Question Air Hog

[AdivingBel]

Depends on the dive, depends on the buddy…like a lot of things about diving, it depends. When my wife started diving she went through gas rather quickly. On a basic recreational dive she would breathe her tank down to 1000 psi or so and then switch to my octo. We would then breathe my tank down to 1000, then finish our dive separately. At no time would either of us be unable to safely surface either together or separately. We planned it before we splashed and were able to extend our dives. When dive traveling, larger tanks are not always available and weren’t needed as long as we were happy with the length of our dives. If we were on a boat we let the DM know our plans and never had any issues. Like I said, it depends…All IMHO, YMMV.

 

[Open Ocean Diver]

So you’re the gas hog. Get a bigger tank. What are you diving now? Air sharing is not a good habit to be into.

80’s… yeah we get some funny looks.

 

[Marie13]

80’s… yeah we get some funny looks.

You dive locally or in vacation? Sounds like a HP100 would work well for you if you’re diving locally.

 

[Open Ocean Diver]

You dive locally or in vacation? Sounds like a HP100 would work well for you if you’re diving locally.

Both only in warm waters. The only reason I haven’t is because the tank is heavier and the buoyancy characteristics are a little different.

 

[Marie13]

Both only in warm waters. The only reason I haven’t is because the tank is heavier and the buoyancy characteristics are a little different.

You’re an air hog. Sharing air with your wife on a regular basis is not a habit to get into to extend dives. So what it’s heavier. You should be able to drop some lead.

 

[lowviz]

How much do you have on your weight belt when diving as usual with an 80?

 

[Still Kicking]

Just remember that most - if not all - divers were air hogs when we started. It's natural to suck more air when you are excited/nervous/stressed in a new, potentially dangerous environment. If you are out of shape physically that will just exacerbate the situation.

Women in general tend to have better air consumption simply because they have smaller lungs.

There are a few ways you can address the situation:

As others have said, you can get a larger tank to offset the disparity between your air consumption rates.

If you are out of shape you can work out and improve your aerobic capacity.

As you dive more and become increasingly comfortable underwater, your air consumption will naturally decline. This will take a while as a vacation diver but in the long term it will have the greatest benefit on your breathing rate.

 

[Open Ocean Diver]

You’re an air hog. Sharing air with your wife on a regular basis is not a habit to get into to extend dives. So what it’s heavier. You should be able to drop some lead.

I think mainly just lugging around another 8 or 9 pounds of weight.

 

[Marie13]

I think mainly just lugging around another 8 or 9 pounds of weight.

You’ll be able to drop 4-6lbs of lead.

 

[Open Ocean Diver]

How much do you have on your weight belt when diving as usual with an 80?

4 lbs with a steel plate.