Selfmade FFM (FullFaceMask) reworked from Gasmask

[АлександрД]

I have to wright this big introduction for more clean understanding of reason
rework process will be in the next messages.
Some short jump to the side, about UNnormal mask and it`s technology.

When I just start to be a diver, I already was "advanced snorkler" (not like freediver, who can dive to 30+m, but 15m was not a problem), and at that moment I used Aquasphere mask. And for me any other "normal" mask (with flat glass) was like horse blinders.
It has widest angle of sight, from any other normal masks (I will not compare it with Hydrooptics, because it is not normal mask )

Aquasphere mask

As you can see - it has not flat, but spherical glases, with changable radius.
Even in front of your eyes it also spherical, but with big radius.
Yes, here could be a question - how you eyes looks front, and see single picture, not double, like with fireman`s gasmask with single spherical glass?
or like that mask for example:


Reason is very simple. In any looking angle, does not matter, when you eyes looks left or right, you line of sight for any angle - is orthogonal to the glass surface (or as close as possible to that)!
But on the sides, where only one eye can have a look outside (other eye closed by nose) it also not disturbing, and you also have single picture.

Is anybody know about Berg mask? It was first, used such principle.

You can see - it has same, spherical glases, just in front of you eyes.

But those sperical surface required not olny for wide view, but most important - for same environment sizes as above wataer, as below!
When you diving under water near the column, for example, or even put just one half of the face underwater - you can imagine - size (diameter) of column it the same as under, as below water surface!

This brings you also one, very important advantage - brightness of all things underwater (in compare with normal mask) is near twice bigger! It is not a joke!

You can easy compare, and here enough just two knowleges - one constant from PADI book (physical constant) and ability to count from 1 to 16
PADI OWD manual, chapter 2, page 75 (Russian edition, 2008)
All viewable sizes of any object underwater looks 33% bigger, than in the air.
But ok, will take English (I have just from 2000) - page 71 - "...objects under water appear 25% larger..."

It means followng: when you take object like square, you will have such picture:

LightBlue - IMAGE of the object on the surface.
Darkblue - how it looks under water.

So, just imagine - we have same object, same light conditions, and absolutelly clear water.
Light, that came from object, on the surface conditions - fills 9 squares.
Same ammount of light, from the same object, but underwater fills 16 squares!

We can compare squares (ammount of squares) with our light sensors in our eyes.
So we have same (as for 9) volume of the light, but falling to the 16 sensors!.
It mean that total brightness will 16/9 ~= 1.7 times less than original brightness.
It is the same meaning, that brightness of objects underwater in "normal" mask LOOKS near two times less!
Aquasphere keep same sight angle, as on the surface, it mean Aquasphere keep same brightness level of objects underwater! Which is near two times bigger, than other masks!

so... now about FullFaced mask....

For our climate and cold water, or for nice, but dangerous places (like acid lakes) is best way - to use Full Face Mask. But as I know - there is noone manufacture of the masks with like a Berg mask glases. All FFM (Full Face Mask) has flat glass.

BUT! Once I imagine that mask:

Shure, I bring to notice that ince girl first, but late it was very interesting, what is that mask....
My friend told me, that it is Mark IV gas mask
It was interesting for me by prescence of two inlets.
Late I found Russian gas mask PMK-2
It was possible to purchase it from "ours craigslist" for 33$ approx. for new.
So, I received following mask:

It has two inlet connection holes, but just one plastic connector for filter. Other is stub.
It used for right/left connection of filter.

to be continued...
P.S. my avatar picture - in last revision of selfmade mask

 

[АлександрД]

I try to use that mask as-is in the water.
It quite soft, and glases was not in front, and lie on the face with angle, and my eyes looking avay to the sides, and I had doubled view.
I try to use piece of rubber rope to put glases together in front:

It was better, but not enough.

Next time I made special frame. I used just thick alliminium wires, on sides and in the bottom of glases just one, on the top - two, and just in the middle - three wires.
I bent it over glases, repeating their shape, braided together with thin wire, and then put it in to thermo-shrinkable cambric insulation.
Than I bent glases together with frame, to put glases in front position.
I got that:

some my friends try it, and recognise it acceptable.

Now glases was in the position, same as for Aquasphere, when any tour eye-beam goes in normal to glass surface. In that case your viewing angle became very wide in sides.
Yes, it has little distorsion of view, becaue this glasses not spherical, but cylindrical, and objects underwater became more slim and tall

Red isolating tape around speech diaphragm used just to protect from sharp edges of its frame.

I used demand valve from firemans SCBA ASV. It has not exhaust valve.

Exhaust valve is on the most bottom part of FFM.

That mask has not inner flow separator inside

and it is not the best for CO2 concentration, and not so good for preventing fogging.

Also that mask had one problem - rubber "nose" was too small, and it was very difficult to close your own nose for equalizing.

First idea was to remove speech diaphragm and use part of rubber glove with two fingers against membrane.
Same way used for soviet FFM VM-5

you can see this "fingers" inside. You put first fingers of each hand and close your nose.
But later I just added small rubber pieces in my mask on the nose sides, and it became much easy to close own nose in PMK-2.

So, it was first try, global idea was right, I confirm usage this types of masks underwater.
... to be continued

 

[АлександрД]

Next mask was PMK-3

in compare with ПМК-2

Now I had two connectors for fireman`s demand valves.
It has big differenses from PMK-2 - much bigger glases, and with bigger radius; normal "nose", that possible to use for equalizing; and most important - it has airflow separation inner mask

When air goes from demand valve(s), it goes fist over the glases, than to inhale, and late it goes from submask to exhaust.

I repeat same procedure with putting glases "in front" by selfmade frame:

No any other changes was required for this mask. Just insert to the "rubber face" two plastic adaptors for demand valves, and use!

Than I used it for cold water dives


for ice diving


for acid water open cut mine


and for normal dives, just to check comfort and usability:


Sometimes I use two demand valves, sometimes just one.
With two in sidemount configuration - it`s very easy to control of filling tanks - when you little tilt you head to left or right - that side works
But when you make fast and deep breath - works both 2nd stages.

It was very difficult to have freeflow, because exhaust valve is on the most bottom point of mask.
But is one limitation - when you stay upside down - freeflow starting. It is distinguish of this configuration.
Some firemans regulators has positive pressure, to prevent dirt air intake under mask.
Some of such masks has additional soft spring, installed over exhaust valve. If you add it to that mask - freeflow will be impossible in all positioning of mask.

Price for this mask was also around 30$
... to be continued

 

[АлександрД]

I use demand valve(s) from ASV, because it has most simple construction, easy to service, lightweight, ... and I had some of them
Our manufacture has many different kinds of 2nd stages for firemans (without exhaust valve) (here is not all exists)


It is possible to use normal 2nd stages, but in that case you will have more worst ventilation from CO2 retantion.


So...
You can try to use military gas masks like
Israel M15

or German M65

or 3M CBRN FR-M40B (Military M40 mask)

or Yugoslavian M1

or any other suitable mask to rework it (just add glases frame).

As 2nd stage is possible to use


And you can made you own Full Face Mask, with panoramic view, with redundant 2nd stages, with soft and comfortable face obturator.
All will depends to source details price, but it could be possible to purchase less than 100$ Just add some ... alluminium.

Good luck with you try!
Please, publish your experience of such reworks and usage.

MOST IMPORTANT ATTENTION:
All writen above is just my opinion about ways, how ME reworked gas mask for MY diving usage.
All that you will try to do - just for your own risk!

 

[АлександрД]

Here you can find huge collection of different gas masks my gasmask collection: Gas Mask Collection
You can find most suitable, and than looking it in internet by name.

Please, be carefully with threads - mask has SOME different threads to connect filters. May be you will neet to make adaptors, or you can just use Milliput (epoxy putty) and connect everything with everithing others
(e.g. I made selfmade inflator control it still works for some years )

Also I rebuild one another gas mask (PPM-88) with single glass (I found same sized glass, but flat, against panoramic)

Here I just add short rubber tube (I take it from breathing bag from firemans rebreather KIP-8) to put exhaust valve tube to the same level, as demand valve membrane.
In that case hydrostatic pressure to the membrane, and pressure at the exhaust level - became the same.
Withot this tube it was constant free flow of air.

Also I add nose block to make equalizing more easy:

When I push to the pig’s snout of mask, this wire push submask and close nose over submask very comfortable.

But I preffer panoramic, than flat glass and did it just as experiment.

Here is part of my small collection of FFMs:

PMK-3, PMK-2
VM-5 (was integrated to the hood), VM-2


AGA Divator MK-II (panoramic), child gasmask PDF-2Sh, PPM-88 flat (two items), PPM-88 panoramic.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Hey Hombre
Well thought out - Well presented !
In the genesis of diving in the US we made anything that was not available in the retails stores or if it was and cost over a dollars we made it. Bravo to you !

I began as a "goggler" during WW11, about 1943 or 1944 so in 1948 I was enthralled with submerging UW after watching the late great Dr. Hass Hass B&W movie
"Under the red sea." My cousin, who had just graduated as a mining engineer and I made a rebreather from WW11 surplus parts. Some how we survived the two dives we made with it - then hung it up for about 30 or more years before I tossed it-- don't ever toss your gas mask !

The using a gas mask or gas mask type equipment for diving has been around for a long time.

There was an American Frank E. Thompson of TECO developed a SCUBA regulator at the beginning of WW 11 which was based on a gas mask and a single hose type SCUBA regulator. The unit was used extensively during the shallow water salvage of the fleet at Pearl Harbor after the attack on December 7, 1941

In 1944 Frank published a book "Diving, Cutting and Welding, in underwater salvage operations":
published by the Cornell Maritime Press in hard cover with a picture of the mask on the cover and reprinted in soft cover in 1969 with a "standard book number " 87033-139-6. I some how suspect the books will be next to impossible to locate since they were published almost 50 years ago

Hombre, keep up the good work and great informative post -- they are appreciated
Sam Miller, III

 

[Ghetto Diver]

Excellent post!

I used to have an AGA with no nose block. I quickly learned equalizing by using yawning technique was easy...cannot do it with normal second stage.

 

[АлександрД]

There was an American Frank E. Thompson of TECO developed a SCUBA regulator at the beginning of WW 11 which was based on a gas mask and a single hose type SCUBA regulator. The unit was used extensively during the shallow water salvage of the fleet at Pearl Harbor after the attack on December 7, 1941

In 1944 Frank published a book "Diving, Cutting and Welding, in underwater salvage operations":
published by the Cornell Maritime Press in hard cover with a picture of the mask on the cover and reprinted in soft cover in 1969 with a "standard book number " 87033-139-6. I some how suspect the books will be next to impossible to locate since they were published almost 50 years ago

There is: Diving, cutting, and welding in underwater salvage operations, : Frank E Thompson: Amazon.com: Books

Type: TECCO Shallow Diving mask
Date: 1943/44
Usage: Civilian
This unique gas mask manufactured by TECO from grand rapids Michigan was a modification off the Navy-Mark series gas mask. The lead T-Shaped metal piece connecting to both the masks hoses connects to a Air unit. The air was supposed to blow directly into the lenses to keep them from fogging, due to the lack of any oral nasal cup. This mask was replaced in 1945 by the Desco Jack Browne mask.

this information was here http://gasmaskcollectinggroup.weebly.com/united-states.html in 2014, but now site was gone...

Desco Jack Browne mask. Modern Desco equipment

it also exists with demand valve:

 

[Sam Miller III]

By gum you located it it on Amazon!

As my father, who was well educated would often state when one of his staff would discover something new and exciting and would present the idea to him"Those darn kids with college degrees."

Thank you again for your great work --- It is appreciated

Your old broken down diver friend from, Kalifiornia

SAM

 

[АлександрД]

No, I found it on Google - seach by "Diving, Cutting and Welding, in underwater salvage operations", and then press "Images" to change view to pictures, against links and text
Than just one look - and you have answer

About TECO I already had a message in our diving forum in "Diving Museums" topic История, музей: водолазные шлемы, фотография, регуляторы...: Клуб любителей экзотического дайвинга: Подводный форум больных дайвингом.
it was in 2014