Do you own an emergency oxygen unit?

[Capt. Bas]

No official one but I´ve cobbled something together with spares form the ship I´m working on. (A constant floww bullnose reducer), a brass adapter and an O2 filled 40CUFT cylinder.
For on demand us I can use the standard O2 clean stage kit.

 

[Sportdiver007]

I am finishing DM course an am considering the boat pak since in South fla the sea life and surface injuries are slightly more prevalent. It jas the option to add the small m9 bottle and mask kit and if I start taking friends an fam on my boat again will be a considering factor. I'm lucky enough to have met some great dive buddies that an O2 kit and the shop we dive with one as well. I don't like having another tank to hydro an vip but after doing the courses understand the need. It is a perishable skill for sure. I've had the o2 delivery experience and basic life saving while in the navy but if I had to do it right now I'd probably need a check list. Stay up on the training and keep it in good working order.

 

[Ana]

I am finishing DM course an am considering the boat pak since in South fla the sea life and surface injuries are slightly more prevalent. It jas the option to add the small m9 bottle and mask kit and if I start taking friends an fam on my boat again will be a considering factor. I'm lucky enough to have met some great dive buddies that an O2 kit and the shop we dive with one as well. I don't like having another tank to hydro an vip but after doing the courses understand the need. It is a perishable skill for sure. I've had the o2 delivery experience and basic life saving while in the navy but if I had to do it right now I'd probably need a check list. Stay up on the training and keep it in good working order.

If you learned the procedure properly it will come to you when is needed. Even if you're not graceful reacting, you'll perform.

I don't know if there's a shelf life for 02 but I kept a kit on board for years and years. When the time came I got it done... Granted I used the lesser optimal port on the reg but I had plenty of available O2 so it wasn't an issue.

As far as having to hydro n viz a tank... Think about it again, you have the expenses of owning a boat and maintain dive gear, having an O2 bottle will be in noise range relative to the boat fuel.

As I've said before... Getting bent happens. It hasn't happened to me yet but I've seen it happen to a diver that did everything right.
If you dive, the odds of getting bent are never zero.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

If you learned the procedure properly it will come to you when is needed. Even if you're not graceful reacting, you'll perform.

Maybe. I had a situation that suggested this isn't always true. Long story made short: Panicked diver, hyperventilating and as a result feeling woozy. Out of abundance of caution, I put her on oxygen.
A DM from another shop assisted and grabbed the kit from my truck (I'm close with these folks and we routinely help each other out). I started rigging the demand valve and was preparing to hand it to my diver while the DM turned the air on. Once she had the tank valve on, she immediately turned on the oxygen flow to the non-demand side and asked if she should set it to 8 cfm. Yeah, no. It's the demand valve in use, so the non-demand should be left off. And 8 cfm isn't, if I recall correctly, something that'd routinely be used. I'm guessing that particular DM had never encountered deployed an oxygen unit in earnest and was a little flustered, but it didn't just come back to her....

 

[Ana]

Maybe. I had a situation that suggested this isn't always true. Long story made short: Panicked diver, hyperventilating and as a result feeling woozy. Out of abundance of caution, I put her on oxygen.
A DM from another shop assisted and grabbed the kit from my truck (I'm close with these folks and we routinely help each other out). I started rigging the demand valve and was preparing to hand it to my diver while the DM turned the air on. Once she had the tank valve on, she immediately turned on the oxygen flow to the non-demand side and asked if she should set it to 8 cfm. Yeah, no. It's the demand valve in use, so the non-demand should be left off. And 8 cfm isn't, if I recall correctly, something that'd routinely be used. I'm guessing that particular DM had never encountered deployed an oxygen unit in earnest and was a little flustered, but it didn't just come back to her....

I guess you're right. There's always a chance to mess things up.

I can't remember exactly what I did right now, but wasted a lot of O2,. Wasn't a big deal because coast guard was close by, we were close to land and i had another full bottle available on board.
My friend went to the chamber and in the process took the mask with her. No big deal, we ordered another, and while browsing things at the DAN site i noticed a nice solid cheat sheet with the picture of the whole system put together at a reasonable price. So now our system has a fresh mask, tubing , and that plastic sheet . Not quite a checklist,but very good reminder for anyone that already knows how to set things up.
Maybe tomorrow will be a good day to give it a check, it feels like it was yesterday but in reality was 2 years ago that we had that event.

 

[faze]

We hire one when we hire tanks and weights.

 

[Capt. Bas]

Long story made short: Panicked diver, hyperventilating and as a result feeling woozy.

Hyperventilating is one of the few reasons not to issue O2 if I'm correct.
Hyperventilating and the dizzy feeling is a lack of CO2 your system triggering the breathing impulse extra.
Administering extra O2 will not be helpful unfortunately.
In the Netherlands the standard "cure" for a hyperventilating person is breathing in a bag enclosed around nose and mouth. This raises the percentage co2 in the breathing gas raising the co2 level in the blood and lowering the breathing impulse again.

Happy diving,
Bas

 

[Fishdip]

If they are so bad that the NEED 100% O2 just to survive, you driving them to the hospital isn't the right choice. Call in the professionals.

To be fair some places have no cell service and its a 30/hour drive just to reach service.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

Hyperventilating is one of the few reasons not to issue O2 if I'm correct.
Hyperventilating and the dizzy feeling is a lack of CO2 your system triggering the breathing impulse extra.
Administering extra O2 will not be helpful unfortunately.
In the Netherlands the standard "cure" for a hyperventilating person is breathing in a bag enclosed around nose and mouth. This raises the percentage co2 in the breathing gas raising the co2 level in the blood and lowering the breathing impulse again.

Happy diving,
Bas

Hyperventilating was bad word choice on my part. She had held her breath for some time (prior to ascending) and was panicked. She was breathing rapidly, but in compensation for likely being in oxygen debt. At least that was my "read" on the situation.

But the point is well taken: If actually hyperventilating, the paper bag technique is known here, too.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Why a LP72?

My guess is that with an LP72 you can get a full fill @ 2250psi......no need for a booster.