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Skipperdan

Registered
Messages
7
Reaction score
3
Location
North Dakota
# of dives
None - Not Certified
Hello, I introduced myself in The into forum.

I want to start diving with a hookah type system. I will be diving alone as I do not have anyone other at the moment. Not really a thrill seeker, so I will keep everything safe. Looking to go no more than 10 20 feet deep if that. I will primarily be in the Koror, Palau area maybe the Philippines. I do not have any equipment yet, the reason for this post. I am going to build my own Hookah type system using an approved clean air electric pump. Reserve tank everything set in my dingy. I plan on a suit also and fins. Could use some help picking those out also. My understanding is the Hookah only needs a 2nd stage regulator. I have also heard that the cheap $25.00 ones are no good. A good recommendation for a reasonable 2nd stage regulator would be nice. I have a pool at the rec center where I am currently working to try everything out and get comfortable with it. I plan on taking some classes in Koror when I get there. I am reasonable fit and active. I will be on a fixed income once I leave so buying a $5,000.00 unit is not an option. I see some of the regulators are $2,000.00 that is going to be well out of my range. Just a good mask, suit and fins for some novice exploring would be fine. Also used would be an option if I knew where to get and what to watch out for as far as unusable units.

Thank you in advance for any help, Dan
 
Yes, you can spend $5K on a complete rig.

Or you can spend about $1000 or maybe a bit less. I don't own stock in Leisurepro, but have bought some gear from them. If you're not intending to go way deep or cold, or cave, or other heroic stuff, there's nothing wrong with brand-name inexpensive gear:

leisurepro complete scuba kit - Google Search

Hookas I know zero about, so will refrain from advice on them.

Whichever way you go, best wishes, dive safe, and enjoy.
 
Please be sure to fill out an organ donor card and living will prior to your endeavors. It could be very dangerous activity with do it yourself gear.
 
I will get that in Palau, The nearest place here is 100 miles away.

You have no idea what you are getting yourself into and you will get yourself seriously hurt or worse. Take a dive course and a Hooka course (if this is really appropriate) before you do anything else. The Hook divers I know who had DYI systems I know in my part of the world are either dead, paralyzed or too dump to know it.
 
First, diving without training is really dangerous. Even to just 10 feet. Don't try to do this on your own. Get your Open Water certification even if you think you'll just be doing hookah. Scuba instruction is cheap and even cheaper in the PI if that's your first stop.

Second, surface supplied air without a tender is really dangerous. Especially for a new diver. Hookah or scuba, you need experience to both recognize when things are going wrong and to stay calm enough to deal with the issue correctly. There's a very good reason why the prerequisites for solo diver course are several days advanced training beyond Open Water and at least 100 logged dives. And more things can go wrong with a hookah system than scuba.

Third. Decent dive gear does not have to be expensive. Looking at leisurepro, there's nothing wrong with the $250 Tusa BCD or the $385 Mares 15X Prestige set with octo for any type of recreational diving.

Please don't dismiss the advice you are getting here just because this is a scuba forum, so of course we are going to recommend getting scuba certified. Here's a thread from a non-scuba forum that comes to the same conclusion: Do you need to be a certified diver to use a hookah? - Friendly Metal Detecting Forums
 
First, diving without training is really dangerous. Even to just 10 feet. Don't try to do this on your own. Get your Open Water certification even if you think you'll just be doing hookah. Scuba instruction is cheap and even cheaper in the PI if that's your first stop.
Exactly. There is often an incorrect assumption that diving in relatively shallow water is completely safe. It’s true for some dive illnesses, but not true for others. Especially AGE.

Why do you want to go on Hookah instead of scuba anyways?
That’s a good question. Hookah diving has some advantages in very specific instances, but also many disadvantages in many other situations when compared to SCUBA. One “advantage” is that you don’t need to deal with those pesky dive shops to fill tanks. Many won’t fill unless they see a cert card. (The previous two statements are in italics due to heavy use of sarcasm.) It sounds like certification avoidance may not be the case here, but understanding why Hookah vs. SCUBA can be helpful. There is a ton of misinformation about Hookah and those bike pump tanks that could erroneously lead to choosing the wrong one.

For example, I do some diving at an aquarium on a regular basis. Deepest tank is around 20’. So, in theory, all of that could be done via Hookah, but all dives are done on tanks. There are a couple of reasons for this. One, they have an on-site compressor, so logistics of filling tanks is not an issue. Second, there can be up to 5 divers in a pool. 5 air hoses, vacuum hoses, and power scrubber lines just sounds like a huge entanglement waiting to happen.
 

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