Factors affecting beginner air consumption

[gcarter]

I will second getting a bigger tank. I was a hog when I started, and moving to a larger steel tank did a couple of things: it helped reduce my stressing about shortening my buddy's dive, a self fulfilling prophecy when you are stressing, and it helped with my trim which helped with my buoyancy which helped with my anxiety...

 

[KentB]

my 50 dive opinion:

I was in the same boat as you, I grabbed 2 big tanks 120/149 I get made fun of in the dive shop for the 149 but whatever Im a big dude 6' 250 and chew through air.I can handle the weight fine on land so its not a big deal.
Im much better now than I was at 5-10 dives but still having too much air with me isnt a huge concern.
my dives are NDL limited not air limited anymore which is nice.
I found my biggest thing was I was swimming super quick and moving my arms.
once I slowed down, relaxed and keep my arms fairly calm my air consumption dropped quickly. its still not great, my main dive buddy uses a 120 and my 149 are usually within 100 psi of each other at end of dive.

just dive. you will naturally relax as you get more comfortable which will slow your breathing, and playing with your BCD.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Everyone gave you excellent information. You also brought up some points on your own. It’s great you have self awareness and know factors that are affecting your consumption.

I’m only 130 some dives in and my air consumption rate is slightly higher in cold water than warm water. My local diving is Carmel/Monterey and Sonoma Coast (45-55F) and warm water diving has been 80-90F. As you dive more, you will also carry less weight because your breathing will be better which will both affect your consumption. As you’re more efficient with your kicks or are more trim, that will also help. As you also mentioned, sculling and using your arms will also make a difference. For my dive buddy/partner, he also improved consumption once he got his own gear. He was more familiar with it and less nervous.

 

[Diver Dave1]

As pointed out by others, the buoyancy and wasted motion are the biggest issue.

Another is movement speed. Friction is related to the cube of velocity. When I started diving, I kept wanting to explore what was just around the next corner. I kicked fast, moved fast and burned air like crazy. Now I know there are plenty of interesting things all around me on most dives. I just need to look for them.
When I hired a private guide on Curacao to be my dive buddy, they described me as the guy that barely moves. Consider trying some macro related diving where you are searching for the small. Spending time looking at a small creature in a magnifier can help a person slow down, as an example. And the macro diving will highlight your buoyancy issues, helping you improve holding position with no movement or gas in/out of the regulator.

Another can be breathing execution. Deep, slow breathing is your friend whereas breathing the same as on land will burn your air quickly.
Spend time with the same size tank on all your dives. If that means AL80, stick to it. I know my exact wt needs based on my wetsuit and gear and an AL80. You need to learn that too. When I have used a 100 or moved to steel, I am always guessing for a while because I do not use them often or repetitively.
Hope that is some help.

 

[Neilwood]

As well as slowing down, paying attention to how you kick makes a difference as well. Many divers especially when new actually "bicycle" with their fins - instead of the fins moving up and down in an arc, they are actually using the knees a lot as in this link. As well as this a lot of people will constantly kick instead of kicking and gliding - you get a fair bit of forward motion even after the kick has stopped.

Buoyancy - concentrate on adding very small amounts to the BCD. It is very tempting to hold the buttons too long and seesaw past the point you want - what you really want is a bunch of small inflations or deflations instead of one long press.

 

[Efka76]

I am also beginner diver. I am 186 cm, 115 kg weight. During the first dive i was able to stay underwater only 30 min., however, every next dive i was improving and on 6th dive i was able to stay underwater (up to 18 m) appr. 45 min. Of course, i was diving in very warm water (+27 C), but noticed if you start understanding how to have proper buoyouncy, calm and breath slowly, that significantly helps to reduce air consumption.

In February i will be going to Thailand where i wan t to get AOWD and 4-5 PADI specialties (e.g. Deep dive, Wreck dive, Nitrox, Night dive and maybe Navigation). I like to learn new things and use this trip as opportunity to improve my diving skills.

 

[Aquavelvet]

Welcome to the sport! Diving in the Sound / Salish Sea can certainly be challenging this time of year, but very rewarding nonetheless.
Aluminum 80s are not a good match for cold water diving. You will be better off in several ways with at least a couple HP 100s. Those or the Faber FX 117s would be the best to standardize on. Besides having higher capacity, they also help with weight distribution.
After that it's really a matter of diving more until you feel comfortable in the water. The more comfortable you are, the longer your air will last. Try to do two dives each weekend, even if they are simple dives at the same spot. Slow down and learn to look for small things wherever you may be.
If you are still diving wet, changing to a drysuit will also greatly improve your comfort in the water, as well as in between dives. Being more comfortable will make diving something to look forward to.
Finally, think about being more streamlined in the water. This applies to your gear configuration as well as your body position and attitude. As you progress, you will likely be able to drop some of the weight you've been carrying. This will improve your buoyancy control, as excess air in your BC & drysuit make it more difficult to achieve neutral buoyancy with changes in depth.
Our local online forum is Northwest Dive Club. There are fairly regular dives in different areas, and divers all seem to be pretty nice people willing to help a newbie who's willing to listen.

 

[arew+4]

Just try to be conscious of your breathing. My son, 16yo athletic 5'11" , 175 lbs was burning 80 cf tanks in 30-40 minutes @ an average depth of 40' in Bonaire after being certified. So I watched him very closely for a dive or two. He was border line hyper ventilating. I got him to focus on his breathing, nice mid volume breaths, in two three, out two three. Cut his consumption by a quarter, and he said he felt much more relaxed, he was still sculling and over correcting on the bouyancy but that will improve with experience.

 

[Saniflush]

All the advice above is good. I would also add that one of the things that has helped my breathing underwater was practicing when I was not underwater.
Someone (maybe on here I don't recall) told me to concentrate on my breathing cycle taking 15 seconds (4 breaths per minute). Nice long deep breath in and then back out. It's really not hard at all but until you do it you do not realize how many breaths you needlessly take on the surface. I would practice for a couple of minutes on my daily commute and then try to apply the same breathing timing to underwater. I am still not where I want to be but it did help considerably.

 

[Bert van den Berg]

I second the idea to slow down and try to relax.

I watched some video of two new divers taking their open water class. Shallow dives but one of them would run out of air in 25 minutes. The difference was that the low on air diver was in constant motion while the other beginner diver was hovering a lot.