Tips on Lowering Air Consumption

[LavaSurfer]

If you use up 2000psi (roughly 50 cu ft) in 35 minutes at about 2 atmospheres, that's equivalent to about 70 minutes at 1 atm., or about .7 cu ft/minute. That's not all that bad, and with time you'll get down to .6 or .5

Exactly Right

My mentor, instructor, friend and part time Dive Buddy has 10,000+ dives over 30 years. He is a professional diver and worked in all conditions. We both go on a dive to 110 FSW and spend 10 minutes, then proceed to 55 feet till I get to 700 PSI, then head up to do a safety stop. When we surface I am around 400-500 PSI and he has 2100.

I want to bludgeon him with a steel 120.
He laughs and wants to know if I need doubles
Its all in good humor because he knows its just experience.

It comes down to experience, being comfortable in the water and getting your equipment right. I think it also helps that he swims tons of laps in the pool every day since he owns a pool and dive school.

My SAC averages 0.52.
When I started my first dive was 0.76 and has gradually dropped ever since.
Just buying a good reg dropped me 4 points.
I now run 5 miles every other day, I hope it lowers it even more

 

[Nut Bubblefish]

Good point on the first question
Why? on the second. What rule or table are you using?

It is not a matter of tables. I usualy dive in PADI dive centers, and always sign waivers stating that I will not dive deeper than 40m, and longer than 60 min.

That's what I meant with " not supposed to ".

 

[m3830431]

Not that I am that way, but sometimes I wish I was a girl. I don't dive with many but they seem they are inheretly more efficient. Some people mostly guys just hoover forever. I went to a steel 100 and will never go back

 

[ZzzKing]

It is not a matter of tables. I usualy dive in PADI dive centers, and always sign waivers stating that I will not dive deeper than 40m, and longer than 60 min.

That's what I meant with " not supposed to ".

I wonder why they would have a 60 minute maximum time limit on their waiver form but show much more time on their dive tables. May have to do with adding RNT to ABT on repetitive dives and exceeding 60 minutes. Still, I don't recall anything about time limits during certification.

 

[jwilmot]

My husband is an air hog (though not as bad as many). Though he is comfortable in the water he refuses to keep trim. His legs are always below him. The few times I have been able to get him to stay level his air consumption has decreased dramatically. He does not get it though he says he likes being in that position. I am an exercise physiologist and have tried to make him understand that the O2 consumption in a horizontal position is significantly less but he insist he has better control in this position.

I have told him then he must resign himself to the fact that when we are diving with others I will almost always get much much more bottom time than him. He get upset at this but wont do what it takes to fix it. His loss.

 

[ReefHound]

My husband is an air hog (though not as bad as many). Though he is comfortable in the water he refuses to keep trim. His legs are always below him. The few times I have been able to get him to stay level his air consumption has decreased dramatically. He does not get it though he says he likes being in that position.

If he's truly more comfortable in a vertical orientation, so be it. Diving is supposed to be fun, not a contest to measure air consumption. But first make sure he's not having solvable problems with being horizontal.

Man was designed to walk upright and our face is aligned with our direction of travel, which is perpendicular to our spinal axis. In a horizontal trim position our direction of travel is aligned with our spinal axis, and we would face down. To see where we are going we must bend our head back, which should not be uncomfortable to most people and helps open our airway. But maybe he has neck restrictions or discomfort. Make sure if he's wearing a hood or suit it isn't too tight around the neck. If he has sore muscles then therapeutic exercise might be needed. If he's wearing his tank too high and whacking his head on the first stage, wear it lower.

 

[jwilmot]

I agree diving is to be fun. He is the one who gets upset that I get soo much more bottom time. He does not have neck or shoulder problems. He just likes a vertical position. Until 2 weeks ago we have always been in tropical conditions, so no hood and a light weight wetsuit. Thus not a constriction problem. The funny thing is when we dove in Monterey recently he did much better at staying horizontal and this is the first time he had a hood and thick neoprene on. I think he stayed horizontal because it was the only way to comfortably swim through the kelp, which was a new experience for us. This proves he can stay horizontal he chooses not to and that is his choice. He just has to accept that he is not going to get the bottom time with this choice.

 

[TheRedHead]

My husband is an air hog (though not as bad as many). Though he is comfortable in the water he refuses to keep trim. His legs are always below him.

He may be foot heavy and overweighted and perhaps his equipment is contributing. What is he diving?

Of course, you will most likely always have better air consumption being a woman. It's an advantage we have over the guys.

 

[jwilmot]

His BC is a seaquest pro, reg sherwood maximus, 3 mm wet suite, I do not know his fins and such off the top of my head. I think he uses 8-12 lbs weight.

I know I will always use less air. Not only am I female but I am smaller. However it is not unusual for him to pull up at 40 minutes and I will be over 70 thats a pretty big difference (43%). The few times he has kept his trim he will only be maybe 25% less bottom time then me.

 

[TheRedHead]

His BC is a seaquest pro, reg sherwood maximus, 3 mm wet suite, I do not know his fins and such off the top of my head. I think he uses 8-12 lbs weight.

People who are diving upright are usually wearing jacket BCs. Your husband sounds like a good candidate for BP/W which would naturally put him in the horizontal position.

I somewhat solved the air consumption disparity between my husband and myself with him using an E8-120 to my E7-100.