Air 'conservation'

[Miss Mollusc]

Hi,

I'm relatively new to diving (<15 dives) so I'm a bit green - but I have a bit of a query regarding air usage. My delightful friends refer to me as 'air pig' as we have to cut dives short because I go through my tank twice as fast as the rest of the crew. I'm calm and relaxed but still seem to have to take very deep breaths. Any tips on er..air conservation? I'm small too, so it's not like I have elephant lungs!!

Thanks.

 

[kalvyn]

Any tips on er..air conservation?

Dive more. It's really that simple. The more you dive, the more you relax in the foreign environment you're entering. The more comfortable you get, the less air you use.

Also, try and move as little as possible. Use fins only for forward and reverse motion, and your breathing for up and down in the water column. Keep your hands and arms relaxed at your side or relaxed in front of you. This, combined with diving more will really help your air comsumption.

If you'd like, you can fly me out to NZ. I'd be more than happy to dive with you and give pointers! :14:

Jimmie

 

[Miss Mollusc]

Dive more? Oooh ok! I'm liking the solution!

Thanks Yep perhaps it's the moving thing. Although as relaxed as a fish in water, I do get rather enthused about being there and dart around a lot so that might be contributing. I heard that cro-moly tanks hold more air as well, is this true?

 

[Mustangfreak]

On my first few dives I could only stay down 30-40 mins max. I've been down under for 64 mins at my longest, and I stilll had a bit to go, had to surface because of others using it a tad faster then I did.

And I take in fulll breathes as well. I'm not comftorable taking in half breathes just yet.

 

[stu_in_fl]

same as the first answer...

work on bouyancy and make sure youre not overweighted (or you'll waste effort/energy/air while yo-yo-ing up and down)...slow deep breathing...relax...don't wave your arms around...then dive dive dive....you'll continue to improve the more you dive.

Keep a log of dive times and depths (and what you did on that dive - how much you had to work etc.) -- you should start to see improvements (but remember, the deeper you go the quicker you will use the tank)

 

[stu_in_fl]

And I take in fulll breathes as well. I'm not comftorable taking in half breathes just yet.

you shouldn't take half breaths...do slow deep full breaths.....

 

[asmith5]

I am also an air hog. My wife uses air at about half the rate I do. I have found that with more experience, I have been able to improve my air conservation. Of course my wife improves as well, so I still find myself being the one who runs low on air first. Just keep diving and try to relax. I go through more air when I get excited (which is hard not to do when you are diving in a great spot). I just try to stay calm and relaxed and tell myself that I will surface when I reach 500 PSI of air. My first few dives I would start to freak out when I passed below 1000 PSI because I knew I would soon have to surface. The harder I worked to conserve air, the more I ended up using. You should improve with experience.

 

[Mustangfreak]

you shouldn't take half breaths...do slow deep full breaths.....

sweet:14:

 

[scubafool]

I agree with everyone concerning more diving being the most help.

Getting your weight placed correctly for horizontal trim and then working on getting your weight to the proper level will also be of help.

I am assuming that you mean high pressure tanks when you refer to cro moly tanks. High pressure hold more air for their size. If you are currently diving with Aluminum 80's, a high pressure 100 is very comparable in size, while holding more than 20 cubic feet more air. A high pressure 80 is considerably smaller than an Al 80. A high pressure 120 is also made, but is, obviously, larger. Another benefit of steel tanks that many divers appreciate is the fact that they are either neutral or negative when they are empty. This can eliminate some of the weight that you need to add to your weightbelt. Disadvantages include higher cost, not all fill stations can pump air to a high enough pressure to fully fill them, and you would have to convert your regulator to DIN if it is not already.

Most importantly, don't be overly concerned with your consumption rate. Dive to have fun, work to become a better, safer diver (you will have even more fun), and better air consumption will surely follow.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

And I take in fulll breathes as well. I'm not comftorable taking in half breathes just yet.

Are people still trying to skip breathe?

THIS IS DANGEROUS, BREATHE NORMALLY

proper weighting, good trim, easy small kicks, no hand or arm movements and you'll improve like crazy. Don't skip breathe, ever, horrible advice.