Do you consistently run through your gas supply faster than other divers on the boat? Do you frequently have to end the dive before the rest of the group? What’s happening and what can you do about it?
First, you can stop beating yourself up over it. People are different! Those with slower metabolisms will use less air. Smaller divers have to use less energy than bigger ones to swim forward, so they also use less air. On the other hand, most of us can take steps to reduce our gas consumption and thereby extend our dives. Typically, divers waste air by leaking it before it gets to their lungs, thanks to free-flowing octos and worn out O-rings. Using more energy than necessary also wastes air. Using energy means using air, because oxygen is necessary to burn the calories that make energy. Every bit of unnecessary exertion costs you psi. Getting less than maximum benefit from each breath also wastes air. When divers breathe inefficiently, they exchange less oxygen for carbon dioxide with each breath, so they need to take another breath sooner.
Here are three tips to use less air while diving!
Fix the Small Leaks
Even a tiny stream of bubbles from an O-ring or an inflator swivel adds up over 40 minutes, and may be a sign of more serious trouble ahead. Ask your buddy to look behind you to be sure there are no leaks. A mask that doesn’t seal is another kind of leak in that you have to constantly blow air into it to clear out the water. It’s also a source of stress, which needlessly elevates your breathing rate and thereby reduces your breathing efficiency. Does your octo free-flow easily? That can dump a lot of air quickly. Detune it or mount it carefully so the mouthpiece points downward.
Dive More
Inexperienced divers are famous for burning through their air supply at a furious rate. The reason is anxiety. A new diver is understandably nervous, and his body’s automatic response to danger is to raise his metabolism, his heart rate, and his breathing rate. It’s hard-wired, the body revving its engine to be ready for fight or flight, though the result is a lot of air cycled through his lungs but never used, just dumped into the ocean.
You may not be a new diver, but unless you dive almost every week it’s still an unnatural activity, and your body isn’t as happy as you are about putting its head under water. Dive more! Your body will get used to the idea, and you’ll breathe less.
Take a Class
Almost any class will reduce your gas consumption just by making you feel more accomplished and therefore more comfortable. But the best bet is probably a class to improve your weighting and buoyancy control. When you get that dialed in, you can control your altitude mostly with your lungs, so you’re not squirting that valuable gas into your BC and then venting it to the ocean. Most important, you can now concentrate less on the mechanics of diving, and instead drift like a fish and relax.
