feeling I got was everything was so calm & peaceful.

 

[boulderjohn]

When I dove in Crystal Bay, Nusa Penida, Bali, my Balinese DM told me that we might see the Mola Mola deeper than 130', so he blended me EAN27. We saw one being cleaned by Emperor Anglefish around 160', I went down as closed to it as I could (144') to take a good picture of it (see my avatar) & ascended to MOD (137'), where the DM was watching me. That was the deepest dive I made. The only feeling I got was everything was so calm & peaceful.

While I certainly do not advocate violating MODs, the contingency MOD pp of 1.6 is still considered to be safe, and you were well short of that. Moreover, there is a lot of room for safety built into the standards, and there is no hard line that you cross and have a toxic reaction immediately. In the cases of toxicity I know of, the violations were significant, both in terms of the PP and the time. I would not expect you to have any issues going to 1.5 to get a picture. I'm jealous--I've never seen a mola mola.

 

[jringold]

I bet the operator provides gas appropriate for the dive. They would be foolish not to. I dove the Spiegel Grove in Feb with Rainbow Reef. They provided 30 for the dive. My max depth was 105 feet. There is no need to go to the sand.

We are doing RR and this is specifically related to Spiegel Grove. So that is awesome that they do that.

 

[kelemvor]

"You can't get a plus certification on your tank after it was made."
Um, no, the DOT says a + rating can be given forever, at every hydro, if the hydro shop knows what they are doing and the tank passes the test. But of course, that would mean "choices" and interrupt the assembly-line routine. And maybe, even require looking up numbers.

I can confirm that one. My four lp108's came back from their first hydro last week. All four got a + stamp! I did make it a point to ask specifically about the + rating when I dropped my tank at the LDS.

 

[HantsDiver]

I can confirm that one. My four lp108's came back from their first hydro last week. All four got a + stamp! I did make it a point to ask specifically about the + rating when I dropped my tank at the LDS.

Why? I use steel cylinders and don't feel the need to overfill them. My gas planning assumes a low fill before a dive. Unless you fill them yourself you are at the mercy of a tank mokey anyway. (Speaking as someone who has been a tank monkey).

 

[kelemvor]

I would not say you are a dumb a$$, actually most places will NOT blend you a special blend unless they state that. Most places will bank whatever Nitrox seems to be the most popular for the area, if they have Nitrox at all. I still frequent a few shops that don't even do Nitrox.

I guess it's a matter of what's available near you. The first few years I dove nitrox, I did best gas calculations for every dive I planned and got that gas mixed up. For about the past year I've got lazy and started just getting 32%. Most of the time it's been a non issue.

The only place I've run into problems getting the blend I want is in Key Largo & vicinity. Some ops down there don't even fill nitrox at all. I was struck with the feeling like the area was behind the times on that stuff, but maybe there is a good reason for it. I dove for a week with Rainbow Reef a few years ago and had to drive up the road each evening to get nitrox fills because RR wouldn't do it.

 

[boulderjohn]

I guess it's a matter of what's available near you. The first few years I dove nitrox, I did best gas calculations for every dive I planned and got that gas mixed up. For about the past year I've got lazy and started just getting 32%. Most of the time it's been a non issue.

The only place I've run into problems getting the blend I want is in Key Largo & vicinity. Some ops down there don't even fill nitrox at all. I was struck with the feeling like the area was behind the times on that stuff, but maybe there is a good reason for it. I dove for a week with Rainbow Reef a few years ago and had to drive up the road each evening to get nitrox fills because RR wouldn't do it.

Most of the dives in the Key Largo area are so shallow that there is no reason for nitrox. That said, I think all the operators can provide nitrox. The one time I dived with Rainbow Reef, I got trimix.

 

[kelemvor]

Why? I use steel cylinders and don't feel the need to overfill them. My gas planning assumes a low fill before a dive. Unless you fill them yourself you are at the mercy of a tank mokey anyway. (Speaking as someone who has been a tank monkey).

It was mostly just because I didn't want to feel like I had lost something. Honestly I have no problem getting cave fills (around 3600psi) in my tanks locally so the + rating is not really relevant. Even when out of town the know nothing tank monkeys generally don't notice that the tanks are low pressure and tend to fill them to 3000ish like they would an al80. That was my experience in the Riviera beach and Marathon areas both.

 

[kelemvor]

Most of the dives in the Key Largo area are so shallow that there is no reason for nitrox. That said, I think all the operators can provide nitrox. The one time I dived with Rainbow Reef, I got trimix.

I understand they're trying to change things at RR with the hiring of a new captain and whatnot. I had a lengthy discussion with them at the time I was there and their policy was that they would not fill any tank they did not own with anything but air. It didn't matter if my inspections were up to date or even if I had paid them to inspect my tanks. Pretty sure this was in 2014. If I wanted trox I had to rent an al80 with trox or go down the road. I went to Silent World for my fills each day. Good to hear that RR is filling both nitrox and trimix now days - you have to love progress!

 

[boulderjohn]

I understand they're trying to change things at RR with the hiring of a new captain and whatnot. I had a lengthy discussion with them at the time I was there and their policy was that they would not fill any tank they did not own with anything but air. It didn't matter if my inspections were up to date or even if I had paid them to inspect my tanks. Pretty sure this was in 2014. If I wanted trox I had to rent an al80 with trox or go down the road. I went to Silent World for my fills each day. Good to hear that RR is filling both nitrox and trimix now days - you have to love progress!

Well, I may not have understood your original post. I was renting the tanks in which I got the trimix.