HOOKAH DIVING

[Karnic]

Hi All

Im practicing snorkeling with an electric Hookah but im somewhat confused regarding the ascent method. If Im 5 feet under the surface which is the depth im diving how slow can you ascend as in 3 seconds I will be above water. Am I missing something? I exhale before ascending and reach surface in seconds. I am doing a lot of research and understand the importance of breathing in and out . Carbon monoxide and boat traffic not an issue in my case . So In my case ie just to clean hull of boat and snorkeling in 5 ft or less what should i worry about ( in order to be better safe than sorry ) or i am exaggerating or getting paranoid about the ascend method?

 

[Waterwulf]

General rule of thumb is to not ascend faster than the smallest bubbles that you exhale. Stay under the little ones and you'll be fine. No, you're not being paranoid. Yes, you can hurt yourself coming up from five feet if you do it wrong. From five feet, I would just plan on exhaling the entire way.

 

[Karnic]

General rule of thumb is to not ascend faster than the smallest bubbles that you exhale. Stay under the little ones and you'll be fine. No, you're not being paranoid. Yes, you can hurt yourself coming up from five feet if you do it wrong. From five feet, I would just plan on exhaling the entire way.

Thanks for your output. appreciate. Just to confirm , maybe im sounding ridiculous, but in order to confirm im exhaling out properly will seeing bubbles coming out from regulator confirm im exhaling?Ive used the hookah system in order to see what to expect when i will clean hull and in order to get used to it a bit and really enjoyed the time but as soon as i went up from half a metre down after 45 minutes of continuous breathing from regulator I felt a bit of an anxiety attack like felt a bit disorientated and a bit out of breath but issued resolved a couple of minutes later. I think it was an anxiety attack as I had done a lot of research into matter and after resurfacing i got paranoid in thinking that i hurt lung etc etc.. Hookah system is an AirBuddy.

 

[Scuba_Oscar]

Short answer: Yes, if you see bubbles coming from your regulator’s exhaust, and it’s in good working condition, ie. no leaks, then you’re exhaling.

Long answer: The reason for exhalation is to avoid barotrauma from holding your breath as your lung volume of air expands. During SCUBA training, you’re taught to make a “zzzzzz” noise or something similar while doing an emergency accent as this keeps your airway open. By keeping your airway open during the ascent, you allow the expanding air within your lungs a way out, mitigating potential damage. If you’re concerned about ascending while using the hookah, you can use the same technique and make a “zzzzzz” sound, like mimicking the sound of a bee, and it will maintain a patent airway. Alternatively, breathing out during the ascent will have the same effect. If you’re ascending and descending at a proper slow speed, you shouldn’t notice much of a difference in your lungs.

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

I'm glad Karnic that you're asking these basic but critical questions.

Am I the only one who finds its crazy that, around the world, diving with a tank of compressed air requires certification, but diving with surface-supplied compressed air requires no training?

In the best-case scenario you have folk turning to internet forums to learn the basics for 'snorkeling with a Hookah'.

Karnic - do you know what's the most dangerous form of diving? Down in this part of the world It's not cave diving, or deep/technical diving, or even rebreather diving: its untrained folks using poorly maintained hookah gear for diving.

As for your question: Yes - if you see/hear bubbles coming out of your reg that means you are exhaling.

The basic rules for the shallow depths you are diving: 1) Make sure your Hookah is well maintained, including the filters 2) Don't ever hold your breath 3) have someone else around 4) try to ascend slower than the bubbles, and related 5) try to avoid bounce diving back and forth between surface and the bottom: you're not snorkeling

Point 2 is particularly important if your Airbuddy dies while you are diving: remember to exhale on the way to surface.

Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[happy-diver]

“zzzzzz” sound

Mate try ahahahahahahahahah instead of zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[Karnic]

I'm glad Karnic that you're asking these basic but critical questions.

Am I the only one who finds its crazy that, around the world, diving with a tank of compressed air requires certification, but diving with surface-supplied compressed air requires no training?

In the best-case scenario you have folk turning to internet forums to learn the basics for 'snorkeling with a Hookah'.

Karnic - do you know what's the most dangerous form of diving? Down in this part of the world It's not cave diving, or deep/technical diving, or even rebreather diving: its untrained folks using poorly maintained hookah gear for diving.

As for your question: Yes - if you see/hear bubbles coming out of your reg that means you are exhaling.

The basic rules for the shallow depths you are diving: 1) Make sure your Hookah is well maintained, including the filters 2) Don't ever hold your breath 3) have someone else around 4) try to ascend slower than the bubbles, and related 5) try to avoid bounce diving back and forth between surface and the bottom: you're not snorkeling

Point 2 is particularly important if your Airbuddy dies while you are diving: remember to exhale on the way to surface.

Cheers,
Rohan.

Thanks a lot Tassie. Understand that my questions are as you said basic but critical. Thanks again for your straight to the point and clear ( easy to understand) answer to my doubts . As I think you are aware my issue in which i resorted to a hookah is for the sole reason i needed to do something in order to clean hull while boat is moored. When I was younger i used to free dive a lot and clean bottom but now im 50 years and it was getting too much of a hassle and time and energy consuming. Hookah systems are not very popular over here in Europe but quite popular in US and Australia. Read that there are some risks also which never came into mind when i used to freedive .

 

[Belzelbub]

Am I the only one who finds its crazy that, around the world, diving with a tank of compressed air requires certification, but diving with surface-supplied compressed air requires no training?

A point of clarification. In most cases, it’s not actually diving that requires the cert. it’s getting the tank filled. Private operators will require a cert, but if you’ve got access and a full tank, you can dive.

But, yeah, I do agree with you that it’s a bit nuts with all these devices that allow you to breathe compressed air under water. Can be a recipe for disaster for someone who doesn’t know what they are doing.

Im practicing snorkeling with an electric Hookah but im somewhat confused regarding the ascent method. If Im 5 feet under the surface which is the depth im diving how slow can you ascend as in 3 seconds I will be above water. Am I missing something? I exhale before ascending and reach surface in seconds. I am doing a lot of research and understand the importance of breathing in and out .

First, I’m glad you are asking these questions. Second, getting certified wouldn’t hurt, especially if you do anything deeper.

Now that that’s out of the way, here are my thoughts.

The old rule of thumb about not ascending faster than your slowest bubbles is an old rule of thumb. It’s not taught anymore that I’m aware of. The current instruction is no faster than 30’ per minute. Some may allow a faster rate during deeper parts of the ascent, but they all seem to agree on 30’ per minute on the ascent nearer the surface.

So, with that in mind, that says your 3 second ascents are too fast. Should be more like 10 seconds from 5’. However, I’ve done some hull cleaning, and my computer didn’t even register a dive. I just never got deep enough.

You can stay down a real long time with a max depth of 5’. The risk of Decompression Illness from those depths is very remote. Your tissues just won’t absorb enough nitrogen for there to be an issue.

The big risk at these depths is from barotrauma, not nitrogen bubbles. Barotrauma is very serious. The tiny alveoli in your lungs can’t handle much pressure increases, so this could be an issue at these depths. It’s largely easily avoided by not holding your breathe on ascent. Just exhale on the way up and you should be fine. As long as your glottis is open, the expanding gas can escape. Easiest way to do that is to keep breathing.

 

[Waterwulf]

The smallest bubbles are traveling at about 30 foot per minute and it's a lot easier to track a little bubble than to calculate ascent rates.