Math question - am I an air hog?

[fire_diver]

I did mention before that over-stating things is out biggest pastime? If this was a fishing forum you'd think that every fish in the ocean was the size of Moby Dick.

R..

That's funny coming from Ahab.

 

[Diver0001]

That's funny coming from Ahab.

Guilty as charged. My biggest fear in life is that people will actually read the things I post here

R..

 

[CamG]

Greetings Karen and it is good to hear that you are learning to calculate your gas.
Gas management is a skill that all divers need to understand very well and it does not matter what environment you are diving.
Great things have been said so far even some humor that is entertaining.

What would I add?
Well that you have already proven to be a thinking diver who is moving at a pace that does not exceed your training and experience.
Be very conservative in your dive planning and take your time learning.
It all gets so much better be focused and do not let anyone's opinions set you back.
Instead listen carefully, research, train hard, set goals for yourself, and have fun!
Just do not be to hard on yourself, some of us are willing to dive with new divers like yourself even if your bottom times are shorter it is not a big deal.

Your caution with insta-buddies is not unwise and your self evaluation with an honest approach earns quite a bit of respect in my book.
You are going to be fine just relax and enjoy the path to your dreams.
One thing is for certain you are going to meet many new divers and make some great friends.
The relationships I have made diving constantly blow my mind!
Take the time to get to build relationships it has been the hidden treasure in my diving!
I do not have to look to far for a buddy because I have friends every where I have dove.

I am excited to hear how it goes on your trip and the AOW.
You have a awesome time and dive safe.

CamG Keep Diving....Keep Training....Keep Learning!

 

[SoccerJeni]

I don't have any comments on your gas consumption because I'm a newbie still myself and have a lot of improvement to make on my breathing. I just wanted to say I'm excited to hear about your AOW dives. I hope you come back and update us. I'm sure I'll learn something from it.

 

[smurf doc]

......Normally an adult at rest (say, watching TV) will have an air consumption of anywhere between 12 and 20 litres per min. For women it's usually a bit lower on average than it is for men just because of phyiscal size........

R..

Diver0001, I have to ask where you get your figures. Typical tidal volume is 500-700 ml and even at a rate of 16 breaths/min, that barely crosses 11 L.

20 L/min is way too high for rest. In the OR/ICU setting I seriously consider not extubating someone if they have a minute ventilation much greater than 12 L/min after I've controlled common factors (pain, temperature, etc.) because they will likely tire themselves out.

12-20 at rest is too high.

Unless Karen is a big person, I find it hard to believe she actually used up that much gas based on the pool dive she described. I say she is either misremembering one of the numbers, or she had a leak. On one of my pool dives I noticed a small leak from the O ring that I couldn't hear, but saw the bubbles when I put my gear in the water.

 

[TexasKaren68]

Unless Karen is a big person, I find it hard to believe she actually used up that much gas based on the pool dive she described. I say she is either misremembering one of the numbers, or she had a leak. On one of my pool dives I noticed a small leak from the O ring that I couldn't hear, but saw the bubbles when I put my gear in the water.

No, I'm not big - about 25 pounds above where I'd like to be, but not BIG. My pressure gauge isn't digital, so the numbers could have been something like 2,763 to start, and 1,092 to end but it was definitely close to that range.

I don't remember exactly ,but my OW dives in the river which were two dives of about 20 minutes each, used up quite a bit of gas. I do remember the tank was at 3000 when the dive started, and at the end of the second dive, it was getting close to the red zone on my gauge.

I am just going to have to deal with the fact that I am going to be an air hog until I can figure out how to breathe like I do when I'm sitting on the couch watching TV (except during football season, when air consumption increases )

 

[vladimir]

There are more injuries per 1000 participants in bowling than diving.

On the other hand, a smashed pinkie is considerably less serious than, say, an arterial gas embolism.

 

[Diver0001]

Diver0001, I have to ask where you get your figures. Typical tidal volume is 500-700 ml and even at a rate of 16 breaths/min, that barely crosses 11 L.

I don't remember. I've had those numbers in my head for a long time and I probably got them from the internet.

Where did you get your numbers?

R..

 

[Kenny13]

Some people might think I'm a bit nuts for doing five adventure dives (AOW) in Kaua'i, and spending the time with an instructor, learning, instead of just going diving and enjoying Hawaii. My reasoning is that I'll be there by myself and don't want to get stuck with an "insta-buddy" I don't know when going diving. I don't want to dive with anyone other than an instructor or DM until I feel like I pretty much know what I'm doing in all these different situations. Nobody should want me as a buddy right now either - I'm too new and want to learn a lot more before putting someone elses life in my hands

Karen, please take this advice from a fellow newbie for what it is worth, but the highlighted statement above tells me that you just need to try to relax and slow down as others have said, and you'll be just fine. Also FWIW, I've read enough of your posts here to come to the conclusion that I would not hesitate to dive with you as a buddy now, just based on the fact that you really seem to care about learning, planning and executing safe dives, and being a competent buddy to whoever you end up diving with. Those things are important to me too.

 

[cocoajoe]

Sometimes, even when you think you're relaxed or not stressed, you are. Unless you're really freaked out, it's hard to tell. I've noticed my bottom time increases when my buddy is an instructor or DM. Why? I think it's because I'm more at ease.

Not scientific fact, just my opinion.