What is a good dive shop in Monterey, CA?

[Todd128]

I know a couple, and only a couple, of semi-regular wetsuit divers in Monterey. Depends on the boat and trip I suspect.

I dive dry myself, but to your point about differences on boats, about half of the divers on the Monterey Express last Sunday (Local's Ledge, Fire Rock...great dives!) were in farmer john wetsuits.

 

[Todd128]

Is MBDC the only Monterey shop pumping hyperclean safeair?

 

[rhlee]

when you say "safeair" do you mean air (21%) or some nitrox mixture?

Bamboo Reef also pumps 32%. They bank it, so they can fill pretty quickly.

 

[Todd128]

when you say "safeair" do you mean air (21%) or some nitrox mixture?

Either--I mean the ANDI ultrapurified "safeair" equipment pumping both air and nitrox that exceeds grade E. One LDS (Blue Water Aquatics, Sunnyvale) had this system installed by ANDI, and I've been filling my tanks there before I head down. I "heard" that of the Monterey dive shops, only MBDC has this system installed. I am not certain. FYI-I'm not implying that only good shops have this gear, or that only real divers breathe safeair ...just collecting info...

Thanks for any insights, Todd

 

[rhlee]

sounds like the best thing to do, if it matters to you, is to call around and ask.

FWIW, most people consider gas to be either O2-clean or not. I'm fairly sure, that this is going to be equivalent to what they are trying to mean by labelling "ANDI ultrapurified safeair", but I can't say for sure. O2-clean (which is more stringent than grade-E, that much I know) basically means there are essentially no trace hydrocarbons present, and goes far beyond what is considered "safe to breathe". It's more an issue of avoiding a hazard when partial-pressure blending with high-concentrations of O2.

Bamboo is almost certainly going to be pumping O2-clean gas. Anywater Sports in San Jose is another good shop that pumps lots of gas around here. Anything coming out of there (AWS) is going to be clean.

 

[Todd128]

people consider gas to be either O2-clean or not. I'm fairly sure, that this is going to be equivalent to what they are trying to mean by labelling "ANDI ultrapurified safeair"

The blurb from the LDS web site is here:

http://www.bluewater-aquatics.com/services.htm

I think the LDS means "safeair" by "safeair." It's a quality certification offered by ANDI. If you need an air fill (eg, for a buddy tank loan) equipment remains clean.

 

[Todd128]

I found out that Bamboo Reef offers hyperclean air as well...

For anyone interested, here's the blurb off ANDI's web site RE: oxygen-compatible air / "safeair"

What is SafeAir?

ANDI coined the term "SafeAir" in reaction to the false impression that "Nitrox" was "high-tech mixed-gas" for deep diving, or perhaps "that stuff dentists use" and therfore, not suitable for recreational diving purposes. Although it has been considered a cute marketing term by the uninformed, SafeAir is much more than that.
SafeAir is the epitome of proper breathing gas handling from the compressor pre-filter to the divers second stage mouthpiece. SafeAir production begins with properly trained staff operating a properly-engineered gas production system. Breathing gas is stored in correctly rated, designated oxygen-cleaned receivers. The staff follow proper gas-handling protocols using "oxygen-service" equipment to mix the purest breathing gas with oxygen in accordancewith the ANDI-developed standard for "Oxygen-compatible-Air".
Only "Oxygen-compatible-Air" is used in the production of SafeAir, not "Grade E" which is the worst breathing gas standard in the entire world. The gas system's product is analyzed quarterly by an independent, federally-licensed testing laboratory. ANDI receives a copy of the report to document that the ANDI facility meets the highest standards in the industry. In addition, all gasses are analyzed by the end-user. As a result of these procedures, ANDI maintains that SafeAir IS SAFER than normally produced breathing air.
In summary, SafeAir as definied by ANDI, is any Oxygen-Enriched Air mixture with O2 concentrations between 22% and 50% that meet ANDI's gas quality and handling specifications. Many ANDI RHQ's refer to Oxygen Compatible Air as "SafeAir 21".
If it is not SafeAir, it is only Nitrox.
The SafeAir gas quality specification is listed in the Appendix of most ANDI texts. The ANDI training programs teach the practical application of these mixtures for recreational/sport diving situations as well as more advanced activities.

 

[rhlee]

this is what I suspected. You can add Anywater Sports to that list also

 

[padiscubapro]

sounds like the best thing to do, if it matters to you, is to call around and ask.

FWIW, most people consider gas to be either O2-clean or not. I'm fairly sure, that this is going to be equivalent to what they are trying to mean by labelling "ANDI ultrapurified safeair", but I can't say for sure. O2-clean (which is more stringent than grade-E, that much I know) basically means there are essentially no trace hydrocarbons present, and goes far beyond what is considered "safe to breathe". It's more an issue of avoiding a hazard when partial-pressure blending with high-concentrations of O2.

Bamboo is almost certainly going to be pumping O2-clean gas. Anywater Sports in San Jose is another good shop that pumps lots of gas around here. Anything coming out of there (AWS) is going to be clean.

Todd gave the official line on what is safeair..

bottom line is gas that meets ANDI standards.. ANDI's "oxygen compatible" air limits are much tighter than most of the other guys limits, and gas testing is actually enforced on our facilities, unlike the "on paper" testing requirements otehr agenices have for their facilities but is rarely enforced...

 

[Todd128]

ANDI's "oxygen compatible" air limits are much tighter than most of the other guys limits, and gas testing is actually enforced on our facilities

Thanks for the clarification. Over the last 5 days, diving and hanging around Monterey, we had a chance to browse all of the dive shops personally and fill tanks. As it turned out, MBDC was the only "ANDI Safeair" station in town as was suggested to me, not that this makes the shop categorically superior. To get back to the topic of the OP, the other shops had their good points and great things to offer; some had different "clean" air systems as suggested in previous posts. Todd