Meridiano Fill Station Adding Analox Clear inline CO Monitors

[Bearkeley]

I'd suggest that the island politics and other complications possible would strongly discourage that, much less reporting on it. Aldora is but a customer there with few controls if any, and didn't Dave say they were acquiring their own compressor. Besides, what passes inspection one day might not some weeks later, and the alarms are all to easy to miss if not personally monitored. The Analox Clear inline CO monitor is a good tool for a fill station, but no guarantee for a diver. The fact still remains: You can test the tanks you breathe or - dive on hope.

So any suggestions (other than diving on hope) for a newbie or a vacationing diver who relies on local dive Ops to rent their gear? How can one justify purchasing equipment to test air from a dive op when dive frequency don't even justify purchase of the most basic things like a BC or a suit?

 

[Brules]

It would be so much easier if Dive Ops had their own units to test tanks.....like a lot of them do for Nitrox.....random sample regularly when they deliver tanks. Small price to pay for not killing anyone. Seems like a no brainer to me!

And thanks for keeping this going Don - it definitely needs to continue to be pushed and discussed!

 

[cruiser]

It would be so much easier if Dive Ops had their own units to test tanks.....like a lot of them do for Nitrox.....random sample regularly when they deliver tanks. Small price to pay for not killing anyone. Seems like a no brainer to me!

And thanks for keeping this going Don - it definitely needs to continue to be pushed and discussed!

Good idea, and if dive ops had their own CO tester units, the customer could use it to check the tanks they're going to dive with

 

[cruiser]

So any suggestions (other than diving on hope) for a newbie or a vacationing diver who relies on local dive Ops to rent their gear? How can one justify purchasing equipment to test air from a dive op when dive frequency don't even justify purchase of the most basic things like a BC or a suit?

A carbon monoxide tester is cheaper than gear. If I were a new diver all over again, I'd buy a CO tester before a BC or wetsuit.

 

[Texas Torpedo]

I suspect you will see more and more dive ops carrying these along with Nitrox analyzers as time goes on, and especially if divers are requesting them and basing their Dive Op choice in part on whether they have them or not.

Sadly, at this point I would say a very small percentage of the vacation divers in Cozumel know a CO tester is even available to purchase, or that anyone has died on the Island due to bad air.

The only way this is going to get the exposure it deserves is if it is covered / promoted by the training agencies, DAN, etc..

If I were just starting out in diving today, I would purchase a CO tester before I purchased any other piece of life support equipment.

I now test every tank before I dive for BOTH 02 & CO, even if it's a 21% non-nitrox fill. Just as there is a possibility for bad air (CO), there is always that chance that EAN tanks were not dumped before re-filling and have a mix that has a much lower MOD than you plan to dive.

The chance of getting a tank with either CO or elevated 02 levels are slim, but what is your life worth??

 

[DandyDon]

So any suggestions (other than diving on hope) for a newbie or a vacationing diver who relies on local dive Ops to rent their gear? How can one justify purchasing equipment to test air from a dive op when dive frequency don't even justify purchase of the most basic things like a BC or a suit?

Get one anyway. Partner it with a buddy or two, based on a strong agreement that it has to be calibrated annually. We are hearing that's not needed maybe, even from Analox, but I think we will eventually agree that it is. Analox's may not need annual calibration any more than the others that claim not needed, but I find fault with all of those claims.

The Pocket CO is cheaper than the Analox, but not as user friendly. I find you have to keep it in the ziplock all the time to prevent cross contamination, plus the bag they provide sucks - use a gallon size freezer slider bag and carry spares as they wear out, and it takes 3 minutes to test a tank.

It would be so much easier if Dive Ops had their own units to test tanks.....like a lot of them do for Nitrox.....random sample regularly when they deliver tanks. Small price to pay for not killing anyone. Seems like a no brainer to me!

And thanks for keeping this going Don - it definitely needs to continue to be pushed and discussed!

Random sampling is like Russian-roulette. The odds are in your favor, but... It takes 20 seconds tops to test with the Analox unit. Monotonous for the Op perhaps, but make it available to the diver. Be sure to do your bump test: blow on it and make sure it registers a few ppm.

I am not knowledgeable on other brands, sorry. We need to start a new thread in Basic scuba huh?

I suspect you will see more and more dive ops carrying these along with Nitrox analyzers as time goes on, and especially if divers are requesting them and basing their Dive Op choice in part on whether they have them or not.

Scuba with Alison and Aldora on Coz have them I think. Others are still hiding their heads in the sand.

Sadly, at this point I would say a very small percentage of the vacation divers in Cozumel know a CO tester is even available to purchase, or that anyone has died on the Island due to bad air.

The only way this is going to get the exposure it deserves is if it is covered / promoted by the training agencies, DAN, etc..

Ha! :laughing: I actually spoke with Dan Orr, President of DAN. I was surprised that he took my call, and he was very nice, but fruitless. There is just too much corporate support of DAN nowadays and they can't rock boats too much.

Ever wonder why a nobody on the dry high plains of Texas 600 miles from the ocean is pushing this instead of someone with authority and credentials? I get a lot of confidential support from such experts actually, some more open than others, but I don't have an engineering career to bet against. I'm just a diver, with proof! I can rock boats all I want without business problems. Oh, in case you wonder: no, I was not asked to work on this; it's just me being me.

If I were just starting out in diving today, I would purchase a CO tester before I purchased any other piece of life support equipment.

I now test every tank before I dive for BOTH 02 & CO, even if it's a 21% non-nitrox fill. Just as there is a possibility for bad air (CO), there is always that chance that EAN tanks were not dumped before re-filling and have a mix that has a much lower MOD than you plan to dive.

The chance of getting a tank with either CO or elevated 02 levels are slim, but what is your life worth??

HaHa, after what I saw on my last Coz trip, I started testing air tanks for O2 and CO both. Slim is a nice word until you see a hit, or at least a near miss.

 

[blue steal]

"HaHa, after what I saw on my last Coz trip, I started testing air tanks for O2 and CO both. Slim is a nice word until you see a hit, or at least a near miss."
Hey Don I have a question for you.
I understand the need to check 02% with an oxygen analyzer when using enriched air, but why would you need to analyze for air. Have you ever seen or heard of tanks filled with less than 21% oxygen or with another gas like CO2 or Nitrous Oxide?

 

[DandyDon]

"HaHa, after what I saw on my last Coz trip, I started testing air tanks for O2 and CO both. Slim is a nice word until you see a hit, or at least a near miss."
Hey Don I have a question for you.
I understand the need to check 02% with an oxygen analyzer when using enriched air, but why would you need to analyze for air. Have you ever seen or heard of tanks filled with less than 21% oxygen or with another gas like CO2 or Nitrous Oxide?

No, I saw a pair of divers who had ordered Nitrox tanks for the second dive of a two dive trip, but the DM hooked their kits up to those first by mistake, which they dived unknowingly relatively deep without testing - and those tanks are difficult to read from their paint work. Confusion happens; check your tanks.

 

[cvchief]

Scuba with Alison, DD....

 

[Texas Torpedo]

I understand the need to check 02% with an oxygen analyzer when using enriched air, but why would you need to analyze for air. Have you ever seen or heard of tanks filled with less than 21% oxygen or with another gas like CO2 or Nitrous Oxide?

The concern is actually levels of 02 above 21%. I have seen a number of tanks with levels above 21%. Too much oxygen at the wrong depth can equal a seizure from oxygen toxicity. The end result of seizing up at depth is almost always death.

While I appreciate fill stations that monitor CO, I am in complete agreement that the ultimate responsibility that a diver has non-contaminated breathing gas lies with the diver breathing it.... YOU..