Confessions of an Air Hog.....

[ScubaSixString]

I dove pebble today. 1st dive in about a year. Made a max depth of 25 ft. and somehow burned through 2500 PSI (aluminum 80) in about 32 minutes. There was a little surge, but not much.

Is this normal for a old "newbie" ? I'm 6'1" 210 lbs.

This seems like a very high consumption rate given the depth.

 

[MASS-Diver]

I dove pebble today. 1st dive in about a year. Made a max depth of 25 ft. and somehow burned through 2500 PSI (aluminum 80) in about 32 minutes. There was a little surge, but not much.

Is this normal for a old "newbie" ? I'm 6'1" 210 lbs.

This seems like a very high consumption rate given the depth.

Were you overweighted? That's a good way to suck down a lot of gas. If you are swimming alot with a surge or working (catching bugs) that can make a difference too.

Did you feel comfortable during the dive?

 

[nite_diver]

I dove pebble today. 1st dive in about a year. Made a max depth of 25 ft. and somehow burned through 2500 PSI (aluminum 80) in about 32 minutes. There was a little surge, but not much.

Is this normal for a old "newbie" ? I'm 6'1" 210 lbs.

This seems like a very high consumption rate given the depth.

before your first dive, did you go to any lsd fpr a refresher course. was your wet suit to tight and contracting your chest to make your breathing faster. did you have problems getting down or did you have to fight the surge alot. maybe your second dive will go better. any way welcome back and stay safe

nite_diver

 

[slipslop]

you would make a great dive buddy for me, i also use up my air too quickly about half an hour per tank regardless of the depth, i am still new at this and keep telling myself it will get better.

 

[jchaplain]

I dove pebble today. 1st dive in about a year. Made a max depth of 25 ft. and somehow burned through 2500 PSI (aluminum 80) in about 32 minutes. There was a little surge, but not much.

Is this normal for a old "newbie" ? I'm 6'1" 210 lbs.

This seems like a very high consumption rate given the depth.

Another thing that helps is to swim out a bit and rest a while ( let your heartrate come down to normal) before you go down. If you drop right down after the workout of gearing up and getting into the water you will use up quite a bit more air.

John C.

 

[decapoddiver]

Do you use your tank as a "snorkel" on the surface. I see lots of folks who breath off their tanks while doing the surface swim out. I cannot for the life of me figure out why they would want to use the limited air they paid for instead of all the unlimited free stuff I finally convinced a buddy to stop doing it and his tanks lasted longer.

I agree about doing a minute of "calm" before submerging. Let your heart and head return to a normal rate. It can make a big difference.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

I'm 59 years old, 5'11 and I weigh the same as you. I would think you're using at least 3 times the air I am. There are a lot of factors. You are a newbie and you haven't dove for a year. Your stress levels were up and you probably made lots of mistakes such as moving your arms around, lousy bouyancy, over weighted, the list goes on.

Want to get better at air? Dive a lot. Go slow it isn't a race. Restrict movements and do a weight check. As you get more comfortable with diving you'll end up dropping several pounds. Now you're probably over inflating your lungs and perhaps you aren't properly deflating your BCD.

Just dive. You'll be surprised how much better you'll do in time. Ask your buddies if they think you're moving your arms too much or if your kick is too big.

 

[ScubaSixString]

Thanks for the feedback folks. It could have been any or all of those. My wetsuit is rather tight, but it doesn't seem to constrict movement. Perhaps i was fighting more than i realized. And i foolishly swam out, sans snorkel, and dropped right down. I'll try your suggestions and see what i can eek out in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks again all!

--Scuba Six

 

[LobstaMan]

IMHO, comfort level is the primary factor in your air consumption. If you're back at it after a long hiatus, struggling to put gear on in 90 degree sun, walking across the beach in full pack, swimming on the surface, experiencing improper bouyancy...well I think you get the point.

I was in a similar situation as you about 3 years ago. Let's just put it this way... those first few dives after a long hiatus were a big wake-up call. I decided to get newer equipment that fit properly, dive buddies of my same level and dive more often to get more comfortable. As my comfort level increased, my air consumption decreased.

My advice to you is get newer equipment that fits you properly(don't need to mortgage the farm), square away weighting and bouyancy and get wet at sites that are or were familar to you and go from there. Your air consumption will decrease appropriately. Don't be too hard on yourself in the interim and have fun.

LobstaMan

 

[scubastew]

I didnt see anyone mentioned this. But when did you check your air initially? Often times if your tanks are in the trunk of your vehicle or in the sun the airpressure will increase as the tank heats up. Once you hit the 50-to-60 degree water the tank's psi comes back down to reality pretty quick.

Outside of that, being "in-shape" definitely helps. but it sounds to me that your tank wasn't quite at full capacity (standard is around 3000psi for an AL80 2500 is you finish with on 500psi, of course)

also check for leaks, maybe your BCD inflator was leaking a little or your octopus or even primary regulator was off-loading some gas.