Scuba stuff in thrift stores.

[tomboyy]

In any case, taking a poke at the OP's training for not knowing about the various stickers is completely inappropriate. According to his profile, the OP is AOW certified, not Nitrox certified and would have no way of knowing about the various sticker meanings, aside from VIP.

Terry

wow. harsh.

Wow.

[hijack]Yes, harsh. The fact that you want to ensure that every OW student is properly trained is commendable. But the manner in which your posts often come across when you point it out is not, especially in the New Divers and Basic Scuba areas. So far, 3 people have posted in this thread that the response was harsh.

For all we know he may have been told about Nitrox tanks and stickers in his BOW class and simply forgot. Implying that everyone who asks a somewhat basic question got inadequate training without getting more background or info on them is counter productive. Many of these posters will feel uncomfortable posting or asking questions in the future when they get this type of response to their questions.

My OW class might have covered tanks with nitrox stickers on them but it's been too long ago for me to say for sure. But I am certain that it didn't cover such things like the need to get it O2 cleaned if the air isn't Nitrox compatible or partial pressure blending techniques.

The message is fine. It's the delivery that needs some work when responding in these two subforums.
[/hijack]

jim can be preachy about training and prolly could say things alittle nicer, but the fact is jim is jim and ifya don't like reading his post skip over them .. ( i sometimes do )

The fact of the matter is jim is right ! If an ADVANCED OW diver doesn't have an clue about tanks and 21% vs 32% they need more training !

I just finished diving with a friend who was JUST certified and he doesn't even know to add alittle air on decent and let alittle out on ascent... WTF ! Now I have to make sure he doesn't kill himself on basic 40 froot dives.

Soo yep jims right on this post .. and sorry for hi-jacking this thread ... wait nope.. i'm not sorry.

 

[Jax]

jim can be preachy about training and prolly could say things alittle nicer, but the fact is jim is jim and ifya don't like reading his post skip over them .. ( i sometimes do )

The fact of the matter is jim is right ! If an ADVANCED OW diver doesn't have an clue about tanks and 21% vs 32% they need more training !

I just finished diving with a friend who was JUST certified and he doesn't even know to add alittle air on decent and let alittle out on ascent... WTF ! Now I have to make sure he doesn't kill himself on basic 40 froot dives.

Soo yep jims right on this post .. and sorry for hi-jacking this thread ... wait nope.. i'm not sorry.

fftopic:

Sorry, I have to partially disagree.

First, I believe Jim is a dedicated professional passionate about his training standards. I learn enormously from most of his posts.

Second - delivery IS important. If the message comes across as denigrating, mocking, harsh, etc., the message is lost in the emotional impact. People tend to discount what may be perfectly good information when that information is presented in a means perceived as an attack.

I don't remember every stinkin' thing I'm been taught, but would most certainly take umbrage at someone stating my training is deficient. That is a jump-to-conclusion that just does not stand up under closer scrutiny.

 

[The Chairman]

If an ADVANCED OW diver doesn't have an clue about tanks and 21% vs 32% they need more training !

I disagree. All a non-NitrOx certified diver needs to know is AVOID diving NitrOx until they get trained. A non-TriMix certified diver has little need to know what normoxic or hypoxic mean, but they should know to AVOID diving TriMix until they get trained.

Diving is all about limits. We encounter at least five limits on every dive: gas, depth, time, training and experience. You could probably add physical and environmental to those as well. OW is all about defining your limits so that you don't get hurt. You learn a good bit about what you don't know and that you should simply AVOID exceeding those limits.

ScubaBoard is great, in that a diver can come here to test and expand his understanding on a multitude of diving subjects. However, you should not try to substitute this kind of informational exchange for a formal class, especially when it comes down to learning OW, technical or overhead diving. An instructor is invaluable so you don't go and kill yourself.

 

[diversteve]

Okay, y'all have convinced me! I'm going to do my civic duty and go up and check them out . . ., and buy them to get these dangerously marked cylinders off the market!

I am going to be SO disappointed if they are a couple of Spare Airs . . . :depressed:

You'll be more disappointed if the paintball guys have seen them first...

 

[Web Monkey]

The fact of the matter is jim is right ! If an ADVANCED OW diver doesn't have an clue about tanks and 21% vs 32% they need more training !

AOW is "Advanced Open Water" It's OW plus five more dives with an instructor. There is no requirement that an AOW diver know anything about Nitrox or how to determine "what's in the tank".

And FWIW, "Nitrox" doesn't necessarily mean "32%." I have a nitrox tank in my car right now that would probably kill anybody who used it at much more than 40'.

Terry

 

[Hoomi]

Okay, for one, Jim's post didn't offend me. I didn't feel he was talking down to me or being mean. Yes, I know the difference between standard air and Nitrox, and I also know that a tank is a tank. I know a Nitrox tank doesn't have some special metal composition or valve, and that it will work just as well for normal air as it does for Nitrox. It'd be pretty dumb, but you could fill a scuba tank with helium and inflate balloons from it, because the tank will hold compressed helium just as easily as compressed air. I have a lot of respect for Jim and have learned quite a bit from his posts, and in addition, I have a pretty thick skin. If you knew the group of guys I work with, you'd know that I have to have a thick skin to survive hanging around with them.

My only concern about thinking in terms of using the Nitrox bottles for normal air was that they were labeled for Nitrox only. It doesn't have to make any sense to the average person for a law to regulate the usage of a gas bottle, and I wasn't sure if there was some kind of federal law prohibiting filling a bottle labeled for Nitrox with anything but Nitrox. Hey, there are still laws on the books in many places prohibiting certain sex acts, even between married couples in the privacy of their own homes, so it wouldn't surprise me to learn the government can be just as intrusive on what you can put in a scuba tank.

Now, as far as feeling dumb, I realized last night after I shut down my computer that I posted my own "feel stupid" comment. I said these bottles had the first stage attached. Why that tidbit ran through my brain yesterday, when I know the first stage is on the hose side of the yoke, not the bottle side, eludes me. All I can say is, I must not have had enough sleep or caffeine yesterday.

Anyway, the point of this topic wasn't whether Jim could have been a bit nicer in his reply. The point was to see what other kinds of scuba related stuff people have found in thrift stores and second-hand shops.

 

[knowone]

Okay, for one, Jim's post didn't offend me. I didn't feel he was talking down to me or being mean. Yes, I know the difference between standard air and Nitrox, and I also know that a tank is a tank. I know a Nitrox tank doesn't have some special metal composition or valve, and that it will work just as well for normal air as it does for Nitrox. It'd be pretty dumb, but you could fill a scuba tank with helium and inflate balloons from it, because the tank will hold compressed helium just as easily as compressed air. I have a lot of respect for Jim and have learned quite a bit from his posts, and in addition, I have a pretty thick skin. If you knew the group of guys I work with, you'd know that I have to have a thick skin to survive hanging around with them.

My only concern about thinking in terms of using the Nitrox bottles for normal air was that they were labeled for Nitrox only. It doesn't have to make any sense to the average person for a law to regulate the usage of a gas bottle, and I wasn't sure if there was some kind of federal law prohibiting filling a bottle labeled for Nitrox with anything but Nitrox. Hey, there are still laws on the books in many places prohibiting certain sex acts, even between married couples in the privacy of their own homes, so it wouldn't surprise me to learn the government can be just as intrusive on what you can put in a scuba tank.

Now, as far as feeling dumb, I realized last night after I shut down my computer that I posted my own "feel stupid" comment. I said these bottles had the first stage attached. Why that tidbit ran through my brain yesterday, when I know the first stage is on the hose side of the yoke, not the bottle side, eludes me. All I can say is, I must not have had enough sleep or caffeine yesterday.

Anyway, the point of this topic wasn't whether Jim could have been a bit nicer in his reply. The point was to see what other kinds of scuba related stuff people have found in thrift stores and second-hand shops.

Have some coffee and ask the Lamenter about regs. Tick tick tick, puff puff puff. Is it Monday yet?

 

[tomboyy]

I guess because I spend ATLEAST 1 hour a day ( more like 2 ) on SB and read and read and read a bout everything , that and the classes I took I would expect a AOW to know someting about nitrox.

Now the OP wrote his first one in error and now knows about nitrox and it was about a sticker all along , so I guess its all moot now.

Netdoc you can disagree with me as I do with you on this particular subject, thats one of the great thing about SB.

 

[The Chairman]

Netdoc you can disagree with me as I do with you on this particular subject, thats one of the great thing about SB.

Sorry, but we'll have to agree to agree on this.

 

[Hoomi]

We've found wetsuits in thrift stores a few times, but unfortunately, never in my size. We also frequently find fins, masks, and snorkels of varying quality levels, everything from department store cheapies to decent scuba brands. I grabbed one such mask and snorkel set for cheap for a craft project I'm working on, that I don't want to use good, pricey stuff for.