Nitrox certification

[BRT]

Main thing is to study hard for the water part of the test.

 

[boulderjohn]

I took the PADI nitrox course in May of 2012. We learned how to do all the math necessary to plan dives using nitrox or air tables. Can you tell us when PADI stopped teaching tables, and perhaps point us to some documentation of this event?

There was a frankly bewildering period of change over several years. When changes in courses are implemented, instructors and dive operations are given time to make the changes, and sometimes there are choices. If a dive shop has an inventory of materials on hand, they can use up those materials before moving to the new courses. I did not teach the course for a couple of years, and when I started teaching the course again for a new shop and went into their files to pull out the copies of the exams, I found it was a challenge to match the right exam to the version of the course my students had actually taken. There were several sets of exams and knowledge reviews in the files.

I would not be surprised to find that the course you took in 2012 is different from one taught in the same shop today.

 

[drinksfromtap]

HMMM,

I took the PADI course last year and there was a mix of tables and computers. We also did the reviews from the book which included calculations for PPO2, MOD etc. Then I learned how to use my computer, I set the computer for the mix and the PPO2, it gives me the MOD. I can calculate it if I want to or I can use the computer to do it for me.

Same here.

 

[uncfnp]

Im taking the Nitrox training with SSI. My class room portion is next week and the water part is the following weekend. Heres the question.... Do I really need anything more than 32%? When I complete the class I can get my 32% card, or continue and do the dive and get the 40%. What do I really gain with 40%. The training manual doesn't really go into when I would use 40%. Can someone please provide me examples of when I would use more the 32%? Thanks


Don

Sent from my iPad

Don. I'm curious. Does the additional certification just add the dives or is it additional instruction as well as another poster has suggested?

My opinion? You want the full course. As mentioned, it is somewhat area and dive plan conditional but in Florida it is not uncommon to have N36 readily available and at least one dive shop with several locations in south Florida does partial pressure blending giving you your choice of any mix for which you are certified so you can maximize your bottom time.

If you are taking the course, I see no reason to only take part of it. Personally, I would not feel comfortable diving nitrox without it. If the cost difference is significant, I'd look elsewhere for the course. Perhaps even a different certifying agency.

 

[tursiops]

I took the PADI nitrox course in May of 2012. We learned how to do all the math necessary to plan dives using nitrox or air tables. Can you tell us when PADI stopped teaching tables, and perhaps point us to some documentation of this event?

PADI announced the computer-based course in 2009, effective Aug 2009, and noted the previous training materials were now officially outdated. They provided new materials.
In the first quarter of 2011, instructors were reminded that the change to computer training had to be done, that the then-current EANx manual no longer even discussed tables. Tables were still available, and could still be taught. That is still the guidance: the standard training materials are for computers, but the tables are still available and must be supplemented with additional training materials. The 1Q2014 PADI Training Bulletin (required reading for PADI instructors) says, "If you choose to teach the PADI Enriched Air Diver course using dive tables rather than dive computers, a table set is available (metric or imperial) that includes the Equivalent Air Depth Table, Oxygen Exposure Table, EANx32 RDP, EANx36 RDP and an illustrated study guide that shows the student diver how to use them."
I know a number of instructors teach the computer course, but then supplement it with the additional material. Since the students will almost certainly be diving with a computer, this serves them well.

It sounds like your 2012 class was using older manuals that still had the math in them.

 

[~ dry]

Hope you don't mind a newer diver chiming in!

I did SSI Open Water, and Nitrox I (32% only) was included as part of the course. We learned our MOD for 32% and we learned to respect it. I may take the full Nitrox course if I ever save enough to do a liveaboard trip . . .

Our instructor had some funny anecdotes about Nitox starting out as "Voodoo Gas" and ending up as "Geezer Gas".

 

[Dnaber]

Don. I'm curious. Does the additional certification just add the dives or is it additional instruction as well as another poster has suggested?

My opinion? You want the full course. As mentioned, it is somewhat area and dive plan conditional but in Florida it is not uncommon to have N36 readily available and at least one dive shop with several locations in south Florida does partial pressure blending giving you your choice of any mix for which you are certified so you can maximize your bottom time.

If you are taking the course, I see no reason to only take part of it. Personally, I would not feel comfortable diving nitrox without it. If the cost difference is significant, I'd look elsewhere for the course. Perhaps even a different certifying agency.

First off thanks to everyone for your input.

Uncfnp, the price of the class includes the dive (Nitrox tanks included, plus instructor) I only have to pay the price of admission to the spring. So Im assuming that this would just be another opportunity to work on my buoyancy after the training. Thanks again.


Don

Sent from my iPad

 

[Jim Lapenta]

That's a good way to look at it. I can teach SEI,SDI, and TDI Nitrox courses. The SEI course is not much different content wise than the TDI Advanced Nitrox course. But you don't get the 100% on your card. Just up to 40%. The SDI Nitrox is a computer course and I will not teach it. It's just a card I have. The TDI course is tables, calculations, and it and the SEI course talk about computers and if a student shows up with one we'll go over it's use. As a back up to the plans he/she makes using tables. The SEI course requires dives, TDI doesn't. But the TDI Nitrox also qualifies them to learn how to rebuild their own regs if they own HOG regs since they can take the HOG Reg Service course.

FWIW my PADI Nitrox lets me use up to 80%. Cause they screwed up and sent me two cards. Both good to 40%. I told my instructor at the time that I was going to add em up and get to use up to 80%. He didn't say no so........

And if an op or shop gives me any crap I'll just show my Adv Nitrox Instructor Card. Although some recreational shops might be confused by that based on the reports of some of my friends on here.

 

[scubastingray]

A lot depends upon when you took it. I took my nitrox course through PADI many years ago, and it was very intense. I teach the course through PADI now, and it is nowhere near as difficult as when I took it. When you think about it, though, a lot of what I learned in my course has no real practical value for the recreational nitrox user. If you are never using air tables to plan your dives, why would you need to know how to make the calculations necessary to do that? The only times I have ever made those calculations after taking the class are when I have been teaching it.

I also teach Advanced Nitrox through TDI, and I don't think that course is as difficult as my first PADI course was--and it doesn't have to be.

Now I'm confused, because I took this in the last year. Based on posts after yours in this thread it seems that it is optional to still teach the old materials? The exam I took for it took a fair bit of time and jumping around the tables, air equivalent depths, mod, etc.

This is really sad to think about though, as MOD isn't even stressed in the computer based courses it seems (or the calculation of it), and figuring it out when your computer tells you a funny message you haven't seen before seems like a terrible way to learn the MOD.


My brother says when he did his nitrox they just focused on memorizing it based on your mix.

 

[dmoore19]

In the course you took maybe, but not in the one I took. MOD was stressed. The "extra" material the tables were shown. I was also told that you could buy a copy of the tables, being a cheap ass diver I saw no reason to buy the tables if I had a computer that did the same thing and I already owned the computer.

Now I'm confused, because I took this in the last year. Based on posts after yours in this thread it seems that it is optional to still teach the old materials? The exam I took for it took a fair bit of time and jumping around the tables, air equivalent depths, mod, etc.

This is really sad to think about though, as MOD isn't even stressed in the computer based courses it seems (or the calculation of it), and figuring it out when your computer tells you a funny message you haven't seen before seems like a terrible way to learn the MOD.


My brother says when he did his nitrox they just focused on memorizing it based on your mix.