12 Volt Diving Hookah - Please Give Feedback/Advice

[USAFM6]

Am considering this for the possibility of having locations on the Alaska creek to dredge this June that may be too deep to "long-arm". I'm a certified diver and am familiar being underwater but want to know if there is anything I would need to make this work besides the following things:
1. A means for mounting or placement
2. Mask
3. Battery
4. Drysuit/weight belt

Just purchased the equipment to use my Goldhog Viper as a 2.5" dredge and have never dredged before so am hoping someone out there that's experienced in this can give feedback. Prospecting in an area that I've yet to see so am not sure on how often this would really be needed yet. The creek may be shallow and we may never need it depending on the depth of the bedrock but just want to be ready in case it'll be needed. This is a once in a lifetime 3 week trip with my son so am going to have all contingencies covered. Sorry, it's a military thing.

I'll paste the link and will also paste the body of the listing in case the link doesn't work.
Thanks if anyone can help!

12v Electric Hookah DIVING KIT WITH PROMATE REGULATOR

*mask not included For those wanting to use a more conventional regulator a Promate regulator is included. 12v Hookah diving air compressor Power:120w 12V Weight: 9 lb *battery not included Lightweight aluminum with easy carry handle Uses our long life, oilless, efficient, DC motor designed for clean breathing. One of the advantages of this system is the low power draw of 10 amps of safe 12v DC current. With the average deep cycle marine battery you will have enough power for all day use. Also you can put the compressor and battery on a float and not be encumbered by the length of the hose. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Rated for 5 meters of depth. 25 ft (35 ft available add upgrade to cart) diving dedicated , food grade hookah hose, brass direct screw connection to air compressor. Nose clip and ear plugs included.

 

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[Timberdoodle]

I built my own 12v dive compressor about 3 years ago using a diaphragm compressor similar to the one shown. They can work, but I was using other 12v equipment at the time so I needed a battery anyway. If you go with one of these, you would want a reserve tank or you will need to take only shallow breaths which is hard to do when actually working underwater. Even some of the best marine batteries will only last 5-6hrs on a 10amp draw (they claim the average battery will last all day) so if you do not want to limit your time underwater, have 2 batteries and a means for charging them overnight. I installed a PSI cutout switch into my tank so I could at least stop the motor when I wasn't needing it and I adjusted my regulator for less pressure also. Nowadays, I rarely pull this system out for use because I prefer to run larger equipment on gas engines and the weight of batteries and there minimal use time can be a pain.
My recommendation would be to look at Keene or other manufacturers who sell pump/compressor packages and use the single engine to run both water and air. Much simpler and air will always be available in the future whether you need it or not without having to bring in a totally different system. Hope this helps.

 

[USAFM6]

Thanks Timberdoodle! The reserve tank is a good idea. Wonder if I could use my SCUBA tank and add that in the system somehow? We forsee using this very little as the creeks look pretty small on Google Earth & on the topo maps. There's probably no way we'll ever use it for more than an hour or 2 each day so 5-6 hours will be fine. We have a 2' X 3' solar panel we'll use to charge the battery when we're not using it.

We already have a 4.8 HP Honda high-pressure pump for the suction nozzle so the only alternative would be to add a compressor to that pump somehow. Here's the link to the pump we have. That would be nice to just add a compressor to this pump but looking at the pump, I don't see where I could include it to be driven. Maybe I could remove the pump housing and include a pulley between the motor and pump. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200418131_200418131

We don't leave for AK for 95 days so we have time to figure it out. Thanks for the help!

 

[Hoser John]

If you have diving experience then you already know no one should possiblely even consider ear plugs or a nose clips as you'll end up with your eardrums blown out and what's left of your brains inside you face mask?? Whoever sells those units with them things knows squat. Just go to keene website and see a ok unit. Others in florida also manufactured-John

 

[Reed Lukens]

If you have diving experience then you already know no one should possiblely even consider ear plugs or a nose clips as you'll end up with your eardrums blown out and what's left of your brains inside you face mask?? Whoever sells those units with them things knows squat. Just go to keene website and see a ok unit. Others in florida also manufactured-John

Yea what John said. I have a 3.5hp stand alone with a Gast 263 and that these days is the minimum that I use. For a dredge I use 2, one for air and one for tools.

Keene Engineering Online 3.5 HP Engine Driven Medium Duty Compressor

Keene Engineering Online Electric Motor Driven Medium Duty Compressor

Buy dredge motors for dredges and then you don't have to wonder if you can add air to a motor... Skimping on equipment slows down the recovery because you need a lot of air under water when you are working. A lot more than when you are scuba diving because moving rocks uses all of your muscles until you get worn out. The less air that you have to breathe, the faster you get worn down.

 

[specksandflecks]

Not trying to hijack, but whats the deal with air tools? I've seen it mentioned, seems like they would be very useful. Whats it like on the ears, and do the tools last long or need a special type?

'Clearing' my ears or whatever its called took me a few times to figure out. It seemed counter intuitive at first. Then I think I started doing it more often, almost preventatively maybe before I started to feel much pressure. Life got a lot better lol.

 

[Reed Lukens]

a $20.00 air chisel pays for itself with the first nugget