Hookah snorkeling / diving

[Karnic]

Hi All

Im practicing snorkeling with an electric Hookah ( AIRBUDDY) but im somewhat confused regarding the ascent method. If Im 5 feet under the surface which is the depth im diving how slow can you ascend as in 3 seconds I will be above water. Am I missing something? I exhale before ascending and reach surface in seconds. I am doing a lot of research and understand the importance of breathing in and out . Carbon monoxide and boat traffic not an issue in my case . So In my case ie just to clean hull of boat and snorkeling in 5 ft or less what should i worry about ( in order to be better safe than sorry ) or i am exaggerating or getting paranoid about the ascend method/ and lung issues?

 

[srm]

At 5 feet I would suggest a good practice would be to exhale as you ascend so as to clear the expanding air from your lungs.

 

[Graham376]

If you've only been down five feet, as SRM says, just exhale slowly as you ascend. If you and your gear are in the UK, you could always visit your local BSAC club who usually have a weekly pool meet, and try out your Hookah under instruction.

 

[lustyd]

Very very slowly is the recommendation, but if you're that shallow and not down for long it's unlikely you'd have any issues. From what I've seen of hookah systems you might not have buoyancy control either which would make it very difficult

 

[srm]

Very very slowly is the recommendation

Yes, I was diving with SCUBA in the mid 70's. No fancy instrumentation and buoyancy was controlled by the residual air kept in our lungs. The rule taught for accent was no faster than the smallest bubbles.

 

[Ammonite]

The air in your lungs will expand by 20% if you hold your breath from 2 metres, which doesn't sound much but could be potentially dangerous. Just breathe normally if ascending in a controlled fashion or exhale if your buoyancy control isn't that great

 

[lustyd]

The rule taught for accent was no faster than the smallest bubbles.

I was taught that too, but it's fallen out of favour as it's ambiguous and requires people to be able to see the smallest bubbles. I think now it's something like a minute for the last 6 metres.
This isn't really diving though, so the main issue is burst lung and just breathing normally sorts that. Slow ascent is to prevent bubbles forming in the blood but at under 2m deep you're not absorbing a lot of gas anyway on a short dive

 

[Skylark]

Say 5ft equals 1.5m. For each 10m, pressure increases by 1.0 bar.

Pressure x volume is a constant.

Breath holding with lungs full of air, breathed in while at 1.5m depth, would expand lung volume by 15% and likely something would burst. Hence the advice to breath out while ascending.

As already been said, breathing air, it’s generally accepted that there is no (nitrogen) decompression penalty when diving at 6m or less.

Final 6m of any ascent should take 1m.

Carbon monoxide is an issue related to the inlet of the compressor, is it anywhere near an engine exhaust?

Carbon dioxide (first symptom is usually a head ache) is possible by shallow breathing, skip breathing and a poorly designed mouthpiece.

I’ve witnessed a diver busting an ear drum in about 3m of water. Seen a few blooded eyes due to mask squeeze, too.

Wise to get some training.

 

[Karnic]

The air in your lungs will expand by 20% if you hold your breath from 2 metres, which doesn't sound much but could be potentially dangerous. Just breathe normally if ascending in a controlled fashion or exhale if your buoyancy control isn't that great

Yes understand. Thanks for your output on my concerns. Yes Buoyancy control isnt great but as i would be under boat I manage to keep underwater ( underhull) with one hand ( like holding the hull ) while with the other hand I do the scrubbing with the scrubbing brush . Scrub and move. Maybe im asking a silly question, but as I have done this job many times before but I always FREEDIVED and issue was getting quite exhausting , in order to confirm im exhaling out properly would seeing bubbles coming out from regulator confirm it? Ive used the hookah system in order to see what to expect when i will clean hull and in order to get used to it a bit and really enjoyed the time but as soon as i went up from half a metre down after 45 minutes of continuous breathing from regulator I felt a bit of an anxiety attack like felt a bit disorientated and a bit out of breath but issued resolved a couple of minutes later. I think it was an anxiety attack as I had done a lot of research into matter and after resurfacing i got paranoid in thinking that i hurt lung etc etc.. Hookah system is an AirBuddy.

 

[Karnic]

I was taught that too, but it's fallen out of favour as it's ambiguous and requires people to be able to see the smallest bubbles. I think now it's something like a minute for the last 6 metres.
This isn't really diving though, so the main issue is burst lung and just breathing normally sorts that. Slow ascent is to prevent bubbles forming in the blood but at under 2m deep you're not absorbing a lot of gas anyway on a short dive

Thanks for your output. appreciate. Maybe im asking a silly question, but as I have done this job many times before but I always FREEDIVED and issue was getting quite exhausting , in order to confirm im exhaling out properly would seeing bubbles coming out from regulator confirm it?

 

[Karnic]

Say 5ft equals 1.5m. For each 10m, pressure increases by 1.0 bar.

Pressure x volume is a constant.

Breath holding with lungs full of air, breathed in while at 1.5m depth, would expand lung volume by 15% and likely something would burst. Hence the advice to breath out while ascending.

As already been said, breathing air, it’s generally accepted that there is no (nitrogen) decompression penalty when diving at 6m or less.

Final 6m of any ascent should take 1m.

Carbon monoxide is an issue related to the inlet of the compressor, is it anywhere near an engine exhaust?

Carbon dioxide (first symptom is usually a head ache) is possible by shallow breathing, skip breathing and a poorly designed mouthpiece.

I’ve witnessed a diver busting an ear drum in about 3m of water. Seen a few blooded eyes due to mask squeeze, too.

Wise to get some training.

Hookah system is an AIRBUDDY . lithium battery powered. Just to confirm , maybe im sounding ridiculous, but in order to confirm im exhaling out properly will seeing bubbles coming out from regulator confirm im exhaling?Ive used the hookah system in order to see what to expect when i will clean hull and in order to get used to it a bit and really enjoyed the time but as soon as i went up from half a metre down after 45 minutes of continuous breathing from regulator I felt a bit of an anxiety attack like felt a bit disorientated and a bit out of breath but issued resolved a couple of minutes later. I think it was an anxiety attack as I had done a lot of research into matter and after resurfacing i got paranoid in thinking that i hurt lung etc etc.. Understand that training is important but my only aim of buying system is to clean hull only as i used to do it lots of times but always freedived. Now getting old and issue was getting exhausting .

 

[Skylark]

Hookah system is an AIRBUDDY . lithium battery powered. Just to confirm , maybe im sounding ridiculous, but in order to confirm im exhaling out properly will seeing bubbles coming out from regulator confirm im exhaling?Ive used the hookah system in order to see what to expect when i will clean hull and in order to get used to it a bit and really enjoyed the time but as soon as i went up from half a metre down after 45 minutes of continuous breathing from regulator I felt a bit of an anxiety attack like felt a bit disorientated and a bit out of breath but issued resolved a couple of minutes later. I think it was an anxiety attack as I had done a lot of research into matter and after resurfacing i got paranoid in thinking that i hurt lung etc etc.. Understand that training is important but my only aim of buying system is to clean hull only as i used to do it lots of times but always freedived. Now getting old and issue was getting exhausting .

As we exhale, the air will pass through the regulator exhaust port.

Anxiety, disorientation and being out of breath is not a normal response to a 45 minute dive to 0.5m.

My very strong advice is to contact your nearest BSAC Branch (easily found via their website). With luck, they will talk through your questions and possibly, someone would breath through your equipment within the safety of a swimming pool, then be better placed to offer comments.

 

[Tillana]

If you Google PADI CESA, it should cover any concerns about ascending and breathing out. You're expected to hum during training to show that your exhaling. As long as your not holding your breath, you'll be fine.

 

[Ammonite]

It's very common for newbies to not breathe properly when they start leading to headaches, dizziness etc even in the training pool. Try and relax and breathe normally and you should feel a lot better. I would also suggest as others have that you get in touch with your local BSAC or Padi centre and do a few dives in the pool. It's only natural to be a little anxious when you start as we're not designed to be there, particularly if the visibility is lousy and you need to learn to relax so that you don't freak out if something serious does happen (regulator fails, losing your mask, getting caught in fishing line etc) which is where training (and experience) comes in, particularly if you are tempted to go any deeper in which case a proper qualification is essential in my view.

 

[oldbloke]

Take a couple of minutes moderate exercise, brisk walking, trotting upstairs etc. Then after taking a breath keep going and really fill your lungs. That would be the space you have got for the air to expand. I reckon there's 15% there, maybe don't surface on full inspiration and you will be fine.
45mins scrubbing underwater sounds a lot, I suspect you ended up overreaching and short of CO2. My unscientific guess would be 10 mins and come up for a rest

 

[wooslehunter]

I used to dive a lot & was an instructor. I don't post on here very frequently any more but I think it's important to post an informed reply to this though.

By asking the question, you're doing the right thing & it's evident you are not a diver.

Do some dive training & you'll also soon realise you needed it. What happens if the Hookha stops working? Suddenly with no warning you get no air. You find that out when you try to take a breath. Dive training teaches you what to do. OK, you're only a few feet from the surface. But if you can't breath without training & practice, you will panic. Then what.....

As for the other answers, they're generally right. Take a deep breath at 2m, hold it & surface. Your lungs will expand by 20%. Do it at 10m, they'll try to double in volume. They're highly unlikely to do so & will be damaged. We used to demonstrate this using a winebox bag in the pool. They'd often burst when inflated at the bottom & then let go.

No-one has mentioned the bends. That's good because at 2m it's very highly unlikely you'd get it, even spending all day there. Enough about that one.

Get some diver training. Even a try dive in the pool is better than nothing.

 

[srm]

What happens if the Hookha stops working?

Breathing progressively gets difficult as you use the reserve air in the tube, (its slightly different to SCUBA gear). Sufficient to give warning and time to surface safely from his shallow working depth.

Agree totally that the OP needs some basic training to familiarise and avoid panic as he is breathing compressed air and is not snorkelling.

As an aside I was on a firefighting training course. Instructors checked our air reserves after the first BA exercise and jokingly accused two of us of not breathing - we were both experienced divers so no stressful over breathing.

 

[LiftyK]

Are you carrying any weight? There are two ways to ensure a slow ascent:
1. Carry weight to achieve neutral or very slight positive buoyancy. Have the weight on a diving weight belt so you can ditch it easily if things go pear shaped.
2. Drop an anchor next to where you are operating. When ascending, walk your hands slowly up the anchor chain

 

[William_H]

With diving experience is the key. You get naturally more comfortable in the environment. In SCUBA training they have an exercise about 8 metres down on the bottom where you remove all your gear then refit. ie weight belt tank buoyancy vest and mask. A bit difficult and tedious but it does give you some confidence to handle problems. You find yourself clutching weight belt with tank on the bottom and regulator in your mouth. Mask on first and clear water.
Another fascinating exercise was to remove regulator and ascend from 10 metres. You have to sing or hum a noise as you exhale. What is fascinating is that you get more wind as you ascend due to air expanding so you can hum for a really long time.
I suggest OP take up humming as he ascends even from 1 metre. However also to get confidence drop an anchor or weight on a line over the side. Use the rope to pull yourself down or up. Gives real confidence if there is any water movement. You can just hang on and relax.
Re scrubbing the boat. Possibly some sort of suction cup type handle would be useful. It is hard work to swim against the hull and scrub at the same time. He may be able to hang on to the keel etc.
I scrub my little boat on a regular basis. (weekly) The free board is such that I can hang on to the gunwhale with one hand and relax after diving down on snorkel. I can also do a fair bit of the underside while hanging on. (left hand with snorkel on left) (easiest with head toward the current flow hardest with feet towards current flow. perhaps I should try 2 snorkels. Anyway I have to dive down and grasp the keel to scrub that.
I imagine OP 's boat is much bigger than mine. Just to upset my UK friends I dive with just a mask, snorkel, tee shirt and trunks and swim out from shore. plus of course scouring pad and scraper all on string around my wrist. ol'will

 

[rogerthebodger]

Tee-shirt to protect your back from sun burn