Only dive with one or more partners who you trust with your life( anything can happen down there and it might come to that) who is experianced and competent. Know your equipment and your own personal limitations. If you dont fell comfortable doing something dont do it( common sense) and lastly SAFETY SAFETY SAFETY. Safety first, last and always.
With that out of the way I'm reviewing the Brownies Third Lung Hooka. For those of you who are not familiar with hooka diving. A hooka is basicly an air pump that either floats on the surface or is teathered to your boat that supplies air through hoses to one or more divers below the surface at various depths depending on the model. The particular model that I'm reviewing is the Brownies explorer 280X. This model supports two divers to 80 feet or three divers to 45 feet with the add a diver kit. The best price I could find for a brand new unit is $2295.00 online at http://www.waternsports.com . Used units can be found from anywhere between $90.00 and $1800.00 depending on the condition of the unit and the seller. If you decide on a used unit be sure to inspect it thoroughly inside and out before diving.(Never take the sellers word for it)
The explorer 280x comes with motor/compressor in protective case, 10 ft heat transfer hose with in-line filter, float tube with ballistic nylon cover, integrated handles and hose loops; dry-top intake staff and dive flag; 60 ft down line with QRS fittings; (1) QRS Y-Divider; (2) 20 ft diver hoses with QRS fittings; (2) Brownie's adjustable hookah regulators; (2) Brownie's Drop Weight Cummerbelts; (1) Brownie's deluxe mesh gear bag. Basicly everything you need to get wet. During shallow dives of 15 feet or less you will get between 3 and 4 hours out of one tank of fuel. During deeper dives you will get between 2 and 2.5 hours out of a tank.
There are several places localy that will service your hooka. I personaly recomend The Tackle Shack in largo on 66th st. They don't carry any tackle as the name implies but they are a full service diveshop and also carry kayaks. The people are very friendly and knowledgeable. They will spend hours with you answering questions and showing you different products( I know from experiance) or if you prefer they will leave you alone to browse at your leisure. You won't find better customer service anywhere. Brownies recommends that you inspect all hoses, seals, o-rings, regulators, cumberbelts, oil and fuel levels before each dive. Under normal use they recomend that you change the oil in the engine at the beginning of each season. Under heavy or extended use it is recommended that you change the oil at least twice a season.
Well, those are the facts and heres my opinion. OUTSTANDING!!!!!! You couldn't ask for a more complete, simple or user friendly machine. Quite frankly if you cant figure it out in 5 minutes you probably shouldn't be diving. A tank of gas provides plenty of time for a couple of dives. As the machine is running you can feel it vibrating through the hose. If the vibration stops you're out of gas and generaly have about two breaths per person before you are actualy out of air. This is plenty of time to make it back to the surface to refuel. and as far as the vibration scaring off any sealife, I've never noticed any problems from it. There are never any tanks to refill or to have certified. All you scuba divers will quickly grow to appreciate that. The only drawback that I can think of is something I like to call the tug of war. This happens when you go in one direction and your partner heads off in the oppisite direction. You only have about 40 feet of seperation, after that it realy just depends on who is the stronger swimmer and thats the direction you're going to go. The Explorer 280X is a well thought out, versitile and easy to use unit and I would personaly recommend it to any one looking to get into hooka diving.
the only thing I would add is the fact that it does not scare fish in the least. I have actually seen fish jumping back and forth over the hose on the surface for no other reason than having fun.
