Why do you have to attend Nitrox classes in order to use Nitrox?

[diver 85]

Diveaholic, You want to make a bet........I can blur you up so bad you'll not be able to see that elephant in front of you @ 6 ft but you'll be able to smell him........You know what I mean I'm guessing, who should have checked the mix to begin with???....btw, apples & oranges do go together, you ever eat a fruit salad made with them.......

 

[UndrWatrDan]

A patient analyzes a pair of glasses when he/she puts them on and can see or not, and a wrong Rx is not going to kill that patient or anyone else unless he/she is stupid enough to walk out of the office and drive a car without getting the Rx corrected. If my life depends on something, like the air mix in my tank, I'm going to check it myself and not depend on someone else to tell me it's safe. In the example I gave above, the dive was planned to 80', if that diver had relied on someone else to tell him the air mix was safe, he would have been over the 1.6 ppo2 limit which would have lead to O2 toxicity, and possible death.

 

[Thalassamania]

I'll give you a good example of why you want to take a class and not just "grab it and go down to the water". My wife and I were teaching a Nitrox class to a group in La Paz. We stressed over and over how important it was to personally check your mix before the dive. Prior to one dive one of the student's grabbed a tank, began his analysis and called us over when the reading was 80%. We recalibrated the analyzer, and rechecked the tank, still 80%. Had the Dive Mgr, check the tank, 80%. Had he "grabbed it and gone down to the water" he would more than likely not be with us today. Knowing the limits of breathing higher percentages of oxygen and knowing the hazards is very important when breathing enriched air, and in this case knowing how to properly analyze a tank, saved a life.

That is such a potential problem today that I'd argue that stuff needs to be in every entry level course, not an add on.

 

[HowardE]

Apples and oranges. Glasses won't kill you if they're the wrong Rx. They may give you headaches and affect your vision, but that's about it. Breathing 80% below 33 fsw will put you over the 1.6 ppo2 limit leading to O2 tox, leading to death.

and this information requires an instructor?

Are people that stupid?

 

[gangrel441]

Oxygen typically costs around $.08 per cubic foot. To make EAN 32% you need 14% Oxygen added to air. So let's say that I want to fill an AL80 with EAN32 to 3000psi.

(32 - 21) / 79 * 3000 = 418psi/Oxygen

80 / 3000 = .027psi/cf

.027 * 418 = 11.29cf/Oxygen

.08 * 11.29 = $.91

So to fill an AL80 to 3000psi it costs the dive shop less than $1 in Oxygen. Now take into account labor for maybe 15 minutes and the logistics of air, whether it's banked in a cascade or the shop fills straight from the compressor (gas or electric). You can't tell me that to BREAK EVEN to fill a tank of EAN32 you would have to charge $15. At $15 you are making more then a few dollars of profit for 15 minutes of actual work.

Are you factoring in the cost (gas or electric) of running the compressor? Depreciation on the compressor? The loan payments that you're making for buying the compressor? Periodic maintenance of the compressor? Parts & labor?

How about how many tanks they are filling at $15/pop per month? This is, after all, a question of breakevens. Economies of scale dictate that based on volume, your breakeven price may be considerably different than someone else's in another geographic region...or even right down the street.

 

[gangrel441]

and this information requires an instructor?

Are people that stupid?

Well now....that comment didn't come off as pomous and eletist...

For those of us who didn't begin reciting gas laws in our sleep long before ever taking a basic open water class, the information learned in the classroom during a Nitrox class came in quite useful and informative...

 

[Thalassamania]

Well now....that comment didn't come off as pomous and eletist...

For those of us who didn't begin reciting gas laws in our sleep long before ever taking a basic open water class, the information learned in the classroom during a Nitrox class came in quite useful and informative...

Only because you did not learn them in your entry level course (or high school chemistry, remember PV=nRT?).

On another sibject: Shops that can't figure out how to make their cost centers pay for themselves will not be around long, if they don’t shoot themselves in the head (or the foot) the internet will kill them in time, and they’ll moan that its Leisure Pro’s fault.

 

[cdreamer]

Then add in your demurrage charges, hazardous material charges and the cost of
oxygen analyzing equipment. One 02 sensor is about $75. We give our class away
for free with the purchase of a dive computer. The customer / student can have
a discount or they can have the class. It is the only way we can compete with
internet prices.

 

[HowardE]

Well now....that comment didn't come off as pomous and eletist...

That's funny.

Don't read between the lines... read what I said. WHY DOES AN INSTRUCTOR HAVE TO TEACH IT TO YOU?

Can't this stuff be learned by READING THE BOOK?

It's not that hard... it's simple math.

 

[redacted]

Well now....that comment didn't come off as pomous and eletist...

For those of us who didn't begin reciting gas laws in our sleep long before ever taking a basic open water class, the information learned in the classroom during a Nitrox class came in quite useful and informative...

I took the PADI Nitrox course and don't recall anything in the class that was not covered adequetely in the book. What information do you add to your Nitrox class?