Air consumption
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It depends, you will more than likely have a higher SAC rate than many. Average runs from .5 to 1 cubic foot per minute. I personally swing anywhere between .52 and .74 depending on the conditions of the dive. Cold, dark, strenuous activity, and stress can all contribute to higher SAC rates.
The Kraken
He Who Glows in the Dark Waters (ADVISOR)
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As Chrispete said, "It all depends. . ." - and that's about the extent of the answer. Everyone has a different SAC rate. Your normal SAC rate is that consumption of air that you require to remain conscious at that particular moment.
But all said and done, it'll probably be somewhere between .35 and 1.5 cubic feet of air per minute.
the K
But all said and done, it'll probably be somewhere between .35 and 1.5 cubic feet of air per minute.
the K
Click search, click advanced search, enter consumption, limit the seatch to titles only and the "Basic Scuba Discussions" and there you have it, your question answered dozens of times already.
Roak
Roak
Do not get hung up on SAC rate however.
If you have eliminated the usual problems that lead to excessive air use (poor bouyancy control, extraneous hand arm and body movement, not relaxing underwater, breathing shallow, poor breathing pattern, etc) and still have a sac rate that is higher than normal, don't push to reduce it.
Skip breathing and other means to reduce SAC rate are effective but lead to CO2 retention which can aggravate nitrogen narcosis and leave you much more suceptible to oxygen toxicity. Plus they can give you a really killer headache.
If you have eliminated the usual problems that lead to excessive air use (poor bouyancy control, extraneous hand arm and body movement, not relaxing underwater, breathing shallow, poor breathing pattern, etc) and still have a sac rate that is higher than normal, don't push to reduce it.
Skip breathing and other means to reduce SAC rate are effective but lead to CO2 retention which can aggravate nitrogen narcosis and leave you much more suceptible to oxygen toxicity. Plus they can give you a really killer headache.
For what it's worth, here's a poll that was taken awhile back on the board: http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=37301&highlight=who+breathes
BigTuna:
Ive heard this mentioned while diving at a constant depth but how meaningful is it if you're kneeling there. Kneeling would rule out many of the gas theives and nt much of a diving metric. For a static value you could sit on the couch and suck dowm 500 PSI and time it.
Pete
Spoon
Contributor
what helped me a lot was my comfort level in the water. i always had a good sac rate but it never helped when i was just new to scuba. but when i improved my buoyancy and propulsion techniques i triully noticed a increase in air sacings by my comfort level.
jaticker:
I have been calculating my psi/min on each of the few dives I have done. I notice that overall they are very similar, except the first two days in the lake as part of the OW class. I was really sucking it down then. I probably still am.
I would be interested in the formula for adjusting for depth. I havent done any deep diving. Deepest so far is 35'. I just figured that it might be twice as much at 30', three times as much at 60' and 4 times as much at 90'.
I will do the search that roakey suggested.
Willie
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