Imagine yourself 80 feet below the surface of the Indian Ocean. Thirty minutes into the dive you come across an incredibly rare species and you have plenty of memory in your digital camera. You look at your computer, and you just have one minute of bottom time left!
If only you had Nitrox!
What is Enriched Air?
Enriched Air is simply air that has an increased percentage of oxygen. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has developed two standard mixes: one composed of 32%, the other, 36% but many dive shops can fill your tank with any percentage that you wish (below 40% which is the standard for recreational diving).
Enriched Air is also referred to as Nitrox. Nitrox is any gas mix that contains a combination of nitrogen and oxygen.
Nitrox is available in your local dive shop, your favorite live aboard, and now in many remote locations worldwide.
What is the advantage of breathing Nitrox?
Time! Nitrox allows you to extend your bottom time without having a required decompression obligation. With EANx36 (Enriched Air Nitrox 36%) you can safely stay at 80 feet for 55 minutes! That’s almost double the time allowed by the tables!
There is also a tremendous advantage when you look at a repetitive dive profile. Imagine you are diving off Cape Marshall in the Galapagos. You have 36% Nitrox in your tank, the other divers are breathing air. At 70 feet the entire group spends 35 minutes playing with several manta rays. Upon surfacing you are in pressure group K, the air divers are in Q. After a 40 minute lunch break, you are ready to go back down to the same depth and play with the mantas. You have 54 minutes of allowable bottom time. The air divers have 19!
In addition, most divers report feeling less fatigue after a dive made on Nitrox.
What will I learn in the Enriched Air course?
Along with the tremendous benefits of Nitrox come a few added safety measures. In class we will review all the practical procedures and theoretical concepts necessary to enjoy the benefits of Enriched Air. You will learn:
- The History of Nitrox.
- Advantages and Precautions of Nitrox use.
- Equipment Considerations for Nitrox use.
- Obtaining air fills.
- Dive Planning.
- Physiological implications of Oxygen.
- Managing oxygen exposure.
- Diving emergencies.
- Various mathematical formulas.
What is the course structure?
- You will need to purchase a copy of the PADI Enriched Air Diver Manual, as well as the EANx32 and EANx36 tables. You need to dig up your Recreational Dive Planner as well. Read the book and answer the knowledge review questions in the back.
- The classroom session will take place on a week night and usually lasts about 4 hours. We will go over key concepts, calibrate and analyze an EAN cylinder, look at an enriched air compressor system, do a few dive table problems, then take a 25 question quiz.
- The optional open water portion of the class will be held on one weekend day. It consists of two dives, each requiring you to come up with a thorough, safe dive plan.
Can my Enriched Air dives count towards my Advanced certification?
- Certainly! With any specialty class you do, one dive can be counted towards your Advanced certification.
Prerequisites: If you choose to participate in the open water portion of the class, you will need to have Open Water Diver certification.