Question Air consumption

[Klopo]

You should tell the DM in the second video to secure that DSMB a little better, so they don't snag on things

I think @Blackcrusader is a bit of an outlier on this. But, these videos are a perfect example of how slow a diver can go, when they really put their mind to it. @Klopo after you have some footage of yourself diving for a few minutes, compare it to Blackcrusader and his friends. If you're moving more than this, then you could move less and use less gas. And if you're not moving more than this, well... color me surprised!

Alright, i will defenitly see that I can get some footage of myself on my next dives.

Thank you

 

[Klopo]

If you mean by 14-16, 14-16L per minute than thats perfectly normal i think (and for only 25dives pretty good). There is a poll here somewhere where you can get a feel for different numbers.

Yes its meant in liters, Sorry I didn't formulate it correctly.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @Klopo

What is AVM? I assume it is your gas consumption, 14-16 l/min. That is average gas consumption according to a long running thread/poll

Average Gas Consumption

There has been extensive discussion lately regarding average gas consumption. A poll may help give us a better idea of what the normal distribution of RMVs is. 1 cu ft = 28.32 liters 1 liter = 0.035 cu ft 28.3 l/min

scubaboard.com

So, your gas consumption is not bad, actually pretty good for a beginning diver. Your buddies must simply have good gas consumption. You have been give good advice and will likely improve over time. Enjoy your diving.

 

[Belzelbub]

Hello together

Hello. Seeing this greeting made me check your location. I had a feeling you were from Switzerland. I work with many from Switzerland and that's the only time I've heard that. Welcome to the board and to diving.

I have the following situation :
When I dive with others, they need less air.
So often at the safety stop I am at 70 or 80 bar and my buddies are at 100 or 110 bar.
I make sure that I am always at about the same depth as my buddy. I dive dry and so do my buddies, they have between 500 - 1500 dives.

I have always tracked my AVM the last few dives.
It's always between 14 and 16 (I can't judge whether that's a lot or a little because I still don't have enough experience after only about 25 dives. )
Is it possible that I am using a lot more air because I am not yet so experienced with buoyancy?

Part of air consumption is biology. That part you won't be able to do much about. I use significantly more air than my daughters. That makes sense as they are smaller and need less. That's not universally true, though.

Part of it comes from experience. This will improve with time. Breathing slow and steady will help. You don't want to hold your breath, but want to relax your breathing. Another part is dialing in your weight needs and trim. A lot of divers start out with too much weight. With extra weight, you need to add more air to your BC to compensate, which increases your profile and drag some. Take note of how much air you need in your BC at the end of your dive to hold a safety stop. Ideally, the BC should be empty or nearly so.

If all else fails, see if you can get a larger tank. I use bigger tanks than my daughters, and that equalizes things a bit.

 

[Klopo]

Hello. Seeing this greeting made me check your location. I had a feeling you were from Switzerland. I work with many from Switzerland and that's the only time I've heard that. Welcome to the board and to diving.

Part of air consumption is biology. That part you won't be able to do much about. I use significantly more air than my daughters. That makes sense as they are smaller and need less. That's not universally true, though.

Part of it comes from experience. This will improve with time. Breathing slow and steady will help. You don't want to hold your breath, but want to relax your breathing. Another part is dialing in your weight needs and trim. A lot of divers start out with too much weight. With extra weight, you need to add more air to your BC to compensate, which increases your profile and drag some. Take note of how much air you need in your BC at the end of your dive to hold a safety stop. Ideally, the BC should be empty or nearly so.

If all else fails, see if you can get a larger tank. I use bigger tanks than my daughters, and that equalizes things a bit.

That seems to be common here I don't know why, but it seems to have become customary here.

My buddies don't track the AVM, so unfortunately I can't compare how much they use. However, I will continue to track my next dives with AVM, so I can see if I can notice a change. I don't think I'm over-leaded. At the safety stop I have almost no air in the BCD. The dry suit is also usually pretty empty.

Thanks for the tips

 

[MacDuyver]

Late to the conversation, but wanted to add a +1 for working on your breathing and finning techniques.

Breathing yielded some good results. I’ve been working on my finning specifically for the past ten or so dives, adopting a slower cadence with more pronounced stroke to my flutter kicks, and working on relying more on a proper frog kick. I’ve got to say I noticed very dramatic results within the first 2 dives.

 

[Klopo]

Late to the conversation, but wanted to add a +1 for working on your breathing and finning techniques.

Breathing yielded some good results. I’ve been working on my finning specifically for the past ten or so dives, adopting a slower cadence with more pronounced stroke to my flutter kicks, and working on relying more on a proper frog kick. I’ve got to say I noticed very dramatic results within the first 2 dives.

So if I understand correctly, fewer fin strokes but stronger or more precise ones ?

 

[MacDuyver]

So if I understand correctly, fewer fin strokes but stronger or more precise ones ?

Exactly. Crappy kicks and good kicks take the same amount of energy/air per stroke. Stronger kicks with good range of motion, good point of your toes take fewer strokes to cover the same distance (and do so faster) than crappy bicycle ones. With good technique, you want to make each kick STRONG and then coast as much as you can on your momentum.

with the frog kick you want to get a good forward push, completing the kick by bringing your feet together straight behind you. Ride this till you’re ALMOST out of momentum and do it again. If you get a really good push, you’ll keep up with the other divers doing flutter kick and use less air. That’s the aspect of finning I’ve been working on that’s paid massive dividends


I’m at the point now where I’m spending the vast majority of my time underwater frog kicking. I’ll flutter in a more confined space like inside a wreck, and I’ll flutter harder when swimming against a current bc it’s more constant forward thrust.

When you flutter kick, keep your toes pointed as long as you’re applying force, like a boat oar (see pic). Novice swimmers tend to swim with their fins pointed as if they’re walking. It causes a bicycling motion almost like they’re stepping through the water which is tremendously inefficient.

 

[ELCAM]

Nobody’s addressing this but physical fitness also plays a huge role…the more aerobic fitness you have the lower your respiratory requirements get…there is clear correlation for myself at least.

 

[J-Vo]

Nobody’s addressing this but physical fitness also plays a huge role…the more aerobic fitness you have the lower your respiratory requirements get…there is clear correlation for myself at least.

This is correct, but as a former elite athlete, I'm also quite capable of sucking a tank down much faster then a sedentary person. I also feel it takes less effort for my body to go into "exercise mode" and elevate my RMV.