Tri Mix Fills

[Bric Martin]

I am new to Tech Diving. I recently completed my Advanced Nitrox/Deco Preocedure class with Don Kinney. For those that don't know Don he is a great instructor. He can be reached either through Edmonds Technical Diving or Hoodsport and Dive. My plan is to take the Tri Mix class with Don sometime next year.

I buy into the thought process of if you can't afford the Helium then don't dive deep. My question is what shops are doing Tri Mix fills? What is a fill for a 200 foot dive with a set of LP 95s going to run me?

Thanks for the help
Bric

[Joshua Smith]

Well, you can get Trimix fills up at Northwest Sports Divers, in Kenmore, and (I think) you can get them at Tacoma Scuba as well. I never did OC trimix, but......I'm guestimating, here......I think a set of 95s with, say, 21/35 in them would cost you around 50 bucks........and you'd need some deco gasses, too.......

[dsteding]

Count on $1.10/cubic foot plus some sort of blending charge-helium is getting more and more expensive. So, those 200 cubic foot fills from empty are ~$90 or so. It gets cheaper because my doubles usually have 1500-2000 psi in them when I finish a tech dive, so I'm not filling from empty (and I get things cheaper because of the NWSD "executive" program that is a annual flat fee for nitrox and then a reduced price for helium).

[Maverick]

Hey Bric how are you? You and i met at sund rock two weeks ago, I had the big white dodge that you parked in front of. Any way welcome to the board. My Fiance and i we pretty interested in you tanks rememeber.
BJ

[Bric Martin]

BJ

I do remember you. I enjoyed the people in your group. Meeting you led me here. I hope we cross paths again!

Bric

[loanwolf]

you can get trimix fills at Northwest sports divers, Tacoma Scuba, Light House Seattle, 5th Dimension, bubbles below, smoky point diving, and one more in Tacoma i cannot remember its name the Pawn Shop/technical dive shop on hw7 has had some of the best pricing on gas and gear. You will pay $.45 to $1.00 a cubic foot depending on what mix you get. One thing is you do not need hot mixes unless you are going to use them. What ever you are comfortable with for a END figure your He% based on that and save some money. The next thing to do is get to know dive partners that can mix it them-self.

[decodiver25]

hey there blackwater.....i just wanted to say hey, my instructor was don kinney as well. Yeah he was awesome glad to hear you enjoyed the class. I took most of my tech training through don, and i really enjoyed his class. well good luck. and just to give you an example for a 200ft dive for me. I use my lp125's( i know its rediculous) but a 20/30 will cost me about 70bucks but only cause they are so freakin big.....plan on spending anywhere from 50-80...again just my opinion and from my experience....
good luck buddy

[Maverick]

Albert you are still around, had no idea. Hit me up dude, we're due for a deep dive.

[Burntchef]

you are going to want a set of twins for trimix and a set for everything else. that way you are allways topping off and not doing a fill from scratch. and welcome to the world of tech, its a blast

[Maverick]

I agree with Chef, but i think you need one set for everything else and 4-5 sets for mix. I have three now, but want two more.

[loanwolf]

Having multiple sets is good to have. Especially if you are doing trimix. Most shops you have to leave your tanks their to get them filled and sometimes that can take a few days to do. It is also good to have LP's twins and some HP top off tanks to do topup's in the field if you are doing multiple dives.

[Dmitchell]

Careful! By the time you own 5 sets of twins and fill them all a few times you could buy a rebreather! Then the price of gas becomes a non-issue!

DM

[Joshua Smith]

Careful! By the time you own 5 sets of twins and fill them all a few times you could buy a rebreather! Then the price of gas becomes a non-issue!

DM

Uh, yeah. It's a personal choice, and they're not for everyone. CCRs require a high level of commitment, and are very expensive to purchase, yadda yadda yadda.........


(Did I mention that I spend about four bucks on HE for a tech dive? )


(Of course, you gotta buy sorb and sensors, and all that.......but did I mention that I only spend about 4 bucks on HE for a tech dive? )

[dsteding]

(Did I mention that I spend about four bucks on HE for a tech dive? )


(Of course, you gotta buy sorb and sensors, and all that.......but did I mention that I only spend about 4 bucks on HE for a tech dive? )

My last helium dive was $3.30, so there.

[Maverick]

[Joshua Smith]

Maverick and Steding are ganging up on me.

Hell hath frozen over.





(Is "hath" really a word?)

[BDub]

(Did I mention that I spend about four bucks on HE for a tech dive? )


(Of course, you gotta buy sorb and sensors, and all that.......but did I mention that I only spend about 4 bucks on HE for a tech dive? )

My last helium dive was $3.30, so there.

Spare Airs don't count

[Joshua Smith]

Spare Airs don't count

I'm not worthy! :hello2: :hello2: :hello2:

You got some serious "fluffy fingers" on that one, dude!

[BDub]

Spare Airs don't count

I'm not worthy! :hello2: :hello2: :hello2:

You got some serious "fluffy fingers" on that one, dude!

Oh. It's effective.

[Joshua Smith]

That's what she said.

[loanwolf]

It is real nice to do 4-5 hours at any depth for just 30 bucks of consumables isn't it

[Tom Nic]

Uhmmm.... yes, hath is a word. Or rather WAS a word, about 300 years ago.

I know that CCR's are priced differently - I vaguely seem to remember somebody posting what the break even point was when purchasing a rebreather and you finally come out ahead on gas fills as opposed to diving OC. Am I remembering it right or is it really just 6 o' one, half dozen of another?

[Dmitchell]

Sorry to the OP, I guess I threw his thread off track!

Tom,

It's all relative and just where do you want to put your money in your diving. Some people want rebreathers, some want camera/video gear and some want scooters. Of course, there are some who have it all.

As far as gas goes; to do a 200' TMX dive like the OP mentioned, I carry 19' of 10/50 and 15' of O2. Plus a 40' of 60% EANX and an 80 of TMX. Hopefully the 40' and 80' never get used so they are filled and stay that way.

So a 19' of 10/50 is 9.5' of HE and 9.5' of air. So it's about a $12 fill O2 is cheap $5 a fill. I can do 2 dives off of that. So for a 200' dive, I'm using $8.00 worth of gas. That's less than the average Nitrox fill.

In a set of double 100's for 200' using say 18/40 you're looking at a $80-100 fill. You can get a 200' dive then top with air and probably get a good 150-170' dive out of that. Add your deco gases to that and you are looking at about $60 per dive. If all goes well and you can top and redive the doubles.

I'll see if I can come up with a realistic comparison and create a new thread when I do.

Dave

[loanwolf]

Uhmmm.... yes, hath is a word. Or rather WAS a word, about 300 years ago.

I know that CCR's are priced differently - I vaguely seem to remember somebody posting what the break even point was when purchasing a rebreather and you finally come out ahead on gas fills as opposed to diving OC. Am I remembering it right or is it really just 6 o' one, half dozen of another?

it all depends on how much you dive over 150'. for me with all the classes and deep wrecks it took 2.5 months to pay back the unit. everything past that point is money savings. If you dive deep once in a while then it may take a year of two to pay back.

[Tangfish]

you can get trimix fills at Northwest sports divers, Tacoma Scuba, Light House Seattle, 5th Dimension, bubbles below, smoky point diving, and one more in Tacoma i cannot remember its name the Pawn Shop/technical dive shop on hw7 has had some of the best pricing on gas and gear. You will pay $.45 to $1.00 a cubic foot depending on what mix you get. One thing is you do not need hot mixes unless you are going to use them. What ever you are comfortable with for a END figure your He% based on that and save some money. The next thing to do is get to know dive partners that can mix it them-self.

There's one fill station you didn't mention. This big green van drives around and does mobile He, Nitrox and Argon fills. I just see him pull into the parking lot, drop off my tanks to him and the next time around they come back full. Very affordable, convenient and did I mention the winning smile and superb customer service?