Nitrox
What is NITROX?
NITROX is any mixture of nitrogen and oxygen. The air we breathe is comprised of approximately 21% oxygen and 79% nitrogen. NITROX mixtures with oxygen percentages greater than 21% are called Enriched Air Nitrox (EANx). The most commonly used EANx mixtures are:
EAN 32(32% oxygen/68% nitrogen)
EAN 36(36% oxygen/64% nitrogen)
EAN 36(36% oxygen/64% nitrogen)
Who uses NITROX?
EANx was first used in 1912 and has been used extensively for over 30 years in commercial diving and the military. Advanced divers have been taking advantage of EANx for cave diving, wreck diving, and other diving applications. Since 1985, EANx has been recognized by national SCUBA certification agencies as an alternate breathing gas for recreational diving.Why should I dive NITROX?
EANx has many advantages over air. Some of these benefits are:- Increased Safety
- EANx when used with standard dive tables or computers, provides a tremendous safety factor. In fact, the actual nitrogen accumulation is that for a 10'-20' shallower dive. The application of EANx is ideal for divers who wish to be more conservative, those divers who are not as young as they once were, or those who may not be in peak physical fitness.
- Significant increase in bottom time.
- A reduction of the possibility of decompression sickness.
- A slight reduction in nitrogen narcosis.
- A reduction of decompression time if the no-decompression limits are exceeded.
- Reduced fatigue after the dive.
Do I need special equipment?
Your standard scuba gear can be used with EANx/NITROX. Tanks for NITROX use are color
coded and dedicated for nitrox use only. Any SCUBA tank can become a NITROX tank,
all that is required is a special cleaning.