Hooka Rig Question

[dragonfly]

Hi, I am Cris and although I am currently on Padre Island, Texas I am from Florida. My question is: How much air pressure and air volume do you need to run one or two breathers from a compressor. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks

[Pete7]

A beginner will use 30 litres per minute at the surface.

Welcome to CF btw,

Pete

[Rick]

Have a rating of at least 90PSI@3CFM

[capngeo]

Originally Posted by Pete7

A beginner will use 30 litres per minute at the surface.

Welcome to CF btw,

Pete

Might want to check that figure..... I know it's been a lot of years since I went to Paramedic School, but I thought the average minute volume for a 75kg male was 5-8 lpm!

[BjarneK]

Originally Posted by capngeo

Might want to check that figure..... I know it's been a lot of years since I went to Paramedic School, but I thought the average minute volume for a 75kg male was 5-8 lpm!

This number is not right. Divers usually use about 12 to 18 liters of air per minute at the surface. At 10 meters depth, the pressure is twice the surface pressure, so twice the amount of air is used. At 20 meters of depth, three times the surface amount is used. The 30 liters per minute number at the surface could be true for a scared beginner.

Another thing: first stage regulators for diving are generally set for 8 to 10 bars above ambient pressure (120 to 150 psi). Second stages will generally work fine within this pressure range. Thus, setting the pressure to 11 bars absolute will give you 10 bars above ambient at the surface and 8 bars above ambient at 20 meters. That should be enough of a range for a hookah rig. So a scuba second stage regulator should be fine for hookah.

[phiggins]

I bought a few compressors in my quest to find the perfect one. Finally found one that has aluminum tanks (no rust) and sufficient power only $139:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows....jsp?locale=en

I also got the Brownie 60' hose and regulator. Works great.

Oh and its quite light, not sure exactly but probably 30lbs.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by capngeo

Might want to check that figure..... I know it's been a lot of years since I went to Paramedic School, but I thought the average minute volume for a 75kg male was 5-8 lpm!

Figure is based on 25 years of diving experience as a diving supervisor.

A novice diver will use 30 LPM and can rise to 50 LPM if working hard. At the other extreme I use about 16 LPM in the middle of the season when the water is warmer, I am relaxed and not having to work hard. One of my dive buddies is a size 8 and she uses 10 LPM but then she is a nurse who works in a hyperbaric chamber. This is in full dry suits wearing twin sets.

The volume of the average males lungs is about 6 litres and the normal breathing range for light exercise is 4.5 litres which is what your thinking of.

A hookah diver or someone unused to diving will be using about 30 LPM when scrubbing a hull or changing a prop/anode etc. Whilst depth does change the volume of air consumed for example at 10 metres our novice diver would use 60 LPM, if you are working on the hull the depth is shallow enough to really affect the calculations.

One thing I will mention for those using hookah, please don't hold your breath particularly when coming up. The increase in volume as the air expands inside your lungs is sufficient to cause a burst lung. You must breath out on the way up. Please no excuses, you must breath out. I don't like visiting folk in hospitals or hearing about trips to them.

Pete

[Bash]

you might get better advice through a dive shop. a knowledgeable person might tell you the importance of using an oil-free compressor, for instance. there are a lot of ways you can screw yourself up with a DIY rig.

[James S]

Originally Posted by Bash

you might get better advice through a dive shop. a knowledgeable person might tell you the importance of using an oil-free compressor, for instance. there are a lot of ways you can screw yourself up with a DIY rig.

Agree...more to it than meets the eye.
Some variables...how deep...what level of activity...
I just went through this exercise.
The below companies are a start.

Sea Breathe, The Electric Snorkel

Third Lung Diving

[Marksman]

I built a system for "at the dock" boat maintainance using a PorterCable oiless compressor with 6 gal tank. I think it is 2.6 cfm @90 psi. I run it at its full rated pressure of 150 psi. It is just adequate for a US divers calypso second stage, but only down to about 20 ft. or so. The compressor kicks on at 140 and off again at 150 and you can tell when it's getting close to the low trip. I could rebalance the reg to perform better at the low end I suppose, but its only for bottom cleaning and the like. If you want a system for deeper adventures you would need a higher pressure pump, though you will still be limited by the ambient pressure increase with depth.

[Troubadour52993]

Required pressure will depend on depth, and the type of regulator you are using. Most SCUBA regulators have 150-200 PSI as their intermediate pressure, the pressure in the hose before the second stage (the one in your mouth). As long as the pressure is above ambient it should work, but I'm sure it affects breathing resistance (how hard you have to "suck" to crack open the valve in the regulator to get air from the hose).

[Blue Crab]

Not quite on point but for a traveling maintenance rig I use a tank, and a regulator with a 25' hose extension with quick disconnects. On my boat I can leave the tank in the cockpit for bottom work. For a big project, put the rig in your dink and you are ready for work. As a scuba instructor, I'm obliged to add that you should get scuba certified even if "just" using a gas or electric hookah rig. The danger is in the physiology not the depth.

[osirissail]

Although I have full Scuba gear, for cleaning the boat bottom I use a Hooka sold by Air Line Diver Gear | Alternative Dive Gear Scuba | The Air Line Hookah by J. Sink

It is a 100 ft hose that is in between the first stage and second stage scuba regulator and it attaches to a Scuba tank. Economical and efficient.

You could put the scuba tank in your dinghy and use the Air Line Hooka to "snorkel/shallow dive" an interesting reef without having to have the full BC/tank setup.

[Jimmyd60051]

Hi Chris,
I'm a hookah diver too. I built my own system for use up in Chicago.
For me I use a five gallon compressor with 90psi and a regulator on the tank that provides forty lbs. continuous pressure to the mouth piece.
With a 100 foot hose, I've had the compressor stop and still had three minutes of air in the hose. I'm having a blast using it and I hope you do too.
Good luck

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by Jimmyd60051

Hi Chris,
I'm a hookah diver too. I built my own system for use up in Chicago.
For me I use a five gallon compressor with 90psi and a regulator on the tank that provides forty lbs. continuous pressure to the mouth piece.
With a 100 foot hose, I've had the compressor stop and still had three minutes of air in the hose. I'm having a blast using it and I hope you do too.
Good luck

I hope that compressor is "oil-less" and rated for human breathing - or - you have good medical lung transplant insurance. You can buy the compressors from commercial sources and then install all the other parts from SCUBA gear.
- - Down in Luperon, D.R. the locals use a Sears Best Paint compressor with 100 feet of hose and nothing on the end of the hose. They just stick it in their mouth and hold it with their teeth. Life-expectancy down there is rather low anyway so they don't really care.