Lowering SAC rate -- How long does it take?

[Mike Boswell]

All good advice, but to tell you the truth, it always bothers me when new divers say they want to lower their SAC. I always wonder why.

Do they see a low SAC as the mark of a good diver?
Are they using air much faster than their buddies?
Are they being forced to cut their dives short?

The diver with the best SAC I ever saw was the 4'-10" woman I once met in Bonaire, and the OP will never come close to matching her.

For me, scuba diving is like going for a hike in the woods. I take the gear needed to do the hike. I go as fast or as slow as I need to, to get where I'm going and to see what I want to see. Part of my goal is to get some excercise, and if I feel like running for a bit, I run. The LAST thing I care about is how much air I breathe.

An acceptable SAC is one that lets you stay down as long as your buddy. Lower than that is just air you will never use. My advice to the OP is to dive more until your SAC naturally drops to an acceptable level, and buy a bigger tank if it doesn't.

 

[diver 85]

Just start skip breathing off the bat--no need to waste a bad habit....

 

[Saudi-Diver]

Don't worry about it, its not a competition to see who can suck the least out of a tank. Sounds like your getting there, it will come with time. All the above advice is superb. Relax and enjoy your diving

 

[nolatom]

Think of air-hogging as a necessary step starting out, and not a bad thing. If for the first year, or 50 dives, or whatever, your limiting factor is air getting low rather than nitrogen getting high, it's probably for the best. Air consumption is less "sneaky" than nitrogen absorption, since we all have pressure gauges and check them frequently if we and our buddies are conscientious. Not all of us had computers starting out, or were that good on tables.

As you get more time, technique, and relaxation, you'll find that nitrogen is more often your limiting factor, and the "green turns yellow" on your computer is what's telling you to ascend first, not the 1000 psi air mark. That's good, because by then you'll have the experience and sophistication to notice, and handle, the nitrogen/offgassing responsibilities better.

Once that happens, you can look into getting a bigger tank, or maybe get your nitrox cert, which will get the air and nitrogen factors more balanced out again.

And the exercise advice is good. More fitness means a lower resting (and exerted) heart rate, which I think means lower respiration rate.

 

[TSandM]

You've been making a lot of changes in your gear (new drysuit, etc) and all of those changes are going to keep you from settling into the profound relaxation that minimizes your gas consumption. To this day, every time I make a major gear change or add a piece of equipment, my breathing increases until I'm comfortable with the new setup.

Don't work on breathing. Work on relaxation and efficiency -- you've probably read tons of threads about those things -- and, as everybody has said, just take the amount of gas with you that you need, whatever that is.

 

[Mike Boswell]

You've been making a lot of changes in your gear (new drysuit, etc) and all of those changes are going to keep you from settling into the profound relaxation that minimizes your gas consumption. To this day, every time I make a major gear change or add a piece of equipment, my breathing increases until I'm comfortable with the new setup.

Don't work on breathing. Work on relaxation and efficiency -- you've probably read tons of threads about those things -- and, as everybody has said, just take the amount of gas with you that you need, whatever that is.

God, I love that: "Profound Relaxation". Is that a medical term? Yoga?

It's what I've been yearning for, all my life, and didn't know the words to describe it.

 

[40Fathoms]

Be careful who you compare yourself to. I once dove with this 5' tall (or short) woman in the Red Sea, and she didn't seem to use any air at all. But then again, I'm a 6'3, 190 lbs guy - my air consumption will always be higher than hers. So set a reasonable standard for yourself.

If you are always the first one to end a dive due to lack of air, go with any and all of the advice above. The ones I found to have the most effect, is improving your fitness level (jogging or similar), improving your buoyancy and trim, and relaxing. And not just relax physically, pay attention to your mental state, too. The more task loaded I am, the more air I use. So make sure you are as mentally and physically relaxed as you can be.

 

[CamG]

"Don't work on breathing. Work on relaxation and efficiency -- you've probably read tons of threads about those things -- and, as everybody has said, just take the amount of gas with you that you need, whatever that is.+[/QUOTE]TSandM

Efficiency in all aspects of diving as afore mentioned in the earlier posts and RELAX!
Take your time and do not be intimidated by others but rather work to master your techniques and let the rest worry about itself.
One key element I have found is to dive with extra ordinary divers in a mentor relationship and dive as much as you can. No substitute for in water time even if it is a pool!
Become focused,determined and realize now that it takes time to gain mastery no short cuts!

Now you have infected me with the dive itch!
Oh well the chest cold has me derailed for a few weeks.
Safe diving friends.

CamG Keep diving....Keep training....Keep learning!

 

[Dhboner]

The only tip I can offer (and I'm pretty sure I read it here) is to breath deeply and take almost twice as long to exhale as you inhale. I find that by taking longer with my exhalation I REALLY feel relaxed. In the past year my SAC rate has dramatically improved from just using that one tip.

Bob (Toronto)

 

[highdesert]

Because of our location, our diving pattern is months-long dry periods followed by dive-til-you-drop trips. Every trip starts with high air consumption, then it drops radically. So in my case the improvements come with the comfort of being in the water repeatedly in a short period of time. But each trip seems to bring improvements over the last. On our recent trip, I actually surfaced with as much air remaining as my wife/buddy, who weighs 90 pounds less than me. That's a first, and a good mark for me. The point ... if you can take an extended dive trip, do it, and I think your consumption will improve markedly.