DIY hookah system.

[gone2long]

ok i do most of my diving with regular scuba gear, but we are looking to do more diving in some of the shallower parts of toledo bend. so we are condsidering building a nive hookah system. i have been researching this for some time and im sure someone on here has done it before i just cant seem to find it. but basically im gonna use a 5-6 horse gas engine, a oilless compressor pump, and prob a 5-6 gallon tank. the intake for the compressor will rise prob 5 feet above the engine and have a filter on it to prevent any dust or toxic gases from entering the tank.

i am planning on setting this up for 3 divers at no deeper than 40-50 feet. the only part i am not sure of is the hoses. i read mixed reviews everywhere i look some say use only food grade and some say id doesnt matter. i am trying not to go to crazy price wise on this.

oh i also wanted to make this thread prob a month before i start the project to discuss it more with everyone and see if i am confussed on anything i want to do this rite the first time. thanks and please feel free to voice your thoughts or concerns.

Dylan Maricle

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the difference between an "oiless" compressor and one of any other sort, and why would one be better than the other?

Also, please see my 6 questions posted to ffstbbtm (check my spelling) further down the thread.

Thanks,

G2L

 

[fstbttms]

1. Why couldn't I do something similar using whatever, local, probably Chinese made, motor I can find? Guys around here use "pump" motors, and they seem to be pretty reliable. Is the extra smoke expected from a 2 stroke a good reason to stay with a 4 stroke engine, and are the engines used on small, "home use" hookah rigs 4 or 2 stroke?

When it comes to using a gas engine in a hookah rig, it doesn't matter if the engine is 2-stroke or 4-stroke (although every one I have ever seen is 4-stroke.) The point is to keep the air intake up out of the exhaust. The exhaust from either type of engine is deadly.

2. Have read and understood the hose debate, but good hose is not available here. For a once a month job on my own boat, wouldn't what they call "chem hose" work adequately, if perhaps less safely? I am referring to the kind of clear, green, reinforced hose often used to supply gas to a motorcycle carburetor.

Jeezus, you're asking us to sign-off on you using non-breathing air hose? Hey, it's your lungs. Knock yourself out chief.

3. If I use a local compressor, what kind of specs should it have, in order to send air no more than 30 feet down to a single diver? In fact, most use will be in no more than 3 feet of water, with the rig in the cockpit of my boat, but, I would like to be able to use the rig to dive the anchor, as well, if necessary.

You want something that will provide 1.8-2.0 CFM.

4. Does anybody know of any compressor like the blue one I described and why such a piece of equipment may or may not be adequate or safe for the type of use I describe?

It sounds like the T-80 compressor sold by Keene Engineering:

Medium Duty Compressor

5. As noted in other threads, I have a '70s vintage Aqualung Aquarius regulator. If I take it apart and replace the spring for use in a home made hookah rig, what kind/size of spring should I use?

You need to talk to an experienced hookah seller for that. But hell, the 2nd stage may work fine without modifcation.

6. I do not want to use an old propane tank as a "holding tank" for my air, so what kind of tank would suffice?

You don't need a resevoir. But if you feel the need to add the plumbing, valves etc. required by a resevoir to your hookah, Keene Engineering has the stuff to do it. You want a stainless or plastic resevoir.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the difference between an "oiless" compressor and one of any other sort, and why would one be better than the other?

An oilless compressor does not inject lubricating oil into the airstream. Do I have to tell you why breathing pneumatic tool oil would be a bad thing?

Seriously (and no offense intended), you sound like you have zero dive education. You should really consider getting SCUBA certified before undertaking any of what is being discussed here.

 

[gone2long]

Hi,

Great stuff. Much appreciated.

Was NAUI certified in 1976 by an ex-Navy Seal, who made me swim the pool with aluminum foil covering the inside of my mask while he played fun tricks, like kicking me in the but, then pulling off my mask and grabbing the regulator out of my mouth. Not exactly "code" these days, eh? A bit later that year, I worked for a guy named DeForrest Phillips in San Pedro Harbor, cleaning yacht hulls with a home-made, electric hookah rig on the dock. Fun in dirty water.

In those days, my friend Joey Inferrera used to own Mighty Light Mining Company, up in Norcal, and we used rigs like the one I have described to mine holes on the Feather River, a bit North of where the largest nugget ever found in the US was mined (109 pounds).

If I remember correctly, Joey used converted Suzuki outboards for the sluice and dredge and a Briggs and Stratton (4hp, 4stroke?) engine for the compressor, with which we had a lot of fun, and actually made a little money. Also, I think he used that Keene compressor you mention. I seem to remember him talking about Keene, and maybe buying the compressors wholesale from them. Joey sold spiffed up versions of his rigs all over the US and in Australia.

But, granted, Joey's been gone for awhile now, and I've probably been gone way too long.

Thanks again for your input and the links,

G2L