what are the OxCool Technologies?

History of the live well to present:

As an Angler who has owned several boats, it was always interesting to me why some live wells worked better than others. It is perplexing to see a live well that looks the same perform better than a near perfect copy. Transitions were happening in the live well that can't be seen with the naked eye. I made it my mission to understand the ins and outs of fish keeping and live well design. This began by being well read on the science with others success and failures. Answers to the live well conundrum were discovered as early as the late 1900's. Yet with all of this data, Universities, Governments, Scientist and fisheries Biologist couldn't crack the formula to keep fish alive. At best, technologies were used to treat one or two specific fish keeping issues. Treatments with various chemicals were used as a stop-gap measure to mitigate known issues with some success. Finally, It would appear that everyone gave up on solving these fish keeping issues. This can be demonstrated easily on the modern day fishing boat. Every imaginable feature on a boat has been advanced, except the live well. Look at the anchoring systems, electronics, piloting, navigation, steering, smart switches, powered hatches. Engines are unrecognizable from 20 years ago. Yet the live well continued using various ambient air spray bars, ambient air bubblers and fast water movement/exchanges with hot surface water drawn from the transom to fill the wells. Hot water doesn't hold dissolved oxygen and fish respiration increases with temperature, further depleting available oxygen. Another scientist came up with a solution to the lack of oxygen. Thus, the first oxygen bubbler was created. It allowed most fish to survive in hot and stressed live well conditions. Eventually, someone thought they could increase the  oxygen supply duration with micro-bubbler stones and low-flow regulators. This is the current "State of the Art" technology and WAS the only option available from Tournament Anglers to Texas Parks and Wildlife fisheries programs. American history in conservation practices is littered with unfortunate examples in shortsighted fixes, that later became conservation disasters of their own making. However, I simply cannot fault these agencies or individuals for developing these oxygen bubbler systems. It is a very simple choice. Use the oxygen bubblers and the fish have a shot at survival, don't use it and the fish will die. So boats have ambient air solutions or Oxygen bubblers. Anglers are loaded with mis-information or just bad knowledge. I will shoot you straight...Read on.

The Gases in Ambient Air:  The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Ambient air is only ~21% oxygen GAS (The Good). Nitrogen is the larger component at ~78% GAS (The Bad).Trace gasses remain at less than 1%, including Carbon Dioxide (Ugly). Fish utilize Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide. Carbon Dioxide is used as a regulatory mechanism within the fish metabolic control system. It doesn't take much excess C02 to create metabolic mayhem. Oxygen as dissolved oxygen(DO), is critical to fish metabolism. Every specie of fish has a preferred range in which they can continuously live. They also can transition outside of these ranges for short periods of time. Oxygen levels that are so high as to cause Bubble Disease can kill fish. Fish will utilize this oxygen in their metabolic process over time. There is a race between utilizing these bubbles and the harm they can cause. Therefore, Oxygen saturation(DO) levels must be known and within limits.

Nitrogen within limits is harmless. Unfortunately, Nitrogen is a significant volume (78%) of ambient air. Dissolved Nitrogen is very real. Fish absorb Nitrogen readily and is a silent killer of fish. Fish can Offgas Nitrogen over time. This increased concentration of gas within the fish's tissues may cause bubble disease and arterial bubble embolism. These bubbles by them selves may be large enough to block blood flow to a organ, Killing or damaging the organ. Death may occur immediately or after several months. The injured fish will be  subject to further disease, infection or depredation. Ever heard of the "Bends" after scuba diving at depth. Same problem for fish as humans with the same gas. Bubble Disease is often mis-diagnosed as the damage organ(s) are eventually what cause death. Actual cause of death is camouflaged. 

Ambient Air Bubbler/Spraybar....."or whatever bar" will only dissolve ~20% oxygen maximum in a perfect scenario. LET ME SIMPLIFY. Wintertime cold weather only. What about that hot summer weather? Sure, you have about ten minutes before total death.. Wouldn't stray to far from that bait stand. About that 78% Nitrogen. It absorbs faster in water than oxygen. Over time Nitrogen will be your dominant dissolved gas in your well. Warm water is the co-conspirator with Nitrogen and against Oxygen.

So much for Ambient Air Live Wells....but you have already unknowingly invested time and treasure in that experiment. GuRu Says...Remember this...wintertime only or very low bait stocking levels in warm water.

Oxygen Bubbler Systems: Unsafe for everything and everyone

Most Anglers don't have a clue, just how dangerous these systems are to operate on a boat. 

The liability law for the Boat Owner or Captain is under Maritime Law. This would make Thomas J. Henry armed with Civil Law look like a pussy cat. All to prevent a Tournament dead fish penalty or save bait. Yes, I can already hear the old salts saying "I haven't heard of any boats blowing up with oxygen tanks...yet"!

Everyone seems to get single minded on the hazards of highly compressed oxygen gas on board a boat  Think about this more common scenario. Forget about the oxygen gas for a second. The sources MOST of fires on boats are well documented by the Coast Guard. Bilge oil buildup is usually the fuel for the ignition source. These sources include, Poor electrical practices, Non-Ignition proof switches, battery chargers, shore-power units and connections, old wiring insulation failures, old wiring and corrosion resistance, ect. Yes, your $100k+ boat probably isn't 100% ignition proofed. So the source of fires are more common. Now add Free-Flowing oxygen, Plastic oxygen supply hoses, High pressure tanks on a hot day! The fire is now just started (we don't care how at this point). Free-Flowing oxygen gas leaking all over the bilge and fuel tank is now igniting everything that can burn. How long do you think you have to to put out this fire before the fuel cell ignites? Oh Yea, oxygen fires will require you to first turn of the oxygen supply! Dang, can't get to it because of the intense fire. T Minus five seconds till total ignition control.  Who do you think on your boat will survive a 40-80 gallon fuel cell explosion? Who would want to.....

Many Anglers know there is a risk, many don't.  Unfortunately, they don't know exactly what it looks like when it goes very wrong.  SO show me an oxygen fueled fire Jeff?

OK. September 2, 2019. Live Aboard  75 ' Dive boat MV Conception off California's Catalina Islands.  All Diver/passengers and one crew member were asleep below deck. Crew and Captain were sleeping  above deck. The fire was started in the sleeping quarters area of the boat. Apparently, the fire spread so rapidly that all exits were blocked. The Coast guard couldn't definitively state the cause of the fire. This happens when you have so much fuel and oxygen on board a confined area. The Ignition source was speculated to be a phone battery that was charging and caught fire. Sure, popular culprit to blame. But why would such a small fire source trap everyone?. These are not hoverboard batteries? I am well versed on the various battery chemistry fires and their behaviors and fire risk.   So I would say a low to moderate ignition source. The fire burned very hot and destroyed any possibility of evidence. It was so intense that the Captain was the first to abandon ship after making a radio call. Four crew followed immediately, without attempting to fight the fire. Apparently, they thought all was lost. Mind you this is cold water with limited survival times.

This was a dive boat with divers using Nitrox blended breathing gas. Nitrox is ~36% oxygen and 64% nitrogen. This blended gas is popular as it reduces the exposure to the "Bends" (Bubble Disease) in the diver. Normal compressed ambient air oxygen is about 21%. So the boat uses pure 100% oxygen and blends this to the target gas levels. Oxygen is heavier than air and sinks into bilges and lower compartments on any boat. This oxygen would continue building concentration levels in these areas. The gas would also saturate clothes, linens, blankets, carpet, seat cushions, drapes, ect. Mixing is done above deck. However, leaking oxygen tanks or apparatus would have found its way into the sleeping area. Enriched Oxygen environment with an adequate ignition source was all that was needed. Escaping this fire was impossible. Everything would have been on fire withing seconds of ignition. 

Every single person died that was under deck. Thirty four souls with families. In the middle of the night and 20 yards from shore.

The boat burned to the waterline and sank. The Coast Guard investigation was inconclusive. However, the Captain was found to be grossly negligent in his duties, inattentive of his duties as Captain, no night watch/patrols, no/poor training/drill of l of crew in fire fighting. Having anything on board that supports a fire is a risk. Playing footloose with Free- Flowing oxygen gas is an unacceptable risk with known consequences. 

Captain Boylan will face procecution, and probably serve up to 10 years in Federal prison.

Other physical risk are well known. Overheating a high pressure tank will cause it to rupture. The violence of tearing Aluminum or steel causes the metal to be very hot and provides the ignition source. All tanks are heat limited to less than 120 degrees Fahrenheit. So where do you put a tank. Hopefully in a sealed and "outside vented" container away from the heat and sun. Keep em cool! On my systems you don't need a fully topped-off tank. Request a partial fill to 2000psi only. This will allow some expansion in the heat.

Keep your tanks in an insulated waterproof bag. Tanks are prone to rust and corrosion. Tanks and regulators must be thoroughly inspected before use. Use an adequate tank support and transport correctly. Broken valve heads produce tank rockets. Never use any oil product around oxygen, fittings or tanks. Have your devices safety inspected.

High Pressure oxygen tanks require maintenance, needing to be filled, refilled and tested. We use a lightweight disposable solution that is always available at your hardware store. Our Regulator is manufactured from marine grade brass and marine grade construction.

The old school methods of keeping fish alive have their own inherit risk. It was the only option at the time.

 The new OxCool Technologies will provide a safer path for all concerned while providing an outstanding tool for conservation of our resources. We are bubble-free when supplying Dissolved oxygen to fish. This prevents harm while producing supplemental oxygen for fish recovery. 

We remove ammonia very quickly with our AmLoKr cartridge systems. We also can keep fish alive in our systems that were previously poisoned with 4x ammonia exposure. Would  have killed any fish. Only we can do this in our systems. 

We have live well systems  that start with a 5 gallon bucket. Add several layers of insulation, oxygenator, artificial ice cooling, Removable net for transfers of bait, smart phone based controls, video feed of bait health, non-skid/no tip base, padded swivel seat and water-tight closure for transport. It is useful in practically every fishing style. 

Our ICI (Ice Chest Insert) converts Yeti style coolers with all of the above features. This allows Anglers and Tournament competitors to keep larger fish alive that won't fit in the boat's live wells. It will also allow transport of large quantities of bait.

Bass/Bay/Nearshore anglers will benefit from our dedicated systems in their recirculating live well systems. Eliminating the dead fish penalty. We also have the Oxpole conversion kit to allow Anglers to fill their live wells with fish target depth cool water. Watet now in the live well is exactly the same water the fish was caught from...Not hot water from the transom water pickup. We also do some oxygen mixing at depth on these systems. check out our night fishing light for the pole.

OffShore boats are the most demanding applications. These flow-thru systems require speed and power when providing supplemental dissolved oxygen.  We can feed Tuna tubes and big live wells to blackout stocking levels. Hyper-active bait is quality bait. Quality bait is winning bait. 

Hobie specific live wells need help. My Hobie fix kit eliminates well known problems common with all of their live wells. We also have the OxPole Micro conversion kit to allow kayak Anglers the ability to fill these un-insulated wells with cool water at depth. Check out our underwater pole light for night fishing.

I want you focused on fishing...not running things to keep bait/fish alive. This is why I opted for our IOS/Android Phone/Tablet app based control system. Make things happen automatically so you can focus on fishing. worried about that Tournament winning fish in one of your live wells? Bait fish going south? Our live well Video on the phone or fish finder will put you at ease without opening the live well hatch and further stressing fish.

I am in the process of expanding our OffShore product line to include portable Tuna Tube stations that have the OxCool Mixer built-in. We can keep those tuna ready for the big fish!

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OxCool Technologies -      "Technology Anglers and Fish can Live with"

Sincerely, 

Jeff Falcone

Owner/Inventer of the OxCool Technology