Pressurized snorkel

[AUDuke]

Has any one used a pressurized snorkel for shallow water (less than 8 ft) hunting?

 

[grumpyolman]

This has been a subject that has been kicked around for eons. Also a lot about it on another forum. There is no shortcut!!! IMHO all that needs to be said, is get the proper training to use anything with which you are going to use to breath underwater. What you don't know can kill you. If you are going to work shallow, I do, get a commercially made hookah rig. You ll get to choose between gas and electric and there's lots of pluses and minuses with each. Two top of the line are the Airline and the Hookamax (The one made in the US, not the copy sold on X-bay). Forget modifying the paint compressor sold at Lowes and grabbing some gas station air hose and making your own. Nothing wrong with building your own if you know how to choose the right components and assemble them. If a belt breaks or the hose comes disconnected and you are 15' down, or even 8', you'll need to fall back on your training to surface safely. If it's not built right and you suck up exhaust from any engine, not just the one running your compressor, and you don't have the 5 micron filter installed in the line somewhere, you'll die a lot faster. See! You'll get trained that if your vision starts to get blurry or you get a little headache, you either have CO in your tank or it's being introduced into you hookah intake from somewhere. If you know that, you inflate you BC and surface immediately and breathe the air on the surface. Forget the air from the source until you get it straightened out.
Frankly, I wade and I dive with my detectors. I am really finding more working the wading depth water and digging with a good scoop. The only time I have found it an advantage to work deeper water is if there is a swim/dive board platform anchored in deeper water. I do all freshwater. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Regards...Jim

 

[AUDuke]

Thanx grumpyolman; I have used hookah air quite a lot for gold dredging in the mother lode country a few years ago. I know where a 3caret gold ring was lost in 7-8 ft of water and was wondering if the pressure snorkel would work ok for this depth, or if a regular hooka would be better. It would be used only in fresh water 2-3 mos in the summer. I am leaning toward the hookah since I know what that is.

 

[grumpyolman]

I am really impressed with the quality of the Airline. I own one good for two divers to 60'. It's noisey. The compressor itself makes noise and there is a pop-off valve that releases before there is an overpressure situation internally. We get about 2-3 hours dive time on a little over a pint of gasoline. It's weight is not a major problem. The 12V DC models are much quieter, but the weight and price of deep cylce batteries is a major concern. If I were going to get another hookah it'd be electric and I think it'd be the 12 volt Hookamax. I am still researching batteries for it.
If you've used the hookah in dredging operations it'd be no problem to grab one and go for the loot you are seeking. No new learning required. Please Google Airline and Hookamax and compare quality and costs. The Airline does not come stock with any kind of air reserve tank. Frankly, it's not needed but you can add one if you choose. When son and I are diving, shallow like 10' or so, and the gas engine starts to run rough when it begins to starve for fuel, you have plenty of time and warning to head for the top. We tested it a couple of times by turning off the engine and seeing what it'd do. There is enough residual air in the two 60' hose lines that each one of us could get three more breaths after the motor stopped. The Hookamax has a reserve tank built in and when the tank is full the gasoline engine goes to idle. Nice feature that makes it more fuel efficient and does help reduce the noise. After you make a decision let me know. It'd be interested in you choice. Later...Jim

 

[Willee - Texas]

Hey Grumpy ... you have given some very good advice here.
When I first wanted to take up SCUBA I thought it was a rip to pay for diving classes.
How simple ... bite the mouthpiece and suck air ... whats to know!
After taking the diving course to get my SCUBA card I realized how wrong I was thinking that.
There are so many things that can lead to your death underwater and just knowing about them will save your life.

It has been a few years since my last dive and I would not even think of getting into the water with SCUBA gear unless I took a refresher course and practiced supervised emergency drills in a pool.

Breathing underwater seems like a simple thing but believe me, what you dont know will kill you!

Willee

 

[grumpyolman]

Nice to hear others chime in on the safety thing. I've seen a lot of folks, on another forum, really play down the potential danger. It's not like you're an elite person because you went and got certified. It's you learned something that will allow you to experiment in another realm more safely. In this application if you don't know what you don't know, it could kill you. The physics of diving are a whole lot more complicated than logic would dictate.
I don't know how much time you got to dive after your cert, but if you got so you were really comfortable underwater, and started again by taking it really easy and staying shallow in calm water, of course with a buddy along... you might not need to take a refresher. But err on the side of living to hunt another day. Jim