Question on Hooka Style air hose systems.

[FireGypsy]

Lol I could not conceal a tank on my person. The illusion is that I can do underwater tricks while holding my breathe for 30+ seconds at a time and taking a breath only when I need it. The tank or compressor will be kept on land and the hose will be going into the water.

I plan on getting training for this, I just need to buy the equipment first. I do not like the bite valve idea. The slide valve is perfect for my application, I just need to know what it is called and where to get it!

 

[FireGypsy]

This is the hose the mermaids use.

 

[Doc]

What hose? I dint see no hose.

 

[FireGypsy]

What hose? I dint see no hose.

Look in HER right hand, left side of the screen.

 

[elmer fudd]

I'd bet that with a little ingenuity, you could engineer a tank into one of those costumes. A 3 cf SpareAir is about the size of a shampoo bottle and in shallow water it might keep you breathing for 5 minutes. I would guess that one could be worn in the tail costume between the calves, (higher up might look peculiar).

Now of course you couldn't breathe out of it like that, but if you were to run a long hose up the back and over the shoulder, (you could probably integrate it into the costume), and then attached it to an AirBuddy, you'd have a very discrete scuba system.

If you wanted to make it even more discrete, you could use an air nozzle instead and run a clear plastic hose to the mouth.

 

[FireGypsy]

Okay my mermaid tail is tighter than skin tight. My thighs, knees, calves, are touching each other.There is no way in hell I am squeezing a container between my legs. It is unnecessary. I am perfectly fine with a hose being placed in the water for me to breathe from. I will be submerged for 10-45 minutes at a time. I will be doing backflips, handstands, etc. I need to be mobile. I just need to know what I could use for a nozzle, if I could use a tank or a cheap compressor for the hookah system, what type of regulator to use on a tank, etc.

 

[danvolker]

Okay so I am a Mermaid and underwater performer. I recently have been getting more and more into it and want to take things a step further. I usually perform in pools but recently have been asked to perform at aquariums. I really would love to be able to stay underwater the whole time rather than coming up for air so I am looking into air hose systems like weekiwachee.com uses. Basically they use a hookah style systems but instead of a regulator, they have an attachment at the end of the hose with a sliding button that controls the amount of air released that they breathe from once every 30 seconds or so. My first question is does that attachment have a name? Because all I can find information on is the regulator.

Also, these systems are so expensive, why? Will my regular airbrush compressor that pushes out up to 40 psi work? It is an electric oil-less system that is built into it and therefore does not need oiling. The hoses are expensive too, what type of alternative hardware store hoses could I use instead?

Keep in mind that I will not be diving far or be far from the surface of the water. The most depth I will be is 20 at most, ever, and I can freedive that depth, but for the most part it will be about 10 feet deep.

Any information would be helpful! Please feel free to input your ides and tips =)

-Sasha

Sasha,
my advice would be for you to email Robert Carmichael of Brownies third Lung and Brownies Marine Group....Brownies is the unquestioned leader in Hooka technology and sales around the world, and Robert is one of the best inovators of new gear in the Dive industry today ( Beyond all the Brownies gear, he is also the originator of the Halcyon equipment line, which was a huge departure from all other manufacturers, when it first came out).
Robert has two different solutions I think would work well for you.... One would be the route of the Tooka, which is like the Brownies 3rd lung, but with air tanks on a streamlined raft instead--you would just keep the airtanks covered up someplace on the surface I would imagine, out of sight.....Or he has another product in a very quiet electric battery powered Hooka--which again, you would hide the small electic motor and compresor portion.

With either, you would use some of the normal Brownie hose with thier typical delivery regulator/1st stage, AND then you would need to ask robert if he had any ideas for you on a "plug-in" to a second stage that could be extended like the tube systems you are interested in. He may get interested in this and WANT to help, or he may be too busy, but you have nothing to lose, and no one would be in a position to give you better custom solutions
He is at robert@browniesmarinegroup.com

DanV

 

[Rich Keller]

It is hard to tell from the picture but I think this is what you are looking for with a short piece of clear hose attached to the end. You just squeeze the handle when you need air.

Innovative Scuba Air Gun @ Divers-Supply.com

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Is this a DIY mermaid show in somebody's pool or fishtank? I thought this kind of stuff is all standardized. I don't one day think of going scuba diving and look at some pictures, then try to find fashion a gas mask with a vacuum cleaner hose hooked up directly to an oxygen tank that is lingering around in hospital rooms, strapped to a backpack were I cut the bottom out so it fits over the tank.

 

[mike1010]

Using a tank, first stage Reg with opv valve, and some hookah hose would be the cheapest way to start. On there end of the use a blowgun like the one on the previous post. But cleaning it first would be recommended.