Scuba, Hookah, Brownie Alternatives?

[Canibul]

Why do you need the charcoal? My Brownie's doesnt have a filter on either the air intake nor the air supply. I would think a filter would increase the compressor load, and also have the chance of breathing carbon dust.

Brownies just use a tube up in the air about three feet positioned so that when towing the compressor on the surface the exhaust is low and downwind of the intake.

Would be careful putting a Brownies in a dingy, too, because of the possibility of having the exhaust get positioned upwind of the intake.

[Charlie]

Hello:

I have posted this link b/c there is a section on a build your own Hookah. Don't know if it is accurate b/c I have no diving experience but would like to hear your comments.

Sorry I posted the wrong link and am looking for it now will post when found

[SilentOption]

A friend who is a Navy Diver has been using an oil less paint compressor for many years, more than 20, to clean boat bottoms. No ill effects yet.

[swagman]

Hi All,
I do have a dive ticket but did not wish to carry let alone purchase a full rig to simply clear lines etc. Plus partner not keen on scuba so no buddy etc.
But a $100 5 litre pony tank plus regulator will allow me to stay under the 10 minutes or so I need to clear obstructions below the water line simply holding a rope slung under the back. The small tank can either we slung from my belt or if I added a longer air line, left on deck.
IMHO this solution is both cheaper, and easier to store or maintain, than a hookah.
JOHN

[Charlie]

Ok I foud the website here it is:

http://www.keeneengineering.com/pamp...howhookah.html

[Thanna5]

Try this style. I've carried it for 4 years on my powercat, and use it monthly for bottom work, zincs etc. runs on 110V,very affordable. Still need dive training!Need an air supply only for maintenance?
Scuba Air Compressor

Continuous 110 volt performance. Shore or boat generator power. Motor: 1-1/4 HP. Amp Draw: 10.5. Start: Capacitor. Weight: 30 pounds. Size: 11 x 8 x 10 inches high.
Complete with 60 foot hose, tow belt and regulator. Will accept a second diver to 20 feet in a working environment. Quiet Valve installed.
Can be ordered in our optional cross-link storage case. Complete two diver sets can be stored inside case as shown.

$695.00
With Hard Case $795.00
Discount Divers Supply Homepage
Use your browser's &quotBack&quot button to return to the listing
OREnter the Discount Divers Supply Homepage
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[Canibul]

I have been diving with compressed air for 44 years. I agree totally that people who breathe compressed air need SOME knowledge. But other than the basics, (Never hold your breath, never try to outrun your bubbles) what do you need to know from a course to use compressed air to clean your hull or clear your prop? You are not going to be deep enough long enough to even have to worry about surface intervals, decompression stops, etc.

I have watched the whole "CERTIFIED diver!" thing develop over the years, and I think a lot of it has to do with convincing people to buy every gadget the SCUBA manufacturers can come up with. You need the basic knowledge, and the rest of it is experience. You cant buy experience from the dive shop. It wont fit on a plastic card.

Its totally ridiculous for a shop to refuse to fill a tank for someone because they dont have a certification card when they are perfectly willing to sell them a compressor to fill their own, and all their neighbors tanks with no training whatsoever. I worked for two months in the Essequibo River in Guyana, for example, where there was no local facility to fill tanks. What did we do? Easy. Ordered a nice new Mako compressor and filled tanks all we wanted. Did anyone at Mako ask for a certification? nope.

The rules of physics apply if you are breathing compressed air while under pressure yourself, whether it be surface supplied or bottled air. Whenever I run across a diver who makes it a big deal to explain to me that he is a "certified" diver....I worry. I dont want a certified diver, I want an experienced diver. I dont care what shop sold him his certification card, I DO care how long he's been diving. Big difference.

[GordMay]

”...Its totally ridiculous for a shop to refuse to fill a tank for someone because they don’t have a certification card ...”
Good point Canibul (even if, a little towards the ‘political’ side of the topic). My local gas station doesn’t ask to see my driver’s license (yet) before they allow me to fill up (my car); nor does the supermarket ask to see my “food safety certification”, prior to wrapping my steaks.

[Canibul]

I can get all the propane tanks I want filled with high pressure and explosive gas. If I then want to go do something stupid with that gas, thats not the propane sellers problem.

And now I am pulling WAY back from the political aspects of it...lol....

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by chuckr

I am trying to find a charcoal filter and if anyone can help me find one would appreciate it

Chuck,
I am a hull cleaner and use a hookah system every day. Drop me a line if you still have any questions about the gear, safety considerations etc.

Matt Peterson- FastBottoms Hull Diving
matt@fastbottoms.com

[Brent Swain]

Commercial Geoduck divers in BC make up their own stainless housing for charcoal filtres. Then they fill the cylindre with a layer of activated charcoal, followed by a felt pad cut from a felt insole from the shoe store, then a couple more inches of charcoal , another felt pad, etc until they have filled a foot long 2 inch diameter ss tube. Then they screw the cap on and go diving.
Brent

[Brent Swain]

The intake on my brownies is on a post about three feet above the unit. There is no more chance of it being downwind of the exhuast in a dinghy than it is when using the huge float it comes with it. There is no justification whatever for carrying a bulky separate float for a hookah , when you have a good dinghy.
A friend bought a 110 volt chinese made oiless compressor from Midland Tools for $40.
Brent

[cat man do]

I was lucky enough a few years back to have a sail on a 70 foot tri owned by an ex abalone diver. I remember he had a little genny on board that also doubled as hookah.

I wish I had paid more attention to it, but there was just to much fun being had at the time.

Has anyone had experience with something like this??. One contraption to do 2 jobs sounds pretty good.

Dave

[wmclibby]

Hi,
A simple outfit for "under the boat" work is listed at :

http://www.yandina.com/hints.htm#Compressor

Additionally, Latts and Atts had an article by Kevin Hughes for a "do it yourself" Hookah.

Husky Y1000 Compressor
Two $ 10 50' 300 psi air hoses
2nd stage regulator (example: Oceanic Delta 4)

[Canibul]

Just a reminder to anyone building their own, or buying, a hookah. the physics, and physiology, of breathing compressed air is the same whether it comes from a tank on your back or a hose coming from the surface. I mention this because of the two 50 ft. hoses listed in the above post. You can get in plenty trouble staying too long at 50 ft. without decomp stops. Or making a lot of shorter trips to 50 ft. in the same day. Hookahs make this easy to do, you can stay at 50 ft. all day but the nitrogen saturating your blood is going to cause you serious problems when you do come up unless you spend the time at the stops along the way.
Know enough about compressed air diving so that you dont kill, or cripple, yourself. Its really no fun getting bent. No joke. I've done it. Once.