Over breathing -- common?

beachnik · Dec 15, 2007

Is 'over breathing' common? I always assumed it was - so much so, that I've never bothered to take the topic up with my dive buddies. I've just assumed it was happening to everyone with some regularity - no big deal. I was just browsing through posts here and now I'm starting to wonder about this.

When it happens to me, it's almost always the same situation. Along comes an interesting critter - I follow along to get an extended / closer look. If the critter is moving at a brisk pace - but allowing me to keep up with it for a while, I'm going to come to a point where my lungs are demanding more air than the regs will deliver. That seems pretty logical - but maybe it's not.

When it happens - it definitely gets my attention. But it doesn't freak me out - I've never felt out of control or anxious or in any danger. I know I can just break off, drift for a bit and everything will be back to normal (maybe 30 seconds).

Again, I've always assumed that this is common. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it's less common with different regs? Maybe some regs can't deliver the necessary volume of air? I've used the same gear for the last 17 years - Conshelf SE2. Yes, they get regular service.

So, does this happen to you?

Notso_Ken · Dec 15, 2007

beachnik:
Is 'over breathing' common? I always assumed it was - so much so, that I've never bothered to take the topic up with my dive buddies. I've just assumed it was happening to everyone with some regularity - no big deal. I was just browsing through posts here and now I'm starting to wonder about this.

When it happens to me, it's almost always the same situation. Along comes an interesting critter - I follow along to get an extended / closer look. If the critter is moving at a brisk pace - but allowing me to keep up with it for a while, I'm going to come to a point where my lungs are demanding more air than the regs will deliver. That seems pretty logical - but maybe it's not.

When it happens - it definitely gets my attention. But it doesn't freak me out - I've never felt out of control or anxious or in any danger. I know I can just break off, drift for a bit and everything will be back to normal (maybe 30 seconds).

Again, I've always assumed that this is common. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it's less common with different regs? Maybe some regs can't deliver the necessary volume of air? I've used the same gear for the last 17 years - Conshelf SE2. Yes, they get regular service.

So, does this happen to you?

I have never experienced that. Havene't heard anybody else have that issue either.

Ken

do it easy · Dec 15, 2007

I suspect that the regs are working fine, but you might be retaining CO2, which will cause you to feel air starved.

Long, slow, deep breaths help reduce the CO2 retention.

crab lover · Dec 15, 2007

I never have and I have a couple of people that I dive with that I sometimes have to struggle to keep up with and find myself swimming a marathon rather than a nice relaxing dive. I get winded and breathe faster and use more air, but not to the point that I don't feel like I'm not getting enough air.

My completely non-expert advice would be to 1) try a different reg and see if that works 2) start a brisk walking routine and get your lungs into really great shape

spectrum · Dec 15, 2007

No, it's never happened to me. I've been in some deep dark currents laden with drysuit and the accompanying weights and done some heavy breathing but the regulators have always delivered.

I can't speak to your to your regulator model except to say that to my recollection it's not known to be deficient.

I want to believe that it has not been consistently poorly serviced for 17 years.

When you are working hard do you make it a point to breathe fully and deeply? It sounds like a marginal shallow breathing pattern hits the breaking point when you lay on the steam. Don't be afraid to move some wind.

Note that if you deep down in very cold water you want to avoid taxing the regulator and tempting a freeze-up / free flow occurrence. Keep it mellow with deep steady breathing.

Pete

DivingPrincessE · Dec 15, 2007

I just got the Oceanic Delta IV FDX 10 regular and the LDS said you can't overbreath the reg. He said that if I'm chasing down some critter I flip this switch and the reg basically forcefeeds the diver air. I haven't tried it yet, and I've never overbreathed a reg in the past (since I'm new to diving) so I have no idea if this is accurate. Plus I'm sure I can still exhaust myself, even if I'm getting adequate air.

dab · Dec 15, 2007

what is your fitness level? My experience has been that over breathing is attributed to over exertion or heightened anxiety.

redacted · Dec 15, 2007

I've done that a few time - same basic scenario. Do something that causes excess exercision and then try to catch your breath. Sometime it is hard to prevent like if you have to work into a strong current. I avoid those situations as much as possible and try to pace myself if I can't avoid one.

The quality of the reg may help but I doubt if there is any regulator that will breath well enough that it won't happen. Working my way upstream in a river was what caused me to go from a Mk2/R190 to a Mk20/G500. It was much better but I still had to pace myself on that type of a dive.

halocline · Dec 15, 2007

Unless something is really wrong, it would be the 2nd stage that is the limiting factor in terms of flow. I think I remember DA Aquamaster posting something to the effect that a decent downstream 2nd, like the R190, can flow around 40 SCFM. I find it hard to believe that any human could use this much air; isn't that basically emptying a AL80 in 2 minutes?

OTOH, it's very easy to get winded in any high-stress situation, and being winded always means the senstion that your air intake is not keeping up with metabolic demands.

tedj01 · Dec 15, 2007

Heres a link : http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/2638002-post53.html

Did a search and found below. used string "101 divers breathing single mares mr22". There are others that have same info.

From CBI Scuba Surf Swim Australia -Regulators

look for RG54 Abyss 22

Deep Solo Dive: -313m. Mark Ellyat, December 2003
101 Divers: South Africa 101 divers breathed simultaneously for 40 minutes from a single MR22 first stage at a depth of 1.4 m
25 Divers/40m: 25 Divers at a depth of 40m breathed simultaneously from an MR22 first stage for 10 minutes
Equipped with the revolutionary new tri-material valve
VAD system provides natural breathing
Earned reputation for performance and reliability

Over breathing -- common?

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beachnik

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Notso_Ken

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do it easy

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crab lover

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spectrum

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dab

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redacted

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halocline

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