Nitrox Question

[Photobeat 0]

I haven't traveled in a while or been on a live-a-board but was wondering if a Nitrox certification is usefull. Most boats it is not but I thought I would ask if most of you guys use it and it gets you to better locations or allows more time. Thanks

[AndyBarker 6]

HI,

 

I would dive on nitrox if it is availble every time as doing

3 or 4 dives aday takes alot out of you & also the nitrogen

which your'e body takes on would be substantially less, diving

on nitrox. If their is a course availble on your'e boat go for it,

that is what I did & it made a difference. Hope this helps &

enjoy your'e liveaboard.

Andy :ph34r: :ph34r:

[onokai 20]

If the dives are deeper I would say it adds to your safty factor. If the diving is shallow then it's not worth it

We spent a month aboard a livaboard-New Guinea-to Bali last spring. The whole boat was on Nitrox except my wife and I and all the divemasters. The diving was shallow and the extra $1600 I thought was not a good value. I did use that $ to buy a sweet 17-35 2.8 nikon lens. I made 85 dives on air and was underlonger than most nitrox divers- so the extended bottom times-seemed to apply to deeper dives and your personal air consumion. The safty factor on deep freak stuff is a yes -Most shallow diving no. If you already have the nitrox computer and are going deep go for it. I have used it for midwater commercial work to get longer bottom times.My 2 cents Mark

[fdog 3]

Yes, it's worth it.

 

On a liveaboard at 5 dives/day, your bottom times become nitrogen restricted at the end of the second day on air; they won't on gas.

 

I have seen the most advantage in 40' dives personally.

 

All the best, James

[SCubed 0]

At $1600 I might skip as well, if affordable definately go with nitrox and get a computer.

 

Ive been on trips were people had to get out before me because the were diving air (every trip) and even sit some dives out. With a proper dive profiles I have always finished a tank before the computer told me to come up, and have never had to skip a dive with nitrox.

 

Since I started diving nitrox I tend to meet more women on dive trips. So I think it might do more than improve your bottom time. . . or maybee thats just what it does

[MikeVeitch 0]

I don't dive anything but nitrox, we offer it for free here....

 

$1600!?!?! wow, Aggressor was $100/week when i worked for them

[PRC 2]

Qualified 'yes' but not at $1600.

 

Yes if is 'free' or you are diving with some outfit that enforces a 'no deco' / 'max 30m' rule.

 

Nitrox will extend your no deco bottom time with a trade off of reducing your max depth.

 

Personally I do not subscribe to the "it makes you feel better" camp unless you are pushing the times so hard on air that you are getting sub clinical bends.

 

Depending on how you use it, it may not be any 'safer', if you dive 'no deco' on air to the max no deco time you will come out with the same nitrogen loading as if you dived nitrox to its max 'no deco' time.

 

If you want to add 'safety' dive nitrox on an air computer or look at deco out / safety stop on 100% o2 - but that is getting 'technical'.

 

Paul C

[pmooney 6]

I would say "get on the gas" if it's available.

 

We charge $10 ( Australian dollars ) per fill, or $180 for a trip ( 7 days - up to 35 dives ).

 

I'm guessing the $1600 was US currency and was for 2 divers for the month.

 

$800 * 30 days @ 4 dives day = $6.67 US per fill not cheap but not over the top either.

[TimG 62]

I reckon cost, ease of access, the type of gear you own and the type of diving you are doing are major contributors to the answer. I don't use it very much - and I'm a PADI Enriched Air Instructor.

 

With its extended bottom times, Nitrox is ideal for flat profile dives in the 25m+ range. It's a good wreck divers gas. But if you dive right up to the NDLs all the time, you have absorbed, as others have said, a great deal of nitrogen and the safety advantages which Nitrox might offer are lost. You've just had longer dives. - which is nice of course.

 

I would always suggest, particularly with multiple dive days - as on liveaboards - keeping well within any NDL whether on Nitrox or air. My own preference is, on extended day diving, never to get within 10 minutes of an NDL on my Uwatec computer. And I still regularly clock 60 minute dives.

 

But I find most of my photo diving is in relatively shallow depths. Although I might take a dip down to have a look in the 30m area, most of the pics I take are around 15m or above. Profiles are gently sloping upwards with, quite often, long-ish periods at the end of the dive in the 10m+ range. I always try to spend an extended period at 5-8m at the end of a dive - taking pics but also as a long safety stop - especially on live-aboard trips. For these types of dives I would argue that Nitrox is of marginal value: and brings its own issues which you have to consider - checking mix, keeping the MOD in mind and a closer eye on depth etc.

 

One other issue to bear in mind: you can't dive Nitrox on most (all?) titanium regs. I bought a titanium Scuapro reg some years ago as it is so light for travelling - and I can carry more camera gear! But I understand there is a risk of a regulator fire from using higher oxygen content gases with titanium. So that puts me off using Nitrox!

 

So, if its cheap and you are doing the sort of diving that requires longer periods below 20m, then, yeah, Nitrox. Otherwise I'd stick with air. But watch those NDLs!

[Matetes 0]

When available, Nitrox much better....

You will feel younger

Matetes

[Arnon_Ayal 1]

Like all the others here: use Nitrox whenever it is possible.

This day almost all my dives are with Nitrox since my local club added the option to Nitrox's subscription in good price.

1600$ extra for Nitrox? How much cost the live aboard? 20,000$ ?

On the BB in Palau they charged us 100$ for a free 15 liters tanks for the all week.

[diverken 0]

I am Nitrox certified, but almost never dive on Nitrox. I do a 60 minute or longer dive on air, while my dive buddies on Nitrox are waiting for me on the boat. At this time there have been no proven studies to justify the use of Nitrox.

 

If the use of Nitrox really does improve diver safety then why is it that it has not replaced the use of air on boats without an option of choice.

 

Feeling "better" using Nitrox is in your head, which is OK but certainley not a scientific statement of fact.

[timoma 0]

I am Nitrox certified, but almost never dive on Nitrox. I do a 60 minute or longer dive on air, while my dive buddies on Nitrox are waiting for me on the boat. At this time there have been no proven studies to justify the use of Nitrox.

 

If the use of Nitrox really does improve diver safety then why is it that it has not replaced the use of air on boats without an option of choice.

 

Feeling "better" using Nitrox is in your head, which is OK but certainley not a scientific statement of fact.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Well,

 

As has been said above, it depends on the dive.

 

Personally, since I regularly dive wrecks in the 40+ meter range for 40+ minute bottomtimes for photography and video in 4 centigrade water, I definitely prefer to use any gas that will get me out of the water as soon as possible. This typically means diving two Nitrox mixes, sometimes even adding pure O2 if surface conditions or some reason warrant this. Typically something like EAN26-28 and EAN 50, though. I also do Trimix on specific dives but the price of He in this part of the world is often prohibitive.

 

Is it safer? Definitely! Even if you count out the DCS aspect of it, you are reducing the time you are exposed to the cold and should things go entirely pear shaped, you can get the out of the water faster. Having been in the situation to ponder whether to blow 10 minutes of deco due to a flooded drysuit I know what I'm talking about <g>.

 

While I recognize such dives are not your typical warm water liveaboard stuff, there definitely are reasons for Nitrox also there. Typically in wreck diving where currents dictate floating deco etc.

 

So, horses for courses etc.

 

timo

[Photobeat 0]

I think I will get the cert but not rush out to do it. I usually can get 60 - 70 min on a tank under decent conditions. My computer is ready and If I ever need it I will have it.

 

Thanks for all the good points

[bacripe 0]

My information is based on my expirience as a techinical diver (Hypoxic Trimix) and an instructor, so it's not just opinion - hopefully it will be helpful.

 

One other issue to bear in mind: you can't dive Nitrox on most (all?) titanium regs. I bought a titanium Scuapro reg some years ago as it is so light for travelling - and I can carry more camera gear! But I understand there is a risk of a regulator fire from using higher oxygen content gases with titanium. So that puts me off using Nitrox!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

This isn't accurate - nitrox mixtures less than 40% oxygen (EANx 40) are safe with all scuba gear without special preparation. Any mixture over 40% requires the use of oxygen-clean gear. The same limit applies to titanium regulators - mixtures less than 40% are safe with titanium regs. You just can't use a titanium reg on an 80/20 deco mixture - thats when it becomes a fire risk.

 

For any repetetive diving over 30ft, I would recommend it. For the number of dives that you do on a liveaboard, you'll see benefit in your available bottom time. You'll learn more about nitrox if you take the course, which is valuable also for the additional information you'll get on decompression theory and partial pressure effects of gasses on your body. Oxygen is toxic is high enough doses, so you have to control your exposure to it. It's important to consider the OLF (Oxygen Limiting Factor) and your personal O2 clock - your body can only withstand a certain oxygen exposure before you risk oxygen toxicity. If you do repetetive deeper dives (80-100 ft) on high O2 mixtures of nitrox (EAN 36, for example) you push your OLF. Once you're done with the class you'll view diving air as not "air" but just a 21% oxygen mixture - it's reflective of the effects and properties of the gasses at depths.

 

As for the effect of nitrox making you "feel better" after a dive, I am an advocate of it. When you consider it, scientifically it makes sense - your body has a higher partial pressure of oxygen available and a lower exposure to nitrogen (which fatigues your system) so it makes sense that you would have more energy at the end of the day. I work on a liveabaord boat and notice a definite difference (and I'm a 22 year-old male in excellent physical shape). If I dive all day on air, I'm tired at the end of the day, but on nitrox I am not. We see it with our passengers also - the air divers are always asleep early at the end of the day and napping in the afternoon, while the nitrox divers can stay up later, make more dives, and feel better.

 

On our boat it costs $100 for nitrox for one person for the week, so the $1600 for 2 people for a month is roughly double the cost, but it's not completely outrageous. When you add up the additional bottom time you have across a trip (if you're doing repetetive dives in the 60-80 ft range, it can almost double your available bottom time) it is worth the cost. Since it sounds like you have pretty good air consumption, it'll definitely benefit you. Hope this helps.

[Photobeat 0]

Thanks for taking the time I appreciate it. I would like the energy to get on the computer and edit after the dive, so I will get the cert for when I can get the most use out of it.

[TimG 62]

Just an addition on the issue of Nitrox and regulators following on from Brian's comments:

 

It was Scubapro who told me they advised against using a titanium reg with Nitrox when I asked the specific question probably two years ago after hearing about several fires caused by the titanium/enriched air mix.

 

By a strange coincidence I visited Scuba Dubai yesterday afternoon and talked to their Scubpro technician. He said that there had been problems with titanium regulators combusting with Nitrox due to the heat created by high pressure gases on the piston and the flamability of titanium. However he thought there was no problem using a Scubapro titanium reg with enriched air mixes of 32 or 36. He thought it wise to have a reg cleaned and serviced however and not to use titanium with mixes above 40%. He also advised checking to see whether the first stage filter showed any signs of rust - and not to use Nitrox if this was the case.