Posted by Gerry Smith on October 09, 2000 at 19:17:52:
In Reply to: Rec Trimix (Triox) posted by Jim Hoffmann on October 09, 2000 at 16:18:43:
Jim,
Any knowledgeable diver will agree that He adds a margin of safety by reducing narcosis. The question, of course, is cost and training. Triox or hot-x or whatever will be more expensive than air but how much more? And how much training will be required? Currently the agencies use He as a cash cow by requiring ridiculous strings of classes. The idea being that you must want to dive deep if you want to use mix. None offers a reasonable course for a recreational diver, and so some of us read a book, buy a cylinder of He and mix our own.
I don't want to put you on the spot, but it IS your thread. So give us a rough estimate. If you had a reasonable sales volume of one or two specific mixes what would be the cost per ft^3?
Do you think NAUI-Tech would offer a reasonable course if they were encouraged to do so? (Reasonable means cost less than $200 and prerequsite of Adv. Nitrox.)
There has been an interesting discussion of the topic on Techdiver, you might want to read it if you havn't.
Good thread.
GS