DIY thread

[sunnydude]

So if you like we can have a demo night dive with jakes P7 and my MCE to see how the 2 differ..

I am very happy with my H2ODoc light. I was just doing some reading and came across a discussion on the P7 and the 900 lumens seemed pretty high.

A night dive to compare would be nice. Can anyone do one this week either Monday or Tuesday? :biggrin:

[Nwbrewer]

Jake, nice sheath, and THANK YOU for the post about LEDs! You answered all my nagging questions! It's like you read my mind and wrote exactly what I was looking for.

-Ben

Too much time spent on CPF......

I do wish somebody with the proper gear would do a good comparison of both the MC-E and the P7 at max rated current. It's annoying that Cre publishes 350ma current numbers and not 700ma numbers like SSC does.

[Nwbrewer]

Since a certain dive buddy who will remain nameless insists on diving without a knife and putting us all at risk of certain death, I put a steak knife in Kydex sheath for him. Now his team will be safe.





Also as promised, my new super BC rinser. By the time I put together the parts, it wasn't significantly cheaper than the one from DSS though. Cool to have, works well, but I wouldn't make another one when Tobin's is $12.

[Nwbrewer]

This is an update to the original DIY drygloves here -
http://www.nwdiveclub.com/viewtopic.php ... 120#p68069

I noticed 2 things about the ring design that I didn't like. 1) The rings tended to move in the seal. 2) The front edge of the ring was exposed where the seal came over it, and was subject to getting banged around, and was looking a little rough. It probably would have worn through soon.



I added a third groove to the rings that's smaller, and between the other two. I also got a smaller 3/16 3" O-ring that will fit that groove.

The rings now go on just like the suit side of the DC rings -
http://www.divingconcepts.com/link5.htm





I also switched gloves. I tried the smurf gloves, but didn't like the stiffness. So I switched to these -

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=40533

I really like them and they seem to be really tough. Still held on by slipping an o-ring over the outside into the groove that's farthest from the suit, no glove side rings. Yet....

[Nwbrewer]

So I needed pockets for my drysuit. I looked at what was out there, and got some advice from some of the folks on the board, and wound up making my own pockets. I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out. I could have done a better job of glueing them, but overall I'm pretty happy with them.

I sewed up the pockets, added grommets, and glued and sewed a piece of 2mm Neoprene to the back





E-6000 (the black, NOT the clear) was recommended as the adhesive of choice by several folks.


I positioned the pockets where I wanted them and had my wife mark out where I thought they should go. Then I masked off the area with blue painters tape. I put a piece of heavy cardboard inside the leg behind the masked off area.


I soaked the adhesive in hot water for a few minutes to make it spread easier. I then applied a layer to both the suit and pocket.



I waited about 2 minutes, and positioned the pocket and pressed it into place. Then I positioned some boards over the top and added weight.


I let it sit for 10 minutes and peeled up the tape I then replaced the weights for a few hours.


Aside from the small squirt out that could have been avoided my a more experienced and meticulous job of masking I think they came out pretty nice looking. I've dove them once so far, I managed to easily deploy both my smb and wetnotes and replace them.


Jake

[sheahanmcculla]

Awsome job Jake! They look really good, couldn't tell you did them yourself.

[LCF]

Looks great! I'll be interested in whether putting the larger piece of neoprene for backing keeps the corners from peeling. That would be cool.

[Nwbrewer]

Looks great! I'll be interested in whether putting the larger piece of neoprene for backing keeps the corners from peeling. That would be cool.

I stole Tobin's idea after looking at the DSS pockets. Each corner also got a little extra dab of glue also. I had a scrap of neo left over, and glued 2 pieces together at the ends. When it was dry I tried pulling them apart, I thought I was gonna rip the neo. It's stuck good.

[divemaster08]

I saw something like this at Muk the other day and thought I would try it with my cooler. Works really well.

[Dusty2]

I saw something like this at Muk the other day and thought I would try it with my cooler. Works really well.

More info please!

[divemaster08]

I saw something like this at Muk the other day and thought I would try it with my cooler. Works really well.

More info please!

what would you like to know? It has a 10' hose with shower head attached, but could be any length. powered by 12V pump hard wired to a switch at the rear of my truck bed. 15 minutes of run time.

[Dusty2]

That pretty much answers most of it. Is it just a small boat sump pump?

[sheahanmcculla]

That is an awsome idea! I was thinking the same thing but with a small hot water heater and some sort of pressure tank, but this looks way easier. I too would like to know about the pump. What kind and where did you get it.

Thanks

[Nwbrewer]

Hmmm... I have a cooler that I don't use much anymore.... I need to get a pump....

[divemaster08]

That is an awsome idea! I was thinking the same thing but with a small hot water heater and some sort of pressure tank, but this looks way easier. I too would like to know about the pump. What kind and where did you get it.

Thanks

A small water heater will draw a fair amount of power and most likely take some time to heat the water. I thought of that too. Maybe that will be my next project. The pump is from west marine, 500 GPH.

[Nwbrewer]

That is an awsome idea! I was thinking the same thing but with a small hot water heater and some sort of pressure tank, but this looks way easier. I too would like to know about the pump. What kind and where did you get it.

Thanks

A small water heater will draw a fair amount of power and most likely take some time to heat the water. I thought of that too. Maybe that will be my next project. The pump is from west marine, 500 GPH.

Propane! Use the pump to recirculate the water through the heater.

(or just start out with hot water in a 5 day cooler. It will stay warm a long time if you leave the lid on.)

[Burntchef]

any cooler should keep the water toasty but it really really helps if you pre heat the cooler first. fill it with hot water, let sit for 30 min, then dump and re fill. this will use the energy from the first water fill to get the hot insulation going .

[Scuba Scott]

I have had the same idea, except I was going to use a washdown pump that would not be submersible. Your idea is more simple to use. I'm not sure how much hot of water the bilge pump is designed to handle. I also planned to use a foam seal at the lid edge and some tie down straps to secure the lid from splashing open or leaking with a full cooler of water.

[Norris]

I am dead set on making one of these, what a great idea for a portable shower. One question I ask is, did you drill the hole on the upper part of your cooler? I ass|u|me so.. and just some simple calking to seal it up?

I also planned to use a foam seal at the lid edge and some tie down straps to secure the lid from splashing open or leaking with a full cooler of water.

This also seems like a good idea as I have carried water in one of these before and they certainly are not leak free.

Ill be buying the pump here and my only challenge would be the electrical switch. I would need to find a place to splice into in the rear of my car then?

[Nwbrewer]

Put a long tail on it and plug it into the cigarette lighter. You might look into the round igloo coolers, a 5 gallon one should work, (they make 10gallon ones) and the lid actually seals because it's designed to carry water.

[Scuba Scott]

I plan on having my power supply from my trailer light plug. I purchased a cooler with a standard 3/4" hose fitting as a drain plug. I will attach a short hose to cooler and exterior pump and a second hose with garden sprey handle for shower and wash down. My pump is an on demand style pump. It will turn on when the pressure drops in the discharge side of the pump.

[Norris]

Put a long tail on it and plug it into the cigarette lighter. You might look into the round igloo coolers, a 5 gallon one should work, (they make 10gallon ones) and the lid actually seals because it's designed to carry water.

Thanks Jake those are some sound ideas, and considering I dont really have a trailer rig or easily accessable line to splice into that would be a good choice. I may go for one of the round igloos too, as my wife probably doesnt want me altering one of our camping coolers.

[sunnydude]

Ill be buying the pump here

Call me Norris...I can get you a bilge pump locally for 14.57 that you can return if needed. Picture is here: http://www.fisheriessupply.com/online/l ... l+Inactive The price shown is without my discount.

I like your idea of a 12v lighter socket Jake. If my wife lets me take the expedition there is an outlet right at the back. I will make my lead long enough for my car though as she doesn't let me take hers too often.

Guess I have a reason to use the spare pumps and cooler on my boat.

[Dusty2]

I saw a similar idea in a guys van once that was way cool he had wrapped copper coils around the exaust system and circulated the water with a pump. He had about 20 gallons of nice hot water ready for use when he got to the dive site.Really cool but a bit of a project. Another cool idea is to get the shower head from Camping world as the RV ones have a built in shutoff

[Dusty2]

If you really want to go the first class route you could get this guy. The price is right and you can even use it camping, on the boat, where ever.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LPG-L5-P ... otohosting