Deep Diving without Nitrox

[mike_s]

I think he means that while you are doing your 5 AOW dives that you can also do 2 of your dives on NITROX to complete that requirement also instead of having to do dives 6 and 7 for Nitrox.


Actually, I've been told that you can do your nitrox checkout dives on the last two dives of your open water also, which I found a little odd that they would let you combine stuff that quickly. (seems to me that you need to stick to the basic open water course until complete to avoid confusion from overload of information)

but... you don't even have to do that. PADI and others have actually dropped the checkout-dive requirement from Nitrox.

 

[TheRedHead]

Where Nitrox really rocks is on repetitive dives. Say you've done a dive to 120 feet on air using a multilevel profile and surface with group designation of H. After a 2 hour surface interval, you'll get a LOT more time on your next dive to 60 feet using EAN36. I'm too lazy to do the math, but I'm sure someone will whip out their tables and try and prove me wrong.

 

[Bubble Junky]

This makes no sense - you're saying that you can do 2 dives on a single specialty for AOW, when I thought you had to do 5 DIFFERENT specialties (night, deep, and navigation along with 2 electives). You cannot have the 2 electives be the same (or has this changed?)

Also, you are saying that the dives count towards a nitrox cert, but I am 99% positive that the PADI enriched air diver course no longer requires even 1 dive, it is only classroom (TDI and other agencies still require dives)

I will agree that any dive completed in AOW counts toward a dive in that specialty, but as I said there are no dives in enriched air diver anymore.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong??

As a PADI nitrox instructor, I am pretty sure that you still have to do the two dives on the Nitrox spec. As these dives have no 'in-water' skills as such, you can combine the Nitrox course with another, eg. AOW. You still do five dives on the AOW (eg, Deep, Nav, Wreck, PPB and Naturalist), but do two of these dives using Nitrox and gain the two certifications. The fives dives from the AOW can then, at the instructors discretion, be counted towards the corresponding speciaties.

 

[Jay Roy]

Are there any deep divers without a nitrox certification or who simply don't use nitrox?

All I know about nitrox is that it extends your bottom time. And I see that most AOW curses don't requiere you be nitrox certified to take them. So since my money is tight, I was wondering if I can make that certification one of the last ones I'll get.

Nitrox is not a "deep diving" gas...You get the most benefit in the 60'-110' range...
Nitrox can extend your bottom time..Or it can add an extra margin of safety if you use it and follow an air table..Alot of people dive nitrox thinking it safer, but they program the mix in their computer, and dive within a minute or 2 of the NDL thus removing all safety margin nitrox can add..
Your not going to get alot of benefit with nitrox as an O/W diver..But after AOW, its the next class I'd be taking..

 

[knotical]

PADI’s Second Quarter, 2006 Training Bulletin dropped the dive requirement.

 

[Bubble Junky]

Actually, I've been told that you can do your nitrox checkout dives on the last two dives of your open water also, which I found a little odd that they would let you combine stuff that quickly. (seems to me that you need to stick to the basic open water course until complete to avoid confusion from overload of information)
.

You can do dive 4 on Nitrox, then a fifth to complete the Nitrox spec too.

 

[Bubble Junky]

PADI’s Second Quarter, 2006 Training Bulletin dropped the dive requirement.

Sorry all, haven't received mine yet !

 

[np251]

This makes no sense - you're saying that you can do 2 dives on a single specialty for AOW, when I thought you had to do 5 DIFFERENT specialties (night, deep, and navigation along with 2 electives). You cannot have the 2 electives be the same (or has this changed?)

Also, you are saying that the dives count towards a nitrox cert, but I am 99% positive that the PADI enriched air diver course no longer requires even 1 dive, it is only classroom (TDI and other agencies still require dives)

I will agree that any dive completed in AOW counts toward a dive in that specialty, but as I said there are no dives in enriched air diver anymore.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong??

Yep, thats correct. No dives required, Only classroom (but you can do other dives using Nitrox- but they dont count for the card. you technically have that after the class before you even kit up). Rationale is that, other than the new operating limits of the gas, diving on Nitrox is exactly the same as air (which is EanX21 anyway). My instructor couldnt justify why the course wasnt any cheaper, so i took the two optional dives to get more in water experience. More cost effective than paying for two guided dives + kit hire.

And yes, its five different dives. Deep and Nav + 3 of your choice.

 

[hank harris]

Been diving many moons, still no nitrox. Like drbill, I don't want to limit myself to those depths (even if I rarely venture below 130).

I appreciated the article Andy linked; some good stuff in there.

 

[mike_s]

As a PADI nitrox instructor, I am pretty sure that you still have to do the two dives on the Nitrox spec.

The following is a quote from Page 6 of the PADI Instructor Training Bulletin for Second Quarter 2006




Enriched Air Diver Course Dives No Longer Required!

"April 7, 2006.....



Since the PADI Enriched Air Diver course was first introduced, enriched air diving has become more popular with more widespread reputable enriched air providers. Some who teach the course have requested a reevaluation of whether or not dives should be mandatory for course certification. As a result, effective immediately, the PADI Enriched Air Diver course no longer requires dives, though they are still recommended. Instead, a pre-dive simulation is required. The critical objectives of the Enriched Air Diver course are both learned and applied out of the water, and center around the physical procedures of gas analysis (and related use of logs and contents stickers). The performance requirement for the dive can effectively be addressed in a pre-dive simulation, which can be presented in conjunction with practical application 1 and 2.

The performance requirements for this simulation are listed below:

1. Demonstrate pre-dive equipment setup, blend analysis label confirmation for two enriched air dives with two different scuba cylinders fill with EAN.
2. Plan two enriched air dives including maximum depths, oxygen limits and no stop limits using the RDP, the DSAT Equivalent Air Depth and Oxygen Exposure Tables and the Enriched Air RDP's, based on: depths, times, gas supply and surface intervals. Provided by the instructor and the analyzed content of the two scuba cylinders filled with enriched air."