Air Usage / Capacity

[10X]

I am new to diving, having been certified less than one year (AOW). I have 22 dives under my belt, with 10 of those coming in the last two weeks in Hawaii.

What I have determined through all this is that I am a big user of air. I have taken steps to try to monitor and control my breathing to extend my air supply. However, once in a while I just need to take that big deep breath. This follows the same breathing pattern I have above the water, as well.

On one recent dive in Hawaii, I hit the ascent rope at 750-800 pounds. When my dive buddy and I arrived at the surface he told me he had 1200 pounds when he hit the rope with me. This is not unusual.

I am very comfortable underwater and do not use air excessively because of nervousness. I am just normally a deep breather.

Now that I am buying my own gear, should I look at 100 CFT tanks, rather than the usual 80 CFT, to avoid having dive buddies surfacing earlier than they would like? I imagine this would get old after a while.

Any other deep breathers who have suggestions or advice on how to control this?

 

[NEWreckDiver]

Your air consumption will improve with time. The more dives you do the better your SAC rate becomes. Don't worry so much about what others say, if they are your buddy, then they will understand. If you gauge says its time to go, then it is time to go.

Yes the 100cf tank is a good idea.

DSAO

 

[boney]

That sounds like me! Although for me I know I can still bring down my consumption by relaxing further and trying to be more efficient in bouyancy and trim. Never thought of getting a larger tank... something to consider...

 

[yoda4x4]

Not that I'm much more experienced diving than you but, I have noticed that your SAC rate will improve if you can shed some weight off of your weight belt. You may be a little overweighted and taking some off here will help. Also, if you switch to a steel tank, you should be able to remove ~6 lbs because most steels are ~ 1 lb negative when empty whereas AL80s are ~ 5 lbs positive. Other than that, diving more will help. I'm in the same boat with you. It's called the "I'm just learning" boat.

David

 

[Arnaud]

10X, don't worry too much about it. It's particularly important that you do not try and hold your breath or take less gas than you actually need on each breath. You'll end up gulping more if you try too much to take less.

What you can do:

1. Take long, deep and slow breaths, but get as much gas as you need
2. Do a buoyancy check. Being overweighted or underweighted will cause you to consume more.
3. Pace yourself underwater. It's not a swim race
4. Stay horizontal and get rid of every useless gizmo that may cause drag (do keep the tank :biggrin
5. Wear proper insulation. If you're cold, you'll use more gas
6. Make sure you compare apples and apples. If your buddy has a bigger tank, the psi reading will be different than yours, even if you guys have the same SAC rate.
7. Dive, dive and dive. The more confident you are, the better you'll breathe
8. Some have different needs than others. Live with it.

 

[yoda4x4]

10X,

One more thing, try to adjust your depth by using lung capacity only. The less you touch the low pressure inflator/deflator, the less air you'll waste in adjusting your depth, which will give you more air to breath... increasing your SAC rate. Please note, if you feel yourself descending/ascending and cannot stop yourself with just lung capacity, by all means use it.

David

 

[tholt576]

A larger tank is a great idea, in fact it's one of the reasons that makes getting your own tanks worth it. I've been working on my air consumption and I cannot seem to get it down to where my dive buddy's is either, but When I strap on Steel 95's it evens things out for us.

 

[Don Burke]

Now that I am buying my own gear, should I look at 100 CFT tanks, rather than the usual 80 CFT, to avoid having dive buddies surfacing earlier than they would like? I imagine this would get old after a while.

Any other deep breathers who have suggestions or advice on how to control this?

Hold off on getting a tank until you have everything else and have more experience.

The cost of buying a tank versus renting a tank isn't very much.

The cost of buying the wrong tank is pretty substantial.

 

[PolsVoice]

I've been on less than 10 post checkout dives, and my SAC has dropped considerably from to 5.6 scfm (now that'll drain a bottle!!) to 3.8 scfm. Maybe someday I'll actually get it below 3, but we'll see...


- PV

 

[Big-t-2538]

I've been on less than 10 post checkout dives, and my SAC has dropped considerably from to 5.6 scfm (now that'll drain a bottle!!) to 3.8 scfm. Maybe someday I'll actually get it below 3, but we'll see...


- PV

Those sound awfully high....I mean 80/5.6 = just under 15 minutes. Can you really down a tank in 15 minutes at the surfacce? Are you sure that those are right?....maybe 0.56 and 0.38 are the actual numbers???