Propel vs Compressed Air

[junglelord]

My brother is a mechanic as well as building computers on the side (handy man to have around). So he could set me up...Good idea.

[Slats]

Guys in my EXPERIENCED opinion....this is nuts.
I have seen people use even LPG (BBQ gas) in the hope to save a buck.
Propel is not broke - its cheap - it works - if you are using a D&E Subdriver you won't need much. I average around 30 sorties a year from around 1-2 cans or Pasche propellent. Most of the time I vent quite a bit at days end.



J

[Slats]

and how do you invert the can (large bottle) onto the valve to ensure that what flows into the on board gas bottle in the subdriver is in a liquid state?

Furthermore what about the adaptor between big bottle and onboard gas bottle?

My comment on "nuts" Rick refers to a pursuit that seems to want to reinvent the wheel. That's my view entirely. My experience and that of others is considerable. I mention it here as over the last 15 odd years I have seen quite a lot discussed here rehashed over and over, with little improvement if any to the hobby. So go for it and get the big bottle working, monitor the efficiacy of the unit, consumption and cost effectiveness and report back, I and others love innovation and experimentation in action far more than chit chat.

Best
John

[Kazzer]

Of course, the ideal solution is to calculate the amount of gas required to surface in the event of a fail-safe blow, and make the gas tank smaller to hold just that amount of gas.

All normal dive/surface operations are carried out using the Snort. That should reduce your operation cost to a minimum.

Most people, most of the time will never need a gas charge.

1. Swimming pools and paddling ponds - No gas required.
2. Shallow lakes. If you can Snorkel (and don't mind doing it) then - No gas required.
3. Deep lakes. You need 1 shot of gas for an emergency. You could run ALL day on that charge. We're talking of a dollar here folks. Any system other than gas will have a hard time to recover from a deep dive. So why use it?

Most small air pumps cannot pump past the 20' depth pressure, so will not work when the fail-safe kicks in. I hope to have some figures on this in the next week or so.

[Slats]

Exactly Mike - we are talking small dollars here.
Can't believe some want to be so cheap.

Again a can of Pasche lasts me for a year or more. And I don't need to carry a heavy cylinder around let alone invert it to charge the on-board propel bottle.

The standard airbrush can IS cheap and IS convenient too ESP when coupled with the snort / LPB.

This whole discussion reminds me of my last trip to to the UK - a highlight for one of the tourists with us at the Imperial War Museum is that he found the cheapest shop nearby to buy a coke! Talk about not seeing the forrest for the trees.