Hookas

[mlayers]

Hooka's

I been thinking about getting a hooka for some shallow dives. I have found some old swimming holes. I was wondering which would be better gas or electric. I ave heard that the electric only gives you about 2 hours of diving time. But then I was wondering how loud the motor on the gas is. Is the gas motors very loud. As I would like to use it early in the mornings or late at night. Thanks....Matt

 

[John (west central FL)]

Re: Hooka's

The motor will be about as loud as a lawnmower running at low speed. Will probably attract some attention.

 

[excal/pirate]

Re: Hooka's

The motor will be about as loud as a lawnmower running at low speed. Will probably attract some attention.

its not the motor thats loud its the poping of the compresser but i have found the solition to end this you can barly hear mine running now first get a gas one i use a 6 hp motor not because i need that high hp but it allows me to run at lowest speed idle smoothly now for the compresser i use a belt driven gast 263 what i did was to put a long high heat hose where the releif valve was moved the valve to the other end and when its mounted on my tube its under water no more poping just water bubbles

 

[John (west central FL)]

Re: Hooka's

I don't know what Hookah machine Excal/Pirate uses but the one I used was a Brownie's Third Lung. I can assure you that the motor noise on that unit was loud. It was brand new and had a Honda engine. The unit belonged to a friend of mine. We used it in a lake in upstate NY. I felt really bad for the people on shore trying to enjoy themselves. If it had been just me, I would have left the area out of respect for the people on the beach. My friend insisted on staying. I stopped using the hookah and used my snorkel instead. If I ever get a hookah for myself it will be electric.

 

[JoeSWFla]

Re: Hooka's

If you want quiet,it will have to be electric,or,if you are
a certified diver you can make a tank hooka.Very quiet,
and can last a long time in shallow water.I have one mounted
on wheels-just roll the whole thing in the water,put up the
flag,and you are hunting.Once you relax and start listening
to the detector between breaths,a tank will last a long time.
Good luck on the choice.HH Joe

 

[Sandman]

Re: Hooka's

I've used both gas and electric 12 volt. They make 110 volt AC too but it is mainly for use in marinas. The trouble with the 12 volt is the battery as those with the amps are heavy and all that weight has to be moved to the water. But the electric is nice for night dives in fresh water and diving in salt at night made me nervous. My gas one was from Kneen's Engineering.

 

[niffler]

Re: Hooka's

I am building mine with a 24V motor from an electric scooter, salvaged from a dumpster. I traded 2 samurai swords for a Gast Teflon piston pump, two 30 foot Keene yellow hoses and 2 Sherwood hookah regulators. I found a small steel reserve tank at the local scrap yard. I have 2 deep cycle batteries to use. Just need to find a way to float it all. HH Niffler

 

[FLauthor]

Re: Hooka's

Niffler, you can go to Craigslist, click on boats and type in Bass Hunter boat. Sometimes you can pickup one of them for a couple of hundred dollars or less. It will fit in the back of a truck and will hold 400 pounds of people and gear and it won't tip over. Good luck.

 

[Sandman]

Re: Hooka's

I encluded a pic of J-sinks fine hookah rig. For me that can only use a hammer I had to find a rig that was assembled and went with the Kneen rig for two divers. My son joined me a couple times but found it to cold for his enjoyment. I had a platform with wheels that the float sat on and it would float with it while it was in the water. Can you imagine how long a wagon would last on the beach with nobody there to watch it? It was bad enough with every boater that saw the dive flag that didn't know what it was for.

I knew two guys in FL that used two rigs with 12 volt to steal those expensive props at marinas at night. Last I heard they got caught too by a guy that was sleeping on his boat.

 

[ToadWhisperer]

Re: Hooka's

The motor will be about as loud as a lawnmower running at low speed. Will probably attract some attention.

its not the motor thats loud its the poping of the compresser but i have found the solition to end this you can barly hear mine running now first get a gas one i use a 6 hp motor not because i need that high hp but it allows me to run at lowest speed idle smoothly now for the compresser i use a belt driven gast 263 what i did was to put a long high heat hose where the releif valve was moved the valve to the other end and when its mounted on my tube its under water no more poping just water bubbles

When you say you can barely hear it, what would you compare it to?

 

[excal/pirate]

Re: Hooka's

The motor will be about as loud as a lawnmower running at low speed. Will probably attract some attention.

its not the motor thats loud its the poping of the compresser but i have found the solition to end this you can barly hear mine running now first get a gas one i use a 6 hp motor not because i need that high hp but it allows me to run at lowest speed idle smoothly now for the compresser i use a belt driven gast 263 what i did was to put a long high heat hose where the releif valve was moved the valve to the other end and when its mounted on my tube its under water no more poping just water bubbles

When you say you can barely hear it, what would you compare it to?

dull weedeater i use mine on the east and west coast beaches when seas are calm i use it anchored just outside the swimming area you cant hear it unless you are closer than 50 ft ive never had anyone complain about it and i use 100ft of diving hose to search a area but i do get alot of people wondering what it is and what im doing as far as a battery one in my opinon its not worth the effort getting it there for only 2 hours of diving i get over 4 hours on a gallon

 

[mlayers]

Re: Hooka's

Thanks for the infor guys......Matt

 

[FISHEYE]

Re: Hooka's

A gas hooka is no louder than a 5hp outboard engine.And boats/jetskis with bigger engines make more noise than that.I wouldnt worry about the people enjoying themselves on land.They are used to hearing motor boats all day.

 

[finderzzs]

Re: Hooka's

I bought & used the Air sync (think that's how it's spelled), electric hookaj while I was in Hawaii. Nice & quiet, you get about 1 hour +/- of time on a good marine battery, have more than 1 battery, more time down. But it works great, my reccomendation is to get the reserve air tank though, when it stops pumping air...it stops pumping air, and your holding a detector and loaded with dive weights to hold ya down. I almost drowned once... Good luck.