An Air Compressor

A Hookah air systems starts at the air compressor of the diver. The good thing about these air compressors is that they are lightweight, small and have a simple design to them. These are usually made out of aluminum alloy and they have a rubber diaphragm that is used as the air displacement.

Some compressors have a piston arrangement to transfer air and these types usually give out more air at higher pressures than the diaphragm models. The parts that move inside the Hookah compressors are lubricated with Teflon and do not have the need for more lubrication; if you have one of these do not lubricate it more because you could actually end up ruining it. The air that is transferred by a Hookah compressor is oil free air and pure and it does not have the need for any type of filtration. Hookah compressors do not have any parts that could contaminate the air supply, which is different from the case of common industrial compressors that have to get oiled down for lubrication.

The Hookah compressors work at a moderately low pressure. The most amount of pressure that can be found from the models that have a higher capacity is around one hundred pounds per square inch. The higher the operating pressure, the lower the output of air is. High operating pressures will end up shortening the life of the compressor notably. On the other hand the lower the operating pressure, the higher the output of air will be and this means the longer the compressor’s life.

Make sure to not operate a compressor at high pressures unless you intend to be submerged at greater depths. A diver that is working at depths of thirty three or anything under that, you only need around thirty to forty pounds per square inch for better operation of the regulator.

Almost all the Hookah compressors have pressure relieve valves that are built into them and this avoids too much pressure from accumulating in the compressor head when the diver is only making using the compressor at small demand.

The factory that makes Hookah compressors usually set the valve at around 50 p.s.i., that will provide all divers at shallow depths a enough air to use his or her regulator while leaving enough left over pressure for more exertion.

If a diver is breathing at a normal pace (light exertion), the pressure relief valve might shoot out a bubble of air. However, as you have probably seen this is not anything abnormal and all it is doing is preventing an excess amount of buildup of pressure in the compressor head. If the diver breathes heavily and is doing a lot of physical work, his or her body will demand and require of all the pressure the compressor is able to provide. When this occurs it is very unlikely the relief valve will burst out a bubble of air.

The kind of Hookah compressor that is needed for a specific type of diving mainly depends on the extent of physical exertion that takes place or is going to take place under the water. It also depends on the depth of the water, and the amount of divers that are connected to the system.

If there is only one diver that is connected and is under light exertion in a shallow area, he or she will only need a small air output, which is measured in cubic feet per minute, “CFM”. However if a diver is under heavy exertion he will need more air at a little bit higher pressure.

If two or more divers are going to be connected to an air system, or if the diving is going to be at more depth, then more air volume is at higher pressures might be necessary.