Nitrox Is it customary to reanalyze it at the dive boat?

[Charlie99]

It sounds like the dive operator you signed up with in Cozumel is too cheap to have an analyzer available for your use. As DandyDon mentioned, most nitrox on Cozumel comes from one central supplier. Their analyzer spits out little labels that are then affixed to the tank. In every case, it was dead on, but there is always a chance that something gets mixed up.

As you learned in your nitrox class, YOU should analyze YOUR tank, then attach a label including the tank # so that you can confirm when you attach your reg, that this is really the tank that you analyzed.

Most oxtox incidents are not from being off by a couple percent in measurement. Oxtox is most often caused by some sort of gross error, such as failure to analzye, or tanks being mixed up and swapped around.

Buy an analyzer, find a better operator that will supply an analyzer for your use, or dive air.

 

[RichLockyer]

If the dive is long or deep enough for nitrox to make a difference, I analyze EVERY tank... air or nitrox... immediately after putting my reg on it. If a facility has the capability of blending nitrox or trimix, then there is a chance that something other than air may have found it's way into your tank. No matter how unlikely, it can happen.
This applies to tanks that I have analyzed at the shop or at home. I want no chance that a tape was misread, or mis-labelled to begin with.

If the dive is less than 40ft, I don't worry about it and dive it as air.

 

[matt_unique]

I'm headed for a trip to Cozumel, and I wanted use Nitrox. This would be my first trip to use it, and when I asked about analyzing it at the boat, I was assured that it would be mixed by a certified center. My question is, after my recent Nitrox class, I felt we were supposed to reanalyze the tanks ourselves, isn't that customary? Do dive operators that provide Nitrox, also provide an analyzer, or... do you trust the mixer? We don't have one, obviously, and It's at least another 200 bucks to get one. I've already spent too much money just getting there, if you know what I mean Your thoughts please!

Never breath a Nitrox tank you have not analyzed yourself under any circumstances. If the shop will not supply an analyzer, bring your own or don't use the tank.

I go the same shops with fills done by the same people with lot's of experience. I would never consider leaving the shop trusting the sticker.

--Matt

 

[fdog]

Any mix I breathe is analyzed by my meter.

I'll sniff my cylinders before pickup just to make sure I got what I paid for.

All the best, James

 

[Northeastwrecks]

I don't dive anything except nitrox and mix. The operators I use in the Carribean all provide analyzers on the boat for nitrox divers.

Never breathe any gas that you haven't analyzed yourself. Incidentally, I'd apply that to air if the shop also supplied nitrox.

 

[padiscubapro]

I'm headed for a trip to Cozumel, and I wanted use Nitrox. This would be my first trip to use it, and when I asked about analyzing it at the boat, I was assured that it would be mixed by a certified center. My question is, after my recent Nitrox class, I felt we were supposed to reanalyze the tanks ourselves, isn't that customary? Do dive operators that provide Nitrox, also provide an analyzer, or... do you trust the mixer? We don't have one, obviously, and It's at least another 200 bucks to get one. I've already spent too much money just getting there, if you know what I mean Your thoughts please!

Bottom line.. You life depends on what is in the bottle. Analyze EVERY bottle you use whether it be at the fill station or on the boat.. If you didn;t analyze it dont dive it..

Prebuilt analyzers are affordable, you can also get them as kits if you are confortable with a soldering iron..

I recommend the analyzers from Oxycheq.

 

[beir]

Sorry to go off topic, but I see everyone saying there are kits that can be had at a fraction of the price if I'm willing to solder....well, I'm willing to solder. Does anyone have a link to one in particular. I don't really see any kits at OxyCheq, but I could be looking at the wrong thing....Thanks

Doh, scratch that I found the kit at OxyCheq's web site....if anyone can recommend others, that would be appreciated as well.

 

[fdog]

OxyCheq Kit

All the best, James

 

[padiscubapro]

Sorry to go off topic, but I see everyone saying there are kits that can be had at a fraction of the price if I'm willing to solder....well, I'm willing to solder. Does anyone have a link to one in particular. I don't really see any kits at OxyCheq, but I could be looking at the wrong thing....Thanks

Doh, scratch that I found the kit at OxyCheq's web site....if anyone can recommend others, that would be appreciated as well.

the"el cheapo" may not look polished but it works well.. its the only "kit" that I am aware of..

 

[Scubaguy62]

MB hit the nail on the head. I dive nitrox 100% of the time and my fill station does my nitrox fills 99.99% of the time. Every single time I get a fill, my tanks are analyzed. If you don't have the luxury of having your tanks analyzed at the time they're filled, get it analyzed before they get on the boat, but whatever you do, DO NOT DIVE A MIX YOU HAVE NOT ANALYZED!! Your safety is primarily your responsibility and I would hate to be at 100FSW breathing off a tank marked as containing 32% but that actually contains 40%, or worse yet, unbeknownst to me, breathe of a tank containing a mix greater than 40%, as those mixes are almost exclusively reserved for decompression and require regulators certified for mixes greater than 40%.

BTW, at least in So. Fla., no LDS I know requires the customer to carry their own analyzers. They have their own. It's not a bad idea to carry one, but it's not a requirement.