Bristol Channel Divers
Mixing It!
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Bristol Channel Divers |
Your former webmaster would like to see everyone using Nitrox....so.....
Worried about DCS? Want more time to examine your favourite wreck or reef? Just lining up that award winning photo when you run out of no stop time on your computer? What do you do?
Answer: You get into Nitrox!
People seem to think that diving Nitrox is "technical" or difficult. Some also think that it allows you to dive deeper. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nitrox is simple and safe....but what is it and why should you use it?
Nitrox, Enriched Air Nitrox (EANx), Safe Air are all terms for the same thing. In basic training you learned how Nitrogen is a bad thing. It gives you narcosis and can lead to bends if you ascend too quickly. Using Nitrox is a simple way to reduce to these problems. We simply lower the percentage of Nitrogen in the gas we breath. In this way, we don't suffer the same decompression penalty as we would on air and we don't suffer the same levels of Nitrogen narcosis.
Air is 21% Oxygen and 79% Nitrogen. With Nitrox, we alter this "mix". For example, Nitrox 36 (or EAN36) contains 36% Oxygen (and 64% Nitrogen). The reduced Nitrogen content is a good thing. It means we can remain at depth for longer for the same decompression penalty or dive an "air profile" with a much greater safety margin.
If you are on holiday and doing multiple dives per day, Nitrox will vastly increase your safety margin. You should also feel better at the end of a day's diving with less tiredness (sub-clinical DCS).
Of course, there are a few complications. You will need to do a course to learn about Nitrox, what it can do for you, how it is safer and what the pitfalls are. Nitrox costs more than air; expect to pay about £5 for a fill! Not all dive shops can pump Nitrox. You need to get your cylinder cleaned so that it can safely be used with higher Oxygen percentages (you will learn all about this on the course). You need to be aware of the depth limits imposed by the use of various Nitrox mixes.
However, in the 15-40m depth range, Nitrox can give you a much greater safety margin when used with an air table (or longer bottom times when used with an EANx table or Nitrox computer - the choice is yours). You really can be safer using Nitrox but it's a trade-off against the additional costs.
Of course, DCS can never be totally avoided and using Nitrox is not a panacea but it can go a long way to making your diving safer and more enjoyable. There are BSAC Nitrox courses and other organisations (such as PADI and TDI) offer Nitrox instruction too.
As with anything else, please ask if you have any questions.
Respect Our Wrecks!
