I'm a hoover and I'm always the first to run out of air

[lowviz]

With any luck at all, someone will weigh in and explain to J-FRAME how his (J-FRAME's) gas consumption rate affects what his buddy needs to keep in reserve. This is a fundamental lifesaving concept. Buoyancy, trim, and necessary gas load seem to be way too advanced for OW.

rewrote this whole post and deleted my rant...

 

[richiesgonedivin]

I agree with all replys . Practice Practice .. when you are diving make an attempt to THINK about your breathing . Any new diver should be learning and practicing every time they enter the water . On one dive work on work on just breathing and really think about every breath . I use alum. 80's and can usually get over an hour dive , depending on what I am doing and at what depth . Dont give up and keep practicing , we all had to teach ourselves good air control.

 

[TSandM]

Lowviz, I'm not sure why you are saying that J-Frame should carry the smallest amount of gas.

It is true that his buddies have to consider his gas consumption in planning their reserves. But unless you are doing a profile that mandates returning the way you came (which pretty much means NOT a recreational dive) it is not unreasonable for J-Frame to carry the gas he needs to do the desired dive time.

Example: Most charter dives here in Puget Sound are live boat. They are all available air dives. Everyone needs to maintain rock bottom reserves, but aside from that, the dive time is determined by the gas consumption of the heaviest breather (or deco, or more likely around here, cold). It would be perfect for J-Frame to have the largest tank on such a dive.

Even with a "halves" dive, where it is desirable but not critical to return underwater, having him with the largest tank makes sense. Yes, his buddies will not have enough gas to swim him home underwater, but on such a dive, an out of air diver probably belongs on the surface, anyway.

Only when you get to "must return to the upline" dives do you have to start considering differential consumption. Such dives verge on the technical, and anyone doing a recreational dive that truly requires thirds planning should know how to do dissimilar tank/dissimilar consumption calculations.

 

[lowviz]

OK, I was over the top on that post. I have always had a "must return to the upline" dive plan, so carrying someone else's gas requirement was always very important in gas planning...

-went back and fixed it.

 

[divingsiren]

I am having the same problems as a new diver (only 12 dives under my belt!). Usually during a 2 tank dive, in my first dive I breathe heavier than the second. I also have asthma, but it's well controlled. As I have been told by my instructor and diving club friends, the more I practice, the more I dive, the more comfortable I get with diving...the better my breathing will become. It has improved, and I really hope to see more improvement as I do more diving.

 

[sheeper]

I am having the same problems as a new diver (only 12 dives under my belt!). Usually during a 2 tank dive, in my first dive I breathe heavier than the second. I also have asthma, but it's well controlled. As I have been told by my instructor and diving club friends, the more I practice, the more I dive, the more comfortable I get with diving...the better my breathing will become. It has improved, and I really hope to see more improvement as I do more diving.

hi divingsiren. i also have well controlled asthma. i have over 1,000 dives but restarted diving a couple of years ago after a 14 year layoff. when i restarted, i sucked air like it was free! took about 6-10 dives before my gas use came back to where it should be. (i also did a scuba refresh class before i started diving again.)

 

[divingsiren]

hi divingsiren. i also have well controlled asthma. i have over 1,000 dives but restarted diving a couple of years ago after a 14 year layoff. when i restarted, i sucked air like it was free! took about 6-10 dives before my gas use came back to where it should be. (i also did a scuba refresh class before i started diving again.)

My gas use is getting better, I think more of it is due to nervousness than asthma. But who knows? Went diving this weekend, and of course, used more air than everyone else! Then again, they were all much more experienced divers..so who is to say? I am very lucky though. There was a girl on our trip who went snorkeling and was thinking of getting diving certified. She has very persistent asthma, the girl used her inhaler 4-5x throughout the day. I never use my inhaler, except (as recommened by my Dr) right before I dive. Otherwise, the inhaler goes away until my next dive. I couldn't imagine diving if I had to use my inhaler multiple times a day!

 

[beaverdivers]

spoiling the dive for my buddy(a sipper) and others. I do a 80 in 20 minutes and a 100 in 30 minutes about?? At 300 lbs and 6 ft 6 and 61 yrs old I just suck it down.What to do? I need options-THANKS

You need the proper amount of gas to do what you want to do.
Independant douple tanks ( 80's or 100's ) is the ticket.

Also, use a dive computer like the Scubapro Galileo Sol that allows you to switch from one tank to the other underwater. This way you are monitoring your gas supply during the dive and maintaining redundancy.

Moreover, download every dive and analyze your heart rate, breathing rate and workload!


You will improve!

 

[windapp]

If I concentrate on it, I can have very low air consumption. The problem is I can't concentrate on it the full dive, so my overall air consumption is pretty mediocre. I have been told it will eventually come without thinking. Just waiting for that day to come.

 

[TSandM]

You need the proper amount of gas to do what you want to do.
Independant douple tanks ( 80's or 100's ) is the ticket.

I'm sorry, but I just can't go there. This is a BRAND NEW diver, having buoyancy issues and trim issues and blowing through his gas. The last thing he needs is another tank and a complicated, expensive computer to keep track of the gas in his tanks. He needs time in the water; he needs to get his gear balanced and learn some good technique, Until then, he needs to do shallow dives that will allow him enough time in the water to learn to relax.