Very shallow water breathing apparatus

[Bobbyahlers8889]

Hey y'all, I am looking for some help. I work on boats and lifts , dive a maximum of 5 ft, and need to stay under for a few minutes (less than 5) at a time. Does anyone know of any economical or DIY solutions to breathe underwater long enough to work? My boat is always right above me.

I've been certified to dive for a long time and know that I'm not going deep enough to present major challenges, but do know enough (and have a little common sense) that there are probably right and wrong ways to go about this.

Thank you so much in advance

Bobby

 

[CanadaDan]

Give "diy dive hookah" a google... lots of ideas out there... but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't dive more than few of rigs that I saw though lol

 

[kelemvor]

Check out this thread: $50 Harbor Freight hookah system testing

The guy even sent an air sample from his system off for testing to verify that it was safe. I think he later upgraded the compressor to something better than the harbor freight one - but still pretty cheap.

 

[Bobbyahlers8889]

Funny I was reading that. Appealing, and certainly worth looking into...

Anything I can run off of 12v (without an inverter) or even powerless is also appealing. The Google suggestion got me in the right direction. Thank you both .

Would I need pressurization at 5 ft?

Research continues

 

[rhwestfall]

Why not just a normal tank, modest first and second stage, and a l-o-n-g hose like the old double hose hookah (tank is up on surface)? Maybe a simple harness (weight and hose management)...


YMMV

 

[Bobbyahlers8889]

That was a thought, but managing the tank (purchasing, maintaining, loading on and off the boat, and especially filling the tank etc) seemed more problematic. Although it would make the 1st and 2nd stages I have usable.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

How shallow is it?

 

[Degenerate]

Why not just a normal tank, modest first and second stage, and a l-o-n-g hose like the old double hose hookah (tank is up on surface)? Maybe a simple harness (weight and hose management)...


YMMV

I'm not gonna pretend to know much about regulators, but isn't a first stage supplying you with a certain pressure of gas, based on the ambient pressure around the first stage...?

 

[kelemvor]

That was a thought, but managing the tank (purchasing, maintaining, loading on and off the boat, and especially filling the tank etc) seemed more problematic. Although it would make the 1st and 2nd stages I have usable.

I think with the compressor method, you basically just connect a normal second stage to the compressor through a regular compressor hose. The output of a regular compressor can be about the same as IP for most regs.

 

[rhwestfall]

I'm not gonna pretend to know much about regulators, but isn't a first stage supplying you with a certain pressure of gas, based on the ambient pressure around the first stage...?

Never used a scuba tank and regulator to fill a tire or run an air tool?

Ever seen a deco/safety stop hang bar supplied from tanks on the surface?