Sucking air

[Dive-aholic]

well i was out yesterday and notice my air consumption is improving, with time i will be up to par, but one thing that makes me suck air like crazy is when i hit around 40 feet i cant seem to get streamline im pointing up with my head slitly and trying to swim around is much more difficult i belive i may be over weighted, but without this weight i cant get down this deep. soon as i hit 30-40 feet i sink like a rock and have trouble staying of the bottem.

spectrum makes some good points. At the end of your dive do a proper buoyancy check to see exactly how much weight you need. Let all the air out of your BC - make sure it's all out - and take in a normal breath. You should float at the surface at eye level. When you exhale, you'll sink. If you can do that, then you have the exact amount of weight you need.

To add to spectrum's remarks, try moving your tank a little higher on your BC. That will move some of the weight towards your head and allow you to be more horizontal.

Finally, expect to be a little overweighted at the beginning of the dive. You'll need to compensate for this by adding air to your BC for the first part of the dive and let out a little every few minutes as you breathe down your tank.

Hope this helps!

 

[skybird]

It has been one of my fears since getting certified that I din't want to dive with anyone except my instructors or the others from the quarry who have been there with me from the beginning. You all have just confirmed that no one wants to take the time to dive with a newbie...............it is a shame that i am not married or in a relationship with someone who idives with me. Wondering if maybe I should just stick with the quarry for two or three years till I get good enought to dive with "real" divers.

Sky

 

[Dive-aholic]

It has been one of my fears since getting certified that I din't want to dive with anyone except my instructors or the others from the quarry who have been there with me from the beginning. You all have just confirmed that no one wants to take the time to dive with a newbie...............it is a shame that i am not married or in a relationship with someone who idives with me. Wondering if maybe I should just stick with the quarry for two or three years till I get good enought to dive with "real" divers.

Sky

I don't think that's what's being said here. Reread my post earlier in this thread (#4). It's about the attitude. Don't come off as an expert world class diver just because you have 80 dives.

I've still got a lot to learn about diving, even from noobs. Don't put off diving with new people. Just make sure you have the right attitude and are honest up front.

Hey, if I can get two dives off one tank, then that's one less fill I have to pay for.

 

[spectrum]

It has been one of my fears since getting certified that I din't want to dive with anyone except my instructors or the others from the quarry who have been there with me from the beginning. You all have just confirmed that no one wants to take the time to dive with a newbie...............it is a shame that i am not married or in a relationship with someone who idives with me. Wondering if maybe I should just stick with the quarry for two or three years till I get good enought to dive with "real" divers.

Sky

That should not be the case at all. I can see where you may be unconfortable tagging along on a paid boat dive that's going deep where you may cut things short but there are lots of chances to dive, practice, enjoy the underwater world and keep your wallet fatter so you can buy more dive toys.

Your instructors should be generating a stream of novice divers who are just like you and nearly every new diver was and will be. Start networking and dive with your peers. Try to be around seasoned divers when you can since you may benefit from some mentoring but get out there and dive.

Some how my air consumption has been low for a novice diver since about dive 3. I routinely end my dives with 1500-2000 PSI while peers are at 500 or less and I don't resent this. I get to dive with my wife, some friends or a new diver. In fact I may be doing just that at the Saturday moring LDS shore dive 3 hours from now. They are slowly closing the gap.

Take advantage of the many threads surrounding air usage right now. the answers are there but the big one is dive, dive and dive. Spread the word that you want to dive. I even printed some little buddy cards (like business cards) that I pass on to anyone I dive with so they can contact me if they are looking for a buddy on another day.

Don't be discouraged but you may need to be an organizer to help make it happen. I think one of the top reasons for novice divers not sticking with the sport is a lack of a buddy. Some dive shops facilitate more than others, you may try other shops, they may have more organized activites that will keep you and your gear wet.

Keep kicking, you'll get down there. Come to Maine, I'll dive with you.

Pete

 

[navillus]

I have been diving for one year and I am a member of airoholics anonymous. This is what led me to buy a 119 tank instead of an 80: so I could dive approximately the same time as my expert friends who would graciously let me tag along.

When I went on my honeymoon to Maui this last summer, I was very bad, and worse yet, I was not able to bring my 119 along to compensate for my hooverness!!! I was literally the last off the boat and the first back on (and then I had to wait about 15 minutes for everyone else - Oh, the shame). Even my wife (a new diver. Our boat trip was her second dive after certification) had almost a 1/2 tank left when I was coming out of the water.

Something that helped me is that I told the DM right away that I was an air hog. He would always be sure to point my wife an me back to the boat, and let the others dive longer. He also gave me a tip if you are an airoholic: Dive above the group, as high as is safe, but that the DM knows where you are and that you can see him/her. When he or she points to somehting interesting: go down, look at it, and go back up. This way you can conserve air.

Another thing that has been helping me is consciously trying to calculate my sac rate. One investment I made this summer was buying an air integrated computer. The computer will show you digitally how much psi you are using, as well as a calculated dive time. Being able to see precisely how much air I am sucking while I am sucking it (the digital spg) helps me correct the problem in real time. I can then conciously vary my breathing, or other things I am doing, and see how this is affecting my breathing.

My AOW instructor also gave me a sheet on on how to save on air and manually calculate my sac rate. It is VERY helpful. If you want, I can find it and post it.

 

[Dive-aholic]

I have been diving for one year and I am a member of airoholics anonymous. This is what led me to buy a 119 tank instead of an 80: so I could dive approximately the same time as my expert friends who would graciously let me tag along.

When I went on my honeymoon to Maui this last summer, I was very bad, and worse yet, I was not able to bring my 119 along to compensate for my hooverness!!! I was literally the last off the boat and the first back on (and then I had to wait about 15 minutes for everyone else - Oh, the shame). Even my wife (a new diver. Our boat trip was her second dive after certification) had almost a 1/2 tank left when I was coming out of the water.

Something that helped me is that I told the DM right away that I was an air hog. He would always be sure to point my wife an me back to the boat, and let the others dive longer. He also gave me a tip if you are an airoholic: Dive above the group, as high as is safe, but that the DM knows where you are and that you can see him/her. When he or she points to somehting interesting: go down, look at it, and go back up. This way you can conserve air.

Another thing that has been helping me is consciously trying to calculate my sac rate. One investment I made this summer was buying an air integrated computer. The computer will show you digitally how much psi you are using, as well as a calculated dive time. Being able to see precisely how much air I am sucking while I am sucking it (the digital spg) helps me correct the problem in real time. I can then conciously vary my breathing, or other things I am doing, and see how this is affecting my breathing.

My AOW instructor also gave me a sheet on on how to save on air and manually calculate my sac rate. It is VERY helpful. If you want, I can find it and post it.

When my wife and I first started diving, she would come up with anywhere from 500-1000 psi more air than me. Now the average is 100-150 psi. I've even come up with more air left than her on occasion (usually only in cold water, she hates the cold).

Keep this in mind - working lung capacity is about 5-7ml/kg. That means someone who weighs 200lbs, which is about 90kg, will breath about 450-630ml a breath, average that out to 540ml/breath. So what does that mean? Well, my wife breathes an average of 360ml/breath based on her body type. So for each breath I take, I'm breathing 180ml more! It's just the way things are. It's almost impossible for someone who is bigger to breathe less than someone who is smaller. So how do I breathe close to her amount? I breathe slower than her. It's taken work and concentration. I don't hold my breath. I just do something similar to the 3-5 thing that was already mentioned.

Just keep working on the breathing. It will all come together sooner or later. There's no dive number for anyone in particular. It took me close to 100 dives, but I also got those 100 dives done in my first year diving. It you only do 30 or 50 dives a year, it might take you 150 or 200 dives. Just be patient and dive, dive, dive!

 

[drl]

It's not all size, I'm a 5'2", 110# female hoover! I have 50-some-odd dives (in a year and a half) and have gotten somewhat better but I still suck air. Especially in cold water. My 200# husband regularly has more air than me, though not by a lot. It will be interesting to see if I do any better when I go to Cozumel next month. Cold seems to be a big factor; when I start to feel chilly I can practically watch my SPG drop! But beyond that, some people just have a higher air metabolism than others. I try to make like a grouper, but by nature I'm more of a sparrow!
Maybe I should change my screen name! ;-)

Deborah

 

[LordMicon]

I'm a big 'feedback' fan. I just recently started diving, and noticed even in my pool dives for my original cert I would suck down my air. When my wife and I were looking at equipment, I pretty much insisted in an air integrated computer. If you can work with it, its great. During a dive, just that little *beep* can let you know 'relax, breath slower'. Then post dive, I always go thru my dive log on my PC - minute by minute. Lets me see how I'm doing for air consumption, what seems to be my triggers for 'losing control' of my breathing, so I know what to pay attention to more my next dive. Barely at double digit dives now, and I already see *marked* improvement. And ya, mostly, for my case, this was due to me feeling bad when my wife would end with 1500 psi or more!

 

[Buoyant1]

Why don't more boats have tanks other than 80's available? I used a 95 a few weeks back and got serious bottom time from it.

I know that the option to buy is good for diving near home, but for a trip to somewhere exotic or as close as the Keys, it's a hassle to carry them?

Maybe the ops should consider this for us newbies?

 

[spectrum]

Why don't more boats have tanks other than 80's available? I used a 95 a few weeks back and got serious bottom time from it.

I know that the option to buy is good for diving near home, but for a trip to somewhere exotic or as close as the Keys, it's a hassle to carry them?

Maybe the ops should consider this for us newbies?

Then they's need a bigger boat and there'd be no end to it. I have heard of some larger tanks being availabe on occasion.

Don't worry about it, you have 122 days to get things under control. Have a great trip.

Pete