Blender Course

[Steele]

I finished my course for Tri Mix Blender Sunday. I wholeheartedly recommend this course to anyone and everyone from beginner to advanced diver. It certainly has given me a new found respect for people cleaning tanks and other equipment for O2 use. I did not realize the amount of work involved until I did it myself. HOLY COW! :11:

I place this in the BSD forum because being a relatively new diver myself, I can't help but think how much it helped me understand the whole concept of how and when people use different mixes and how to achieve that 'perfect blend' for my EANx dives. (Yea, I can cook you up a nice 10/50 mix but have to wait for my tech classes to join you )

Sure, the class does get technical when doing long-hand computations of mixes, but that is just to give you the underlying theory of how a computer arrives at these computations.

In addition, if you own your own tanks, it sure is cheaper to do it yourself or pay the LDS a fee to use their facilities than to pay the entire O2 cleaning charge.

Plus, I gain no small comfort knowing I've cleaned the gear myself. Sorta like packing your own parachute.

Anyway, if you've got a weekend to spare, find a course and take it. I live in the SE US. If anyone is looking for an instructor, I can give you the contact information of an extremely professional and amazing instructor. This guy was the bees knees! Just PM me.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I finished my course for Tri Mix Blender Sunday. I wholeheartedly recommend this course to anyone and everyone from beginner to advanced diver. It certainly has given me a new found respect for people cleaning tanks and other equipment for O2 use. I did not realize the amount of work involved until I did it myself. HOLY COW! :11:

I place this in the BSD forum because being a relatively new diver myself, I can't help but think how much it helped me understand the whole concept of how and when people use different mixes and how to achieve that 'perfect blend' for my EANx dives. (Yea, I can cook you up a nice 10/50 mix but have to wait for my tech classes to join you )

Sure, the class does get technical when doing long-hand computations of mixes, but that is just to give you the underlying theory of how a computer arrives at these computations.

In addition, if you own your own tanks, it sure is cheaper to do it yourself or pay the LDS a fee to use their facilities than to pay the entire O2 cleaning charge.

Plus, I gain no small comfort knowing I've cleaned the gear myself. Sorta like packing your own parachute.

Anyway, if you've got a weekend to spare, find a course and take it. I live in the SE US. If anyone is looking for an instructor, I can give you the contact information of an extremely professional and amazing instructor. This guy was the bees knees! Just PM me.

Just curious ... who offers the class you took (agency)?

I just completed an IANTD Rec Trimix class last night ... blender's next on my list of class "to do's" ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[captndale]

Just curious ... who offers the class you took (agency)?

I just completed an IANTD Rec Trimix class last night ... blender's next on my list of class "to do's" ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

As far as I am aware all the technical agencies offer a blending course. Most trimix instructors should be able to offer a blending course as well. I always offer it as a low-cost add-on to my trimix courses. Trimix divers in my area frequently find themselves in somewhat remote areas where it is difficult to get mix locally, so they have to carry the gas and mix their own.

 

[pickens_46929]

Just took the Gas Blender with Trimix this weekend myself. You're right on the mark with your comments -- well worth while. Think I cleaned and filled 5 tanks of various sizes and mixes, which was well worth the price of the course alone. Very good class. There were 4 of us in the class and it took about 10 hours total, about 4 hours classroom and 6 hours cleaning / filling. Learned abit about valve maintenance and equipment too... like ultrasonic cleaner and the special "cleaning solution".

 

[Steele]

Just curious ... who offers the class you took (agency)?

I just completed an IANTD Rec Trimix class last night ... blender's next on my list of class "to do's" ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

It's the PADI/DSAT Gas Blender course that EnviroDive developed for PADI. I hope that doesn't make it any less valid to people. To me, it was the best course I've ever taken. A great instructor was a fantastic boon, as well.

 

[Steele]

Just took the Gas Blender with Trimix this weekend myself. You're right on the mark with your comments -- well worth while. Think I cleaned and filled 5 tanks of various sizes and mixes, which was well worth the price of the course alone. Very good class. There were 4 of us in the class and it took about 10 hours total, about 4 hours classroom and 6 hours cleaning / filling. Learned abit about valve maintenance and equipment too... like ultrasonic cleaner and the special "cleaning solution".

Congrats on the pass! Yea, my class was 2 days long. (I think it depends on the instructor) Day one consisted of 6 hours of lecture and knowledge reviews, followed by 3 hours of practical work. We had 3 teams of 2-3 people in the class and we each were responsible for O2 cleaning a couple sets of tanks and valves the first day.

The second day lasted about 4-5 hours of more practical (hands-on) work as we continued O2 cleaning and cooking up 4-5 various types of mixes each. The day ended with the written test.

The course was so well taught, my retention of various formulae is still with me. Normally, I'd have forgotten it and relied on the computer to do the computations. Hell, I'm comfortable doing it long-hand and verifying it with the computer. (Yes, I'll verify - O2 and He can be expensive if you've screwed the pooch so bad you need to release several hundered psi out of the bottle )

 

[mania]

Welcome to the blender club then

So here is something to be solved.
After diving you're left with:
doubles:
2x12 liters tanks (gee, guys you have to calculate it into cubic feet - but in this case i think it's 80 cuft) with 70 bar EAN 32
2x 12 with 80 bar EAN 32
stages:
7 liters tank with 100 bar 100% O2
10 liters tank with 70 bar EAN50

on top of that you have and old doubles 2x15 liters with TX 15/55

in the blending station you have:

He - 3 tanks:
50 liters - 70 bar
40 liters - 110 bar
50 liters -190 bar

O2 - tanks:
40 liter - 60 bar
50 liter 100 bar
40 liter - 160 bar

for diving you need two doubles 2x12 liters 230 bar with TX 18/45 in them and two stages EAN50 (200 bar in the 7 liter one and 160 bar in the 10 liter one).
This has to be done in the most effective way remembering the price of helium

I'm trying to solve it - just for fun and for keeping my mind working hard

have fun
Mania

 

[Steele]

Welcome to the blender club then

So here is something to be solved.
After diving you're left with:
doubles:
2x12 liters tanks (gee, guys you have to calculate it into cubic feet - but in this case i think it's 80 cuft) with 70 bar EAN 32
2x 12 with 80 bar EAN 32
stages:
7 liters tank with 100 bar 100% O2
10 liters tank with 70 bar EAN50

on top of that you have and old doubles 2x15 liters with TX 15/55

in the blending station you have:

He - 3 tanks:
50 liters - 70 bar
40 liters - 110 bar
50 liters -190 bar

O2 - tanks:
40 liter - 60 bar
50 liter 100 bar
40 liter - 160 bar

for diving you need two doubles 2x12 liters 230 bar with TX 18/45 in them and two stages EAN50 (200 bar in the 7 liter one and 160 bar in the 10 liter one).
This has to be done in the most effective way remembering the price of helium

I'm trying to solve it - just for fun and for keeping my mind working hard

have fun
Mania

would like all that o2 cleaned as well?

 

[mania]

It's already cleaned

I also did the cleaning during my blender course but honestly - found it fun but because it takes time - boring.
This task was made up my a friend of mine - just for training. Try to do it - it ain't easy
Mania

 

[Steele]

hehe, yea, i'm converting metrics now. Ugh.
I figured if you'd wanted it cleaned I could at least bypass half the work by dumping the tanks!