HOOKAH DIVING

[coiner]

Question for anyone who is using or has used a hookah for diving. In the testing i have taken and the information i have obtained i have yet to read anything that tells me how the Hookah reacts to the battery going dead. Do you have any warning like slowly getting harder to draw air or does it just stop the flow rather quickly? Just don't want to be totally surprised. I haven't used it long enough yet to drain the battery while down. Thanks, Coiner.

 

[ZOFCHAK]

On both of mine it's easy to tell as they don't abruptly stop when the battery begins to die, but instead slow down and breathing becomes a bit more labored. Also you should be able to hear the pump slowing in most circumstances.

On my Powerdive I have a small floating reservoir and that would provide just a a couple breathes in the event of a complete failure of the pump. My other hookah is similar to the Hookahmax in that it has a rigid reserve tank. I set that tank at around 20-30lbs and that gives a much longer cushion in case the pump were to abruptly fail.

You really do not want to run AGM or lead acid 12v batteries much below 50% of their reserve capacity. It severely affects their lifespan and they will quickly fail if it's done repeatedly. Time a dive or two off a full battery and then cut it by at least 40%. That should give you timeframe to use the next time, and then you won't have to worry about dead or damaging batteries.

 

[coiner]

On both of mine it's easy to tell as they don't abruptly stop when the battery begins to die, but instead slow down and breathing becomes a bit more labored. On my Powerdive I have a small floating reservoir and that would provide just a a couple breathes in the event of a complete failure of the pump. My other hookah is similar to the Hookahmax in that it has a rigid reserve tank. I normally set that tank at around 20-30lbs and that gives a much longer cushion in case the pump were to abruptly fail.

You really do not want to run AGM or lead acid 12v batteries much below 50% of their reserve capacity. It severely affects their lifespan and they will quickly fail if it's done repeatedly.

Thank you for the reply and the information. I have the keene hookah with the large reserve air tank. I did buy two marine deep cycle batteries for trolling and rv use. I use the same battery on my pontoon for the trolling motor and am going on three years with it. I have run it to dead to even move the pontoon many times and always charge with a 2 amp charger. Is there something about the hookah that would shorten that life that is different that running it dead with the troller? Or are you refering to other than the deep cycle trolling batteries? I was told by the dealer i bought the hookah from that these we're good to use and i would not have any problems with them.

 

[ZOFCHAK]

Even quality deep cycle batteries will suffer a reduced service life if they are continuously run down. It's even worse to store them that way, so if you are running them down to nothing charging them immediately afterwards will help. I should have been a bit more clear, but running them down repeatedly doesn't really cause immediate failure of the battery (Although it can), what it does is reduce the reserve capacity on successive charges and reduces the usable lifespan of the battery. Take an AGM battery that is rated for 1000 charge cycles That's 1000 charge cycles down to 60%. If you drain it down to 50% that same battery would probably only be good for 700 charge cycles over it's lifetime and down to 20% maybe 400 cycles (The numbers are just hypothetical examples, but basically the more a battery is drained down the shorter the service life it will provide.)

 

[coiner]

Chances are i won't be running them completely dead and i always put them on the charger right after use, Referring to my trolling battery and will do the same with these. Is there a preferred type battery for the hookah? The dealer did not suggest any certain kind, he only commented on the ones i told him i planned to buy. I have been told of 12V gel cells but know nothing about them. I should have researched more before making my purchase but after debating over scuba or hookah i made my decision and was really antsy to get all my equip. Funny how the people i thought to ask was the seller when i should have been here asking the people using the hookah. Hind sight is still 20 20. Thanks, Chuck

 

[fsa46]

On both of mine it's easy to tell as they don't abruptly stop when the battery begins to die, but instead slow down and breathing becomes a bit more labored. Also you should be able to hear the pump slowing in most circumstances.

On my Powerdive I have a small floating reservoir and that would provide just a a couple breathes in the event of a complete failure of the pump. My other hookah is similar to the Hookahmax in that it has a rigid reserve tank. I set that tank at around 20-30lbs and that gives a much longer cushion in case the pump were to abruptly fail.

You really do not want to run AGM or lead acid 12v batteries much below 50% of their reserve capacity. It severely affects their lifespan and they will quickly fail if it's done repeatedly. Time a dive or two off a full battery and then cut it by at least 40%. That should give you timeframe to use the next time, and then you won't have to worry about dead or damaging batteries.

Can you tell me how many hours can you get from a fully charged battery ?

 

[coiner]

On both of mine it's easy to tell as they don't abruptly stop when the battery begins to die, but instead slow down and breathing becomes a bit more labored. Also you should be able to hear the pump slowing in most circumstances.

On my Powerdive I have a small floating reservoir and that would provide just a a couple breathes in the event of a complete failure of the pump. My other hookah is similar to the Hookahmax in that it has a rigid reserve tank. I set that tank at around 20-30lbs and that gives a much longer cushion in case the pump were to abruptly fail.

You really do not want to run AGM or lead acid 12v batteries much below 50% of their reserve capacity. It severely affects their lifespan and they will quickly fail if it's done repeatedly. Time a dive or two off a full battery and then cut it by at least 40%. That should give you timeframe to use the next time, and then you won't have to worry about dead or damaging batteries.

Can you tell me how many hours can you get from a fully charged battery ?

I can only tell you how long i get off a fully charged deep cycle with my trolling motor, Easy 5 hrs. on 3/4 to full speed with a 42 lb. thrust motor. Longer at slower speeds. I have only run the hookah maybe 1 hr. with two divers so far and when i charged the battery it only came up to about 1 amp which usually means the battery is still at roughly 3/4 charge. I have a meter to test the amt. of charge in a battery but didn't think to check it because of not being in use more than an hour. while diving. So far we have only been pool diving to learn the machine And our own abilities before hitting the lakes.( still partly froze over here and my wet suit is 5mm so water isn't warm enough yet.) May i ask, what do you use for a battery and what kind of time do you get from it well diving and how many divers are on it at one time? I would like to think i will get at least two hrs. per battery without running it dead, that is what i was told, two hrs easy up to 5 hrs. depending on one or two divers. I probably won't dive alone for some time yet. I did buy a divers watch to learn the time i can safely dive on one battery and then keep track while under. I'm sure you have guessed by now that this will be my first year diving. I and one other guy from Grand Rapids have reviewed the ssas on line and other info several times and met with a dive instructor at the pool but have not gone for scuba certification as yet and may not as hookah doesn't require it. Chuck

 

[ZOFCHAK]

.
Can you tell me how many hours can you get from a fully charged battery ?

That's a tough answer to give, as it depends on what setup I am using. The small kayak based Powerdive pump draws around 8 amps and I added a cooling fan that draws about 1 amp. This one runs continuously and blows off any excess. With group 24 AGMs I will run it for about 1 1/2 hours before swapping batteries (It will run more than twice that, but that's down to nothing). My larger compressor that I run in a boat draws 30 amps, but has a built in regulator that shuts it off once the pressure builds. It will normally run for about 1/3 of the time when I am shallow and working at a slow to moderate level. I wear a full face mask, so someone with a normal mask could probably get it to run even longer. This I use with large 100ah agm batteries and run for 2 hours before changing batteries (Probably would run for at least 4 to 5 hours max).

 

[coiner]

Thanks ZOFCHAK, This give me a better grip on what's ahead and and how to proceed with timing my batteries. I will run with what i have for now and see if i am pleased with there performance before changing to something else. I guess if i can get 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. per battery without running them to dead i will be pleased.
I'm looking forward to seeing what the lakes look like from below the surface. Thanks again and have a safe and prosperous summer. If it ever gets here. LOL. Chuck

 

[Scoopshaker]

Go get certified. You'll get some training in how to deal with real problems before they kill one of you.
I got certified back around 1980. never been down over 15 feet, how deep do people splashing around in the water go?? Take a look at the beach users. They're
generally waist to neck deep.
Once you get certified, you can then snuba (not a typo).
Snuba is a system where you spend a few bucks to get a regulator with about 15 feet of hose. Float your tank on the surface while you wade around not wasting tank air.
Much easier to hunt chin deep when you can wear a weight belt, pop the regulator in your mouth and drop down to that just out of reach target.
I hardly use my scuba system anymore, except as a snuba.
Float the tank by strapping it to your BC, then inflate the BC, and pull it around with a tow line.
A real good idea is to have a small anchor tied to the BC so that it doesn't wander around, but stays close by. HH

 

[fongu]

Sounds like the Snuba is less hassle than the Hookah, except for filling air tanks. 15 feet of line is about as deep as I would want to go in the river where I metal detect.

 

[BootyHunter]

Sounds like the Snuba is less hassle than the Hookah, except for filling air tanks. 15 feet of line is about as deep as I would want to go in the river where I metal detect.

Hookah is really no hassle, just either some gas or a charged battery and you're good to go. I have owned 2 different hookah systems and both were gasoline powered. Much less hassle than getting tanks filled. However the 1 advantage to snuba that I see would be the totally silent operation. I always use my hookah at off hours such as very early in the morning or on rainy days and toward the end of the swim season due to the noise of the engine. Whichever you use just be safe and yes you should either get certified or at the very minimum do what I did and buy the PADI or equivalent text book and READ and STUDY it and take the self examinations and LEARN about this as it is serious business for sure. Good luck, have fun, but BE SAFE!

 

[coiner]

I can see i'm going to have to read up on Snuba. Yes, i did think it was a typo. First i've heard of it. Great information and advise guys, Thanks.