TRIOX ?

[tbrown]

I saw on another thread a mention of Triox, and have heard it mentioned before. How is it different from Trimix? Or is it just mix with a higher O2 content?

[FMT]

Triox is an enriched oxygen mix (like nitrox) but with helium added for decreased narcosis and deco. So its like shallow trimix or helium nitrox if you will. It has the depth limitations (MOD) of nitrox from the higher O[sub]2[/sub].
Triox is typically used in the 80-120ft range.
T

[LKunze]

Todd, does that mean then if you were using Triox you'd have to carry two gasses on the dive then? Say a nitrox mix to 80 ft and then do gas switch to triox at 80 ft or can you actually use triox shallower as well?

[DRE]

Triox can be used in exactly the same way as nitrox (from the surface to its MOD depending on the FO2), but it offers great advantages in the 80 to 130ft range in terms of Equivalent Narcotic Depth. Whereas Nitrox' advantage is in terms of decompression, triox adds the benefit of a much shallower narcotic depth in terms of pure narcosis (Martini-law if you will).

[igotoofar]

DRE if you are using trimix with less than 16% oxygen you wouldn't want to start with it, correct?

I know nothing about this other than what I have read so far about nitrox.

Trying to learn as much as I can,
Brent

[LKunze]

What class is needed to be certified to use Triox? Do you have to take the full blown trimix course or is there a shorter class available for triox? Triox is of interest to me for deeper recreational dives. Being able to cut down on the narcosis would be a huge plus for making a more enjoyable dive.

[Freedive WI]

IF you go through TDI/IANTD/NAUI you need to take a bunch of adv. nitrox/deco classes and then a full blown trimix class to be able to dive it. GUE has now come out with a basic triox, no deco, class to fill this gap.

If I dive a 28/30 mix I don't need any other deco bottles, although I sometimes carry them to get out of the water even faster. The only extra gear that you MUST have is an argon bottle for your drysuit since you can't inflate a drysuit with trimix because you'd freeze.

On dives in the 90'-130' range that last over 30 minutes we find that our deco is acutally less with triox than with nitrox. It might only be a minute or two, but the longer the dive the greater the savings.

Besides the clear head you also get the added benifit of having you regs be less likely to freeze and freeflow compared to air or nitrox.

I think that in 10 years triox will be as common as nitrox is right now. Just 12 years ago I worked at a dive shop that forbid me to even MENTION the word nitrox on THEIR sales floor. Last year that same shop added $4,000 blending station.

Times change and people evolve.

Jon

[jasondbaker]

Two questions: Can you get fills locally with a GUE card? I know some local shops really don't like gue/dir.

Also, please explain why regs are less likely to freeflow with triox.

[jasondbaker]

I just read a post on scubaboard about GUE's new recreational triox class. They are going to be teaching this around the country. I would be very interested in attending this class locally. My only question is whether or not MN shops would respect the certification. Obviously these people are world class instructors, but it doesn't matter if you can't get fills.

[cdtgray]

While the use of triox may get you out of the water a little sooner, I seriously have to question it's value given the substantially higher cost for mix. Perhaps others are hit hard by narcosis in the 100-130 range, but I find it to be a non-issue. And as Jon pointed out, you can't use triox to fill your drysuit, which means additional added costs for triox use.

Jon also mentioned that the longer the dive, the greater the savings by using triox. However the issue of O2 exposure limits could come into play as a factor preventing long dives and the use of higher O2 concentrations for deco, especially if you're diving PO2s close to the 1.6 range.