Why is Nitrox so expensive (and so hard to get)?

[Heg]

We were just about to book a three- dive day trip with one of the local dive shops. Cost was $199 for three dives including tanks and weights. I asked to have Nitrox and was told it was an ADDITIONAL $24 per tank. I almost fainted. When we dived the ex HMAS Brisbane, we were charged an extra $15 per tank , which I though was a bit much, but $24 per tank? And this is on top of a dive that includes a price for tanks and weights?

To be fair, it's rare to even be able to get Nitrox locally here in Brisbane. We have been put off doing local weekend live aboard trips, as it simply isn't available. This seems very odd, as we have never had any issues getting Nitrox fills in places like Fiji and Indonesia (and have never paid such an enormous price for it either)
Can anyone enlighten me?

Thanks

 

[Mike.D]

I'm a local diver from brissie and yes Nitrox is quite expensive here, and not every dive shop/operator can even provide it, although it is starting to be more and more popular over time.
As Brisbane does not have a whole lot of deep technical dives, there is no real demand for it. Yet.
The best way to get nitrox cheaper is to buy a tank refill card, where you pay a set price for x amount of nitrox fills, usually a standard mix like 32% which is most commonly banked and so does not require tanks to be O2 cleaned to fill.

You think nitrox is expensive? Check out the price of helium!! It'll blow your socks off!!


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[ScubaInChicago]

Depending on the size of the outfit, they may not be equipped to do Nitrox fills. Some places have fancy fill stations, some partial pressure blend requiring o2 cleaned tanks, and other source the tanks from a 3rd party located hours away. All of the above cost money & the economics don't always make sense for them to invest in the equipment.

 

[Heg]

As Brisbane does not have a whole lot of deep technical dives, there is no real demand for it. Yet.

But thats what I don't get. You can't dive deep on Nitrox. It's perfect for recreational stuff...(IMO).

You think nitrox is expensive? Check out the price of helium!! It'll blow your socks off!!

One reason for me never to go over to tech diving

---------- Post added April 4th, 2015 at 07:37 PM ----------

Depending on the size of the outfit, they may not be equipped to do Nitrox fills. Some places have fancy fill stations, some partial pressure blend requiring o2 cleaned tanks, and other source the tanks from a 3rd party located hours away. All of the above cost money & the economics don't always make sense for them to invest in the equipment.

Catch 22. It's expensive, so divers are avoiding it. therefore demand isn't enough to warrant the dive shops investing in the equipment.(repeat 'til fade)
Niggles me that tiny dive shops in places like Fiji and Indonesia all offer it though. More repetitive diving being done there I guess.

 

[ScubaInChicago]

In order to get every last drop out of an o2 tank, most places use a booster which runs 3-5k and requires drive gas of +/-10CFM. It also takes a lot longer to get the last of the o2 out, sometimes taking the equivalent of 5-7 80cf tanks of air/drive gas. On top of that, the lines need to be o2 cleaned and the top of air needs to be oxygen compatible or it will contaminate the o2 cleaned tanks. If that's not enough, the staff would need to be trained on how to properly use the equipment.

There have been many accidents reported from o2 mishaps. It should be treated with respect and deserves to be charged as a premium product. Competition, supply, and demand hasn't brought the cost down to bring it to the masses in that marketplace

 

[MB NZ]

The situation is worse across the ditch. Drysuits haven't been discovered yet. It's like the opening scene from 2001:A Space Odyssey

 

[Mike.D]

What! You guys are diving wetsuits down there! Man I freeze my arse off diving in anything colder than 20 degrees Celsius! Hahahaha


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[MB NZ]

What! You guys are diving wetsuits down there!

I'm not

 

[Rich Keller]

You can make your own nitrox fills. You start with an empty tank, fill it with enough oxygen to get you to the right percent when the rest of the tank is filled with air. You just need to get an oxygen cylinder, be able to do the math and get a nitrox analyzer to check your results. This will not help with the dive ops you are using but you will be able to use nitrox at home.

 

[ScubaInChicago]

You can make your own nitrox fills. You start with an empty tank, fill it with enough oxygen to get you to the right percent when the rest of the tank is filled with air. You just need to get an oxygen cylinder, be able to do the math and get a nitrox analyzer to check your results. This will not help with the dive ops you are using but you will be able to use nitrox at home.

Exactly, and don't kill yourself or others while doing it.