Using same regulator for air and enriched air (Nitrox 32/36)
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klauricella
Contributor
It is safe but your dive shop may tell you if you fill with air that it needs to be O2 cleaned again.
If this is safe than why the the dive shop may force me to oxygen clean my regulator?
According to PADI no special equipment must be used for diving enriched air up to 40%. (Except the tanks)
But nothing was said about using the same regulator for both Air and Nitrox.
Because your shop may be stupid or greedy. There is no other reason for an O2 cleaning with pretty much any reg that is going to only see air or nitrox to 40%. This is covered or should have been in your OW class and your nitrox class for sure. If it was not you got screwed on the class. Check your nitrox manual. It should be in there. In fact it is in the PADI Nitrox student manual I have from 1995 that was used in my course in 2004. Page 9 paragraph 2. I'd hope it was in any newer one as well. If not I'm speechless. Regardless of that your instructor should have made it clear. Mine did.
halocline
Contributor
I doubt your dive shop would do that, but there is a lot of ignorance about mixed gases and O2 use. Just out of curiosity, if you know that according to PADI no special equipment is needed for nitrox to 40%, why would you be concerned about using the same reg for air and nitrox?
There is an amazing amount of confusion about a very simple issue, and the fault for that lies squarely with the manufacturers and dealers who use half-truths and occasionally outright falsehoods to sell things. As an example, there was the SP MK20 "nitrox" version, which by it's very existence implies that the regular MK20 was not suitable for nitrox. I suspect that many dealers didn't push this sort of thing on their customers out of outright greed or dishonesty, but more of a blind reliance on the manufacturers' sales hype, even when it conflicts directly with the educational material taught by the very same shop.
It is generally held that no special cleaning is necessary, if equipment is exposed to 40% O2 or less. Therefore, your regs are fine as is. Where the issue with air and Nitrox comes in is with the TANKS. If a shop does not pump O2-clean air, you can end up with hydrocarbons in your tank or valve, that could promote a fire if the tanks are subsequently partial-pressure filled (meaning pure O2 is put in to start, and the tank is topped with air.) If the shop pumps Nitrox, their air is almost certainly clean to Nitrox standard, so it doesn't matter which you put in the tank.
Well, that sounds like my dive shop
Actually I was pretty sure that I can use the same reg for both but my dive buddy tried to convince me otherwise.
Since I've failed to find my book in order to find the exact paragraph I decided to post here and see the responses.
Thanks everybody for your help.
DuboisP
Contributor
http://www.simplyscuba.com/pdf/ScubaManuals/Regulators/Aqualungregmanual.pdf
read the page 6
it's a old user guide, but i'm sure you have the same disclaimer in your user guide
Scared Silly
Contributor
markmantei
Contributor
TSandM is dead on. O2 clean is only neccessary for equipment that will be exposed to high concentrations of oxygen. For recreational nitrox O2 cleaning is only neccessary for tanks that will be partial pressure filled. Your reg will never be subjected to pure 02 diving nitrox 32 or 36.
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