DevonDiver
N/A
So what do I do?
I cannot (safely, legally and mechanically) put Nitrox into a cylinder for compressed air, so I definitely need a cylinder for Nitrox.
But then the normal regulators (not explicitly certified for Nitrox or up to 100% oxygen - but maybe officially usable up to EAN 40?) will not fit my cylinder?!?!
How is this solved?!?!
I'm not sure... I left Europe just before the introduction of this ludicrous policy.
To make things worse, the rest of the world doesn't use these fittings - so you won't be able to use your regs with rental cylinders if you go outside of Europe on holiday...
I have seen in another thread that all regulators from Oceanic (document is from December 2008) have a "Nitrox compatibility" of "Standard to 40%".
Can I safely assume this to be true for regulators from other manufacturers as well?
Be aware that some manufacturers do market certain regulators as 'nitrox compatible'... but this is quite spurious, because (other than the valve issue in Europe) there aren't any specific requirements for nitrox use below 40%. Basically, they are charging you for using oxygen compatible components that you don't need for recreational nitrox use.
It also says there that this regulator must be serviced by a certified technician after using it with pressurized air instead of Nitrox.
Why that? Isn't pressurized air just the same as Nitrox with 21% oxygen?
Again... for use with recreational nitrox, this is not a requirement. Only regulators used with >40% oxygen require special cleaning or components.
Basically... if you are using recreational nitrox (<40%) neither your regulator or BCD requires any special cleaning, servicing or components. The only thing that might is your cylinder... and that is only if you have it filled via Partial Pressure blending (because it is first filled with pure O2, then topped up with air).