Safety stop on Oxygen or Nitrox

[BlackDog8]

Thanks for all the responses. I was looking for a simple safe way to improve my profiles which are always well within the NDl for whatever mixture I am diving with.
As we all get older it is sometimes very obvious the tables do not account for older divers.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

I have not heard about the tank explosion that you are referencing. I'll look for it.

Why not just hang at your safety stop a while longer? If you are within NDLS and have enough gas. I have made what could be considered 30 min safety stops really just because there was some really cool stuff at 15'.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

Blackdog, you can purchase a diveplanner of doing a 75% deco, on diverite express, it is less than what you want for your safety reasons, and I have used it for some time now.

I think that the tank that blew was ashame, and you must be careful of all high pressure tanks.

As for your age the 75% is a great formula and takes a few minutes of deco off, with a small deco bottle.

Happy Diving

 

[DevonDiver]

Thanks for all the responses. I was looking for a simple safe way to improve my profiles which are always well within the NDl for whatever mixture I am diving with.
As we all get older it is sometimes very obvious the tables do not account for older divers.

Which tables? And why don't they?

What is the issue? Post-dive fatigue?

(sorry for all the questions... just trying to get my head round what the problem is)

It's pretty easy to manually add conservatism to any table or computer that you use. I'd look at adding deepstops and extended safety stops as an initial solution. See how those improve things.

Otherwise, you could add some 32% into a pony cylinder. It'd still be a useable redundant gas source for most recreational dive profiles (confirm your MOD)...and there'd be no harm sucking from it for a few minutes on your safety stop.

Stay well clear of >40% for in-water use, unless specificially trained to use it. Even then, it's a serious proposition to use 100% at a safety stop.

If you want some benefit from 100% O2... then save it for on the boat... lie back, sip an iced fruit juice (or warm coffee..depending on location!) and sniff some pure stuff to your hearts' content.

 

[String]

Thanks for all the responses. I was looking for a simple safe way to improve my profiles which are always well within the NDl for whatever mixture I am diving with.
As we all get older it is sometimes very obvious the tables do not account for older divers.

The most effective and proven way is just to slow your ascent rate, don't dive sawtooth profiles and extend a safety stop. Those and backing off from the limits of the deco model you're using will combine to be far more effective in increasing the safety margin than 3 mins breathing a different gas and far less risky.

 

[TSandM]

It's all about risk-benefit. If you dive comfortably within the limits of whatever decompression model you are using, your DCS risk is extremely low (even as we age!). On the other hand, the survival rate for divers who experience oxygen toxicity seizures underwater is very, very poor. To avoid the dangerous, type II DCS or gas embolism issues, control in the water column is probably more important than total nitrogen load (assuming, again, you stay within your limits). That control is also precisely what you need to be able to use accelerated decompression safely.

I am technically trained and have the equipment and supplies to do O2 decompression whenever I want. But I have almost never used it for NDL dives, because the risk simply outweighs the benefit. And the one time I HAVE done it, I had an uneasy moment when I discovered that high current in tight quarters with a scooter exceeded the bandwidth I had for precise buoyancy control. Everything came out fine, but it reminded me of why one doesn't take rich mixes lightly.

 

[Blackwood]

FWIW, I imagine that with >1000 dives, the OP would probably be able to learn gas switching without too much trouble. When doing repetitive NDL dives, I frequently bring O2 on the last dive for "cleanup."

But in the context of the thread. I think quantifying its benefits would be difficult at best. Anecdotally I "feel better," but it's a) impossible to truly compare one set of dives to another, and b) can't rule out placebo,

 

[DevonDiver]

FWIW, I imagine that with >1000 dives, the OP would probably be able to learn gas switching without too much trouble.

I am positive that an Advanced Nitrox course would be an easy transition for him... and would answer many of his questions

When doing repetitive NDL dives, I frequently bring O2 on the last dive for "cleanup."

I don't see the need to do this at the safety stop. For a no-deco dive, the benefit is so intangible that O2 might as well just be breathed on the boat.

When I lived in the UK, I had an O2 cylinder that was often used as a
'pick me up'. The best hangover cure I ever used was 1hr of O2, along with 2 bottles of Lucozade Hydroactive and a McDonald's breakfast...

 

[Blackwood]

Ya, it doubles as practice I guess.

 

[DevonDiver]

People often see the Advanced Nitrox course purely as the first step into tech. But it can be taken in a single cylinder... and does present a higher level of understanding about the risks and benefits of O2 use about the recreational limits (>40%).