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oilless air pump hookah conversions

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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popolarbear

New Member
Apr 28, 2008
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im currious as to if anyone has much info on roughly how to convert a oilless air pump to be used for hookah aplications. we got at work a high end oiless air pump for isolated air source that is not being used. it has masks and probably 100ft of air line, it is also suposedly good for two masks. very expensive unit. i currious as to how complicated it would be to use this for shallow dives. i think the pressure gague is set at 150psi now. i imagine that it should be good for shallow under 20ft dives as the comercial hookahs only have like 50psi. i also imagine that a first stage would not be needed, but how to rig the rest of the regulators to this type of air hose? and how to attach BC etc. would the pressure have to be set lower than 150psi. lots of questions. anyone done this type of thing before have any thoughts. thanks
 
You will need a double hose barb, or a fitting to adapt the airline to the reg hose. I have just cut and used a hose barb and hose clamps, since nothing was available to connect the 2. You can get an air compressor regulator to lower the pressure. Most hookahs have 50 psi , and 50 psi springs in the 2nd stage. You will either need to lower pressure to 100 psi for regular 2nd stage, or get an adjustable 2nd stage. Or get hookah regs. I dont use a BC with a hookah, but you really cant attach a low pressure hose easily. You could use a 3 way, and do that. You could wear a BC, and blow it up by mouth, but that would be a pain. I use a soft weight belt and adjust the weight I need. I have a Brownies third lung, which has a Gast 2 cylinder compressor with a 5 hp Honda. It lasts 3 hours on about a quart of gasoline, with 2 divers, so they really are economical.
 
yes ive seen the brownies. they are nice. but expensive. also im interested in using bc if possible. basicaly i would have to set compressor at 100psi or slightly lower if im going to use traditional scuba reg.

would it be possible to use 1st stage and attach 100psi compressor line in backwards to HP port, thread in a cap or sealed k-valve on tank end. and then use 1st stage to conect to both 2nd stage regulator and bc?



??

ps. i do appreciate the advice so far. thankxs
 
i supose the other possiblity would be to set the compressor at 100psi(what the 1st stage would normally bring the hp down to). use the adaptor to run stadard "regular 100ft Air line" then use perhaps an adaptor and a "T" fitting to split to the second stage regulator and BC. .....somehow that sounds strange... but it should work? right? or am i missing something?
 
i wonder if 100psi is the optimal point to set the compressor. as i read up on this it seems that these oiless compressiors have a very specific service life that is affected by the operating pressure. turning it down slightly can extend the life greatly, and turning it up will shorted the life.. also i would imagine that 100psi is harder on the reg and BCV than if it was turned down slightly. but im not an expert. anyone any suggestions. would 100psi be optimal, or perhaps more like 80 or 50psi. i supose there is a lower limit to the working pressure of the regulator.
 
The Brownies I have is set at 50. I suppose that is fine. We have no problem breathing 50 PSI air.
 
The reason I suggested 100 PSI, is because you sounded like you wanted to use regular SCUBA regs.
 
yes, i was thinking using traditional scuba regs. we got i think 200ft of hose now, should be enough, then all i would need is some fitting addaptors air hose-scuba hose, then adaptor split for BC. all simple stuff to order online. then i think i would add one air tank as a reserve to buffer the air suply should something stop. that way i think we would have a breath or two if it slowed down, to get out. also i would need a generator to power the oiless air pump. i dont off hand know the power consumption, but i would imagine a 1000watt gen to be enough.
 
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