So, is it worth it to go through an Enriched Air Diver course to be able to suck on Nitrox while scuba diving?  We always see those alien yellow and green stickers around on tanks that usually Instructors and Divemasters like to wear on their back.  What the hell are they?  -They’re tanks that are filled with Nitrox (A mix of Nitrogen and Oxygen).  Well, my tank of AIR is also filled with Nitrogen and Oxygen, what’s the difference between their stickered up tank and my plain-Jane regular ol’ aluminum missionary style beige tube thingy, you ask?  Their Nitrox tanks are filled with a different mix of Nitrogen and Oxygen, more Oxygen than what you find in regular AIR.  The benefit to rocking Enriched Air = Nitrox while SCUBA diving is that by increasing the Oxygen in the Oxygen to Nitrogen ratio, you’re taking in LESS Nitrogen and extending your allowable bottom time.  Cool, huh?!  Absolutely!  What an awesome tool to have in the box when you’re on a nice long dive trip racking up the day-after-day two tank and three tank dives!  Lessening the Nitrogen load on your body during such a holiday is a good thing.  However, there is some give and take to keep in mind when scuba diving with Nitrox so, don’t ever think about diving with Nitrox without taking an Enriched Air Diver class and getting yourself certified.  And hopefully no reputable dive operation would ever sell or rent you a Nitrox setup without verifying that you’re indeed certified.  None of us would do something idiotic like that anyways.  We’re all extremely respectable Salty Dogs here wanting to keep our families and ourselves safe to dive and have fun another day!

Also, you should use a dive computer when running Nitrox.  Remember this article I posted a little while back…

OCEANIC VS. SUUNTO VS. MARES DIVE COMPUTERS FOR 2017 – OCEANIC MALFUNCTION DURING TEST DIVE

The PADI Enriched Air Diver course took about 2.5 hours of study and another 2.5 hours of classroom work including exam.  I went through the class with my daughter and had a good time talking about getting too much Oxygen and SCUBA diving.  Also had a fun lunch with my kid afterwards.  Not a bad day in my logbook.

Go out and get your Nitrox cert!  It’s a good time.

-saltydog@sd

Check out these pics…