$50 Harbor Freight hookah system testing

[mr.jadkowski]

I did some more testing today under the boat during a raft-up. It's still working great! I was on the bottom for ~25 minutes at 10 feet and the batteries still had half a charge. I learned that I should tell anyone who is on the surface that it is normal for the compressor to turn off and on; apparently it's alarming when your husband is on the bottom, the compressor shuts off, and you don't see any bubbles coming to the surface!

 

[mr.jadkowski]

I am happy to report that this setup is still working great. I got it in the water today using the tow-behind float and I found that it wasn't even noticeable, even without fins on. I coiled up a good bit of hose and strapped it to the raft since my mooring is only eight feet deep and I didn't want 40 feet of hose trailing behind me.

Getting it back on board is a little awkward but manageable. A lifting strap would make it easier. I also made a charging adapter so I can charge the batteries onboard using an RC charger that I already own. I need to make a second one so I can charge both batteries in parallel.

 

[mr.jadkowski]

I got another dive in two days ago. This time I was anchored in a slightly deeper spot and was able to dive down to 20 feet. The compressor kept up with no issues. Overall it's working great, although I think I need to do something to get some additional cooling air to the compressor. It is getting pretty hot running inside that enclosure. I may just take the top off; the odds of it getting swamped in the spots and conditions that I dive in are very low. That will require me to re-think the intake snorkel so it is free-standing instead of relying on the top to hold it upright.

I'm also discovering that it's not a good idea to go diving when you are dehydrated. I was already pretty dehydrated when I got on the boat from working a night shift and drinking a bunch of coffee. Then I motored across the bay to the dive site in the hot sun with no wind, and then I was breathing off the compressor for roughly an hour, and then sailed (very slowly) back to the mooring field in the even hotter sun. It has taken me two days to dig out of that dehydration hole!

 

[tbone1004]

You can put a couple of dc computer case fans that will run off of the battery to give it cross flow. Doesn’t help if it gets swamped but will give you better cooling than opening the lid.

 

[lucca brassi]

which is then 100% diaphragm compressor with 12/24 V DC suitable ?

 

[tbone1004]

California Air Tools makes one
California Air Tools - The Largest Manufacture of Ultra Quiet, Oil-Free & Lightweight Air Compressors - 12 Volt - CAT-12V1P10S

 

[lucca brassi]

it is piston pump - it is written '' dual piston pump'' ?!

 

[tbone1004]

it is piston pump - it is written '' dual piston pump'' ?!

touche, didn't see that. It's at least a low RPM piston. I don't recall seeing any high volume DC diaphragm pumps since they're usually pretty power hungry.

 

[mr.jadkowski]

which is then 100% diaphragm compressor with 12/24 V DC suitable ?

I've seen a few DIY builds that use these MPQ 907 (or similar) compressors: Mpq 907 12v130w By Oxygen Pump Fish Tank Fish Pond Oxygenation 12v Dc Air Pump - Buy Dc Air Pump,Resun Air Pump,Resun Aquarium Product on Alibaba.com

You can get them set up for 12VDC or 24VDC. The downside is that they only generate ~20 PSI so your depth is limited. There is a video on YouTube of someone testing one and it was OK down to 20 feet, but it couldn't keep up after that. I wonder if you could run two of them in series to increase the pressure?

 

[lucca brassi]

interesting : Diving Hookah Parts | AC Diving it looks they all have pistons

In my former job we made pistons for AC for cars . Clima compressors have very similar pistons and one directional valves made from steel sheat as I look on these sketches