How to reduce a monstrous SAC

[DivemasterDennis]

I think this is the thing- athletic male with large lung capacity. You just have to deal with who you are, and as noted above, perhaps go to larger tank, which you can handle without any problems.
DivemasterDennis

 

[TSandM]

I was actually agreeing with the concept that a single Al80 is marginal at best for some of the diving in the area in question. I then went on to disagree that double tanks were the best way for an untrained recreational diver to solve the problem.

I can certainly see that beaverdivers' posts read like ads for expensive equipment, and I agree that the Galileo Sol is an absolutely silly idea for solving SAC rate issues. But he does have a good point about Al80s and deeper dives.

I also do try to be tactful . . .

 

[flots am]

"We had a very hard, against the current swim at 75 feet in Cancun and learned to appreciate the quality of our MK25/S600 flow delivery. One other diver in our group had to stop swimming as he exceeded his regulator’s ability to deliver air to match his workload.

While it's possible that his reg was poorly designed or poorly serviced, it's more likely that he exceeded the capacity of his lungs and circulatory system.

There is a point where no amount of available air will compensate for the workload.

flots.

 

[GramsciBeat]

There is a lot of really useful advice here; I was looking for tips to specifically deal with my SAC, as opposed to strategies to extend bottom-time. I already use an AI computer with heart rate monitor, my 15l is bigger than the standard 12 used in these parts & as I receive the necessary training I will use doubles when appropriate.
As a couple of posters have pointed out my SAC rate is not 'monstorous', but it would be nice to reduce it. I am back in the water next weekend & I'll be focusing on trim, zen & breath counting. If none of thesemake a huge difference, I'll just accept I'm a highly oxygenated, big lunged fella & as such I'll continue to enjoy my diving & irritate my buddies by calling the dive little before they are quite ready to surface.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

There is a lot of really useful advice here; I was looking for tips to specifically deal with my SAC, as opposed to strategies to extend bottom-time. I already use an AI computer with heart rate monitor, my 15l is bigger than the standard 12 used in these parts & as I receive the necessary training I will use doubles when appropriate.

As a couple of posters have pointed out my SAC rate is not 'monstorous', but it would be nice to reduce it. I am back in the water next weekend & I'll be focusing on trim, zen & breath counting. If none of thesemake a huge difference, I'll just accept I'm a highly oxygenated, big lunged fella & as such I'll continue to enjoy my diving & irritate my buddies by calling the dive little before they are quite ready to surface.

I don't think you are listening... first off, unless you are pretty horrible now...NOTHING you do is going to make a huge difference..

Secondly, trying Really, really hard to use less air is more likely to make you uncomfortable, give you a headache or worse...It's sorta like trying to fall asleep, really, really fast... the harder you try, the less effective you will be.

The advice still stands.. make SMALL change in breathing, try to exhale a little more fully, try to move slowly and gracefully, use your large powerful muscles with minimal exertion and that's it... a lower SAC rate will come naturally from it.. or it won't..

Using less air is not a measure of a good diver... being relaxed, confident, graceful and having fun, are much better metrics.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Why have all your gas in a single tank?

Do you REALLY want to post that you did a TEK dive w/o redundancy?

Who said I didn't have redundancy? I had a small pony that would probably get me up and through most or all of my deco, if I lost all of my air in the main tank.

 

[halocline]

...I also do try to be tactful . . .

Unlike me!

 

[Splitlip]

Not bad . . .my cold water SCR (Surface Consumption Rate) is 22L/min here in the temperate waters of Southern California (currently 12 to 15deg C at depth); my tropical warm water SCR is typically 30% better at around 15-17L/min, my personal best being 11L/min diving with the drift currents in Palau. . .I'm 49yo, 170cm tall and 70kg weight, using double 11L AL80 tanks here in Calif (for a Pressure SCR of 1 bar/min --which is why I'm seemingly the only US diver on this Board who prefers using the Metric System). . .

I wish the US would go metric. Remember Jimmy Carter? Even the UK it seems has passed on the Imperial system.

 

[Griffo]

Off topic, but I really don't get why the US sticks with Imperial. The Metric system is so easy to calculate mentally, and virtually everthing is related - distance, volume, mass, time, pressure and temperature - all in nice multiples of 10. And all very relevant to diving calculations.

 

[Jill from Phoenix]

I've been getting rid of all my MK25/S600's ...

I'll take them....