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In a message dated 95-11-07 16:13:44 EST, zimmmt@au*.al*.co* (Mike Zimmerman) writes: >> If you should want the dive shop to put a normoxic fill in the tank, they >will >> remove the nitrox label. Thereby requiring you to have the tank cleaned >again >> for nitrox use. > >There is no reason (that I can fathom) for a Nitrox shop to do >this. All you are doing is getting a 21% fill. If they mix Nitrox >by partial pressures they simply skip step 1 (adding pure O2). You >proceed as normal except you (if you drained the tank) skip >the O2 analysis and still record the mix on your mix sticker on the >tank (with PO2, MOD, etc...). The reason is simple. It's called control. For example, if you own a nitrox cylinder, properly labeled, lets fill it with 32%. You fill it at my store. You go diving. You come back two days later and want 21% in it. I wont do it. Why? Lets say I fill it with 21%. You take it diving, decide to get it refilled at another wtore who's air is not compatable with O2, then come back to me a week later for another 32% fill. For all I know your cylinder was contaminated by the other shops air. This is not an ssumption on my part, this is reality as I have dealt with this problem for 5 years. I will fill however fill your cylinder with 23% as opposed to 21%, this way if you decide to fill your cylinder with air at another store and then come back to me for a nitrox fill, I can (and do) analyze your cylinder and check to see if it is still at 23%. Less than 23%, I wont fill it. Lets talk about liability. Even if I disagree with a standard or a procedure, I must be concerned about following those standards and procedures or I may find myself without insurance. It sucks, but that's reality. Should tanks be color coded, labeled, etc. Absolutly. About three months ago I had a customer (a PADI Instructor, EANx diver and Tri-mix student) bring a blue aluminum 80 into my store for a fill. It had about 2000 psi of pure O2 in it, and had no markings on it at all. Had we not analyzed it prior to filling it, we would have filled it with air to 3000 psi, yeilding appx. 74% EANX in it. Had another customer been in the store with the same color aluminum 80 and taken the wrong cylinder by mistake, a body recovery off of some unfortunate diveboat would have been inevitable. Labeling is important, and customers cannot be trusted. I was lucky that my staff "suspected" that this PADI jerk was trying to pull a fast one. For the general population we need some type of control. If you have other sugggestions and/or solutions, I'm listening. Safe Diving, Raimo.
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