USMC Diver
Guest
1. Get yourself some DIN HP Steel 120's. Plenty of air. Get two of the with a manifold, be better yet. And a slung stage bottle, or two.
or
2. Breathe slower.
or
2. Breathe slower.
How do I improve my air consumption?
- Thread starter sueellen
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SCUBAMedicBill
Guest
The idea of the large lung is not a matter of how much oxygen you bring in, it has more to do with phsiology of gas exchange. Though you bring in more air and oxygen, this doesnot mean that you utilize all of the oxygen that is inhaled. You breathing in 21% oxygen into you lungs, and exhale 16%. Your body only uses about 5 -7% of the oxygen you inhale. Even though volume increases, the body still only uses the small percentage. But because your volumes are larger, you run through the contents of that tank faster than someone with a smaller lung size. Thats just our make up.
There are little tricks and proceedures that divers can use and learn to help increase their time and consumption, but he physiology remains the same.
Stay well and dive safe.
Bill
There are little tricks and proceedures that divers can use and learn to help increase their time and consumption, but he physiology remains the same.
Stay well and dive safe.
Bill
I was an air hog, until I started paying attention to my breathing and factors that surround it. Now my air consumption is very good to excellent. heres my 2 bubbles worth:
Weight yourself properly. Too many people overweight themselves. When I dropped weight, I noticed a difference in exertion and air consumption.
Upon descent, relax, and dont work hard to get down. Use the time to establish a slow and effective breating rate that will set you up for the rest of the dive. do deep inhalations and even fuller exhalations.
At bottom, establish proper trim. Hortizontal trim is very important as it will greatly reduce drag, and thus you exert less effort, which in turn means better air consumption.
have fun
Weight yourself properly. Too many people overweight themselves. When I dropped weight, I noticed a difference in exertion and air consumption.
Upon descent, relax, and dont work hard to get down. Use the time to establish a slow and effective breating rate that will set you up for the rest of the dive. do deep inhalations and even fuller exhalations.
At bottom, establish proper trim. Hortizontal trim is very important as it will greatly reduce drag, and thus you exert less effort, which in turn means better air consumption.
have fun
MyKO
Guest
Assuming you have good buoyancy control, have good trim, etc...I would practice concentrating how long it takes you to inhale and how long it takes you to exhale. Being in good shape helps out with this. For me, the currents are rather mild, It takes me 7 seconds to inhale, and 7 seconds to exhale. If I'm constantly kicking in a mild current...7 seconds in and 6 seconds out. Swimmng against a current is more like 6 seconds in and 6 seconds out.
You'll eventually get the hang out it. Good Luck!
You'll eventually get the hang out it. Good Luck!
[Followup]
See how many dives it takes you to ACTUALLY ANSWER this question:
How much tank pressure did I lose at the point I finished establishing neutral buoyancy at the END of my descent and BEFORE I continued the next phase of my dive.
Don't guess ... don't assume ... be honest with yourself. When I talk to my rescue students, the ones whom I also trained for open water and advanced open water ... they tell me they always kept remembering they needed to do this check AFTER the dive was over (at the time they were reminded how badly their gas consumption sucked) ... over and over it took them about 20 dives to finally remember to check this WHEN they were supposed to check it.
SO as part of your dive plan review with your buddy the urgency and importance of doing this check together when it is required. See if you can't shave a dozen dives off the current average ... hehe.
Most new divers who apply this technique save an average of 25% of their gas consumption. And because breathing technique is so closely tied to this, there is less risk of other dangers associated with anxiety and shallow breathing.
One more reminder: this technique is not for divers who still aren't properly weighted, who lack the skills to get neutrally buoyant and properly positioned.
See how many dives it takes you to ACTUALLY ANSWER this question:
How much tank pressure did I lose at the point I finished establishing neutral buoyancy at the END of my descent and BEFORE I continued the next phase of my dive.
Don't guess ... don't assume ... be honest with yourself. When I talk to my rescue students, the ones whom I also trained for open water and advanced open water ... they tell me they always kept remembering they needed to do this check AFTER the dive was over (at the time they were reminded how badly their gas consumption sucked) ... over and over it took them about 20 dives to finally remember to check this WHEN they were supposed to check it.
SO as part of your dive plan review with your buddy the urgency and importance of doing this check together when it is required. See if you can't shave a dozen dives off the current average ... hehe.
Most new divers who apply this technique save an average of 25% of their gas consumption. And because breathing technique is so closely tied to this, there is less risk of other dangers associated with anxiety and shallow breathing.
One more reminder: this technique is not for divers who still aren't properly weighted, who lack the skills to get neutrally buoyant and properly positioned.
Air consumption rate is a result of many factors, and can almost always be improved dramatically!!
1. Buoyancy control! If you are overweighted or do not control your position in the water column by your breathing and by kicking to where you want to go, you will waste a great deal of air in your BC--inflate, dump, inflate, dump, etc.
2. Body position. If you are not very near horizontal, you have to push a bigger profile through the water when you kick and have to work harder.
3. Relaxed activity. A calm diver who kicks easily and efficiently will use much less air.
4. Easy breathing. Don't try tricks or breathing methods. Breathe in slowly and evenly, as if sipping the air through a straw, and exhale the same way.
There are others, but these are the biggest and easiest to influence.
***Don't worry!!! Relax and enjoy your diving. It's nice to work on your skills, but who really cares if another guy gets to spend 4 minutes longer on the bottom than you. Have FUN!! Some factors will always be beyond your immediate control, such as lung capacity, metabolism, body weight, and oxygen exchange efficiency. Plus, a diver who is more fit has a higher ratio of muscle to fat, and muscle uses more oxygen to survive even in a resting state!
Dive safe and enjoy the bottom time you do get,
theskull
1. Buoyancy control! If you are overweighted or do not control your position in the water column by your breathing and by kicking to where you want to go, you will waste a great deal of air in your BC--inflate, dump, inflate, dump, etc.
2. Body position. If you are not very near horizontal, you have to push a bigger profile through the water when you kick and have to work harder.
3. Relaxed activity. A calm diver who kicks easily and efficiently will use much less air.
4. Easy breathing. Don't try tricks or breathing methods. Breathe in slowly and evenly, as if sipping the air through a straw, and exhale the same way.
There are others, but these are the biggest and easiest to influence.
***Don't worry!!! Relax and enjoy your diving. It's nice to work on your skills, but who really cares if another guy gets to spend 4 minutes longer on the bottom than you. Have FUN!! Some factors will always be beyond your immediate control, such as lung capacity, metabolism, body weight, and oxygen exchange efficiency. Plus, a diver who is more fit has a higher ratio of muscle to fat, and muscle uses more oxygen to survive even in a resting state!
Dive safe and enjoy the bottom time you do get,
theskull
Karl_in_Calif
Banned
That wont work on a dive boat. They give you an alum 80, normally.
Now you are thinking!
This entire issue turns on when to pause.
Breathe in, breathe out, relax, pause.
Thats called relaxed breathing.
Breathe in, pause, breathe out, pause, relax.
Thats called skip breathing.
Now you are thinking, however!
ScubaCollin
Guest
I dont know if youre new at diving or not, but correct me if im wrong, air consumption should get better with experience.
Zept
Contributor
You need oxygen to keep your body tissues alive. At 205lbs, you need more oxygen than I do, at just 105lbs, because you have more tissues to oxygenate. You have bigger lungs and you take bigger breaths, so if we both use the same size of tank, you'll get to the bottom first. That's just biology.
You can improve your air consumption over time, by following the advice other people have given above, but it's always going to be hard for you to compete with smaller people. If you want to make things fair, use a bigger tank!
A bigger tank can help in other ways, too. I know a guy who likes to use an AL100. He doesn't really need the extra air, but when he has it, he worries less about his air consumption... and because he isn't worrying as much, he uses less air.
Zept
You can improve your air consumption over time, by following the advice other people have given above, but it's always going to be hard for you to compete with smaller people. If you want to make things fair, use a bigger tank!
A bigger tank can help in other ways, too. I know a guy who likes to use an AL100. He doesn't really need the extra air, but when he has it, he worries less about his air consumption... and because he isn't worrying as much, he uses less air.
Zept
Isn't it true that skip breathing can cause a dangerous buildup of CO2, resulting in an increased breathing rate or, if the skip breathing continues, unconsciousness and death?
Admittedly, this would solve the SAC rate problems. However, it seems a bit extreme to me.
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