Just wondering if you have to buy tanks specifcally for Nitrox or can you use any aluminum tank?? Also I have my open water cert. with 6 logged dives my padi instructors said that The next class I should take is a nitrox class then advanced open water. Am I ready for Nitrox and is it worth it to take it right now I mean will it be a major benefit?? thanks
New to Nitrox
- Thread starter Bflem55
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
GulfDiver77
Guest
I am new to diving as well.I also am thinking of taking Nitrox classes.From what I've seen is the only difference in Nitrox tanks and regular air is Nitrox tanks are yellow to let the people know who fill them that they are for Nitrox.Other than that I haven't noticed a difference.I could be wrong though.
*Floater*
Contributor
Bflem55:
You can use the same tanks for low oxygen nitrox (less 40% O2, maybe more) unless the fill station you use uses partial pressure blending, which means first filling part of the tank with pure O2 and then topping it off with air to get the desired mix. For richer nitrox mixtures (adv. nitrox / deco diving stuff) you need O2 clean equipment.
And yes, you are ready for nitrox. It's basically just a theory course, breathing it is as easy as breathing air. The basic idea behind using nitrox is to load less nitrogen so you can either do longer dives or more dives a day with shorter surface intervals than with air.
However, don't feel pressured to take the course unless you actually want it and think you'd benefit from less nitrogen loading.
There isnt a difference. The coloration and labels are to distinguish Nitrox tanks from regular air tanks.
The reason is that the Nitrox ready tanks have been cleaned to make them free of any debris that could cause fire or explosion on contact with pure oxygen. Once a clean tank is contaminated with regular air, it must be re-cleaned before it can be used for Nitrox.
The reason is that, one way of increasing the oxygen content is to add a certain volume of pure oxygen first before completing the fill with air. The burst of pure oxygen on hydrocarbon residue in "normal" breathable compressed air could cause an explosion and/or a fire.
The reason is that the Nitrox ready tanks have been cleaned to make them free of any debris that could cause fire or explosion on contact with pure oxygen. Once a clean tank is contaminated with regular air, it must be re-cleaned before it can be used for Nitrox.
The reason is that, one way of increasing the oxygen content is to add a certain volume of pure oxygen first before completing the fill with air. The burst of pure oxygen on hydrocarbon residue in "normal" breathable compressed air could cause an explosion and/or a fire.
The Kraken
He Who Glows in the Dark Waters (ADVISOR)
ScubaBoard Supporter
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Any tank can be used for nitrox; it just has to be "O2 Cleaned".
There are several positions with respect to the benefits or advantages to diving nitrox.
Keep in mind that, while nitrox will extend your NDL time, it will not increase your bottom time.
All other things being equal, your bottom time is a function of the capacity of the tank that you are diving and the volume of air that you use per minute.
Case in point . . .
Let us assume a diver makes a dive with a perfectly square profile that averages out at 75'. Let us assume, also, that the diver is relative new and has a SAC rate of 0.65 cu. ft. of breathing gas per minute.
Diving a standard aluminum 80 tank with a normal mixture of air (79% N and 21% O2), the diver, ending the dive with a safety factor of 500 psi in the tank, would have a bottom time of approximately 28 minutes.
If the diver were to dive that same dive with a EAN36 mix, he would be able to extend his NDL time to approximately 65 minutes, but he would still run out of gas after 28 minutes.
I'm sure others will jump in and discuss other aspects of EAN diving with respect to decreased surface intervals and so on, but I just thought I'd throw this out first.
Safe dives . . . . . .
. . . safer ascents!
the K
Now if the diver
There are several positions with respect to the benefits or advantages to diving nitrox.
Keep in mind that, while nitrox will extend your NDL time, it will not increase your bottom time.
All other things being equal, your bottom time is a function of the capacity of the tank that you are diving and the volume of air that you use per minute.
Case in point . . .
Let us assume a diver makes a dive with a perfectly square profile that averages out at 75'. Let us assume, also, that the diver is relative new and has a SAC rate of 0.65 cu. ft. of breathing gas per minute.
Diving a standard aluminum 80 tank with a normal mixture of air (79% N and 21% O2), the diver, ending the dive with a safety factor of 500 psi in the tank, would have a bottom time of approximately 28 minutes.
If the diver were to dive that same dive with a EAN36 mix, he would be able to extend his NDL time to approximately 65 minutes, but he would still run out of gas after 28 minutes.
I'm sure others will jump in and discuss other aspects of EAN diving with respect to decreased surface intervals and so on, but I just thought I'd throw this out first.
Safe dives . . . . . .
. . . safer ascents!
the K
Now if the diver
Some agencies even let you take nitrox combined with Open Water, so it's not considered an advanced class -as stated above, it's mostly theory with diving to solidify the theory in practice (some agencies don't even require diving any longer for the Nitrox class)
Enjoy
Enjoy
From 1/1/07 the BSAC first level qualification will have mandatory nitrox theory and qualify them to use 32 and 36% but using air tables only.
There really is nothing advanced about using nitrox.
There really is nothing advanced about using nitrox.
SparticleBrane
Contributor
As evidence of this, I don't have an open water card---the only card I got for my OW class was a NAUI Nitrox card that says "Open Water Certified" on the back since I took nitrox along with OW.kidspot:Some agencies even let you take nitrox combined with Open Water, so it's not considered an advanced class -as stated above, it's mostly theory with diving to solidify the theory in practice (some agencies don't even require diving any longer for the Nitrox class)
Enjoy
The Kraken has already provided an excellent answer to your question regarding NDL, bottom times and gas consumption.
As he mentioned there are other benefits to Nitrox as shorter surface intervals. You can also get extended NDL times when making multiple dives on consecutive days. Such as when diving on a live-aboard or at a diving resort.
Case in point - this past October my wife and I spent a week diving at a dive resort in Roatan Honduras. We were making 3 and 4 dives a day for 6 days. The duration of each dive was 60 minutes with most dives starting out around 80 fsw and slowly ascending during the dive to 30fsw for the final 20 minutes or so of the dive.
We were diving 32% Nitrox. Not really a big difference from air, but starting around day 3 those divers who were diving air found themselves having to ascend much earlier in the dive profile than we did in order to stay within a NDL dive profile.
The bottom line is that Nitrox will give you extended NDL allowing you longer dive times if your gas consumption is excellent or when diving over many consecutive days.
Most of the time the average diver gets a few dives in over a weekend. If you fall into that category and are not planning a dive vacation in the near future then the answer is simple
If you find you have to ascend because you are nearing your NDL in your dive profile, and you have a lot more than 500 psi remaining in your tanks - take the Nitrox class now. If your not in that situation, then spend your money on going diving and having fun. The more you dive, the more comfortable you should become. The more comfortable you are in the water, the better your gas consumption will be. Then consider the Nitrox class.
AOW would be better money spent if your dive instructor is thorough as it gets you more in-the-water time with that instructor.
Cheers
Steve
As he mentioned there are other benefits to Nitrox as shorter surface intervals. You can also get extended NDL times when making multiple dives on consecutive days. Such as when diving on a live-aboard or at a diving resort.
Case in point - this past October my wife and I spent a week diving at a dive resort in Roatan Honduras. We were making 3 and 4 dives a day for 6 days. The duration of each dive was 60 minutes with most dives starting out around 80 fsw and slowly ascending during the dive to 30fsw for the final 20 minutes or so of the dive.
We were diving 32% Nitrox. Not really a big difference from air, but starting around day 3 those divers who were diving air found themselves having to ascend much earlier in the dive profile than we did in order to stay within a NDL dive profile.
The bottom line is that Nitrox will give you extended NDL allowing you longer dive times if your gas consumption is excellent or when diving over many consecutive days.
Most of the time the average diver gets a few dives in over a weekend. If you fall into that category and are not planning a dive vacation in the near future then the answer is simple
If you find you have to ascend because you are nearing your NDL in your dive profile, and you have a lot more than 500 psi remaining in your tanks - take the Nitrox class now. If your not in that situation, then spend your money on going diving and having fun. The more you dive, the more comfortable you should become. The more comfortable you are in the water, the better your gas consumption will be. Then consider the Nitrox class.
AOW would be better money spent if your dive instructor is thorough as it gets you more in-the-water time with that instructor.
Cheers
Steve
SparticleBrane:
That's cool - When I first inquired into Nitrox 2 years ago I was told I needed to complete AOW first
Now NAUI, BSAC, IANTD and others? offer nitrox as part of their OW course.
Similar threads
