Oxygen analyzer

[DiverRtNY]

It sounds like the dive ops will at least have an analyzer on boat, or should. Looks like I will be getting my own analyzer, none the less for piece of mind. If there is one thing in diving that can cause a catastrophic event that we might all take for granted is having our tanks filled properly. Too much trust in someone who often has a lot of things to do with not a lot of time... the blender.

 

[DIY]

Thanks, I corrected it. I got hung up on whether it was "O" or "O2". Ended up researching it and learning about the fact that oxygen is a diatomic elements requiring two molecules so it's always O2. Blew it on the CO, sorry.

DIY - I think you are referring to CO (carbon MONoxide), not CO2 (carbon DIoxide). Big diff!

 

[islanddream]

We always have to analyze our own tanks at the dive shop we use here in FL. In Coz, we dive with The Blue Angel and have to analyze our own tanks. I don't recall diving with a shop that hasn't had us analyze our tanks.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . .Now, from experience, I have been on resort diving where the boat picks you up at dock. You get on and people who are diving enriched air have their tanks ready to go. Perhaps I didn't happen to notice but I have yet to see anyone of these divers analyze their tanks. . . .

I have dived with numerous operations that had Nitrox tanks reserved for me on the boat awaiting my arrival, and in every instance they had an analyzer available on board as well as a log (clipboard) to fill out.

When making reservations at places that pre-load a tank for you before you have analyzed it, it would be a good practice to ask them at that time whether there is an analyzer on board for divers to use.

 

[Asteve]

The last dive trip we took, the Nitrox tanks were reserved and on the boat, during the week I never saw a O2 gauge, I may have miss some one doing it, but I would have though I would have seen someone doing it. In one case a guy got on board asking where his Nitrox tanks were and the crew show him 2 air tanks and said they ran out of Nitrox tanks and fill 2 air tanks with Nitrox. He took their word for it. I dive air so do not pay much attention to this. Who knows maybe they were using Nitrox and diving air tables, so did not feel if they needed to measure.

 

[Montana Diver]

The boats I use on vacation, always have an analyzer available. The do not require tanks be checked, however the reason I use nitrox is for safety. I always ask and the boat I use the most I just tell the captain I am going to grab the analyzer. Hopefully the others using nitrox see me testing and ask to have the tester next. Still seems like to much "trust me" on vacation, from setting up equipment to nitrox percentages.

 

[Storker]

I would never dive a tank of Nitrox without analyzing the mix.

Me neither. I would never dive with a nitrox tank I hadn't analyzed and verified myself. Which is why, when I got my nitrox cert, I bought an analyzer.

I analyze my nitrox fills at least two times, usually three: after the nitrox fill, after the air top-up (that's the number that goes on the sticker), and finally when assembling my gear. The last number is the one that goes into my computer. The good thing is that this is done with two different analyzers (my club's and my personal), so any analyzer errors have a good chance of being spotted as discrepancies.

 

[Searcaigh]

That's insane, you wouldn't even think they had that percent in the shop.

If they are blending the mixes they will have 100% available in tanks.

Where I do a lot of my tech diving we use 100% as a deco mix, absolutely nobody takes a tank out without analysing it first, then labelling it and having their initials on the label too.

Some recreational dive ops are well organised when it comes to labelling EAN tanks, best I have come across was Asian Divers at Puerto Galera, and Critters@Lembeh the guys are ready for you to analyse it, label it and sign it off in a log too. A few other places I have dived it has been a matter of making sure the tanks are analysed and labelled before they load the boat because the analyser does not go on the boat.

 

[Lorenzoid]

The last dive trip we took, the Nitrox tanks were reserved and on the boat, during the week I never saw a O2 gauge, I may have miss some one doing it, but I would have though I would have seen someone doing it. In one case a guy got on board asking where his Nitrox tanks were and the crew show him 2 air tanks and said they ran out of Nitrox tanks and fill 2 air tanks with Nitrox. He took their word for it. I dive air so do not pay much attention to this. Who knows maybe they were using Nitrox and diving air tables, so did not feel if they needed to measure.

Where was this and what's the dive op's name? So I can make a note not to use them.

As I said, I have never run into an op like that. Always an analyzer on board, and everyone asked to sign a log. Cozumel. Roatan. South Florida. Florida Keys. I can't say that's much of a sample size, but at least it's encouraging. To echo what others have said, I would not dive a tank without analyzing.

I think it's the dive op's responsibility to provide an analyzer on a boat in which they have reserved tanks for you with unverified contents. You're paying for this sort of "valet" Nitrox tank service, and I think the premium you're paying should include the use of an analyzer. They should also have a log, which is part of the protocol.

 

[Asteve]

I will not name the dive op. As I said I was diving air. I do not know if the boat had an analyzer or not, I am only reporting what I saw other diver doing. From what I could tell all the divers were taking the mix at face value.