Why such a hassle to get Nitrox in MA?

[oceancurrent]

OMG!!! That is one of the funniest things I've seen an Instructor say yet!!! PADI certainly did not introduce Nitrox for recreational divers, they only played after virtually every other recreational agency was teaching Nitrox and virtually every PADI instr. was teaching nitrox thru one of those other agencies!

But of course I know that PADI followed the others. I have been with SSI in the past. I am also relatively well familiar with the NAUI history and system. What I meant was that in the PADI system Nitrox introduction was preceeded by an intense debate. One of the prevailing arguments against the adoption was that Nitrox would spell trouble for both the divers and the shops. That was part of the reason they were late in the game (or so I've been told).

Cheers! :14:

 

[wreckedinri]

. . . B.w. I know one local diver who keeps her own compressor at home and does her own mixes. Isn't that crazy? Hmm...

Then call me crazy also because I have not had to pay for a fill in over 13 years. A couple O2 bottles, a trans-fill whip, and I fill from 22% to 100%. The dirty little secret is that there is a lot less mystery to mixing your own gas than most people think. I’m not saying that it is something to be undertaken frivolously, but I’m no rocket scientist and I - as well as many that I know – seem to be doing OK. After all these years I don’t think it’s due to luck.

You can’t blame your LDS for what they charge, or what their policies are. Gas filling and blending is a PITA that they turn very little profit on – if any. Considering the capital expenditure for the system, analyzers, the maintenance and labor to fill, it’s safe to say that they do not make any money filling cylinders. And we haven’t even mentioned liability! It is a part of their operational expense to provide a service to their customers. And no, I do not own or run a dive shop; I just have a bit of experience with compressors and fill stations. Seriously, if I were to charge someone to fill an 80cf cylinder with 50% - simply considering my time and cost for O2 - I would charge at least $20. It’s worth it for me because my time is just that, mine. And, I enjoy doing it as a part of the sport.

Dive Safely,
Dennis

 

[MSilvia]

Anyways, I hope you are not advocating here a cap of 36% for recreational Nitrox.

Not at all... I'm just suggesting that the fact that PADI publishes tables for diving EAN32 and EAN36, and that divers who took the PADI EANx specialty have said tables and can use them for nitrox diving without having to do any math, might go a long way toward explaining why there is demand for EAN32 and EAN36, but not as much for other nitrox mixes among recreational divers. If you have EAN32 but not EAN36, you'll likely get a lot of people asking for it... unlike EAN34 or EAN38.

 

[Soggy]

If you want to dive a silly mix like 38%, get O2 clean tanks and expect to leave them overnight. Most places just don't bank 40%. That's pretty much the long and short of it. Nitrox is ridiculously over-priced in New England, unfortunately, and somewhat inconvenient to get sometimes. My solution would to be to dive standard mixes rather than fret over 2% O2 that is going to provide you with little to no benefit anyhow, especially in a single tank dive situation. I'd just dive 32% all the time and be done with it. It's good from 0-110 ft and all of those higher-O2 'best' mixes don't really provide you with any perceivable benefit anyhow unless you are doing 3-4 dives a day right near the MOD of the mix. Problem solved.

 

[pgdive]

I would agree with Cerich, knowing Al at South Shore Divers, I tend to think theres more to this than Oceancurrent is stating. But at least the conspiracy theory makes for good reading.

As far as Paul Adler at East Coast Divers, I believe he has been teaching and pumping nitrox (and Trimix) longer than any other shop in the area, so again I don’t think this is the full story.

In regards to the profitability of Nitrox, when we finally do get a system together, I fully expect to lose money on it for many years. We will do it solely as service to our regular customers, rather than as a new revenue source. It is too labor intensive and there just isn't enough of a demand in this area, to make it a legitimate profit center.

Paul

 

[Soggy]

In regards to the profitability of Nitrox, when we finally do get a system together, I fully expect to lose money on it for many years. We will do it solely as service to our regular customers, rather than as a new revenue source. It is too labor intensive and there just isn't enough of a demand in this area, to make it a legitimate profit center.

Paul

Yeah, but you'd see my pretty face there more often. Isn't that enough?

 

[pgdive]

Yeah, that works.

It will happen, it's just a matter of finding the time and space to do it.

Paul

 

[oceancurrent]

Yeah, Nitrox all around! You may not get any direct profits from Nitrox, but think how many customers this will sway to visit your shop (or visit it more often). This will inevitably translate into some form of profit, no?

As for Al and Adler - call them if you don't believe me. Ha!

Given no choice, I'd stick to the 32/36, no doubt about it. But since it turns out that there is a shop, which does better than the pack (and doesn't cost me more timewise or meneywise to visit), I'll stick with them for now and feel good about it. :2tongue:

As for the "silly mix" thing...

B.w. I got curious about the home blending station mentioned above. How much does it cost to set up something like it? (I don't have room for this so I am not even considering it, but I'd like to know anyways) :huh:

 

[Soggy]

Nick, don't make me call the emoticon police on you.

 

[gmbaker]

I can help during my lunch hour. Eliminate some of those parking spaces out back.