Electric Hookah Blu3 Nemo

[Budawang]

Does anyone have experience with the Blu3 Nemo lithium-powered hookah system? Looks to be very compact and light, perfect for hull cleaning or very shallow recreational diving. I like that it is power efficient allowing dive times of 60 to 90 minutes on a 100 watt hour battery. Main downside seems to be that it only allows diving to 3 metres (10 feet) and perhaps the cost.

https://www.diveblu3.com/product/nemo/

[arsenelupiga]

Originally Posted by Budawang

Does anyone have experience with the Blu3 Nemo lithium-powered hookah system? Looks to be very compact and light, perfect for hull cleaning or very shallow recreational diving. I like that it is power efficient allowing dive times of 60 to 90 minutes on a 100 watt hour battery. Main downside seems to be that it only allows diving to 3 metres (10 feet) and perhaps the cost.

https://www.diveblu3.com/product/nemo/

i think there is simpler way to clean hulls without help of hookah.

My setup - have mask with symmetric snorkel so it can be used on left or right side of face. Then use vacuum glass holder to hold on hull with one hand. Snorkel is set to be operating on higher side of mask.

I can submerge head 20 cm or so and still breathe, and reach pretty deep down to clean, with one hand as the other holds onto vacuum holder, as my snorkel is on upper side of mask. this way, without air holding exercise can do 70 % of the hulls and very fast. The rest is couple dives and we are done!

[MikeHoncho]

If you have shore power or a inverter, I’d look at 110volt compressor style systems. I built one using a California Compressor that draws 7amps/120volt. Works great. You’ll need a lot of weight

[Pelican_38]

I have one. It's fine and does what they say. As long as the hose length works for you, the only real drawback is cost. I got the version with 2 batteries. But the 60 minutes of down time per battery seems about right.

Do you have any specific questions?

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by arsenelupiga

i think there is simpler way to clean hulls without help of hookah.
I can submerge head 20 cm or so and still breathe, and reach pretty deep down to clean, with one hand as the other holds onto vacuum holder, as my snorkel is on upper side of mask. this way, without air holding exercise can do 70 % of the hulls and very fast. The rest is couple dives and we are done!

You have a catamaran that has minimal wetted surface and draws maybe 4 feet. The OP has a fin-keeler that draws probably around 5 feet (with a significant amount of wetted surface at or near that depth.) Apples and oranges.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Budawang

Does anyone have experience with the Blu3 Nemo lithium-powered hookah system? Looks to be very compact and light, perfect for hull cleaning or very shallow recreational diving. I like that it is power efficient allowing dive times of 60 to 90 minutes on a 100 watt hour battery. Main downside seems to be that it only allows diving to 3 metres (10 feet) and perhaps the cost.

The website describes it accurately- it's a toy. But you can't touch a serious floating lithium-ion battery-powered hookah for anything close to the price of this thing.

Unless you absolutely have to have a floating unit, I'd suggest a 12-volt deck-based hookah with a long air hose.

https://airlinebyjsink.com/collectio...ducts/12v160-3

[JasonS]

We have a Brownies Hookah with the Honda engine. It’s fantastic for both cleaning the boat and diving. It will run 3 hours or more on one tank. Great unit. Works great to inflate the SUPs and your dinghy too. Highly recommended.

[BillKny]

Originally Posted by JasonS

We have a Brownies Hookah with the Honda engine. It’s fantastic for both cleaning the boat and diving. It will run 3 hours or more on one tank. Great unit. Works great to inflate the SUPs and your dinghy too. Highly recommended.

^^^^^ +1^^^^^

This setup has worked great for us. It is overkill if you are buying it for hull cleaning only, but being able to throw it in the dinghy, take it to a remote dive site and dive for a couple hours is GREAT. It's not small, but much more compact than a compressor and a couple of tanks.

[Budawang]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Sounds like there aren't a lot of yachties who actually own the Nemo yet, but it is still quite new to the market. Although cleaning and inspecting my hull (1.8 metre draft) is important, I also like the idea of throwing it in the dinghy for shallow diving. As a certified diver, it's a pity they don't have a model that allows deeper diving. The Brownies gas-powered product looks good but is quite expensive and bulkier.

There is also the Air Buddy system which ticks most of my boxes, but I can't find much information about it. Sounds like it might have been one those Kickstarter prototypes that never really got off the ground.

https://www.airbuddy.net

[Budawang]

Originally Posted by Pelican_38

I have one. It's fine and does what they say. As long as the hose length works for you, the only real drawback is cost. I got the version with 2 batteries. But the 60 minutes of down time per battery seems about right.

Do you have any specific questions?

I think it would be just fine for hull cleaning and maintenance, but what about using it recreationally? Is it fun to use compared to snorkelling? Is the build quality and durability good?

[Ramona]

I have a hookah with a Thomas pump that I use with a 26 amp hour deep cycle battery. These batteries are fairly compact and have ample power for cleaning the hull on my SS34. I have no idea how long a charge will last because I rarely spend more than 20 minutes on a dive.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by Budawang

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Sounds like there aren't a lot of yachties who actually own the Nemo yet, but it is still quite new to the market. Although cleaning and inspecting my hull (1.8 metre draft) is important, I also like the idea of throwing it in the dinghy for shallow diving. As a certified diver, it's a pity they don't have a model that allows deeper diving. The Brownies gas-powered product looks good but is quite expensive and bulkier.

There is also the Air Buddy system which ticks most of my boxes, but I can't find much information about it. Sounds like it might have been one those Kickstarter prototypes that never really got off the ground.

https://www.airbuddy.net

If you're a certified diver, this might be of interest to you and it's a bit cheaper than the Nemo (even in that down under wampum you guys use) https://www.mantusmarine.com/product...4aAva1EALw_wcB. The downside is it's only good for 30 minutes at 30 meters but with an additional tank ( still less wampum) you can go an hour and if you're a diver refilling the tanks shouldn't be an issue for you.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by joelhemington

If you're a certified diver, this might be of interest to you and it's a bit cheaper than the Nemo (even in that down under wampum you guys use) https://www.mantusmarine.com/product...4aAva1EALw_wcB. The downside is it's only good for 30 minutes at 30 meters but with an additional tank ( still less wampum) you can go an hour and if you're a diver refilling the tanks shouldn't be an issue for you.

Correction, that's 30 feet as opposed to 30 meters (even we Yanks know the difference.)

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by joelhemington

I...if you're a diver refilling the tanks shouldn't be an issue for you.

Except you will likely have to do it after every hull cleaning. That's a PITA.

[Budawang]

I'd like to correct a previous post I made about the Air Buddy hookah system where I claimed it was a kickstarter product that never really got off the ground. After doing more research it appears to be a high quality and popular LifePo4-powered hookah system allowing one diver to dive to 12 metres (40 feet) or two divers to 6 metres (20 feet) for 55 minutes with 15 minutes reserve. They also seem to provide good customer support. It's less of a toy than the Nemo and only slightly bulkier/heavier. Costs about $1,500 (US) for the single diver version which seems reasonable. Designed and manufactured in Australia so quality should be high.