Sport Chalet and Nitrox ????

[H2OSensei]

From an LDS owner's perspective, I agree with SCVDiver. If Sport Chalet wants to train people to dive EAN and send them my way for fills.... cool with me.

One of the great things that Sport Chalet has is marketing. It actually might benefit us (LDS's) to have Sport Chalet get the word out to the general public about EAN and afterwards, we will be glad to fill your tanks, sell analyzers, etc.

If you are in the Santa Clarita area and need EAN, come visit our store !!!

 

[clarktenk]

My guess is (1) logistics of keeping that many stores filled (2) premix means specific mixes -- only the 'standard' 32% and 36%??, (3) extra paperwork and hassle to keep accurate logs for liability reasons.....as I said, just a guess.

Basically your making my point. They are claiming it's a liability issue but every other shop provides the same thing and has to run the same risks.

Essentially the problem is it takes time and proper training to blend nitrox safely and that is something they are not willing to invest. To claim it's a liability issue is just plain B.S. otherwise everyone else wouldn't offer it.

 

[PhotoTJ]

They would lose money selling nytrox, so they are not going to do it. Simple economics.

 

[Frank O]

For what it's worth, I stopped by the local Sport Chalet today to pick up a dive flag, and got to chatting with the dive shop manager. He said that under Cal OSHA rules, if employees are required to dive nitrox as part of their jobs, you have to have a chamber on-site -- not feasible for a 40-store chain. So while Sport Chalet is offering nitrox classes, only the students will be diving EAN -- the instructors will be on air.

He said that while there's been some discussion of selling nitrox again (as they did more than a decade ago), it's not looking too likely -- he characterized it as "a logistical nightmare." When they did sell it previously, mixing was done off-site, not in the stores.

 

[HBDiveGirl]

For what it's worth, I stopped by the local Sport Chalet today to pick up a dive flag, ....

Somebody needs to design a travel-sized Nitrox-32% membrane system that would fit easily within, say, a 21' Boston Whaler ... next to the miniature compressor... , underneath the dive flag...:blinking:

"C'ya!! We'll be back right before we run outta drinking water or food..."

 

[tiburon72157]

aphelion - well said. ditto for the most part on the crew at the hb store. yeah the new kid isn't hip on hydro stamps, viz stickers from different shops, and shorts the fills but everyone else for the most part is pretty cool. i have dove with most of the staff there at various times, and am on a first name basis with them. and i now include them in my list of friends and dive buddies, and visa versa. nice to be friends and not just considered straight revenue like at some other lds' i used to frequent.

 

[Damselfish]

He said that under Cal OSHA rules, if employees are required to dive nitrox as part of their jobs, you have to have a chamber on-site

pretty funny, considering theoretically there's less chance they'd need that chamber with Nitrox than with air.

 

[Frank O]

Somebody needs to design a travel-sized Nitrox-32% membrane system that would fit easily within, say, a 21' Boston Whaler ... next to the miniature compressor... , underneath the dive flag...:blinking:

:book2:

I'll get right on it!

 

[Jake]

More info on the rules concerning EAN:

http://www.asse.org/govupdate_2-10-03_osha.htm

The link above is to a document in which OSHA is/was considering modification to these rules. See section "I. Background" for the skinny.

Apparently, you do need to have a decompression chamber on-site. How stupid.

On the other hand, OSHA won't actually punish you though. That's dumb too.

Hopefully a change like this takes effect.

 

[shoupart]

For what it's worth, I stopped by the local Sport Chalet today to pick up a dive flag, and got to chatting with the dive shop manager. He said that under Cal OSHA rules, if employees are required to dive nitrox as part of their jobs, you have to have a chamber on-site -- not feasible for a 40-store chain. So while Sport Chalet is offering nitrox classes, only the students will be diving EAN -- the instructors will be on air.

.

How can that be a rule? I'm not sure which shops run nitrox around here, but don't Hollywood Divers and Pacific Wildnerness do it? Surely they must teach it as well as fill it, right? And if their instructors are doing it, why don't those two stores have chambers? Are you saying chamber as in "decompression chamber", or something else?