Lowering SAC rate -- How long does it take?
- Thread starter Gil Middlebrooks
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
Dhboner
Contributor
'Just that one tip'...plus all the diving you did, which improved your buoyancy, trim and propulsion skills...resulting in less water resistance, more efficient finning...and less exterion on dives.... further leading to less air used on dives.
Fair point! Let me rephrase...that one tip played a central role in my SAC improvement over the course of the year!
cloudflint
Contributor
I relax in the water, get my buoyancy pretty much spot on, try to make minimal movement e.t.c and my SAC rate is still absolutely terrible compared to the people im diving with. Im not to bothered however since unless im really shallow 9 time out of 10 its the no stop time that forces me to surface rather than my air consumption. I think someone on this forum said it best when they said "you have plenty of time to not breathe when your dead".
One thing i did find helped my air consumption greatly was spending an hour and a half every night for a few months in the swimming pool going off the diving boards, swimming to the bottom of the diving pool and wandering around them coming up and repeating. Only problem with that was some of the lifeguards tended to complain at me holding up the line when it was busy It did help tremendously though and as a bonus i used to find lots of change on the bottom of the pool.
One thing i did find helped my air consumption greatly was spending an hour and a half every night for a few months in the swimming pool going off the diving boards, swimming to the bottom of the diving pool and wandering around them coming up and repeating. Only problem with that was some of the lifeguards tended to complain at me holding up the line when it was busy
It did help tremendously though and as a bonus i used to find lots of change on the bottom of the pool.
- Messages
- 93,492
- Reaction score
- 91,872
- Location
- On the Fun Side of Trump's Wall
- # of dives
- 2500 - 4999
When I was first certified I expressed exactly the same concerns to my instructor. He advised me to "give it 50 dives". Everyone's different, and some folks take way longer than others to get their breathing rate dialed in ... but I found that to be a reasonable rule of thumb.
Keep in mind that it's an iterative process ... and what you're really looking for is a trend showing continuous improvement. This could start almost right away. Many of the above tips are right on ... as they should be, since this is something that almost all of us went through.
Key thing is to relax and enjoy the journey ... stop worrying about your consumption rate, and just focus on dialing in your skills ... before you know it you'll come out of the water one day, look at your bottom time and reserve air, and get this huge grin on your face. When that happens, you're well on your way ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
My log book shows roughly a 10% improvement over a year and 100(ish) dives. My air is almost always the limiting factor, and sometimes we don't complete our activities as a result. On the other hand, I've saved a lot of money by not buying Nitrox
Carlos Danger
Contributor
Quit making waves, or at least try your best to make smaller ones. Put simply, it's all about efficiency; less is more. The less you carry, the less work you have to do, the less you consume. You might be surprised how quickly you'll improve from just adopting a more stripped-down minimalist approach. Soon the dolphins will start coming to you for pointers.
Last edited:
You will be amazed when you move aside from those 72s.
Try and put it at the top of your list.
What's Nitrox
Meh, 1cuft/min.atm is still 1cuft/min.atm. I often rent LP80s though. I mostly use the 72s for night dives so that I don't have to get to the LDS before it closes. I don't see buying $300 tanks really paying off for me -- that's almost 3 years worth of rentals.
The Kraken
He Who Glows in the Dark Waters (ADVISOR)
ScubaBoard Supporter
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
While lowering one's SAC rate is something to which we should give consideration, it is my opinion that it's not something upon which one should dwell.
Given gained experience and more dives, it will take care of itself.
the K
Given gained experience and more dives, it will take care of itself.
the K
JoeSpirit
Registered
Keep your mind calm and relaxed. You breathe slower when you aren't stressed.
Dive as much as you can. I live in the midwest, and don't dive much through the winter months (unless I get away to the sea). Those first couple dives each spring are always short because I empty my tank a bit quicker.
Normally straightens up quick these days though.
Dive as much as you can. I live in the midwest, and don't dive much through the winter months (unless I get away to the sea). Those first couple dives each spring are always short because I empty my tank a bit quicker.
Normally straightens up quick these days though.
Similar threads
