I'm an air hog

[ACR]

I've been on eight dives now and realize that apparently I'm an air hog.

I'm an air-hog too! An AL80 barely gets me through my giant stride...
You're not alone, not by any stretch of the imagination. We should start a club.

In all seriousness the suggestions of the folks here are great. I find the more I think/worry about my air consumption the worse it gets. Getting a big tank is a quick solution, but ultimately you'll need to figure out the weighting, trim and comfort. That's more of a long term solution.

 

[Sinbad the Diver]

bouancy(no spell check) is key, as well. The more you deflated/inflate your BCD, the faster you burn through your air. So as you get better at controlling it, the less air you'll use.

Good advice, but don't be afraid to use your BC to help with your bouancy. A little air in your BC to keep you in a good position and not flailing around in the water will save you lots of air. Just don't overdo it. Add little bursts as you decend, then let little bits out as you ascend and give it time to take hold before adding or releasing more.

Note, I'm not speaking from years of experience, but from months of experience dealing with the exact same thing and taking advice from a lot of the posters here with years of experience.

 

[WartedEmperor]

Try to use the least amount of weight as possible so that you are nutural at about 15 feet, and remember to inhale and exhale all the way.

 

[Barracuda2]

All advise given on this thread will work for you as you gain experience; however, I can't overemphasize the "fitness" cog in this wheel. In all my years of diving with many buddies, two factors really stand out that contribute to air consumption: experience, especially in cold water. The more you dive, the more comfortable you will get and the "awe factor":shocked2: will decrease; Physical fitness ---if you're out of shape, it will only take a few minutes and you will be a Hoover, especially if you have to surface swim to a target area. IMO, this is the main contributor to going through a cylinder in about 15 min. on a shallow dive. If you don't get your body and heart working until, or at an uncomfortable level for at least 20 min. 3 times a week, you're probably out of shape. If you smoke---not good We already know everything hooked on that monster. I have had to pull buddies back to shore or boat (all younger than me) simply because they over-breathed their regs (they felt like they weren't getting enough air.) It was usually the first dive of the season and they smoked and were totally out of shape. So, practice all of the techniques mentioned in this thread, and dive as much as you can. If you're overweight, lose weight; if you're out of shape, start a workout routine; if you smoke, stop. My $.02

 

[ligersandtions]

Try to use the least amount of weight as possible so that you are nutural at about 15 feet, and remember to inhale and exhale all the way.

Just wanted to add a little to this....you should strive to be neutral at 15 feet with about 500 psi in your tank and little to no air in your BC. Your proper weighting will be such that you can maintain your safety stop at the end of the dive, and if you can figure out your weighting with little to no air in your BC, then you'll know you're not overweighted.

If you can find a nice sandy spot at 15 feet at the end of your dive, you can purge your tank down to 500 psi and play with your weighting....have no air in your BC and drop one pound, inhale and exhale fully....continue until you find the weight that makes you neutrally buoyant (at this point if you drop any more weight, you'll have to actively swim to keep yourself at this depth).

 

[RonFrank]

Good buoyancy is the result of a lot of things working together. Proper weighting, weight distribution, good equipment, proper breathing, and other factors all enter into this.

My suggestion is to work on things that are easy to control, and the breathing will work its self out in time. Most divers do not achieve good buoyancy after a dozen dives, it takes time and experience.

One thing of interest. Most people stress the idea of NOT being over weighted. This is a big key to good trim/and diving in general. However, don't overdue it. There are too many divers out there that dive at the edge of their limits with regard to weight. If you have to be improperly weighted, make sure it's in the OVER category. If you are under weighted, only one thing will come of it.... popping to the surface.

I tend to dive a couple of # over weighted. This is for a lot of reasons, one being I can give a buddy weight in a pinch (and I have).

 

[dkktsunami]

I've been on eight dives now and realize that apparently I'm an air hog. Any tips, besides going on more dives, on how to not suck down my air so quickly?

:scubadive

As you mentioned, more experience. Also carrying the minimal amount of weight, swimming in a streamlined, level position, moving slowly, minimizing needless motion, relaxing, breathing slowly and deeply in yoga fashion, streamling gear configuration. It's not a hard and fast rule, but generally large men will use more air than smaller men, and men will use more air than women. Eight dives is not enough to expect proficiency in any of the above areas.

 

[SDAnderson]

I've been on eight dives now and realize that apparently I'm an air hog. Any tips, besides going on more dives, on how to not suck down my air so quickly?

:scubadive

1. Relax. Try some relaxation exercises underwater to reduce your tension level.
2. Slow down. Stop between each kick. Take slow, deep breaths.
3. Don't carry any more weight than you absolutely need and get horizontal in the water. Extra ballast will cause you to work harder than you need to and to waste air in your BCD, extra drag is, well, a drag.
4. Stop worrying about your air consumption. We all sucked air like runaway vacuum cleaners when we were new so don't sweat it.
5. Go on more dives. Really - it works wonders.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Apply for your Air Hog card while you still qualify. If you follow all of the great advice given here soon you will think you have gills.

Dive Dive Dive.... The more you dive the less you will use.

 

[gpulsar]

Great advise, once you get weight and boyuancy under control, then you need to work on your technique. Taking slow breath can be hard for people not in shape but there are exercises you can do to help. I do powerlung exercises that help strengthen my lungs. This helps me be comfortable while doing slow breathing. For me it was not easy to do long breaths, but know I have extended my dive time consideraly...Now my problem is NDL......I had a DM give me great advise on breathing...she said breath in at least 4 seconds and breath out in at least 8 seconds. This helped me a lot, now with my exercises I have been able to inhale/exhale in one minute without feeling hungry for air. You need to be relaxed and just try it, if you need to breathe quick, do it...remember that feeling comfortable is the key.....soon you will fall into NDL time which no one can ignore....The unit I use is called powerlung for exercise and it's like weight lifting for your lungs and I feel a lot better not only breathing underwater but also during my normal life..I recommend it, but it's expensive($99) but worth it...I don't get commision on this....You will feel a great difference in your breathing in 3 days......I can tell you that I am 6'1" and weigh 235, I have done diving with girls 5'4 130lbs and I have been able to come up with more air than them. One dive I did a 30 feet she came back at less than 500 and I still had 1300.....so it is possible to improve as you practice...Think it is possible and you can do it...