Calling out the Nitrox Posers!

[rjack321]

Exactly, which is why I think all OW students should be taught to use an O2 analyzer even if they do not know how to use nitrox.

If you are teaching them that much, spend an extra couple hours and cover nitrox. Then the shop gets 1000% markup for O2 in the voodoo gas they'll all want!

 

[Soggy]

Maybe, if you don't fill the cylinder until you've made the dive plans, or have a cylinder with a dedicated use (OW pool dives). Shoot, even with a compressor I am filling lots of cylinders before I know exactly what I plan on using them for. Not gonna be putting air in them, its use is too limited.

I've got a couple single LP72s that just aren't worth using for anything even remotely deep, so they always have air in them. My dive team has a collective cache of doubles that we always keep 30% nitrox or 21/35 in so we can dive a variety of depths from shallow to 170'ish and just grab the tanks we need and plan on the boat.

 

[rjack321]

I've got a couple single LP72s that just aren't worth using for anything even remotely deep, so they always have air in them. My dive team has a collective cache of doubles that we always keep 30% nitrox or 21/35 in so we can dive a variety of depths from shallow to 170'ish and just grab the tanks we need and plan on the boat.

I only have 2 sets of doubles so that's where most of my juggling goes on. But I still put 32% in the hp80s. Even though they're small, its so cheap (<$1.50 worth of O2) there's no reason not to. Warning, no bumper stickers though so don't go swiping them.

 

[jo8243]

Okay, I can't stand it any longer. For the record, I am nitrox certified. This means I know what nitrox is , when it can be useful, and when it can be dangerous. But it seems every time I am at some popular, shallow shore dive there is some buffoon there breathing nitrox.

I am not talking about an application where it might be useful. I am talking about 15' shore dives, 25' deep spring dives, or even instructors training people in swimming pools!! What is the point of this? In these instances you are not NDL limited, (and won't be on subsequent dives either) so there is really no reason to be breathing it. It just wastes money.

I think they look like idiots and are just trying to show off to non-nitrox divers and chicks on the beach.

Am I way off base here?

1) Why do you care what other people do?

2) Anytime you can absorb less nitrogen, you should, regardless of depth. The only thing you're giving up is money.

3) You're a n00b.

 

[Blackwood]

Nice theory, nice ideal, but not what happens in real life. In real life there are lots of divers that are NOT nitrox certified and there are lots of tanks of air that never get analyzed. The danger is simply that a diver expecting a tank of air mistakenly grabs a nitrox tank on a boat and exceeds MOD.

I've seen a person who was NOT EANx certified try to grab someone else's tank because it HAD nitrox stickers. "Cool! Nitrox!"

On more that one occasion, actually.

Whether your mark or not, something could go wrong.

Personally, I don't cater to the lowest common denominator. Duct tape with my name, the mix, the MOD, and the tank pressure at time of analysis is all the marking I need.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

I pose too - to keep my O2 clean and compatible life support equipment in that same condition between routine servicings on even shallow dives as mentioned if air fills that are O2 blending compatible aren't available.

There will always be some folks who are like those Navy folks washed out of the first nuclear Navy programs that seasoned their food before they tasted it - washed out because 'they hadn't considered all the possibilities', as I recall from the history books. Why they have to decide to label others who have considered matters further is their own issue(s).

 

[ehuber]

who cares?

 

[lamont]

Nice theory, nice ideal, but not what happens in real life. In real life there are lots of divers that are NOT nitrox certified and there are lots of tanks of air that never get analyzed. The danger is simply that a diver expecting a tank of air mistakenly grabs a nitrox tank on a boat and exceeds MOD.


Actually, the useful information is "this tank may not be air".

If you have the tank clearly labeled such that it is obvious to anyone that it is your personal tank, or if you never leave the tank unattended around other divers, then there isn't any reason for a nitrox sticker. OTOH, IMO it's a very poor idea to go out on a boat that has on it divers other than your buddies, and leaving a tank of nitrox or trimix lying around that has no label other than a small contents label.

Most of the time I dive doubles. When was the last time a BOW-certified diver accidentally grabbed a set of doubles that someone left lying around?

And typically I dive around other people who understand the same tank marking scheme that I do. I can't recall the last time I was on a boat dive where this would have been an issue.

Next time we hit one of those anti-DIR threads when someone goes off about DIR divers not diving with other divers, I'm definitely bringing up this issue as one of the reasons why its a freaking headache for DIR divers to dive with the rest of you all...

 

[jeckyll]

Lamont: I'm not DIR, but I promise you, if I saw your doubles lying around, never grab them and just take them for a dive.

I'd always make sure you weren't watching first

 

[uspap]

Lamont
I think that goes for all divers not just DIR. I dive 120's and I worry someone will snag one and I'll get stuck with an 80. I try to do only six pack boats with my own group. I hate crowds and idiots. The comment about being a headache diving with the rest of you sounds a little arogant. Not all of us are morons. I am. But not all of us are.
(take my spelling for instance)