Introduction
There is only 1 type of helmet:
airhelmet, with airsupply via a hose from the surface.
They can
be devided into two groups:
- a helmet, covering the complete head, made of hard material like copper or
brass;
- a mask, covering the face only, made of soft material like rubber. (we
will look at the masks in a future update).
The shallow water helmet has been around since the early 1800's. After all: the Deane helmet and the first Siebe helmet were essentially shallow water helmets even though they had a short dress attached.
The shallow water helmet is of a
very simple design that is as follows: a cast bronze hat that needs no
additional weight or a metal hat with additional weights is put over the divers
head and rests on the shoulders. Air is supplied through a valve or nipple. Due
to a small over pressure it
exhausts by leaking out around the bottom, at the diver's shoulders. Also typical for shallow water
helmets is the sturdy handle cast to the top of the dome, which helps the tender
lifting the helmet on and off the divers head. The mask types are put over the
face. Air exhausts at the sides. There is an airhose attached and the divers descends. That's all there's to it ! When
using a shallow water helmet of the helmet type you have to be extra careful: when you bend over
too much the air will escape and the helmet will fill up with water. Keep that
in mind please ! You can
encounter factory made as well as home made shallow water helmets.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|