How to reduce air use?

[CBulla]

my solution for air consumtion/conservation is to work less and/or dive shallower.

 

[Mako Mark]

you could practice in case you have a problem with your auto inflator and have to pull the LP hose off of it and such.

I am still trying to figure out how to orally inflate my drysuit...

 

[gj62]

My original drysuit had an oral inflator hose - just like a BC, onto which I added a SeaQuest autoinflator... :grin:

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I am still trying to figure out how to orally inflate my drysuit...

Oh ... you can manually inflate a dry suit ... but not orally ...

:11:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[love2godeep]

A dive instructor told our group recently that a way to conserve air is to take three small breaths (sips, really) rather than one large one. Apparently the idea is that it takes longer to do this, so you save air.

He suggested doing this with every second or third breath. I tried it, but it didn't feel very good to me. I have no trouble holding onto the breath a few seconds after inhaling, in fact this feels pretty natural to me.

Has anyone else tried this 3-breath trick?

 

[Boogie711]

A dive instructor told me recently that a way to conserve air is to take three small breaths (sips, really) rather than one large one. Apparently the idea is that it takes longer to do this, so you save air.

He suggested doing this with every second or third breath. I tried it some, but it didn't feel very good to me. I have no trouble "holding" the breath a few seconds after inhaling.

Has anyone else tried this 3-breath trick?

Don't. It sounds like it would be skip breathing, unless I'm reading you wrong. Good way to build up CO2 in your system and put you at risk for an embolism while you're at it.

Nice, deep, slow breaths. Not rocket science.

 

[pipedope]

More and more diving so that you become more comfortable in the gear and in the water.
Get training to refine your diving technique.
Work to refine and streamline your dive gear.
Dive
Dive
Dive
Breath deep and slow.

Accept that some people use more gas than others and if you need a bigger supply then take a bigger supply. This applies after you have done enough diving to be comfortable and reasonable effecient in your movements.

 

[H2Andy]

A dive instructor told me recently that a way to conserve air is to take three small breaths (sips, really) rather than one large one. Apparently the idea is that it takes longer to do this, so you save air.

He suggested doing this with every second or third breath. I tried it some, but it didn't feel very good to me. I have no trouble "holding" the breath a few seconds after inhaling.

Has anyone else tried this 3-breath trick?

wow... sounds awfully close to skip breathing... sort of
a modified skip breathing, but still skip breathing.

i would just do the standard "inhale, hold it without
closing the airway, exhale, and on and on," nice and
slowly

i would bet you anything that remaining relaxed and breathing nice and slow will save you more air than this skip breathing
thing, not to mention being a lot safer.

 

[love2godeep]

More and more diving so that you become more comfortable in the gear and in the water.
Get training to refine your diving technique.
Work to refine and streamline your dive gear.
Dive
Dive
Dive
Breath deep and slow.

Accept that some people use more gas than others and if you need a bigger supply then take a bigger supply. This applies after you have done enough diving to be comfortable and reasonable effecient in your movements.

I should have mentioned that personally I don't have a problem with air consumption--I usually have more left than the divemaster. (Maybe one of those women with small lungs and no heart!!!

Anyway, since the Dive Instructor mentioned it as one of the "new" techniques, I thought I'd throw it in. Sounds like it needs to be "thrown" somewhere real deep, and left there.....

Reminds me of when we were looking for property. The ever-enthusiastic Real Estate agent took us to this totally rundown, incredibly horrid shack.... as he was talking it up, he pointed to an ancient travel trailer, no door, falling apart, looks like even a dog wouldn't sleep in it.

This agent sings out, "Maybe they'll even throw in that travel trailer!"

My husband's response: "Throw it in where? The lake?"

Needless to say, we didn't buy the property.