Nitrox compatability with sealed 1st stage

[blancosito]

im about to take a nitrox class this upcoming week and was wondering if its dangerous to use it with a sealed 1st stage due to the silicone or whatever they use in it. Ive read other discussions about silicone or alcohol causing problems with nitrox and just wanted to check because i was looking at getting the new mk17. thanks

 

[H2Andy]

no, i have sealed first stages and this is not a problem

almost every regulator made today is 40% nitrox compatible (meaning you don't have
to specially clean them to use less than 40% O2)

 

[David P]

Unless your reg mechanic is a moron, non silicone grease such as cristolube is used and you'll be safe....well assuming that you have a modern regulator that comes 40% nitrox safe from the factory anyhow.

 

[ronbeau]

im about to take a Nitrox class this upcoming week and was wondering if its dangerous to use it with a sealed 1st stage due to the silicone or whatever they use in it. Ive read other discussions about silicone or alcohol causing problems with Nitrox and just wanted to check because i was looking at getting the new mk17. thanks

The answer is it depends on the material the first stage is made from.

My Atomic B2 is a sealed unit and it is fine to go between air and Nitrox up to EAN 40.

The Atomic T2 on the other hand is sealed and has to be dedicated to either air or Nitrox from the time you buy and you cannot switch between air and Nitrox. This is due to the Titanium first stage.

I think buying the T2 is absurd considering that the second stage on the B2 and the T2 are identical so the only difference is 8 ounces of weight in the first stage.

I can't understand why anyone would pay almost twice the price to save 8 ounces and incur the liability of dedicating a regulator solely to air or Nitrox.

In summary, both units are made by the same company and both are sealed. The limitation is due to the material use in the first stage and not whether the unit is sealed or not.

Sorry for being so wordy but I thought an example would be helpful.

 

[Lead_carrier]

The answer is it depends on the material the first stage is made from.

My Atomic B2 is a sealed unit and it is fine to go between air and Nitrox up to EAN 40.

The Atomic T2 on the other hand is sealed and has to be dedicated to either air or Nitrox from the time you buy and you cannot switch between air and Nitrox. This is due to the Titanium first stage.

If you read the manual carefully, you'll see that they're playing a CYA word game. When talking about the T2, they use the words, standard air or EAN. When talking about their other regs, they use the wording, that meets minimun dive industry purity standards.

If I fill my nitrox tank from a source that supplies the air to blend EANxx, then the only difference is I'm using EAN21 instead of EANxx. I'm going to write them and see if I can get them to explain that issue a bit better.