Briefly, our small, dynamic company developed direct-drive for surface supplied air and introduced it May 1st of 1999. Since doing so, a virtual revolution has taken place to where pulleys and belts have gone the way of the dinosaurs. Seeing the logic of direct-drive, most of the competitors introduced other versions in August, 1999.
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By working with a major compressor manufacturer, Thomas Industries, Inc. of Sheboygan, WI, we re-powered and reconfigured an existing technology and tweaked it for our niche market. The result is the sole distributorship of the only direct-drive, compressor/engine assemblies made for the diving market by a world-renowned company.
True; compressors and engines can be joined in-house, and purported to be "for the diving market only", but our coup is that Thomas Industries, with 50 years dedicated experience, assembles our unique air/power units, using expertise and equipment that is difficult, at best, to duplicate with any real precision by those trying to copy our designs. With our close association with Thomas, the customer is assured of comprehensive, world-wide warranty and service at hundreds of locations. Our customers can deal directly and very often locally, with factory trained experts on repair and maintenance issues.
The copies however, being reassembled from parts, carry no such assurance. The only warranty is what they can offer in-house and at a single-location. For other comparisons, please see our "Hookah Comparison" page.
This information is offered as a warning: If the single-head, direct-drive compressor is powered by a 2.5 HP Honda, or the double-head is powered by a 4 HP Honda, get a signed affirmation that the original compressor manufacturer will honor full warranty. The Air Line can make that affirmation through its signed agreement with Thomas Industries, Inc. as sole distributor of the compressor engine assemblies we designed for the diving market only.
Surface-supplied air eliminates the need to wear (and carry) a boatload of Scuba gear. Wouldn't it be nice to have the freedom of snorkeling with the luxury of breathing underwater? - Purely rhetorical.
It's one thing to talk about The Air Line's hookah advantages over Scuba in certain instances, but where's the proof? It seems as expensive and cumbersome as Scuba.
Comparison is based upon three conservative sets of Scuba with two tanks each, against the Air Line's Model AL-R260 as a three diver package.
APPLES TO APPLES |
| Compare |
SCUBA |
AIR LINE |
| Initial cost: |
$3,300 |
$2,192 |
| Run time per fill |
1 hr. per tank |
2 hrs. per fueling |
| Cost per hr. per diver: |
$3.00* |
9 cents** |
| Operating cost for three divers x 2 hrs. |
$18.00* |
54 cents** |
*Cost of transport to fill station not included.
**$18.00 of gas @ $1.45 would provide 200 total hours underwater. (Not a typo. Three people on an Air Line diving four hours each weekend, would dive for 17 WEEKENDS as opposed to one DAY on Scuba) |
ORANGES TO ORANGES |
| Space and weight. The following compares the same equipment as it would appear neatly organized on deck, before being strewn about in preparation to wearing. |
| Compare |
SCUBA |
AIR LINE |
| Total weight |
360# |
80# |
| Organized deck space |
20 sq. ft. |
5 sq. ft. |
Shown is any gas powered model in its storage/travel case with three complete diver sets, deflated float, staff and flag in the roomy gear bag. The bag is also holding three full sets of snorkel gear with room to spare. (Storage/travel cases are identical for all models)
All Air Line products, are rated for compliance with breathable air standards of The Compressed Association of America.
(Please see Frequently Asked Questions)
Some things to do that give Air Line an edge over Scuba:
- Photography (no encumbering gear, with looong operating times)
- Metal detecting, artifact or fossil collecting (particularly at remote sites)
- Shell collecting or crawfishing (a lobster's worst friend)
- Sail or motor cruising (without a tank fill compressor)
- Air Lifting (Model AL-C360 will support diver and an air lift)
- Boat maintenance (no tank to bang the gel coat)
- Golf ball retrieval (either professionally, or for someone with a terrible slice)
- Get drop-out divers back in the water (there are a LOT of them)
- Give youngsters a totally safe dive experience (not to mention oldsters and the handicapped)
- Use cover as a cocktail table (this one's a stretch)
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