Switching Between Air and Nitrox

[moeronn]

Hi All,

I'll combine my question with a brief intro, to save on a post in the other forum.

I'm fairly new to diving, having been OW certified (PADI), but haven't been diving for nearly two years. I did my last check out dive and a couple others in Kauai. My fiance is AOW and Nitrox certified - she's the one that got me into the sport and while I thank her, my bank account is quietly cursing her. We're getting married in August and heading to Fiji for our honeymoon. I've got a few related questions that I'll post in (what I think are) the appropriate forums.

The question I have is regarding her use of Nitrox and Air on the same equipment. Is it safe to switch between mixtures on the same equipment? Is there any special servicing required when doing so? Any input and/or references would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[H2Andy]

perfectly safe, as long as you're talking mixes of less than 40% O2

if you have greater than 40% mixes (which requires advanced nitrox), you should
have an O2 clean tank and O2 clean regs to be absolutely safe

but yes, no problem at all using air (21% Nitrox) or any mix under 40% with
the same equipment

 

[fdog]

<snip>The question I have is regarding her use of Nitrox and Air on the same equipment. Is it safe to switch between mixtures on the same equipment?

Recreationally speaking, yes.

Is there any special servicing required when doing so? <snip>

Recreationally speaking, no.

All the best, James

 

[moeronn]

Thank you both for the responses. That's what I was hoping to hear.

 

[Jason Ooi]

Major regs is 40% Nitrox compatible,if you have greater than 40%,you should
have an O2 clean regs.
Welcome to Scuba Board

 

[Don Burke]

The question I have is regarding her use of Nitrox and Air on the same equipment. Is it safe to switch between mixtures on the same equipment? Is there any special servicing required when doing so? Any input and/or references would be greatly appreciated.

The only issue for recreational EAN is related to cylinders. If air that is not oxygen compatible is put into an EAN cylinder, the cylinder loses approval for partial pressure blending.

Since the cylinders will be provided by the resort, there should be no issue at all.

 

[Scubaguy62]

Well, you've been told it's ok to switch back and forth, so I'll leave that and will just say, CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH!!!

 

[riguerin]

What everyone else has said. Additionally, if you are diving with a nitrox compatible computer, you'll need to acquaint yourself with some new settings. Once you've made a dive on nitrox, many computers will remain in nitrox mode for a 24 hour period. Should you choose to do an air dive within this time frame, you'll need to enter 21% as you O2%.

 

[scubajcf]

Haven't Dove in a Couple of Years? Are you Nitrox certified? May want to do a refresher before Fiji and take a Nitrox class. It will probably make the scuba portion of your honeymoon a lot more enjoyable.

Good luck!

jcf

 

[moeronn]

Not Nitrox certified and not sure if the dive shops offer it, either. I'm planning on buying some new equipment before the trip and found a local LDS that lets you test it/show you how to use it in their salt water pool. That, along with rewatching the PADI OW course videos should pretty much cover everything, no?