Nitrox Analyzer - How many use one?

[Storker]

I do not like the Analox because of the propensity to forget to remove the battery and it rots in the holder

Has to be a model issue, not a brand issue. The 9V battery in my O2Eii lasts as least as long as the sensor.

 

[maj2]

I use the shop's analyzer when I pick the tank up at the shop.
I then use my own analyzer when I get the tank home from the shop.
If the tank has been stored for any significant length of time before I go diving, I then test again before leaving home to verify the mix for my dive plan and still have time to fix it if there is any discrepancy.
I finally test it a final time immediately before diving with it.

Overkill? Perhaps, but I have no plans to become less conservative in this regard.

I also bring my own analyzer on dive trips where I will be using Nitrox. Partly because I know my tester, the age of the sensor, etc., but it also lets me avoid waiting my turn to use someone else's analyzer.

 

[Wookie]

Has to be a model issue, not a brand issue. The 9V battery in my O2Eii lasts as least as long as the sensor.

Yes, the ATA is a full trimix analyzer that uses a single D cell. It's absolutely a user problem, not a failure of the equipment. I own the failure. But the 4001 doesn't give me the chance to fail....

 

[Lorenzoid]

What brand and model analyzers are you using and why are you happy / unhappy with your selection?

I take it this is a new question entirely. What was the answer to your original question? Did you get what you were looking for? Trying to keep up here.

 

[Jack Hammer]

I use the shops analyzer to check my tanks after filling, then label them. And later I use my analyzer to recheck them before diving. I have a lot of tanks and change whats in them as needed. The few seconds needed to recheck them isn't worth missing a dive or having an potential issue in the water. I've been using an Analox O2EII since about 2009 and have been very happy with it. I also use my buddies trimix analyzers as needed.

 

[SeaHorse81]

How many of you guys use an analyzer to check LDS fills before a dive?

Every tank. It's amazing how much the actual mix can vary, especially on a liveaboard as the week goes on, and you have to check to assure that you're using a safe MOD.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

How many of you guys use an analyzer to check LDS fills before a dive?

I analyze every tank I get filled ... but most all of my fills are EAN32. Although I own an analyzer, I usually analyze them at the shop when I pick them up ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

You must remember the audience. The is an a basic discussion. And I did say, you might not be safe with an error at 1.6. I'm not saying immediate death, but the possibility does exist as the science can not say at what ppo2 you will tox out. You might be able to take a chamber ride, dry, at 1.7, 1.8, or even higher. But, I would not want to take that risk while underwater.

There's no exact science because there's just too many variables involved ... not the least of which is your personal physiology and tolerance levels to high partial pressures of O2. It's much like how N2 exposure can lead to DCS in that there's a graduated "gray area" wherein the farther past a certain arbitrary limit you go the higher your risks become of having a bad outcome, based on several other factors. But that doesn't mean you WILL have it. Also, exposure time and differential changes factor into how much risk you're actually taking.

A few weeks back on a solo dive on a wall in Browning Pass I accidentally dropped my camera. I was at a depth of about 80 feet at the time, on a wall with a hard bottom at over 200 feet. I quickly swam down to retrieve my camera, which was sinking, and caught up to it at around 140 feet. As soon as I retrieved it I began my swim back up at a fairly expeditious pace, and slowed down when I got to about 100 feet ... well within the MOD of the EAN32 I was breathing at the time. Yes, I went well below the MOD for the mix I was diving ... but the effects that lead to ox tox are cumulative, and I figured the risks of less than a minute below the "safe" depth were worth taking, considering I was otherwise going to lose about $5000 worth of equipment.

One always needs to factor risk mitigation into any dive ... but it helps to have at least a basic understanding of why PPO2 limits exist, and what it really means if you should need to exceed them in a given circumstance. Of course, it's always better to not have to make that choice ... but sometimes sh!t happens ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

And again, some agencies allow 1.6 as bottom mix.

Do they, still? They did when I took my TDI class back in 2002, but wasn't sure that was still the case. With NAUI it's been 1.4 ever since I began teaching for them in 2004 ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

What brand and model analyzers are you using and why are you happy / unhappy with your selection?

I just got a new nitrox analyzer ... Analox O2EII ... and I like it a lot. Simple to use, affordable, small package so it travels easily. And it's a pretty standard form factor.

Previously I owned a Dive Rite trimix analyzer. I paid over $1000 for it, and shortly after I purchased it they stopped selling them. It was only when I had to replace the O2 sensor that I found out that DR had OEM'd this thing from Analox and switched to a proprietary O2 cell that was almost impossible to find, since they weren't carrying them anymore. I found one, and got a couple more years out of the analyzer before finally abandoning it because I couldn't find a replacement cell.

Moral of that story, don't just rely on the brand name (Dive Rite's usually pretty legit equipment) ... research how easily you're going to be able to find a replacement cell, since you WILL be replacing it on a fairly regular basis ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)