Nitrox Analyzer

[flyboy08]

just finishing up my online course and am wondering how many fellow Nitrox divers carry an analyzer with them on holidays to dive destinations? Or do you rely on the shop? Or do you watch the shop actually fill your blend and name your tank?

If I were to buy an analyzer, what make/model would you suggest?

TIA,

 

[Storker]

I mostly dive locally, so my situation is different from yours. However, I like to analyze on the site, just before attaching the 1st stage to the tank. BTW, if you search the board you'll find lots of different opinions about that question.

I have the Analox O2EII and I'm quite happy with it.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

Ask yourself how often do you plan on diving Nitrox. Then you can answer the question.

I do not dive nitrox enough to make it worth buying an analyzer - when I needed one the boat or shop had one for my use.

Buying an analyzer, maintenance, parts and keeping it calibrated are not where I want to spend my money. YMMV.

 

[rhwestfall]

Since I am a bit of a gas hog, my twinset won't really last me comfortably on a two tank tech-reational trip. Because of that, I will transfill from a third tank prior to dive #2. Quick analysis, and splash for dive #2. I was using a NitroxBuddy, and recently got the new COOTWO that gives me O2% & CO as a bonus....

If I wasn't transfilling on the boat/shore, I'd likely not have one as the mix is confirmed when the tanks are picked up....

 

[emoreira]

Part of the ceremony of assembly your gear using a Nitrox tank, is measuring the current O2 percentage in your tank. With this you should calculate your current MOD. After this you should note the values in the sticker stamped to your tank and sign it, so that very tank will be used by you and no one else.
The LDS should give you an O2 analyzer, so as you can measure the tank. Prior to measure the tank you should calibrate the analyzer with "air".
At least, according to my experience, there is no need to carry your own O2 analyzer as any LDS providing you with EAN tanks should have one.

 

[ScubaInChicago]

Ask yourself how often do you plan on diving Nitrox. Then you can answer the question.

I do not dive nitrox enough to make it worth buying an analyzer - when I needed one the boat or shop had one for my use.

Buying an analyzer, maintenance, parts and keeping it calibrated are not where I want to spend my money. YMMV.

The first rule of diving should be to know what you're breathing. Just because you think you're breathing air doesn't mean it is. Ask Carlos Fonseca!

 

[sheeper]

though i do have an analyzer (a Nuvair O2 stick which is awesome), i always analyze my gas before i leave the shop. Any shop who does nitrox fills that does not have an analyzer for you to check is a shop i would not use.....for anything.

 

[tbone1004]

if you are travelling, the CooTwo is the only real option. Much less important than the FO2 is the presence of CO in the tanks. You aren't really diving at depths that exact nitrox percentages are that critical, but CO can kill you quite quickly. The CooTwo is the best option out there, bar none

 

[Lorenzoid]

At holiday dive destinations I have never encountered a dive operator who did not provide an analyzer for me and my fellow divers to use to analyze our own tanks, per the standard protocol that you learned in your course. In instances in which the tank I am to dive with is at their fill station, that is where the analyzer is. In instances in which the tank I am to dive with has already been loaded onto a boat for me, that is where the analyzer is. From what I have seen, most visiting divers do not bring their own analyzers because, like me, they expect the dive operator to provide one for their use. Most reputable dive operators have analyzers for your use. I am sure that some corner-cutting operators, or those in less-developed parts of the world where adherence to protocols can sometimes be lax, might try to persuade me that I do not need to personally analyze my tanks because they did it for me. If the dive operator did not allow me use of an analyzer, I would not dive with them. But I am fortunate that in dozens of dive trips in the Caribbean and beyond, I have not yet encountered such a dive operator.

 

[Pao]

It's nice to have one but you should know that the sensor is a consumable item that you have to replace every 2-3 years (if you're lucky) regardless of how much you use it.