DIY scuba Hookah

[blue sky]

God, this thread is terrifying. I had no idea so many people were bent on suicide.

Think about it, physiologically we need 21% oxygen and a bunch of inert gasses to survive. Hydrocarbons in any form are not inert and they rapidly reduce life expectancy. Hence the requirement for filtration. We breath at 1 atmosphere. 30 ft +/- is another atmosphere. Your compressor must overcome that additional atmosphere. The air hog I am I need 0.55 scfm to survive underwater. If you do not know what scfm is them you are way over your head.

Just because you can't afford a real hooka rig, there's no need to commit suicide. Get a part time job for a couple of months and buy the real thing so that if you do die your family has a real company to sue.

 

[ams511]

The people contemplating using a standard air compressor as a hookah are using it in shallow water like 10-12 ft. As others have mentioned a compressor in a Hookah was designed originally for another purpose. The Hookah market is not that big.

 

[fstbttms]

God, this thread is terrifying. I had no idea so many people were bent on suicide. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

If you do not know what scfm is them you are way over your head.

Gee, I don't know what SCFM means yet have been building my own hookahs and using them professionally for over 18 years and have 20,000+ incident-free dives on them. Somehow I've managed not to commit suicide.

Could it be that you don't have any idea what you're talking about?

 

[Lee Taylor]

Hookahs are great until someone up top, farts in the breather

 

[fstbttms]

Hookahs are great until someone up top, farts in the breather

One of the first jobs I ever did was retrieving a piece of gear the crew of a herring boat had dropped off a pier in San Francisco. Took me about two hours to locate it and when I got back topside, they told me they'd spent the whole time trying to fart into my air intake.

 

[OkByMe]

DANG!!!! This is a DIY forum, the answers should be on HOW to do it, NOT not to do it!!!. A some point in time someone, many someones had to do something or we would not have anything to do anything with. Living in caves... fearing the beasts. There are some people who have no vision, no aptitude, no motivation, no adventure in thier lives that end up being the recipients of what the poeple with those skills produce. Go for it OP.

 

[Darp]

lol....
i get a kick out of all the knee jerk comments here.

for those that worry about air contamination, have you actually seen the compressor that fills your tank at the lds?

They they are scaled up versions of a standard compressor.. many use a k&N cone type air filter on the intake... that's it..


I do however agree that is is cheaper and less problematic just to use tanks with a hookah..

i run a landscape pool business and we do a lot of pool repairs. I used to pay a diver $75.00 to dive to do simple things like putting screws back in draincovers, etc.....

i ebayed a primary, secondary, tank and 50' of hose for less than $250...

at $4.00 per fill, it has been WAY cheaper than a hookah system. i looked at building one myself, but it was going to be over $500 to make one diy..

i also use it to clean my boat bottom, check and set moorings, etc..

Yardpro, scuba compressors use oiled rings, just like a other compressors, if you want to get to 3,000PSI hard to avoid oiled rings. THEN the air is put thru extensive oil removal filters . And clean air exits. If not it would likely kill the diver on one dive. When oil gets on you lung surface, oxygen can not get to the blood. And it does not dissipate quickly, by time diver knows there is a problem, it may be too late. The reason am responding is get across that never ever use a conventional compressor for breathing air, it will kill you. If you have any doubt ask any compressor manufacturer.

From Wiki:
Air purity[edit]
The compressed air output by the compressor must be filtered to make it fit for use as a breathing gas.[1] Filters remove:

• Water, using silica gel, activated alumina or a molecular sieve
• Oil, using activated carbon or a molecular sieve
• Carbon monoxide, using a catalyst (Hopcalite)

Oil, which must be used to lubricate the compressor's internal parts, can be harmful if it contaminates the breathing gas and is inhaled as a mist. Petroleum-based oils cannot be absorbed and metabolized by the body and will coat the internal surfaces of the lungs, causing a condition known as lipoid pneumonia and leading to asphyxiation and death. For this reason, compressors must be carefully designed and maintained to ensure that oil contamination of the breathing gas is within safe limits. Oils used should be approved by the compressor manufacturer and rated as safe for breathing air compressors. A range of mineral based and synthetic oils are supplied by several lubricant manufacturers for this application.[citation needed]

 

[Darp]

lol....
i get a kick out of all the knee jerk comments here.

for those that worry about air contamination, have you actually seen the compressor that fills your tank at the lds?

They they are scaled up versions of a standard compressor.. many use a k&N cone type air filter on the intake... that's it..


I do however agree that is is cheaper and less problematic just to use tanks with a hookah..

i run a landscape pool business and we do a lot of pool repairs. I used to pay a diver $75.00 to dive to do simple things like putting screws back in draincovers, etc.....

i ebayed a primary, secondary, tank and 50' of hose for less than $250...

at $4.00 per fill, it has been WAY cheaper than a hookah system. i looked at building one myself, but it was going to be over $500 to make one diy..

i also use it to clean my boat bottom, check and set moorings, etc..

This may end up being a duplicate post, but it is a life and death situation. A convention gas station or any oiled ring compressor will kill you, oil gets on the lung tissue

Yardpro, scuba compressors use oiled rings, just like other compressors, if you want to get to 3,000PS it is hard to avoid oiled rings. THEN the air is put thru extensive oil removal filters . And clean air exits. If not it would likely kill the diver on one dive. When oil gets on you lung surface, oxygen can not get to the blood. And it does not dissipate quickly, by time diver knows there is a problem, it may be too late. The reason am responding is get across that never ever use a conventional compressor for breathing air, it will kill you. If you have any doubt ask any compressor manufacturer.

From Wiki:
Air purity[edit]
The compressed air output by the compressor must be filtered to make it fit for use as a breathing gas.[1] Filters remove:

• Water, using silica gel, activated alumina or a molecular sieve
• Oil, using activated carbon or a molecular sieve
• Carbon monoxide, using a catalyst (Hopcalite)

Oil, which must be used to lubricate the compressor's internal parts, can be harmful if it contaminates the breathing gas and is inhaled as a mist. Petroleum-based oils cannot be absorbed and metabolized by the body and will coat the internal surfaces of the lungs, causing a condition known as lipoid pneumonia and leading to asphyxiation and death. For this reason, compressors must be carefully designed and maintained to ensure that oil contamination of the breathing gas is within safe limits. Oils used should be approved by the compressor manufacturer and rated as safe for breathing air compressors. A range of mineral based and synthetic oils are supplied by several lubricant manufacturers for this application.[citation needed]