using up air too fast

[slipslop]

i just returned from a liveaboard dive trip to Cod hole and Osprey reef on the GBR
I had only previously done my open water qualification dives. on the trip I found that i tended to use up my air very quickly. my longest dive was 29 minutes. as a result no one wanted me as a dive partner and i ended up doing most of the dives with an instructor (when one was available.) I did however do the shark feed and cod feed dives. I am 46 years old and most of the other 15 divers were in their early 20s and I found it difficult to keep up with them. does anyone have any tips on how i could use my air more efficiently?

 

[Soggy]

1. Dive More
2. Work out
3. Dive more
4. focus on taking long, slow deep breaths with long, slow exhalations
5. dive more

Also, "29 minutes" means nothing without a context of tank size and depth. Learn to calculate your SAC (Surface Air Consumption) in cubic feet/minute. This is a normalized number that will allow you to track your progress and help you with dive planning.

 

[theskull]

6. Get your weighting exact and improve your buoyancy control so you don't waste your air by constantly injecting it into and dumping it out of your BC.
7. Relax, and use slow and efficient movements.
8. Use a horizontal trim so you can move through the water without as much drag.
9. Dive more.

 

[Rick Inman]

1. Dive More
2. Work out
3. Dive more
4. focus on taking long, slow deep breaths with long, slow exhalations
5. dive more

I agree with all of these, especially #1, #3 and #5.

 

[herman]

I agree with the others that diving more will help BUT you need to be diving correctly. I have watched many divers who were not properly weighted, trimmed or even knew what being neutrally buoyany actually is. If you are not neutral ,you use a lot of air maintaining your position in the water column. Find a good buddy (one who DOES know what trim and neutral buoyancy means) who can watch you dive and give you feedback, then practice. Practice dives can be anywhere, a pool or a lake is fine. Practice hovering off the bottom in a horizonal position (fin pivots don't cut it) and add/remove/move weights until your trim and weighting are dead on. If you do that, I bet your air use drops a lot.

 

[SouthernSCUBA]

6. Get your weighting exact and improve your buoyancy control so you don't waste your air by constantly injecting it into and dumping it out of your BC.
7. Relax, and use slow and efficient movements.
8. Use a horizontal trim so you can move through the water without as much drag.
9. Dive more.

I agree with theskull, work on bouyancy which sarts with proper mimimum weighting, trim is usually secondary and you probably have enough to worry about with out moving weight every dive. Watch the experienced divers and the fish... I have not seen you dive but can make a guess based on other new divers. Slow down, keep your hands still, move methodically, breath regualrly, underwater and at the surface. Don't get winded or kick fast catching up with others,take your time, plan ahead and pay attention so you do not get behind them as much.

When your bouyancy is right, you will relax and your air consumption will improve. Age is not a factor, I am 53.

A trick for diving with a group in good visibility, stay 10 feet above the others.

Easy does it...

 

[dbg40]

Not alot of info but I agree with the others. You need to track dives to come up with an SAC # then its usually a matter of getting down time, Be in good health(diving is a physical sport) work on technique, and any new diver will have a certain level of anxiety that only time will work out. Im 49 and I can tell you that when I add a fiew pounds it affects my diving. So at the begining of the real season I diet and hit the soloflex and it puts me right back on top.

 

[Stirling]

I agree with Herman, because there is a big difference between a diver with ten years experience, and a diver with one year of experience repeated ten times. Dive more, but dive with a purpose - and the purpose is to get your weight and trim right, master your buoyancy, and get comfortable and relaxed in the water. All of that will help.

Conditioning also helps, and if you can make time for aerobic exercise that will work your heart and lungs, by all means do it, and for obvious reasons beyond SCUBA diving. I suggest swimming with fins, because I think it helps to practice by doing what you are training for, and because I think it also helps with breathing in the water. But mostly it's just a matter of getting your weight, etc. under control and get to be comfortable in the water so you're not moving around any more than you really need to.

I'm 50 years old, by the way. You can easily keep up with those 20-somethings in the water once you get comfortable with the whole experience; most of your diving probably shouldn't involve a whole lot of strength or exertion, after all.

 

[pasley]

All of the above are right on target. Air consumption is not a function of age but of physical fitness and diving skills. I am 51 and routinely have more air left in my AL80 than my 20 something dive partners who often have 120 Cubic Ft tanks. If you are physically fit, exercise regularly and do a good cardio routine, and have good diving skills (buoyancy, not waving your hands around or trying to set a new speed record underwater) then your air consumption will be better.

Most common challenge for new divers is buoyancy and weight which are related. When adding air to the BC add just a little and then wait. Yes wait, it takes a few moments for the increased buoyancy to overcome the inertia of your downward movement. Too many divers don’t recognize this and add air, then more because they are still sinking. By the time the first puff has over come the inertia or momentum of the downward speed, they have added several more puffs of air and are now positively buoyant and speeding for the top. So they dump air, and then more and then too much, and start heading for the bottom to repeat the process again. All of that uses air. Now weight. More weight equals more air required at depth to compensate (buoyancy compensator=BC). More air = more drag = more air consumed, plus the air lost into your BC. All that yo-yoing adds up to increased air consumption.

Many new divers also try to “help out” their legs by moving their arms in a swimming motion under water. Inefficient, and creates drag and uses mussels and air. When diving, park you hands under your tank behind you or cross your arms in front of you, but don’t use your hands. Kick in slow shallow kicks. Large kicks actually increase drag and are not as efficient as a small slow kick stroke. Diving is about the view not the journey, so slow down and take your time. There is not hurry to get anywhere because once in the ocean, you are already there. Enjoy the view. You will be amazed at what you have been speeding past (octopus, nudibranch, and other creatures).

 

[wedivebc]

So far slipslop erveryone has offered some good advice. One more item, don't try to keep up with the youngsters. Find a good dive buddy who likes to take things slow. Usually someone with a camera will do. Then you won't have to try keeping up with the kids who are chasing fish around the ocean.