Nitrox - warning for beginner divers

[motorref]

Since I consider myself a new, still learning diver, maybe I can shed some light on this (or fan the fire?):
I got nitrox certified when I did my OW (2009), mostly because I felt that it would open up more diving for me. At 55, I don't recover nearly as well or as fast (from anything!), yet I want to maximize my bottom time, and minimize any chance of DCS issues, microbubbles, etc. Nitrox does this for me - Yes it may well be a "luxury" as someone said, but it also contributes to peace of mind for both myself and my wife.
Do I use it all the time? Absolutely not, but my last trip was 4 dives in one day, all on nitrox, with the first two at 100 and 80 feet, the last two on shallow reefs. Was it worth the extra $$ for peace of mind? Absolutely!
I've been able to get nitrox in Key Largo, Ft Lauderdale, Playa del Carmen, Bahamas,,, everywhere that I've been in the past few years.
So "Yes", I would encourage new divers to get the extra certification, even if you can't use it locally - are you ALWAYS going to dive the same spot?

KevinL

 

[Texasguy]

I am a new diver, when I was buying gear, I was getting a nitrox certification. There I learned that I need a dedicated tank for it. Thus, when I was finishing buying my gear I bought a new tank and got it inspected for nitrox use. Now when I want to go dive I realized I cannot do it cheaply as air. I knew there would be a premium but I had no idea it would be so expensive and so hard to locate... Thus, after spending so much money on a complete set of gear, now I have to buy one more tank so I can do air. I am tapped out already.

 

[Dive the World]

Nitrox is great - you have a couple of options.

Move to a place where you can afford Nitrox.

Get a medical O2 tank and mix your own nitrox.

 

[TSandM]

It's actually not true that you have to have a dedicated tank for Nitrox. You can put air in your Nitrox tank, so long as the air is filtered to Nitrox standards, which will be true of any shop that's doing partial pressure Nitrox fills. What is important is that you do not introduce any hydrocarbons into the tank that would be dangerous in the presence of 100% oxygen -- and THAT isn't even an issue, if the Nitrox you get is coming from storage banks, so your tank never sees pure oxygen. If someone is telling you you can't put air in a Nitrox tank, they are not giving you the whole story, or they're trying to sell another tank.

 

[boulderjohn]

Maybe YOU can be "unable to practice it due to availability and pricing" but what does that have to do with the great many divers in the world for whom that's NOT the case?

You do, of course, realize that the rest of the world may not reflect your local community???

Things vary dramatically by region. Here in Colorado, where we have little in the way of local diving below 30 feet, a number of shops do not bother to offer nitrox for local diving. On the other hand, nitrox certifications are very popular, because divers like to use it when they travel to wherever they do their diving. I have been to places where it has been offered for free.

I am a new diver, when I was buying gear, I was getting a nitrox certification. There I learned that I need a dedicated tank for it. Thus, when I was finishing buying my gear I bought a new tank and got it inspected for nitrox use. Now when I want to go dive I realized I cannot do it cheaply as air. I knew there would be a premium but I had no idea it would be so expensive and so hard to locate... Thus, after spending so much money on a complete set of gear, now I have to buy one more tank so I can do air. I am tapped out already.

So here is where we can help.

You have decided that for your local diving, you want to own your own tank, and you made learned that you needed a special tank that can only use nitrox. You have a local shop that will not put air in a tank that uses nitrox, so you feel you have wasted your money. Here are two solutions:

1. Take the nitrox sticker off your tank and use it for air. The only difference between a nitrox tank and an air tank is that the nitrox tank is oxygen clean so that pure oxygen can be introduced into it when it is being filled with nitrox via partial pressure blending. If you use air in it, it is just fine. If you want to go back to nitrox, just have it oxygen cleaned--it should not cost much at all.

2. Go to a different shop. When a shop fills a nitrox tank using partial pressure blending, yes, they do put pure oxygen in it first. Then they fill it with air. The idea that putting air in a nitrox tank makes it ineligible for partial pressure filling is absurd, because partial pressure filling puts in the same air they would have used if they had given you an air fill. Any shop that is using partial pressure blending should also be using ultra-pure air that will be suitable for nitrox. My tanks have had all sorts of mixes in them.

 

[beaverdivers]

There I learned that I need a dedicated tank for it. Thus, when I was finishing buying my gear I bought a new tank and got it inspected for nitrox use. ... Thus, after spending so much money on a complete set of gear, now I have to buy one more tank so I can do air. I am tapped out already.

You can use your Nitrox tank to dive a 21% mix ( Air ), just make sure it is filled with O2 clean air.

We only have Nitrox tanks, we always fill with Rocky Mountain O2 clean air.

As far as new divers and recreational divers using nitrox, we include it on all of our trips.

We always dive Nitrox ( any mixture of nitrogen & O2 ) even if it is only a 21% mix ( Air ).

It is a mindset.

We charge the same to fill any recreational mix ( 21% - 40% ) of Nitrox.

It drives me crazy to see an operation have twice as many tanks as they need to have both Air tanks and Nitrox tanks.

 

[Texasguy]

How much is usually to clean a tank for a nitrox use after it was used for regular air?

 

[redacted]

How much is usually to clean a tank for a nitrox use after it was used for regular air?

Not cheap. But, once again, why do you want a nitrox tank for diving in and around Houston. BTW, the Flower Gardens op does not require a dedicated O2 cleaned tank for nitrox. Generally speaking, only PP blenders have such a requirement althogh some would like you to believe O2 cleaning is required for all Nitrox tanks - so beware.

 

[chrpai]

I had a buddy with a boat down in Matagorda when I lived in Houston and I'd dive nitrox on the rigs. But yes, otherwise, it's generally overkill. Same for Austin the way the lake currently is. Perhaps next year will be a full pool and I'll reconsider.

 

[beaverdivers]

How much is usually to clean a tank for a nitrox use after it was used for regular air?

We charge $25 to O2 clean a tank.