Advanced Nitrox.... can this be done online like Nitrox

[Tug]

There is a difference between using gas with a higher oxygen content and emergency oxygen. As an emergency oxygen instructor I wouldn't consider you to have emergency oxygen training but you do have experience breathing it underwater.

 

[NAM001]

Is there reason to suspect that there is going to be the cost issues with AI as there was with the nitrox course. So many did online nitrox for say 80$ and the local shop charged another 80 for the practical parts. If you took the course form the local shop it was 80-100$. In so many instances you have to pay twice for the nitrox class. In short instructor gouging.

 

[KevinNM]

It's a tech course. Tech courses are priced totally differently than rec courses. It will be more like $800 than $80, though that price has it combined with deco procedures in a 4 day class.

 

[NAM001]

It's a tech course. Tech courses are priced totally differently than rec courses. It will be more like $800 than $80, though that price has it combined with deco procedures in a 4 day class.

I have no idea about the pricing. I was wondering about the instructors and internet both charging full price for the class. internet nitrox had become a ripoff in that respect.

 

[hroark2112]

There is a course for CPR/first aid/AED/emergency O2 provider.

 

[boulderjohn]

I have no idea about the pricing. I was wondering about the instructors and internet both charging full price for the class. internet nitrox had become a ripoff in that respect.

Once again, the difference is that a tech courses involving nitrox has much, much more to it than a recreational nitrox course. In a recreational nitrox course, there is almost nothing new once you learn the academics--you just have to learn how to use a gauge, which takes seconds. In a tech course, there isn't much in the way of academics related to the nitrox itself, and there is all the other stuff mentioned in other posts.

That is why some agencies do not have a separate advanced nitrox course. PADI, for example, does not offer advanced nitrox. Using higher percentages of nitrox for decompression is just part of the tech program. It is also why most people advise taking AN along with DP for agencies that do it that way.

One big difference in the cost of a tech class is the amount of overhead involved in the course, and it varies significantly depending upon the location. Let's take my case as an example. Here in Colorado, if you want to take a recreational level training class, in almost all case you will join a group of like-minded students in a local lake or quarry. Gas costs for the dive are minimal. The shop and instructor will incur minimal costs for the class, and it will have the income from a decent number of students to cover those costs. In contrast, there is next to nowhere in the state that we can do real tech dives. To teach a tech class, I have to travel more than 400 miles each way to the only dive site deep enough for decompression dives. I have to stay in a motel for the duration of the trip. I have to bring 300 cubic foot bottles of helium and oxygen with me, and I have to pay someone local to top off the tanks that I pre-fill with helium and oxygen. I could go on and on with other costs, including all the specialized equipment I need to blend the gases. I can have a maximum of 3 students to cover those costs, and getting 3 at one time is pretty rare. Often it is only 1. If I charged for tech classes the way a shop charges for recreational classes, the amount of money I lost every time I taught a class would be ridiculous.

 

[NAM001]

Once again, the difference is that a tech courses involving nitrox has much, much more to it than a recreational nitrox course. In a recreational nitrox course, there is almost nothing new once you learn the academics--you just have to learn how to use a gauge, which takes seconds. In a tech course, there isn't much in the way of academics related to the nitrox itself, and there is all the other stuff mentioned in other posts.

That is why some agencies do not have a separate advanced nitrox course. PADI, for example, does not offer advanced nitrox. Using higher percentages of nitrox for decompression is just part of the tech program. It is also why most people advise taking AN along with DP for agencies that do it that way.

One big difference in the cost of a tech class is the amount of overhead involved in the course, and it varies significantly depending upon the location. Let's take my case as an example. Here in Colorado, if you want to take a recreational level training class, in almost all case you will join a group of like-minded students in a local lake or quarry. Gas costs for the dive are minimal. The shop and instructor will incur minimal costs for the class, and it will have the income from a decent number of students to cover those costs. In contrast, there is next to nowhere in the state that we can do real tech dives. To teach a tech class, I have to travel more than 400 miles each way to the only dive site deep enough for decompression dives. I have to stay in a motel for the duration of the trip. I have to bring 300 cubic foot bottles of helium and oxygen with me, and I have to pay someone local to top off the tanks that I pre-fill with helium and oxygen. I could go on and on with other costs, including all the specialized equipment I need to blend the gases. I can have a maximum of 3 students to cover those costs, and getting 3 at one time is pretty rare. Often it is only 1. If I charged for tech classes the way a shop charges for recreational classes, the amount of money I lost every time I taught a class would be ridiculous.

John I know that. If the course is 800 dollars and teh online course is 200 is the instructor still going to charge 800 as if the online course was never taken. That is the rip off scheme that has been going on with basic nitrox. The same has been happening for those that are referred to other instructors to sign off dives that can not be done in the area of the training instructor. IE You pay 175 for an AOW course, you doo all the course except the dives. and you go to another location that has deep water to get the deep dives ect signed off and they charge you another 175. The question being is it fiscally sound to take the class portion of advanced nitrox on line at all?

 

[boulderjohn]

The question being is it fiscally sound to take the class portion of advanced nitrox on line at all?

That is the question every smart consumer has to ask before every purchase.

A couple years ago my son and I both needed new toilets for our homes. I bought mine at a local store, and he ordered his online. We both hate doing plumbing. I checked with a couple local plumbers, and they said that they charged the standard rate of $175 per hour for installation, and they said it would take about 1.5 hours, for an estimated total of about $260. The online store said they could arrange the installation for my son for a mere $1,200. We both made the decision to do it ourselves.

Dive agencies do not in any way dictate the fees for local operators and instructors. If you feel a local operator is ripping you off on a price, go somewhere else.

As an aside, the local plumbing rate of $175 per hour was pretty standard, even for something as simple as installing a toilet. Some people must also be willing to pay $1,200 for 1.5 hours of work, which is indeed how long it took me to do it. People in general obviously feel those are fair prices for that kind of service. Imagine the howls of outrage from scuba divers if shops were to charge anything like that for instruction on processes that will save your life, servicing your equipment, etc. I know some local instructors who are actually making minimum wage--those damn money grubbers!

 

[NAM001]

That is the question every smart consumer has to ask before every purchase.

A couple years ago my son and I both needed new toilets for our homes. I bought mine at a local store, and he ordered his online. We both hate doing plumbing. I checked with a couple local plumbers, and they said that they charged the standard rate of $175 per hour for installation, and they said it would take about 1.5 hours, for an estimated total of about $260. The online store said they could arrange the installation for my son for a mere $1,200. We both made the decision to do it ourselves.

Dive agencies do not in any way dictate the fees for local operators and instructors. If you feel a local operator is ripping you off on a price, go somewhere else.

As an aside, the local plumbing rate of $175 per hour was pretty standard, even for something as simple as installing a toilet. Some people must also be willing to pay $1,200 for 1.5 hours of work, which is indeed how long it took me to do it. People in general obviously feel those are fair prices for that kind of service. Imagine the howls of outrage from scuba divers if shops were to charge anything like that for instruction on processes that will save your life, servicing your equipment, etc. I know some local instructors who are actually making minimum wage--those damn money grubbers!

I agree with you: When i got my wife certed for nitrox we looked at the online aspect and fond a course for 80 i think but we had to go to a local shop to do the hands on. .. We found a shop and told them what we were considering and he said 125 for the fee whether he did it all of he did the hands on. Any way it seems that online for courses are not a financial sound plan. Ibelieve theshops reasoning was they would not verify hands on unless it was for the same agency. IE padi on line and padi verification. It makes sense. Of course teh online ads leave out all together any problems like that when you go to get the hands on part done.

 

[ffdiver]

If you have the option I would consider doing the IANTD Advanced nitrox course over the TDI AN course if you just want to do the Advanced nitrox course.

The IANTD course is far better stand alone course than the TDI counterpart. Plus it gets you 140 with 15 mins of deco as where the TDI course wihtout Deco procedures is 130 no deco.