Latest scoop on hookah systems?

[Chuck B.]

Howdy, all --

If all goes according to plan, I'm going to be buying a boat in a few weeks, putting in my 360 days for a 6-Pack charter license, then opening a scuba charter service in the Florida Keys.

Hey, somebody's gotta do it. :/

As far as tank compressors go, I've had my eye on the Max Air 90 for a while:

http://www.max-air.com/maxair04.html

Then I was fishing around the web the other day, looking at other compressors, and came across something I'd totally forgotten about:

http://www.airlinebyjsink.com

When you start thinking about the hookah system, and not having to bother with a big, heavy, ungainly, unnatural tank, the whole idea starts sounding really attractive.

You're an avid diver living somewhere on the East Coast. You open up the Travel Section of the New York Times one lazy Sunday morning and see a display ad that says:

Tankless Scuba Diving!
In the Florda Keys
<website address>​

Sounds intriguing, no? I was thinking of buying three units, so each pair of buddy divers can drag it along behind them. The average depth of the reefs is 25', and there's 60' of hose, so there's plenty of slack.

To answer the obvious question, if the motor conks out, you have plenty of air left in the lines to get to the surface, and for two reasons. The air lines, themselves, expand from the internal pressure, so there's air left over as they collapse back to their normal size, plus air expands as you rise.

On the subject, it's also to note that it uses what's arguably the most reliable motor in the world, the 4-cycle 4 HP Honda. Offhand, I'd guess that 95% of all hookah motor failures over the past 30 years has been due to running out of gas (or oil), not motor failure.

So I guess I've got two questions for the group:

1. Does the Air Line system look practical and safe?

2. Assuming so, do you think it would be a good draw for my charter business?

Maybe I'm wrong, but it sure looks like it'd be fun. Unencumbered in the word that keeps coming to mind.

Scuba diving the natural way.

Thanks for any thoughts,
Chuck

 

[Thalassamania]

We evaluated untended hookah (by that we mean no one right at the compressor) and decided that it had too much risk associated with it. For one thing the hoses do not provide sufficient reserve so a volume tank must be used, for another there is no way for the diver to be warned if the engine stops. Add a small volume tank and an engine alarm that would be audible to the divers and I think you might be on the right path.

 

[fyh]

Unencumbered in the word that keeps coming to mind.

Scuba diving the natural way.

Thanks for any thoughts,
Chuck

Unencumbered by a tank... but encumbered by a leash (air hose).

 

[spectrum]

To dive safely on compressed air you should have what essentially amounts to scuba training. Some do it with a few quick pointers but IMO that leaves a lot of gaps.

For certified divers it would probably be a novelty activity. In general the freedom and safety of having your air with you would be my preference.

It would have some appeal to a small curious population caught in the middle.

The insurance implcations of doing this for hire out in openwater with limited training scare me.

Are you a diver? Not much to look at in your profile.

Pete

 

[MSilvia]

Personally, I'd find being tethered to the surface is a lot more restricting than having a tank, which I hardly notice at all when diving. I wouldn't want to do it if scuba was available, but I have a few non-certified friends who might enjoy it. Of course, I'd be more comfortable recommending it to them if they had some scuba training, but if they had that they'd probably rather use a tank too.

IMHO, most of your hookah customers would likely be folks who viewed it as offering more freedom than snorkeling, not as a "less encumbered" version of scuba.

 

[UCFDiver131]

I love hookah diving. I find it especially convenient when lobstering. You have an unlimited air supply and basically unlimited bottom time (when diving SHALLOW). The engine failure doesnt even bother me because doing an emergency swimming ascent in 20ft. is not too scary (i've done it when we ran out of gasoline). Its nice to go lobstering with a weight belt and regulator so you dont have to worry about checking your gagues while stalking a nice bug or harvesting all the keepers from a nice coral head. It also gives you a lower/smaller profile so you are less likely to bang a dive tank into the coral when getting after some bugs with a nice hiding spot. Its easier to get back on the boat, easier to swim, dont have to worry about being an air hog, etc. Some days when we clean a spot of its keepers, we will swim to the anchor, pull it up, and let the boat drift above us dragging us through the water til we find another spot to investigate. We can stay under for an hour and a half when in real shallow water and that turns into pretty productive lobster trips. Ok, thats enuf yappin, i like em... Just dont expect it to give you all of the freedoms that tanks do and you will love it too

 

[Cheekymonkey]

I've tried it once and I personally wasnt a fan, I felt more controlled by the hose then by the tank and bc.

BTW UCFDiver, welcome to the boards, I'm a UCF member as well

 

[joetex0777]

You have an unlimited air supply and basically unlimited bottom time (when diving SHALLOW). The engine failure doesnt even bother me because doing an emergency swimming ascent in 20ft. is not too scary (i've done it when we ran out of gasoline)...

We can stay under for an hour and a half when in real shallow water and that turns into pretty productive lobster trips. Ok, thats enuf yappin, i like em... Just dont expect it to give you all of the freedoms that tanks do and you will love it too

From the above quote it looks likes my bottom time would be shortened, I would be on a leash, have to drag around an engine compressor & 60' of hose, and I would be put in a "not too scary" diving situation. I think I would have to find another dive boat.

 

[Bob3]

I'll take hookah over scuba any day if the conditions are favorable to its use.
We have 150' of hose for each diver & the compressor is in the boat. 2 people on the bottom all day on way under a gallon of gas - not bad at all.
We have a 3rd line & can drop an extra person if need be.
If you hauled all the tanks along that you'd need for 8 - 10 hours of bottom time there wouldn't be any room in the boat for much else, especially that half-ton of lobster.
You can add a 6 cu ft bailout bottle for giggles but we've never had problems running out of gas/air. It's a pretty easy trick to calculate run time anyway. A plain old Timex Ironman set to alarm after 2 - 3 hours would be all they need for a bottom timer.
I wouldn't put anyone down on hookah unless they were at least experienced with scuba.
I don't know how marketable it would be, as can be seen from the above replies folks are pretty well hooked on those tanks.

 

[WesTexDiver]

Have you considered it as an "option"? If it were me and I was looking to promote buisness, then I would offer this Hookah style of diving, but also offer regular Scuba diving to those who don't like being tied to the surface. Why not cater to both?