A little confused on Nitrox and Regulators??

[DavidHickey]

Good Morning, I'm really new to scuba, "In the process of getting certified". I love new toys, and have been reading all I can on the internet about equipment and such. Even though I'm along ways away from purchasing I love dreaming!! BUT I'm getting confused on the use of Nitrox. Is this the normal gas used for recreational and sport diving or is it rarely used??? From what I've been reading you can use Nitrox with any diving equipment up to 40% oxygen. BUT then I found a regulator that I thought was really nice, "and expensive" the Poseidon Xstream. But there are a few models, the Xstream Duration which states its compatible with Nitrox up to 50% Oxygen. And its available with 7 ports now. But then they have the Xstream Dive which they supposively made for regular Air and in the specs does not say its Nitrox compatible. Can you still run Nitrox with this regulator as long as its below 40% ???? And if not why would you not buy the Duration model with 7 ports instead of the Dive since they are both in the same price range? Anyhow the whole nitrox thing has me confused, I would just hate to buy something not Nitrox compatible if everything is switching to it.
David

Ps. Just looking "and dreaming at this point and just making a wish list. If I had to buy today I was thinking of the Poseidon Xtream regulator and Octopuss, Mares Morphos Pro BCD, and the Dacor Darwin air integrated/Nitrox dive computer. Would that be a decent match or am I just wet behind the ears at this point

 

[String]

Nearly all regs on the market will be fine for use with <40% mixes of oxygen out of the box.

If you want to use higher percentages for accelerated decompression then you'll need specially cleaned regs.

Tanks however need to be O2 cleaned for any nitrox use.

I dislike air integrated computers on a hose but thats a personal call - dont forget you HAVE to get a normal analogue gauge as well.

 

[Lead_carrier]

String is pretty much right.. Almost all regs made today are <40% Nitrox ready straight from the box. Above that you definitely need to have O2 ready regs.

Tanks need O2 cleaning if they are filled using partial pressure.

The gear you're looking at isn't my favorite but it is very workable.

 

[RonFrank]

I dislike air integrated computers on a hose but thats a personal call - dont forget you HAVE to get a normal analogue gauge as well.

I was under the impression that an air integrated system would not require an additional pressure gauge? Why does one need both? Redundancy?

Also curious why you don't like the AI systems, do you perfer to have something attached on the wrist?

Thanks,
Ron

 

[String]

I was under the impression that an air integrated system would not require an additional pressure gauge? Why does one need both? Redundancy?

Exactly that, computers can and do fail or misread (albeit rarely but it can happen). Likewise all divers with a computer should imho also carry an analogue depth gauge and a watch to time the dive.

If the computer dies you want a method of telling you how deep you are, how long you've been down and how much air you have left.

Analogue gauges are very simple designs and far less likely to break.

Also curious why you don't like the AI systems, do you perfer to have something attached on the wrist?

Thanks,
Ron

I dont like hose-AI systems (ie in a console). I find a wrist mounted computer far easier to read and use when the hands are being used for something else (ie carrying a torch, lifting a casualty or even in a normal dive surfacing dumping air from BC with left hand, from dry suit by raising left arm whilst reeling in on the DSMB with right hand - that leave no spare hands to look at a computer).

 

[Scubaguy62]

I'm not too fond of Mares bc's, mainly because they never really made a good back buoyancy bc, IMHO. However, I swear by Mares' regs, especially those with the V16, MR22 or V22 1st stage. 200 dive or 2 yr maintenance warranty....nice! I dive an Oceanic Pro-tour BC (my next rig will be a bp/w) and Aeris Atmos 2 (non-AI).

 

[MechDiver]

Tanks however need to be O2 cleaned for any nitrox use.

Sigh. For the somethinghundredth time, no, they do not.

 

[MechDiver]

And if not why would you not buy the Duration model with 7 ports

Why do you think you need a regulator with 7 ports?

 

[Mike Veitch]

Sigh. For the somethinghundredth time, no, they do not.

I was just going to say that myself. Guess you've said it before eh? :11:

 

[String]

Sigh. For the somethinghundredth time, no, they do not.

Ive yet to come across anywhere that doesnt use partial pressure blending.