Need for O2 cleaning and service after 32% Nitrox dives???

[banudemircioglu]

Hello,

I have been using the Aqualung Elite Legend regulator for the past year and have had a positive experience about it. It says that it is compatible with Nitrox up to 40% out of the box.
My dive center told me that I had to service my regulator every time after using Nitrox (not more than 40% O2, I usually use max 32%).
Is it true that I have to service my Aqualung Regulator every time after using Nitrox in order to switch back to normal air dives ?
It seems very odd to me because my diver friends and a technician told me that I could use normal air after Nitrox and not service my reg every time as long as I don't dive with more than 40-50% O2 which is not the case.
As you can imagine service costs a lot and I am wondering if this is some kind of money trap since I only do rec dives.

Thanks in advance !

Banu

 

[tursiops]

Hello,

I have been using the Aqualung Elite Legend regulator for the past year and have had a positive experience about it. It says that it is compatible with Nitrox up to 40% out of the box.
My dive center told me that I had to service my regulator every time after using Nitrox (not more than 40% O2, I usually use max 32%).
Is it true that I have to service my Aqualung Regulator every time after using Nitrox in order to switch back to normal air dives ?
It seems very odd to me because my diver friends and a technician told me that I could use normal air after Nitrox and not service my reg every time as long as I don't dive with more than 40-50% O2 which is not the case.
As you can imagine service costs a lot and I am wondering if this is some kind of money trap since I only do rec dives.

Thanks in advance !

Banu

Find a new dive center.

 

[jborg]

Is it true that I have to service my Aqualung Regulator every time after using Nitrox in order to switch back to normal air dives ?

Absolutely not. You need to get the regulator O2 cleaned if you are going to use it with >40% O2, and then using it with regular air or nitrox will typically invalidate that O2 cleaning. For use with air and EAN32 there are no such cleaning requirements.

(Typically. Some regulator manufacturers say otherwise, but this is not widely adhered to...)

 

[NitroxSam]

Find a new dive center.

For sure. That's complete BS. If that was truly the case, very few people would use it. Too much of a PITA and too expensive.

 

[L13]

My dive center told me that I had to service my regulator every time after using Nitrox (not more than 40% O2, I usually use max 32%).
Is it true that I have to service my Aqualung Regulator every time after using Nitrox in order to switch back to normal air dives ?

This is false. Nitrox of any percentage, all the way to 100% O2 does not cause you to need servicing before air use. Air is just Nitrox 21%.

However, the reverse might be true. If you get air from a source that is not Oxygen clean, you may need to service your regulators before using nitrox. This is a minor risk for most air sorces.

 

[Angelo Farina]

This is false. Nitrox of any percentage, all the way to 100% O2 does not cause you to need servicing before air use. Air is just Nitrox 21%.

However, the reverse might be true. If you get air from a source that is not Oxygen clean, you may need to service your regulators before using nitrox. This is a minor risk for most air sorces.

You need Oxygen-cleaning before using Nitrox at percentages above 40%.
And possibly special Viton O-rings and special grease for lubricating them.
Normal Nitrox at 32% does not require oxygen-cleaning...
Most regs are rated for Nitrox below 40% without the need of any special treatment.

 

[Soloist]

My dive center told me that I had to service my regulator every time after using Nitrox (not more than 40% O2, I usually use max 32%).

It’s essential you purchase a new wetsuit, mask and fins every time you switch over to 21% as well. You can never be too safe! The individual telling you this BS is either incompetent or a crook.

 

[Wibble]

In France, don't you use M26 DIN connections for "Oxygen or Nitrox"?

Maybe they think that you'll change the DIN wheel from M26 to 5/8?

 

[rsingler]

Let's drill down on this.
If you have a modern regulator that has been authorized for Nitrox, it really just means it's been manufactured according to current practice. Virtually ALL current regs are good for Nitrox up to 40% out of the box. The Compressed Gas Association won't commit to acknowledging this, but common practice and lack of liability has made it established fact.

That being the case, you said, "[The dive shop said] I had to service my regulator every time after using Nitrox (not more than 40% O2, I usually use max 32%).
Is it true that I have to service my Aqualung Regulator every time after using Nitrox in order to switch back to normal air dives?"

Your dive shop has things completely backwards, or perhaps you misunderstood what they were saying. At some shops, the air compressor is different (and less rigorously filtered) than the Nitrox system. That gas might contaminate your regs with hydrocarbons that would necessitate an oxygen cleaning if you subsequently wanted to use MORE THAN 40% EAN. Shops don't generally require oxygen clean regs for EAN <= 40%.
So asking you to have your reg "serviced", assuming they mean "oxygen cleaned" to go back to "dirty" air is backwards. And if they truly said "serviced", then they're just scamming you.

So let's assume you misunderstood, and they meant to say you had to have your regs oxygen cleaned if you wanted to go from air to Nitrox.

That may or may not be true. If they "partial pressure blend" their Nitrox, they're adding pure oxygen to a cylinder and then diluting with air. The cylinder needs to be oxygen clean, but once you attach a reg, it doesn't need to be oxygen clean if the final EAN is less than 40%, by common practice (even though the CGA says 23% is the limit).

And if the shop uses a mixing stick and the same compressor system for all their gases, then ALL their gas is oxygen clean, at all concentrations from 21% to 100%.

Perhaps they're concerned that you got your gas elsewhere, and it was contaminated with hydrocarbons. That's YOUR risk, not theirs. If they give you clean gas and your reg is "dirty", you might have some risk with EAN40, though experience says not.

If they're truly telling you that you have to service a reg to go back to air, they're scamming you.

If they're truly telling you that you have to service a reg to go back to Nitrox after air, they're STILL scamming you. Common practice says you're okay to EAN40 without further cleaning, much less a reg "service".

Maybe it's a misunderstanding.

Ask them why...

 

[banudemircioglu]

In France, don't you use M26 DIN connections for "Oxygen or Nitrox"?

Maybe they think that you'll change the DIN wheel from M26 to 5/8?

Thank you for the feedback ! I usually dive in Egypt and we do not use connections, so I don't think they meant that