 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
*NEWS* |
Nitrox Diving - the basics Diving with Nitrox (nitrogen & oxygen mixes)
Nitrox (Nitrogen - Oxygen mix) is about diving for a longer time (bottom time) not deeper diving. Let me give you an example. The air that you and I are breathing now (as long as you are not reading this underwater!) is a basic mixture of 21% Oxygen and 79% Nitrogen. Nitrox is a mix of oxygen and Nitrogen that is not the usual air content. If you are to breathe normal air (with 79% Nitrogen) at a depth of 10 meters now you are breathing the equivalent of 158% Nitrogen (because now you are under 2 atmospheres of pressure, 1 from the surface and 1 atmosphere from the 10 meters of water pressure, hence twice the amount). You can see now easily how the Nitrogen content builds up in our systems very quickly. Nitrox usually is a blend of gas where LESS Nitrogen is used and MORE Oxygen is used. As you know Nitrogen absorption is the main contributing factor of 'decompression sickness' or 'the bends', this is why we can only stay down for a limited period of time (No Decompression Limit (NDL)) like you learned in your 'Open Water Course'. Simply by reducing the amount of Nitrogen and increasing the amount of Oxygen in a blend allows you to stay down longer as you are absorbing less Nitrogen during the dive. It is for longer diving (a longer NDL) not for deeper diving! The Nitrox course is informative and fun. How many times have you done a dive to 25-30 meters, really enjoyed it but had to come up due to running out of 'safe' bottom time? Using a specific blend (Nitrox) of air will allow you to enjoy 'THAT DIVE' for a longer period safely. The Hardeep shipwreck locally Pattaya (Samesan), Thailand, is a great example of this. The ship wreck lies in 26 meters of water. Check this out for a great example of how Nitrox can seriously improve your bottom time.
As you can see by the basic example you double (and some) your 'No Decompression Limit' and can enjoy that dive for longer. Hence why the Hardeep wreck is such a perfect training ground for this. You can even take your Wrecks diving specialty using Nitrox. The academics for the Nitrox course are more involved than this simple explanation but at least now you understand why divers might like to 'mix blends'. Please UNDERSTAND that as you remove one danger (Nitrogen) you add another (excess Oxygen) which is why this course should be learned correctly. This is a great fun course (as you get nice long dives) but the academic content is very serious! You are now entering the realm of technical diving. Prerequisite Certification: PADI Open Water Diver* or qualifying certification Where can I go from here? Technical Internships with basic and advanced Nitrox courses (Chose between 2 tech courses) PADI Open Water "Combo" with the PADI Nitrox course - ideal if you wish for a friend to get open water certified and you wish to take the Nitrox course - learn together. |
"What is Nitrox diving
exactly?" is a question that I pose to a few people. Generally divers say, -
"it's what you use if you want to dive deep". Wrong! Sorry but
that's not what Nitrox scuba diving is all about.