20 % Extra Breathing time with an Air Buddy
This next statement is very important to understand.
The use of the Air Buddy as an alternate air source will increase the breathing time you will have on any given air source by 20% more than you would have if you use any other alternate air source available at this time (26 Dec. 2005).
For example:
Let's say you have switched to your alternate air source which happens to be a common octopus or one
of the new alternate air source systems built into the power inflator of a buoyancy compensator.
Let's say that at this point in your dive you have enough air to last, at your normal rate of breathing,
10 minutes.
If you were using an Air Buddy instead of the other alternate air source, that same amount of air that you have
would last you 12 minutes.
Would that extra 2 minutes be useful? Maybe you wouldn't need it. Maybe it would make the difference
between surviving or not.
How does the Air Buddy do this?
You need to know a few facts to understand how this happens.
1. The trigger that signals your body to take a breath is the amount of carbon dioxide in your blood.
When your blood carbon dioxide level reaches a certain level, your body takes a breath. You don't have anything to do with it.
2. When you exhale, the air that remains in the space from the opening to your lungs up through your throat and mouth and including the air in your regulater second stage pressure chamber is high in carbon dioxide.
3. When you take your next breath, you suck air through your regulator and the first air that goes into your lungs is that exhaled stale air that is already high in carbon dioxide.
The Air Buddy doesn't work that way.
1. You don't suck to get air from an Air Buddy. You squeeze the mouthpiece and the Air Buddy blows the air into your mouth.
2. The air that is blown in is fresh air, with no carbon dioxide. There is also almost no stale air in the Air Buddy itself because it is so tiny. That fresh air creates a turbulence, mixing whatever stale air you have retained, reducing the percentage of carbon dioxide. So the air that you are inhaling into your lungs has less carbon dioxide than what you would get from any other alternate air source system. This is the same type of system used to give breathing air to premature babies in the hosptial for their well being.
3. So, each breath you take with an Air Buddy has less carbon dioxide in it, causing your body to wait for a longer period of time before your carbon dioxide level builds to a point where it triggers your breathing response.
4. The net result is that your body will automatically take only 4 breaths using an Air Buddy during the same time period it would be taking 5 breaths with any other current system.
5. This difference in breathing is controlled by your autonomic nervous system and is not even noticed by you that it is happening.
It's one more safety factor to have on your side.
