Air then Nitrox

[Dive-aholic]

Oooooooo! I'm bringing my O2 tank with me from now on!!!

 

[pir8]

I think you're all being mean to the OP. Obviously, if he is tethered to the instructor's octo, he is not going to tox.

I've prevented people from smoking cigarettes on boats by telling them I'm diving Nitrox and it could blow up. :lol:

And they believed you. Maybe I'll try that one.

 

[Fotoz4FX]

Interesting how based on information provided everyone wants to ask questions and belittle an instructor who WAS there as opposed to supporting the probability that said instructor might know a little more about the situation (training dive?... aren't ALL dives of that nature? - I've logged over 3,000 of them and STILL learn from them).

Yes Diveaholic is being harsh because even as an instructor he is still questioning the ethics and practices of others who might possibly, probably and likely know something he doesn't about the student or dive buddy they happened to be with at the time of the low on air signal.

I am not going to do that nor am I going to question what appears to be a rational thought on the part of an educated and practicing instructor who has earned the trust of his student or dive buddy (who knew enough to signal his air situation BEFORE it became 'life-threatening' as Diveaholic so blatantly points out as his own conclusion even though he is not justified to making any conclusion based on the information provided). Life-threatening is out of air... not low on air... we ALL (?) know that expansion upon ascending adds a breath approximately every 33 to 34 feet (fresh or salt) and I know that the instructor would not have risked sharing air had it been a deep dive (30-40 minutes is not conservative on a shallow dive but is quite good for a deeper one... my justification and rationale for the conclusion that the situation was a shallow dive one and no concern for Tox Ox considerations) See?... information was there if you just look for it... the mark of intelligent evaluation.

Thank you TheRedHead for your support in the instructor's decision to tether his buddy or student at a safe depth knowing he did not have a Tox scenario in water that obviously was so deep they could have stood up to catch their next breath of air and where the depth was by my evaluation of OP's expression of 'sucking air' (low on air after 30 to 40 minutes) to be less than the first atmosphere of the water column where most divers can get over an hour out of an 80 and, like myself, 2 1/2 hours with EAN 32.

By the way... Oxygen is toxic at sea level - but more so at depth... Hyperoxia is excess oxygen in body tissues or higher than normal partial pressure of oxygen. Hyperoxia is caused by breathing air or oxygen enriched gases at pressures greater than normal atmospheric pressure or by breathing oxygen-rich gases at normal atmospheric pressure for a prolonged period of time causing breathing difficulty and pain resulting in lung damage which may be irreversible.

Part of training is sharing air and if a student can find comfort in the experience through the confidence of an intelligent instructor's use of the practice in a safe environment (again I will not speculate that this was anything but) then it only serves to reinforce the skill.

I applaud both the student who took faith in his instructor and the instructor who taught that sharing air is not something to stimulate uneasiness or fear as in the emergency scenario. I think this student now has a better understanding of the principles without having us brow beat him (or belittle his instructor).

Nuff said and I'm out.

 

[Dive-aholic]

Interesting how based on information provided everyone wants to ask questions and belittle an instructor who WAS there as opposed to supporting the probability that said instructor might know a little more about the situation (training dive?... aren't ALL dives of that nature? - I've logged over 3,000 of them and STILL learn from them).

Yes Diveaholic is being harsh because even as an instructor he is still questioning the ethics and practices of others who might possibly, probably and likely know something he doesn't about the student or dive buddy they happened to be with at the time of the low on air signal.

I am not going to do that nor am I going to question what appears to be a rational thought on the part of an educated and practicing instructor who has earned the trust of his student or dive buddy (who knew enough to signal his air situation BEFORE it became 'life-threatening' as Diveaholic so blatantly points out as his own conclusion even though he is not justified to making any conclusion based on the information provided). Life-threatening is out of air... not low on air... we ALL (?) know that expansion upon ascending adds a breath approximately every 33 to 34 feet (fresh or salt) and I know that the instructor would not have risked sharing air had it been a deep dive (30-40 minutes is not conservative on a shallow dive but is quite good for a deeper one... my justification and rationale for the conclusion that the situation was a shallow dive one and no concern for Tox Ox considerations) See?... information was there if you just look for it... the mark of intelligent evaluation.

Thank you TheRedHead for your support in the instructor's decision to tether his buddy or student at a safe depth knowing he did not have a Tox scenario in water that obviously was so deep they could have stood up to catch their next breath of air and where the depth was by my evaluation of OP's expression of 'sucking air' (low on air after 30 to 40 minutes) to be less than the first atmosphere of the water column where most divers can get over an hour out of an 80 and, like myself, 2 1/2 hours with EAN 32.

By the way... Oxygen is toxic at sea level - but more so at depth... Hyperoxia is excess oxygen in body tissues or higher than normal partial pressure of oxygen. Hyperoxia is caused by breathing air or oxygen enriched gases at pressures greater than normal atmospheric pressure or by breathing oxygen-rich gases at normal atmospheric pressure for a prolonged period of time causing breathing difficulty and pain resulting in lung damage which may be irreversible.

Part of training is sharing air and if a student can find comfort in the experience through the confidence of an intelligent instructor's use of the practice in a safe environment (again I will not speculate that this was anything but) then it only serves to reinforce the skill.

I applaud both the student who took faith in his instructor and the instructor who taught that sharing air is not something to stimulate uneasiness or fear as in the emergency scenario. I think this student now has a better understanding of the principles without having us brow beat him (or belittle his instructor).

Nuff said and I'm out.

Glad you're out because you're obviously reading way too much into this.

First, the OP never mentions the depth of the dive. And regardless of the depth, the fact that he is so nonchalant about running low on air is worrisome.

Second, the OP mentions his instructor. That indicates a training dive. Yes, all dives are training dives to a point, but this was technically a training dive.

Third, I never used the phrase 'life-threatening'. Not sure where you get off quoting me saying that, but you should be careful before you start throwing accusations out there. It's all in writing. Besides, since you use the phrase, low on air can be life threatening.

Fourth, I may be wrong, but I believe you misread RedHead's post. I believe sarcasm was indicated with the tether comment.

Fifth, oxygen is only toxic at sea level after extremely long exposures to high concentrations of it or with underlying conditions. Check my profile and you'll see why I know this.

Finally, sharing air is part of training, but shouldn't be an unplanned event. The OP noticed he was low on air and went to his instructor to share air. I do share airs all the time, in fact every dive in doubles starts out with an S-drill.

Stick up for the OP all you want. I'm not trying to be mean. I just want the OP to learn from this experience. It's obvious from his post he didn't learn from his instructor.

 

[limeyx]

Glad you're out because you're obviously reading way too much into this.

First, the OP never mentions the depth of the dive. And regardless of the depth, the fact that he is so nonchalant about running low on air is worrisome.

Second, the OP mentions his instructor. That indicates a training dive. Yes, all dives are training dives to a point, but this was technically a training dive.

Third, I never used the phrase 'life-threatening'. Not sure where you get off quoting me saying that, but you should be careful before you start throwing accusations out there. It's all in writing. Besides, since you use the phrase, low on air can be life threatening.

Fourth, I may be wrong, but I believe you misread RedHead's post. I believe sarcasm was indicated with the tether comment.

Fifth, oxygen is only toxic at sea level after extremely long exposures to high concentrations of it or with underlying conditions. Check my profile and you'll see why I know this.

Finally, sharing air is part of training, but shouldn't be an unplanned event. The OP noticed he was low on air and went to his instructor to share air. I do share airs all the time, in fact every dive in doubles starts out with an S-drill.

Stick up for the OP all you want. I'm not trying to be mean. I just want the OP to learn from this experience. It's obvious from his post he didn't learn from his instructor.

Well put.
Much better than my less than helpful sarcasm. Guess I was tired.

 

[TheRedHead]

I think the OP's attitude about going OOG is a lot more serious than breathing nitrox without being certified to do so. It begs the question of what would you do if an OOG diver approached your and you were breathing Nitrox or mix. What could you do? Card them?

 

[limeyx]

I think the OP's attitude about going OOG is a lot more serious than breathing nitrox without being certified to do so. It begs the question of what would you do if an OOG diver approached your and you were breathing Nitrox or mix. What could you do? Card them?

card them and give them a quick buoyancy test to make sure they aren't going to exceed their MOD