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Changes in Nitrox Standards August 1st 2008

  • 05-08-2008 9:28am
    #1
    colinmcbride
    Closed Accounts Posts: 21 ✭


    Hi All,
    In case you didn't know there have been some changes to the law on Nitrox as follows: (this may upset a few people who regularly dive with nitrox)

    1) Dive Centers can not now nitrox fill cylinders, O2 clean regs or bottles or valves unless they have M26 fittings from 1st August 2008.
    2) Regulators can now not be sold for Nitrox use out of the box in either A-Clamp or DIN - they must now be M26 standard.
    3) O2 Clean M26 Conversion Kits must be bought and installed on existing regulators in order to make them nitrox compatible

    So if you are off to Europe with your regs and expect to be able to use Nitrox one day and air the next you may be disapointed.

    Best Regards
    Colin McBride
    First 4 Scuba Ltd
    www.first4scuba.com


Comments

  • #2
    whosedaddy?
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 937 ✭✭✭whosedaddy?


    So true. after 5 years transition period....

    informative M26 Nitrox threads thread over on yorkshire-divers...

    http://www.yorkshire-divers.com/forums/regulators-cylinders/70306-new-m26-connections.html


  • #3
    Mick F
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 47 ✭Mick F


    colinmcbride wrote: »
    Hi All,
    In case you didn't know there have been some changes to the law on Nitrox as follows: (this may upset a few people who regularly dive with nitrox)

    1) Dive Centers can not now nitrox fill cylinders, O2 clean regs or bottles or valves unless they have M26 fittings from 1st August 2008.
    2) Regulators can now not be sold for Nitrox use out of the box in either A-Clamp or DIN - they must now be M26 standard.
    3) O2 Clean M26 Conversion Kits must be bought and installed on existing regulators in order to make them nitrox compatible

    So if you are off to Europe with your regs and expect to be able to use Nitrox one day and air the next you may be disapointed.

    Best Regards
    Colin McBride
    First 4 Scuba Ltd
    www.first4scuba.com

    Thankfully, thus far, the HSA has not adopted these changes, nor has the HSE in the UK. This is being used by dive centres as an excuse to sell more kit as far as I see.

    Thank fcuk I have my own compressor and gases so I don't have to put up with this sh1t.


  • #4
    colinmcbride
    Closed Accounts Posts: 21 ✭colinmcbride


    Mick F wrote: »
    Thankfully, thus far, the HSA has not adopted these changes, nor has the HSE in the UK. This is being used by dive centres as an excuse to sell more kit as far as I see.

    Thank fcuk I have my own compressor and gases so I don't have to put up with this sh1t.

    All I have been told by one of our main regulator suppliers Apex is that they no longer give a 40% O2 warrenty for regulators which are sold as nitrox out of the box. All new nitrox regulators are being sold with M26 connections and it is recommended by this company that any regs that get 02 cleaned are also converted (at the customers expense).

    I don't see how you can blame the Dive Centers for this - its a pain in my butt to be honest - what do I do with all the existing regulators that I have in stock? Give them away? Convert them myself at my expence?

    As regards the law? Dive Centers are only covered by their insurance if they follow the guidelines laid down by equipment manufacturers. It dosent have to be written down in law A or law B. All that has to happen is for someome to point out that a dive center did something that was explicitly recommended against by the manufacturer of a piece of equipment - be it a compressor or a regulator.

    Anyway, I just posted a message on the board that I got from one the largest diving equipment importer in Ireland so don't blame me - he might be making money out of this but in the short term - I centainly am not. Nor do I fill nitrox cylinders for anyone.


  • #5
    Mick F
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 47 ✭Mick F


    So what about the bit that dive centres can't nitrox fill or o2 clean cylinders that don't have an M26 valve?

    I'm not having a go at you in particular Colin, but this type of bull makes my blood boil. There is no valid reason for this being introduced except to help increase kit sales, and someone is going to make make money out of that whether it be dive shops, maufacturers or whoever.


  • #6
    colinmcbride
    Closed Accounts Posts: 21 ✭colinmcbride


    Im not disputing that someone is going to make money out of it but I can guarantee to you 100% that this has nothing to do with the dive centers making up the rules - how could it? This is an EU regulation. Some gob****e in Brussels diciding that all cylinders with different purposes having different valves, markings or whatever.

    As for dive centers not filling cylinders that are not M26 - Im sure you will be able to find some that will (for a while anyway) in the same way that some dive centers will still fill cylinders that are out of test (not many though) which is another "regulation" and not specifically written in Law.

    At the end of the day, a dive center is a commercial entity and if a problem occurs with a fill station and someone is injured then all that has to happen in court is for someone to say that the dive center was not following regulations set down by either the manufacturer or by the dive industry. For something as serious as 02 Blending I can't see too many dive centers taking the risk.


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  • #7
    whosedaddy?
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 937 ✭✭✭whosedaddy?


    As this is an EU regulation, how is this supposed to catch on?
    colinmcbride wrote: »
    All I have been told by one of our main regulator suppliers Apex is that they no longer give a 40% O2 warrenty for regulators which are sold as nitrox out of the box. All new nitrox regulators are being sold with M26 connections and it is recommended by this company that any regs that get 02 cleaned are also converted (at the customers expense).

    Same Reg manufacturer will continue selling his regs to the rest of the world. So if I buy a reg say in the US which comes with 40% O2 warranty and bring it home to Europe, will the warranty all of a sudden be void?
    Unless this is a global standard, it is doomed to fail... mind you the standard might survive, but the uptake / use of Nitrox will fade.

    Like you said, dive centres are commercial entities, and if nobody gets their regs / cylinders upgraded, they will stop providing Nitrox to the few that might. Unless they ignore the rule and fill the tanks as before.

    Or its a matter of buying another adapter for 15£ for DIN to M26...

    Don't get me wrong I can see the dilemma the dive centres are in.


  • #8
    sdep
    Closed Accounts Posts: 194 ✭✭sdep


    I was just about to upgrade from an old A-clamp deco reg to a din one, but I guess I'll now have to go for an M26 one instead. If so, does anyone know where you can get pillar valves swapped to M26 in Dublin? Also, can you get adapters to go from din compressor outlets to M26 valves?
    Thanks.


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