Nitrox benefits...

[DandyDon]

Am I getting the jist of it?

"By jove, I think he's got it."

Between those 2 choices, there's another: Dive Nitrox with Nitrox tables / computer settings, with a conservative plan that gives you less N2 loading than air would, and still enjoy shorter SIs on a conservative multi-dive plan. :greenange

 

[Michael Schlink]

First of all folks Nitrox has no proven record of being "safer" so that's hardly a benefit and trying to calculate the Nitrogen load on any particular dive is simply not possible or feasible so concerning yourself with an idea of the difference between diving to the limit of Nitrox is the same as diving to the limit of air or whatever, it's ALL subjective.
To answer the question is much simpler
1. Nitrrox is NOT "safer" unless you dive an air profile which would be a waste of a good tank of Nitrox-IMO
2. The first and foremost benefit of Nitrox is LONGER bottom times as compared to air on the same dive profile
3. The second benefit will be the shorter surface interval, however this may or may not actually be of any benefit
4. The third benefit would be that MOST divers claim that they're not as tired after a dive on Nitrox compared to air (my wife swears by it) I don't really notice a difference.
Everything else mentioned-discard
Now a very real benefit of taking a Nitrox class would be
1. You stay more involved with diving and you become more comfortable with the "art of diving"
2. You will have a better understanding of diving and what's in your tank and that should make you a more knowledable, comfortable diver
3. Your gas consumption rate will improve with time, experience and knowledge.
You will become a better more knowledgable diver every time you dive, every time you ask questions and hopefully every class you take.-M

 

[The Kraken]

Michael,
While I disagree with your answers #1 and #2 to the question, I thouroughly agree with your postings of real benefits. I think often times what you so eloquently stated goes sorely unsaid.

My reason for disagreeing with your answers 1 and 2 are:
1: Using nitrox for a dive is safer from the aspect of nitrogen loading given a specific dive in that it reduces the probability of DCS. Diving safer, in my opinion, is not a waste of money.
2: I'm not absolutely sure that just increasing a bottom time is "the" primary benefit of Nitrox, I would tend to go with a safety basis.

An excellent post, however . . .
D

 

[Don Burke]

Breathing EAN results in less nitrogen absorbed as compared to air for a given depth and time. It also increases the amount of nitrogen offgassed during much of decompression.

Whether the diver uses that to increase time spent at depth, extend safety margins, reduce surface intervals, reduce time spent at decompression stops, or some combination of these is up to the individual making the decisions.

The incidence of DCS on air is so low that any advantage by using EAN would be difficult to prove with statistics.

 

[ScubaScott]

Michael,
While I disagree with your answers #1 and #2 to the question, I thouroughly agree with your postings of real benefits. I think often times what you so eloquently stated goes sorely unsaid.

My reason for disagreeing with your answers 1 and 2 are:
1: Using nitrox for a dive is safer from the aspect of nitrogen loading given a specific dive in that it reduces the probability of DCS. Diving safer, in my opinion, is not a waste of money.
2: I'm not absolutely sure that just increasing a bottom time is "the" primary benefit of Nitrox, I would tend to go with a safety basis.

An excellent post, however . . .
D

Kraken - I'm not sure how much weight PADI holds with you, but if I remember from my test a while back, the correct answer on the test for "Why use Nitrox?" is increased bottom time.

safety and other benefits are addtional to the main reason stated above.

And we all know that everything PADI says is right, right?

SS

 

[Michael Schlink]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, my house is starting to get that wonderful Thansgiving Day turkey in the oven smell!!

Kraken when someone (especially a new diver) asks the benefit of the Nitrox I usually read a post that says Nitrox is safer and yet their isn't any proof, anywhere. Now please don't get me wrong I have a pretty good understanding of the physics and physiology of Nitrogen loading. I would most certainly agree that given identical profiles by the same diver then there would be less of a nitogen load when diving a mix that contains less Nitrogen.
Unfortunatley here is where the wheels fall off, rarely can you repeat the dive profile and track the N2 load in able to compare the two dives. There are simply too many variables. Of course we can say that a diver that takes a bottle of air on his back will load more N2 than with a bottle of Nitrox. Now it's hard to type this all out BUT in my experience and watching and listening to divers. When divers start using Nitrox they change their dive "style" -I do
The reason that I state the #1 reason to dive Nitrox is longer bottom times is simply that this IS the best benefit that arises out of Nitrox use and for most divers would be the best reason to take the class and buy the gas!!
If we were to simply list all the benefits of Nitrox and then ask everyone which benefit would be of most importance or value to them what do you think your going to get. My vote is for more bottom time. The great thing about Nitrox in your standard NOAA mixes (32&36) is that if you couple it with a Nitrox dive computer AND dive the computer the way MOST people utilize their computer the increase in bottom time is significant (primarily in the 70-100' range).
Again I want to be clear that certainly if you dive a lower N2 gas with an air table or computer your going to end up with less of a N2 load but that in itself isn't enough to say that it's safer.
Again to everyone-Happy Thanksgiving and a happy holidays- Now get out there and shop till you drop, spread your money around.-M

 

[The Kraken]

Back accha . . .
eat all you want, but don't gain any weight.
It's too close to Christmas to be buying a new wet suit or dry suit.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Whay does every one make this so complicated?

The fact is that all else being equal a dive with less nitrogen in the breathing mix will result in less nitrogen uptake. How you use that is up to you...longer bottom times, shorter surface intervals...more dives in a day...or just less N2.

I don't care what statistics say (you can't call anything that's been done with diving data statistics anyway) less N2 does mean a lower risk od DCS. Whether or not the risk was significant in the first place would depend on your dive habits.

I, for instance, don't plan a dive around an NDL or even gas supply. I plan the dive around how long I want the dive to be. I then decide on gas mix, gas supply and ascent stratagies. All else being equal less N2 is a good thing.

Lots of vacation divers doing 3 - 5 rec dives a day get bent. Many of these divers don't have the best ascent or general dive habits. While most are probably diving air, IMO, this is the group that may very well benefite the most from using nitrox. They're simply going to do those 5 dives every day of their vacation...and the too fast ascents...the yoyo profiles ect no matter what. Combine that with the fact that in large part here we're talking about the fair, fat and over 40 (and maybe a little hung over, dehygrated and tired) crowd who has all sorts of DCS predispositions in addition to not being very good divers and statistics be damned, they'd be better off with less N2.

The PADI text states that there isn't a meaningful difference in "safety". When people quote this logic they typically neglect to explain the logic that PADI applies. PADI concedes a mathmatical reduction in the likelyhood of DCS but is of the opinion that the added risk of O2 tox and complexity of tracking O2 exposure kind of makes it a wash. Maybe. The fact is that nitrox is a tool and how much you get out of having that tool will depend on how good you are at using it.

Me? unless I'm diving the local 30 ft deep hole I don't care to dive air at all. I just don't have any use for all the N2.

 

[theskull]

. . . Again to everyone-Happy Thanksgiving and a happy holidays- Now get out there and shop till you drop, spread your money around.-M

Be sure to spread some of that money to your local dive shops! Your dive buddies need Xmas presents--perhaps a gift certificate for a Nitrox class?

And please don't get so caught up in the spirituality of the season that you forget to buy some SCUBA gear presents for YOU--cause who knows better what you really want??

Have fun diving once you fulfill your family obligations,

theskull

 

[EricJ]

I used nitrox for the first time on a live aboard recently. It cost $100 to use nitrox for the week, and I did 27 dives. For that trip, I think it was definitely worth it because I did a lot of diving and the nitrox kept me in a much safer zone in terms of nitrogen loading, and it ended up costing less than $4.00 a dive.

When I dive locally in California, the surface intervals tend to be quite long and most operations don't even offer nitrox. For those that do, I'd have to spend an extra $15 to rent a nitrox tank and an extra $8 to $10 for each fill. Plus 95% of the time I'm no where near a level of nitrogen loading that would be any cause of concern (my buddies usually want to dive for 45 min).

While resort diving, I often find myself following a divemaster who keeps everyone well within safe diving depths and time.

For me, I'll probably only be using nitrox on live aboard trips.