What is your SAC rate?

Southern Blue · Feb 26, 2009

I am curious to know what peoples SAC rate is as I am new ( 1 month new) to the sport and have a fancy computer that gives me all sorts of info.

My SAC rate is 29 lpm and compared to my instructor who is below 20 lpm I wondered if mine was excessivley high or about average considering the following details.

My height is 165 cm
weight 85 kg (thats not fat just cuddly ok)
age 43
Was a smoker until 2 months ago

What is your SAC rate?

bamamedic · Feb 26, 2009

Right around 0.5cf/min (sorry...no idea what that is in liters per minute!)

You'll find that your SAC rate will go down quite a bit as you become more comfortable in the water...

Gombessa · Feb 26, 2009

27L is 0.95cuft, that's not at all unusual for a new diver. With more experience, comfort and practice you can probably come close to halving that.

I've only measured my SAC while working/concentrating, which is about 16L/min. I don't think my resting SAC is significantly lower though.

Sas · Feb 26, 2009

I started diving with a SAC 23-26L/min and now my SAC is 9-13L/min. I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you find yourself ending dives before others because of your SAC, get a bigger tank. Also as you are a new diver I imagine your SAC will drop over time.

For those that want to convert between L and cf, type into Google search box "10L in cu ft" or "0.4 cu ft in L" for example.

String · Feb 26, 2009

Southern Blue:
I am curious to know what peoples SAC rate is as I am new ( 1 month new) to the sport and have a fancy computer that gives me all sorts of info.

My SAC rate is 29 lpm and compared to my instructor who is below 20 lpm I wondered if mine was excessivley high or about average considering the following details.

My height is 165 cm
weight 85 kg (thats not fat just cuddly ok)
age 43
Was a smoker until 2 months ago

What is your SAC rate?

New divers SAC rates are high. They come down with more experience as your weighting drops, comfort level increases and buoyancy improves so wouldnt worry about it.

We're told to plan on 25SLM for generic diver planning.

With mine it depends on where i am. In the UK with drysuit, twinset and so on its about 13-15 depending on dive. Warm tropical waters like red sea in a 8mm wetsuit its about 9-11. Solo diving its a little lower as im at my most relaxed and also when teaching its a little higher as im more anxious.

Most UK divers here seem to average 15 or so at least for a "normal" dive.

Bigger tank might not help - its more bulk and mass to drag through the water thereby increasing the effort needed and gas required. Some people thats more than the extra gas buys them. Best bet:- stop worrying about it, ignore it, go diving LOTS and it'll come down.

Puffer Fish · Feb 26, 2009

Mine is 11 to 14...11 in warm water, taking pictures, and 14 liters/minute in cold water with a lot of swimming.

sam1 · Feb 26, 2009

Warm water w/3mm wet suit = +/- 0.50 cf/m;
cold water w/dry suit and pony bottle= +/- 0.65 cf/m

Teamcasa · Feb 26, 2009

String:
Best bet:- stop worrying about it, ignore it, go diving LOTS and it'll come down.

Right!

SAC rate is just a scale you can and should use to measure both your improvement and the energy exerted during a dive. Comparing it to others will rarely provide you much of anything other than an ego boost.

BTW, Mine is not as low as my lovely brides but better than some.

I adjust my predected dive durantion mainly by tank selection.

tgsmith · Feb 26, 2009

.8cuft/min working and .6cuft/min resting. I'm in good shape(it's part of my job). I have spot on buoyancy, weighting, trim, and a streamlined rig(I'm a trained cave diver). I've tried about 3 different specific breathing techniques, in addition to "just breath normally." However, sometimes you just breath what you breath........I'm hoping it will come down for whatever reason.

I know fat ass 250lb heffers that can do almost the same length dive on a single LP 121 pumped to 3600psi as I would take my twin HP 119's for.......it really irks me.

An example for cavers........I hit 1/3's on reaching the jump to the cisteen line from the nicholson tunnel in Peacock 1. That's using hp 119's filled to 3600.

If I try to move as quick as possible(pull and gliding), I'll make it to the first T in Little River springs on 1/6ths....

spt29970 · Feb 26, 2009

My SAC varies a lot depending on current, temperature, and what I am doing on a dive. Last week I dove Devil's throat in Cozumel and had a SAC of 0.43 ft^3/min (12 l/min). Of course on a different dive when I was pushing against the current with my dSLR in hand, my SAC jumped to 0.64 ft^3/min (18 l/min). My best all time SAC was on a night dive off of Sipidan looking for Mandarinfish. I was sitting almost still just waiting, and my SAC was 0.32 ft^3/min (9 l/min).

I a drysuit my SAC ranges between 0.5 ft^3/min and 0.7 ft^3/min.

What is your SAC rate?

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