Huge air consumption even after +200 dives

[Micko1974]

A small bit of advice that we have found that works with divers who consume lots of air is to place the tip of your tongue on the top of your mouth. You can feel the air pass your tongue as you breath and this helps your regulate breathing. In most cases, air consumption has dropped signigificantly.

 

[Tycksel]

Updates. Maybe I've started to relax more or something, because SAC rate has been decreased little bit. Now it's going around 17l/min

 

[jellycatsdad]

P.S., trying out the AI on my fancy new phone here.

When I first started diving, I would spend 20-30 minutes (I believe my SAC was 60psi/m) sucking down a Al/HP80, sculling the water, and feeling anxious. Over a year later, I’ve made significant progress. I’ve improved my buoyancy (although I still need to work on trim), set up a more stable kit, and now, with an HP100, I’m approaching the 1-hour mark on dives. My SAC has dropped to the low-20s.

While cardio can be beneficial for scuba, yoga offers much greater advantages. Ultimately, the key is to feel comfortable in the water, achieve good buoyancy and trim, and avoid sculling the water. This way, you can slow down, enjoy the scenery (or spot nudis or other creatures), and truly immerse yourself in the underwater experience.

Oh, I’m 190lb/87kg and 5’8”/175cm.

 

[Tycksel]

Updates. Air consumption is still not where I want that to be. On a very relaxed dive, it's around 15-16L/min but typically it's been 17-18L/min, when there's little current, bad viz, not so familiar customers etc.

There was little peak in the start of February, because I suffered ear infection and wasn't underwater for 1,5 weeks. Also updated my 3mm wetsuit to 5mm, and also had to increase my weights from 2kg to 6,6kg. Now I have 3,6kg.

I've tried different breathing patterns like 3sec in - 12-15 sec out, keeping my tongue in top of my mouth etc, but nothing helps. I think this is in my head. Like if I stress about current, air consumption, viz, navigation, leaking mask etc, my air consumption increases.

Still sometimes customers ask that why we cut out dive so short because they still had air, and it's so embarrassing to answer that because I, divemaster, didn't had enough air

 

[Wibble]

Updates. Air consumption is still not where I want that to be. On a very relaxed dive, it's around 15-16L/min but typically it's been 17-18L/min, when there's little current, bad viz, not so familiar customers etc.

There was little peak in the start of February, because I suffered ear infection and wasn't underwater for 1,5 weeks. Also updated my 3mm wetsuit to 5mm, and also had to increase my weights from 2kg to 6,6kg. Now I have 3,6kg.

I've tried different breathing patterns like 3sec in - 12-15 sec out, keeping my tongue in top of my mouth etc, but nothing helps. I think this is in my head. Like if I stress about current, air consumption, viz, navigation, leaking mask etc, my air consumption increases.

Still sometimes customers ask that why we cut out dive so short because they still had air, and it's so embarrassing to answer that because I, divemaster, didn't had enough air

Seems that you’re just a heavy breather. Maybe accept this and use equipment to mitigate this.

Is there any chance that you could dive with more gas? You could:

• use a steel 12 litre;
• a steel 15 litre;
• add a pony, ali40, ali7 or ali80;
• dive sidemount with 2 ali80s;
• dive a twinset (a.k.a. “twindies”) with two individual single Ali-80s — backmounted sidemount! — meaning you can breathe one down and switch to the other.
• Even dive a full manifolded twinset, although this would cause logistical grief in most recreational divemaster settings

There’s a ton of options that will help you out and possibly relax you in the water. There’s nothing like the worry of running low on gas to add yet more stress and concern, especially as you’re the “dive professional” calling the dives early.

 

[Agro]

Seems that you’re just a heavy breather. Maybe accept this and use equipment to mitigate this.

Is there any chance that you could dive with more gas? You could:

• use a steel 12 litre;
• a steel 15 litre;
• add a pony, ali40, ali7 or ali80;
• dive sidemount with 2 ali80s;
• dive a twinset (“twindies”) with two individual single Ali-80s — backmounted sidemount! — meaning you can breathe one down and switch to the other.
• Even dive a full manifolded twinset, although this would give logistical grief

There’s a ton of options that will help you out and possibly relax you in the water. There’s nothing like the worry of running low on gas to add yet more stress and concern, especially as you’re the “dive professional” calling the dives early.

Your sac is low! You are a 120kg guy, I don't expect a lower sac to be possible in your case.
Of course it increases a littel bit when diving with customers, this is littel bit of stress.
You dive a wing, so you have a backplate? I hope you can just add two 80s, independent doubles, problem solved and some extra safety.

 

[scubaozy]

Just buy 2 x 15l steel tanks, assuming you are offering 2 dives charter and use your private tanks for work. Additional 3l will even out the disparity between you and average customer.

 

[CG43]

I've tried different breathing patterns like 3sec in - 12-15 sec out, keeping my tongue in top of my mouth etc, but nothing helps. I think this is in my head. Like if I stress about current, air consumption, viz, navigation, leaking mask etc, my air consumption increases.

You can eliminate one of the stress factors immediately and thoroughly, the fear of excessive air consumption. Use bigger tank or tanks .
Man you are a pro : you must always have enough air in reserve for a student .
You are not a girl of 47 kg therefor you can carry a little more.

breathing patterns like 3sec in - 12-15 sec out, keeping my tongue in top of my mouth etc,

Four breaths per minute is a good value. At 16 l/min this results in a tidal volume of 4 l which is also very good. But can you really exhale loosely and relaxed for 12 seconds ?
So not if you pay attention to it, but automatically without awareness of it?
Anything that does not work automatically cannot work in the long run.

You breathe out 12 sec. long.
I forget to breathe after inhaling until the CO2 stimulates me to exhale.
How long that takes depends on the circumstances, so I don't have to take care of it.
Since the CO2 hits a large lung volume, the concentration does not rise very quickly, so that a low air consumption is automatically the result.

 

[SouthernSharktoothDiver]

@CG43 I hope you don't mean you're holding your breath on inhale, as that can be rather dangerous.

@Tycksel I recall you saying you had difficulty getting bigger tanks because of what's available in your in area, but have you considered diving double AL 80's? That way you can use the standard tanks, and still have plenty of air. It'd add a lot of surface weight, but as have previous been mentioned, you're a big guy, so you should be able to lift that much, just lift with your legs. Or alternatively, consider sidemount, or perhaps an al 40 pony.

 

[Tycksel]

I really hope to solve this problem without buying tanks every winter, and also travel with tanks... If I would dive in my home country, yeah I definetely would buy double tanks or at least bigger tank.

I work winter times in south-east Asia and I've never seen steel tanks anywhere. Also 15L alu tanks are super rare, and like I said before, they removed those from my current working boat too.

We use same tanks (12L alu), like all the students, customers, instructors etc. Nobody has own tanks. I've never seen anyone diving with doubles and we are not allowed to work with sidemounts.