So how does analyzing tanks work with valet diving?

[Doctorfish]

My point is that I don't trust anyone else to set up my life support system. Would you let a stranger pack your parachute?

At places like LCBR, the staff are happy to do everything for you. I just do not think it's smart to be casual about your own equipment. I've seen regs attached tower up when they should be tower down, tank bands not firmly closed, half empty tanks set up for a dive and more.

I'm not trying to scare the newbies, just saying that you are ultimately responsible for your own safety. How hard is it to set up your own gear and check it?

The nitrox process at LCBR is for you to analyze your own tanks for FiO2 and pressure the evening before and then put labels on them with tape. No sample tanks or guesswork involved.

 

[hroark2112]

When it comes to breathing gas, I absolutely will not dive nitrox unless I've analyzed it myself or watched the fill station guy analyze it in front of me. That goes for anything except air fills.

As far as putting my reg on the tank, I'm OK with letting them do that for me. It's being handled by trained and certified professionals, not circus monkeys. YMMV, if you prefer to do it yourself, knock yourself out! Everyone has their own way of handling it. Honestly I thought I would have an issue with it, but I got over it somewhere between dive 1 and 2. I still checked it every time, and made a few adjustments here & there, but overall I'd say they were excellent.

 

[boulderjohn]

My point is that I don't trust anyone else to set up my life support system. Would you let a stranger pack your parachute?

Unfortunately, that is a false analogy. There are enough differences between the two to make a comparison worthless. A parachute setup is far more complex, the details are hidden from view to the point that an error could only be detected by taking the whole thing apart, and a minor problem can cause a fatality from which there is no escape. If we are talking about a basic recreational scuba setup, the set up is very simple, any error can be detected by a simple check that you will have to do anyway, and the worst failure can be handled by anyone who has mastered the basics of the OW course.

You can make a lot of comparisons that work the other way. Would you trust anyone else to fix the brakes on your car? Would you trust anyone else to take out your appendix? Would you trust anyone else to cook the food you eat to sustain your life? Would you trust anyone else to select your medications and put them in the containers in the pharmacy? Would you trust anyone else to watch your baby wile you go out to dinner?

I set up my equipment in over 95% of the diving I do. I'm pretty good at it, but then, it's really not rocket science, is it? On those rare occasions when I am at a location where the staff are expected to do it as a part of their work, I don't mind if they want to slide the cam bands over the tank and then attach the regulator to the tank valve. They usually look like they've done it before. It certainly does not take a whole lot of time for me to look over their work and see that it has been done correctly. In a post above, I mentioned my amusement in one situation at seeing what little thing they would screw up because they were not used to a BP/W with trim pockets on the cam bands. As a result, I had to make some tiny little correction before each dive, and i wondered if they would ever notice the correction I had made when they took the gear apart after the dive. None of the corrections was a big deal, and certainly a lot less effort on my part than doing it all myself.

 

[Bubbles below]

I been to two VIP services that involved nitrox and both set up was different. I used Ocean Frontier in Grand Cayman. My gear was on the boat every morning in a crate. My crate was label w my name and weights. They have you set up your kids first thing to make sure nothing is missing. They come up to you w an analyzer and clipboard. They analyze both tanks and you write the % and MOD. After the first dive, they switched your tanks for you. I double check to see if they strapped my tanks tight and position it the right height. After every dive, they asked you your time. I leave everything on the boat and just take my computer,lights, and camera to my hotel. They clean everything including wetsuit! At the end of week you have a print out of your profile w nitrox %, MOD, time, dive sites and crew names.Southern Cross in Little Cayman: Your gear is strapped to a tank and you have to analyze your tanks and write the % and. MOD on a clipboard. But they don't print your profile or ask your bottom time. They switched your tanks on the second dive. Again, I double check my tank strap. I take my computer, lights, camera, and wetsuit. I have to clean my own wetsuit.Bali Bubbles and Bali Diving in Indonesia and Fathom 5 Divers and Blue Wilderness Adventure in Hawaii, and Scuba Mau in Cozumel diving on air they all strapped your gear before first and second dive for you. I just double checked to make sure it's OK and I will also turn the air back on to check for O rings leaks and pressure. Again, I take my computer, lights, and camera. They clean everything including wetsuit. All group trip that I done which is 6. The dive resort that we stayed wasn't VIP which was Divetech in Grand Cayman,Divi Flamingo in Bonaire, Ocean Divers in Key Largo. The other 3 was all in San Carlos Mexico: Gary's, Desert Divers, and El Mar was also not VIP.Double check your gear VIP services or not! I like VIP services that includes wetsuit cleaning and I tip more w those services. Have fun, be safe, and check your kit!

 

[KathyV]

We will be diving air during our upcoming trip to LCBR. I have just purchased the Analox portable CO analyzer on ebay and I am reading how to use it - it looks pretty straight forward.

I love the valet dive services at LCBR, even though we will not be diving nitrox will we still have the opportunity to test our air tanks for CO and label them in advance?

 

[AggieDiver]

We will be diving air during our upcoming trip to LCBR. I have just purchased the Analox portable CO analyzer on ebay and I am reading how to use it - it looks pretty straight forward.

I love the valet dive services at LCBR, even though we will not be diving nitrox will we still have the opportunity to test our air tanks for CO and label them in advance?

You will not likely be able to test them before they are on the boat. Your best bet is likely going to be to wait until they have your BC on a tank, then use the low pressure inflator hose to test that tank. You should have plenty of time before each dive to test them. You won't know which is your 2nd and 3rd tank until they attach your reg after the previous dives.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I honestly had no clue this type of thing existing. The majority of my diving is advanced or technical Great Lakes wreck diving, with occasional diving in NC, FL or CA. I've NEVER had anyone set up my gear for me. This would be extremely stressful to me and entirely foreign to all of the diving I've ever done. Interesting to know this kind of thing exists. Not sure it's a good thing honestly.

 

[AggieDiver]

For low viz, cold water, deep wreck/tech type diving, where any mistake or problem can rapidly multiply, it may not be a great idea. For mostly shallow, warm water, 150+' visibility diving from moored locations, it really is not as big a deal as it is being made into. It isn't like they hide your gear from you and suddenly produce it mere seconds before you enter the water and force you to dive it sight unseen. They simply take your BC and reg off of one tank when you exit the water and place it on another. You then have the next 40-45 minutes to inspect it to your satisfaction, reassemble it yourself, test it, etc. It is a simple courtesy service, and for the kind of diving they are doing and the boat setup they have, it really makes plenty of sense. If you were in Cozumel, where the entire crew splashes at the same time and sticks together for the dive, having an issue identified right before or right after you enter the water usually means the dive is over for you. On Little Cayman, if you find a problem upon entering the water, you just swim back over to the ladder, get out, and fix it, then get back in and finish your dive. I would be much more worried about renting gear that I had no knowledge of its maintenance than I would about allowing a professional to change over my tank who swaps out thousands of tanks every year.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

For mostly shallow, warm water, 150+' visibility diving from moored locations...

What is this strange kind of diving you speak of?

 

[Superlyte27]

When it comes to breathing gas, I absolutely will not dive nitrox unless I've analyzed it myself or watched the fill station guy analyze it in front of me. That goes for anything except air fills.

So, by that statement, does that mean that you will dive air without analyzing it?

Let me propose two scenarios...

Scenario 1. You go to a dive shop and drop off your tanks for air. Meanwhile, a tech group comes in, drops a handful of tanks in the same corner as your tanks and asks for 21/35 Trimix (they're doing a deep dive). The next morning, you grab your tanks and head to the site. You plug in your 21% into your computer and plan your dive. You execute your dive and surface, and hour later, you're getting symptoms of decompression. What's happened? Pretty simple, the decompression required while diving helium is greater than the decompression while diving air. You didn't know you had helium in the tank, and you got bent.

Scenario 2. You're planning a dive to 130' on the Spiegelgrove in Key Largo. You're nitrox certified but your buddy isn't, and your bottom time will be the same as your lesser skilled buddy. So you don't spring for Nitrox. You ask for 21%. You grab your tanks, head to the boat and plan your dive. BUT! The $8.00/hour employee screwed up and accidentally gave you 36% confusing your tanks with some barrier reef dives at 60'. But, like 100's of people I've witnessed, because it's "air" you don't bother to analyze it. What's your risk?

I bring up these two scenarios to drive home this point: IF YOU ARE BREATHING OFF A TANK OF GAS, ANALYZE IT. NO MATTER WHAT YOU THINK IT IS, IT'S STUPID TO TRUST YOUR LIFE TO ANYONE, ESPECIALLY AN $8.00/HOUR EMPLOYEE.

Also, if you are getting your fills from a shop that provides Trimix fills, use a helium analyzer to check your content. My buddy was bent when he borrowed a bottle he analyzed at 30%. We later found out it was 30/30 Trimix.