Mares: designed for 40%, do not use with 22+% while in EU - ???

[Mobulai]

As JBLM said, 100%

Funny sidebar: Germany doesn’t care, but some shops (esp. in Bavaria) are very strict about special M26 connection for deco mixes (50%+), but not all (weird given the Bavarian stickler to the rules spirit that they are not all conforming to one standard)

which caused me some confusion getting my first regulator and running across that line; so my next reg was an m26 for rec nitrox (22~40%); then I got laughed off in Greece when I brought it with me for its first dip in Greece, luckily I had a converter to regular m25 DIN

 

[Scubagermany]

So my family make me a gift: a set of Mares Prestige 15X.
And I found the following warnings in the manual, one directly following another:

1. "This regulator is not meant to be used with any breathing gas containing 22% or more of oxygen"
2. "NOTE: USE OF NITROX MIXES OUTSIDE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION [...] all components of the gas delivery system are compatible with [...] oxygen content not greater than 40%"

So, do I understand correctly that this set is fully Nitrox-compatible, but some legal regulations do not allow to use it with Nitrox inside EU?

You will probably drop dead instantly if you ever try to use that set with EAN 22 or more. You better beware!

 

[lowwall]

I'll try to answer that one. The statement provided with your regulator seems to me like a poor attempt by an attorney to cover the firm's ass if a user ever get killed while diving nitrox with such a regulator.

This is wrong. The statement is provided to conform with EU standards. Every regulator sold in the EU has similar wording somewhere in their literature. For example:

Apeks - "Nitrox/Oxygen compatible – Up to 40% O2 outside the EU (European Union), within the EU anything above 21% O2 must use an M26 Connection."

Aqualung - "In compliance with the EN250: 2014 standard, this diving regulator is envisaged to only be used with breathable compressed air...

Note: Use of Nitrox mixtures - countries outside the European Union.
Aqualung regulators and Octopus have been assembled for use with Nitrox, as long as the percentage of oxygen does not exceed 40%."

My conclusion : don't bother with that silly non sense and if you're nitrox certified, dive your reg.

Concur.

 

[Nemrod]

It will all be okay .

 

[JMBL]

This is wrong. The statement is provided to conform with EU standards. Every regulator sold in the EU has similar wording somewhere in their literature. For example:

Apeks - "Nitrox/Oxygen compatible – Up to 40% O2 outside the EU (European Union), within the EU anything above 21% O2 must use an M26 Connection."

Well, I'm not an attorney nor any kind of law specialist, you may be right on that, but I've got 4 Apeks DS 4 and I must say I've never seen anything like that written on the box, nor in the pdf provided with the regs, although at the time I bought them that damned M26 had been in existence for some years. And the shop where I got them advertised them as "nitrox ready". Well, I guess that's just one paradox among many in a crazy world.

Btw, all these silly warnings remind me of this :

Some years ago, I bought a Nitek Q dive computer, dirt cheap, as a backup computer for trimix diving. It performs well for that, and I've no complaint about it. As I had never used that model before, I printed the user manual and read it through and through. The very 1st page was a warning about the danger of deco diving, which strongly increases the risk of DCI. So far, so good. I must admit the end of the 1st page was rather puzzling, it stated more or less that as deco diving was more dangerous, it was better to use that particular computer within the NDL...

Diving trimix within NDL, seriously ?

 

[Mobulai]

Diving trimix within NDL, seriously ?

And I wipe my butt with 500eur bills

 

[lowwall]

Well, I'm not an attorney nor any kind of law specialist, you may be right on that, but I've got 4 Apeks DS 4 and I must say I've never seen anything like that written on the box, nor in the pdf provided with the regs, although at the time I bought them that damned M26 had been in existence for some years.

All of the manuals for current Apeks regs have two sections that cover the use of Nitrox.

"Enriched Air Nitrox Use – Outside EEC (European Economic Community) Countries...6

Enriched Air Nitrox Use – Inside EEC (European Economic Community countries EN 144-3 and EN13949...7"

The first section states:

"Outside EEC (European Economic Community) Countries Your Apeks regulator has been prepared for use with Enriched Air Nitrox (EAN) where the percentage of oxygen in the EAN does not exceed 40%. This is possible because each regulator is built to a high standard of cleanliness using EAN compatible components and lubricants. In addition, each regulator design has passed stringent adiabatic compression testing to ensure its safety and compatibility with increased percentages of oxygen."

The second section states:

"WARNING: If the regulator that you use is fitted with a yoke or DIN connection, it is designed for use only with compressed breathing air (21% oxygen and 79% nitrogen) which meets the EN12021 standard. DO NOT USE this equipment with other mixtures or with gases containing more than 21% oxygen. Disregarding this rule could result in serious injury or death caused by fire or explosion."

Here's the source. The link is to the US/GB version of the manuals, but you can change the language via the menu at the upper right. I looked at the French version and it has similar wording.

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