It’s not uncommon to see divers huff and puff to orally inflate their BC’s just before a dive. If you ask them why, they will tell you to it’s a good practice to avoid wasting air. Does it really make a difference? No. Truth of the matter is, a BCD (Buoyancy Compensating Device) uses a negligible amount of air as compared to what a scuba diving tank holds. Think about it logically. Say it takes you 2-3 breaths to fully inflate your BC orally, what’s 2-3 breaths taken from your regulator underwater? If you did the math on how many breaths you take in a minute underwater and how little 2-3 breaths would come too, you’ll feel silly. It’s not even 12 seconds of worth of air for the average diver. Further more, if were to use the power inflate on your Buoyancy Compensator the air used from your tank wouldn’t even show a significant change on your pressure gauge.

Another misconception divers have, is trying to minimize their intake by breathing less underwater to conserve air. This practice actually adversely affects their consumption. By taking short shallow breaths you shorten your air supply as your body doesn’t absorb enough oxygen with each breath. Consciously trying to lower your intake, holding your breath or expanding your lungs beyond their capacity, are all ridiculous ways of conserving air. Instead breathing right, deep and consistent for the maximum gas transfer is key for maximizing your air supply. Diving slow, shallower and being properly weighted are other ways that DO help reduce air consumption.

My advice is, not to beat yourself up about it at all. People are different and each have their own metabolisms which dictates a persons need and use for oxygen. Being obsessive about air consumption can often lead to a diver’s downfall of the very same. Dive slow, calm and most importantly have fun and enjoy your dive and forget about the rest. That alone may spare you the extra air you crave for a longer dive.

*photo credits: photos by tab2space on flickr

How Far Will You Go To Stretch Your Tank of Air? was written by Noreen for Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog - Bringing You The Other 70% Of Our World

1. Stop losing out on air before it even reaches your lungs. Check your o-rings, inflator hose and connection points carefully for any leaks before a dive. Even a tiny stream of bubbles from an O-ring or an inflator swivel can add up to a significant amount of minutes, and in dive time that can be a lot. Ask your buddy to take a closer look once you’re in the water to spot any leaks. Have all your Scuba equipment serviced regularly and by professionals. It’s a simple but important way to stop unwanted wastage of air.

2. Dive Slow. Slow and steady does it when you dive. Scuba diving isn’t about how fast you can swim, nor how much ground you can cover. In fact, divers tend to compete on who surfaces with the most air. If that’s the case the only way you’ll win those bragging rights is to slow down, relax and take the sloth approach when you dive. Avoid darting around, go with the flow and enjoy every minute.

3. Breathe slowly- both inhale and exhale deeply, but comfortably. Don’t consciously try to lower your intake, hold your breath or expand your lungs beyond their capacity. Practice breathing deeply at home (yoga style) to get used to this kind of breathing, as natural as breathing seems when you get underwater paying a little attention to this can go a long way.

4. Scuba diving is all about creating less drag and streamlining both your scuba gear and body for better hydrodynamics. By minimizing any resistance underwater you automatically minimize exertion and in turn reduce your air consumption, both important factors of diving.

5. Buoyancy, Buoyancy, Buoyancy. Not being able to control buoyancy during a dive results in a diver using extra energy, either fighting to keep of the bottom or from continually floating to the surface. The energy spent doing this directly relates to the consumption of air. Another reason that good buoyancy control helps make your air last longer is that you tend not to inflate and deflate your Buoyancy Compensator or BCD, which uses air from your tank, as much during a dive. (Read our Scuba Tips on Fine Tuning Your Buoyancy)

6. Dive Stress-free. Be well rested before a dive day. Fatigue is stress. If you start the dive tired, your body tends to work harder to overcome the extra burden, so you breathe harder. Pay attention to the dive briefing you are given before a dive so you are better prepared and calmer. Stree-free diving also includes diving with a dive buddy whom you trust and share good communication which includes everything from understanding each others hand signals, to facial expressions, gestures and feelings through eye contact automatically builds up your own confidence and comfort on a dive. Dive within your own comfort zone and limits.

7. Dive Shallower. It’s physics. Remember what you learned in your first Scuba course? – The deeper you dive the more air you consume and the shorter the dive. You can easily dive a few feet apart from the rest of the group or just above the coral shelf and see just as much, to conserve a bit more air.

8. Use the proper amount of weights and distribute them properly. If you’re over-weighted, you have to put more air into your BC to float it and be neutral. An inflated BC is larger and requires more energy and oxygen to push it through the water, not to mention can play havoc with your buoyancy control. Weight distribution however is not just limited to the weights you wear, it also includes the all the scuba gear and equipment you use on a dive and how it’s worn. It’ll determine your profile underwater and a horizontal swimming position which is always recommended will reduce drag and help in streamlining.

9. Were the right kind of exposure suits (wetsuits or drysuits) to stay warm enough underwater. Heat is energy that has to be replaced by metabolism, using oxygen to make it. Getting cold also creates mental stress which, often without your noticing it, increases your breathing rate.

10. Physical fitness is often overlooked as important for diving but actually it can make a big difference even in buoyancy and air consumption. Your fitness levels can affect how strenuous a dive is and your exertion levels which directly influence your breathing rate. A diver in better condition will have less increase in breathing rate when the workload goes up cause he’s in better shape, so he will use less air.

And lastly, if you are the first one to end a dive because of air consumption, don’t beat yourself up about it. People are different and each have their own metabolisms which dictates a persons need and use for oxygen. Being obsessive about air consumption can often lead to a diver’s downfall of the very same. Dive slow, calm and most importantly have fun and enjoy your dive and forget about the rest. That alone may spare you the extra air you crave for a longer dive.

*Photo Credits: photos by riandreu, tab2space and Nataraj Metz on flickr

10 Tips To Stretch Your Next Tank Of Air was written by Noreen for Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog - Bringing You The Other 70% Of Our World

(*Photo by – star5112 on flickr)

Here are 10 ways of conserving air when Scuba Diving-

1. Breathe slowly and deeply. Learning how to breathe properly underwater with Scuba equipment is essentially the best way of conserving air when you dive. What you don’t want to do, is take short shallow breaths as this will shorten your air supply as your body doesn’t absorb enough oxygen with each breath. Think yoga, consciously breathe  slowly- both inhale and exhale deeply, but comfortably. Don’t consciously try to lower your intake, hold your breath or expand your lungs beyond their capacity. Practice breathing deeply at home to get used to this kind of breathing, as natural as breathing seems when you get underwater paying a little attention to this can go a long way.

2. Perfect your Buoyancy Control. Not being able to control buoyancy during a dive results in a diver using extra energy, either fighting to keep of the bottom or from continually floating to the surface. The  energy spent doing this directly relates to the consumption of air. Another reason that good buoyancy control helps make your air last longer is that you tend not to inflate and deflate your Buoyancy Compensator or BCD, which uses air from your tank, as much during a dive. (Read: Scuba Tips: 10 Tips for Better Buoyancy Control) (*Photo by – star5112 on flickr)

3.  Streamline. Decrease resistance and create less drag while swimming by streamlining your body and the Scuba gear you wear. Swim horizontally, head first in the direction you want to go. Staying nice and streamlined with your arms close to your body and all gauges and other gear tucked away will create less drag and reduce your air consumption.

4. Dive Slow. Slow and steady does it when you dive. Scuba diving isn’t about how fast you can swim, nor how much ground you can cover. In fact, divers tend to compete on who surfaces with the most air. If that’s the case the only way you’ll win those bragging rights is to slow down, relax and take the sloth approach when you dive. Avoid darting around, go with the flow and enjoy every minute.

5. Use the Snorkel on the Surface. You tend to spend a considerable amount of time on the surface during a lot of dives, whether just swimming to the anchor line to descend or waiting for your buddy or other divers to get into the water. Snorkels are obviously a great way to swim on the surface without using up air from your Scuba tank. With annoying, choppy waves slapping into your face and threatening the you with a mouthful of salt water, it’s advisable to breathe through your regulator instead. (Read: Is a Snorkel necessary for Scuba Diving?) (*Photo by – iko on flickr)

6. Dive Shallower. Remember what you learned in your first Scuba course? – The deeper you dive the more air you consume and the shorter the dive. You can easily dive a few feet apart from the rest of the group or just above the coral shelf and see just as much, to conserve a bit more air.

7. Fins. Yes, didn’t think fins could affect your air consumption now did you? Well, since it’s the main piece of  equipment responsible for our movements underwater they can make all the difference. To decrease energy use and in turn air, it makes sense to use more efficient fins. The rate of your breathing and your air consumption is directly related to your kicking style and that’s where the necessity for good Scuba diving fins comes into play. (Read: SCUBA Gear: Good Dive Fins make all the difference)

8. Go with the flow. Use the environmental conditions to your advantage. Plan your dive keeping in mind currents and make the most of them when choosing the direction you want to go. Drift diving is a great way of using currents to your advantage and conserving energy and air. In case of swells and waves near small islands swim along with them if they’re in the right direction and if not wait till the swell passes before swimming in the desired direction. Swimming against it won’t get you far and will only use up more air. (Read: 5 Tips for Drift Diving in Currents) (*Photo by – kradk on flickr)

9. Reduce leaks. Check your o-rings, inflator hose and connection points carefully for any leaks before a dive. Have all your Scuba equipment serviced regularly and by professionals. It’s a simple but important  way to stop unwanted wastage of air.

10. Dive, Dive and Dive some more. The more you dive, the more comfortable you get underwater, the better your buoyancy control gets and you will automatically notice your air consumption gets better and you can dive longer.

Scuba Tips: 10 Tips To Conserve Air When Diving was written by Noreen for Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog - Bringing You The Other 70% Of Our World