breathing vs the correct regulator

[mrxray80]

Hi everyone! I'm new to SB my first posting hope i do this right..well I have an A700/MK25 reg sys from scubapro which is my first reg system. This system is suppose to be a great set up from scubapro but i can't seem to get a good dive out of my tank when diving deep I feel like everytime i take a breath is like am breathing half a tank with one breath. I thought it was me that was breathing to hard but I keep myself calm and relax and still breath hard and deeper depths like 80s to 90s. I just order an Oceanic Delta 4 series w/FDX10 1st stage so will see how that works since i will have a second set to compare too. I don't know if a piston v diaphragm regulators makes any difference in breathing but I will find out when the Delta 4 comes because the scubapro is piston and the oceanic delta is diaphragm.

Any feedback on this will be appreciated it.

thank you guys!!

mrxray80.

 

[jcaplins]

If the A700/MK25 is serviced/tuned properly, I bet you will not notice a difference.
Calculate your SAC rate, then determine how much air you should be using at any depth.
Note that many, many things will affect your SAC rate.

If you still seem to be using too much air at depth... Tell your friends to stop breathing off your octo behind your back.

 

[diversteve]

A piston reg will typically outperform a diaphragm reg at depth.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

If the reg is delivering all the air you need then that's just how much you need. It doesn't really have a lot to do with the reg. All regs should deliver enough air that you don't over breathe a reg and feel starved for air. Piston regs historically just by design have much higher air flow capabilities, but todays diaphragms deliver plenty of volume with the newer designs and plenty for multi divers to breathe off one 1st stage, so how good is too good and where does it become a moot point? A lot of air and ease of breathing is a good thing.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

A piston reg will typically outperform a diaphragm reg at depth.

Yet that performance advantage will not typically be a factor at all because the maximum flow rate of the 2nd Stage is the limiting factor, and modern diaphragm 1st stages, just like modern piston first stages, have flow rates that exceed the capabilities of the 2nd stages attached to them. Assuming a properly functioning first stage that is providing a correct and stable IP to the 2nd stage, it is the performance and tuning of the 2nd Stage that has a noticeable impact on ease of breathing.

To the OP: If I am understanding your post, you are looking for a regulator that will allow you to use LESS air at depth? Or am I misreading your post? At depth, no regulator can defeat physics. You are going to consume more air in direct proportion to increasing depth. What you want is a regulator (again, mainly the 2nd stage) that provides smooth, very easy, natural-feeling breathing. Everything else is a function of your personal fitness level, physiology, stress level, exertion level, experience level, how you feel that day, and depth.

Best wishes.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

To the OP,
The Scubapro reg you have is top of the line and arguable (by many SP fans) about the best reg set money can buy (Other opinions and other personal preferences may vary). Most arguments against Scubapro have to do with politics, not so much with the performance of their products.
I hate to disappoint you but I honestly don't think you're going to notice any improvements with any other reg set.
Like LeadTurn_SD pointed out, the deeper you go the more air you use, with ANY reg.

 

[AJ]

I thought it was me that was breathing to hard but I keep myself calm and relax and still breath hard and deeper depths like 80s to 90s.

You may tell yourself to calm down, but that does not mean your mind listens to you. Feeling uncomfortable will increase your air consumption anytime. This can only be overcome by experience. The more experience you have, the more comfortable you will feel and as a consequence you will use less air.

The one thing as already noted you can not beat is physics. When down to 10m/30ft you will use twice as much air as on the surface. When down to 20m/60ft you will use three times as much. No reg will change that.

 

[NAM001]

That mk25 was designed to deliver all the air you and a buddy can draw off it, and continue to do so far past your recerational dive limits.

 

[Hickdive]

If the regulator is leaking then obviously your cylinder pressure will drop more rapidly.

If the regulator is badly tuned then the increased work of breathing will make you breath harder and you will consume more air.

However, reading between the lines of the OP and looking at the number of dives you indicate in your profile, I suggest that the regulator is not the cause of your higher air consumption. Relative inexperience is the biggest single cause of higher than average SAC rates, closely followed by poor buoyancy and trim.

The best cure for the former is to go diving - lots. It is very difficult to think yourself into a calm and relaxed state of mind and subconsciously you're probably still at that stage of your diving career where you might think you're relaxing but you're not. This tends to make you consume more air AND carry more lead - which makes you breathe harder and so on...

The latter will be considerably helped by diving more but seriously thinking about lightening your weightbelt as you become more experienced, eliminating the danglies, keeping in horizontal trim and adopting more efficient finning techniques will help too.

 

[lowviz]

That mk25 was designed to deliver all the air you and a buddy can draw off it, ...

What he said.

One step at a time. It isn't your first stage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gs6vRoQBIM