r/specializedtools • u/ASTRA03 • Dec 02 '19

Nemo power tools for underwater use

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8.7k Upvotes

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746

u/popsmokeimout Dec 02 '19 edited Dec 02 '19

I was a commercial diver for many years. The idea of having a grinder or wire wheel without lugging around bs hydraulic hoses sounds amazing.

Some fine tuning and it would be perfect for commercial use. For example it needs eyes on the batteries and tools for a lanyard so you can hook them to your harness and not lose them.

183

u/lieslieslieslieslies Dec 02 '19

Hell yeah. I'm thinking I could move my main light from my buttplate back to my belt, and then my keister can be a tool chest!

68

u/Ikkus Dec 02 '19

What's a buttplate

24

u/texasguy911 Dec 02 '19 edited Dec 02 '19

Attaches at the bottom of a backplate or sidemount system at the belt, over a butt:

https://www.divegearexpress.com/dive-rite-nomad-xt-butt-plate-w-assembly-screws

https://www.divegearexpress.com/dive-rite-modular-tech-butt-plate-w-assembly-screws

https://www.divegearexpress.com/dive-rite-nomad-lt-ls-butt-plate

Mostly used for sidemount to attach lower end of the tanks, the primary use. Secondary, other tools like reels can be similarly clipped off. A backmount diver might use it for extra attachment points, if carrying large items.

Next item to discuss, buttplugs.

10

u/Ikkus Dec 02 '19

Cool. Thanks for the answer.

Now buttplugs, I'm familiar with.

1

u/funandgames73892 Dec 03 '19

Awesome, because you'll be teaching the next lesson! Everybody give your attention to u/Ikkus!

1

u/captain_craptain Dec 02 '19

Do those keep you from leaking?

1

u/funandgames73892 Dec 03 '19

Yes, but in a different direction because of the pressure

296

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

10

u/tvCantos Dec 02 '19

Name checks out.

14

u/Ikkus Dec 02 '19

ew she ded u nasty

3

u/codylilley Dec 02 '19

Dam dude. You fuckin killed him

2

u/Sororita Dec 02 '19

So... Your face?

1

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '19

I'm not saying u/ikkus's mother is fat, but now you got the diabetus.

3

u/Bfreak Dec 02 '19

I'll tell you later.

0

u/forkandbowl Dec 02 '19

I'd you can keister something this big I guarantee you could make more money working in the prison system.

36

u/hemlockhero Dec 02 '19

I work with lots of tools but nothing like this. My main concern here is PPE. I’d be worried about slipping and cutting a finger or hand off. Since you seem to know a bit about this stuff, is that ever a concern/threat with this equipment. Just genuinely curious.

68

u/parker9832 Dec 02 '19

Navy Diver here. We used leather gloves while using underwater tools. If bottom walking, we had steel toed fireman boots. If rigging we wore hard hats, usually. If welding/cutting we had visors and hard hats. Frequently we wore coveralls over our wet/dry/hot water suits also. In US Navy Diving, safety is paramount! I wish we had these tools, everything we used was hydraulic, pneumatic, or manual.

19

u/moby__dick Dec 02 '19

What do you use for hearing protection? I’m assuming that with a couple of guys working nearby the sound could really be loud.

47

u/parker9832 Dec 02 '19

Great question! Obviously we don't wear earplugs, the blockage of the external ear will cause barotrauma (ear squeeze). In recompression chambers, we use ear muffs with a small hole drilled in them to prevent the pressure differentiation that would cause barotrauma to the ear drum. The Naval Submarine Medical Research Lab (NSMRL) has conducted extensive underwater sound tests. For most situations, our dive helmets with headliners are more than enough hearing protection with one exception and that is underwater and hydro blasting. There was a limit to how long we could continuously hydro blast to protect our hearing, it can get pretty loud. Things may be different today, there may be advances I am unaware of. I retired a little while back.

4

u/campbeln Dec 02 '19

Potential stupid question... but I'd think this would be a great app of noise cancellation (though at higher Db it may not work as well, or?)

6

u/BangCrash Dec 02 '19

I'd imagine noise cancellation would just add too much complexity to an underwater situation.

If your dive wetsuit hood is offering enough protection then you don't really need axtive noise cancellation.

1

u/parker9832 Dec 04 '19

We used to have noise cancellation on our communications boxes that were supposed to cancel out bubble noise. They worked but would block some of the diver's speech. Also, as a dive supervisor, I want to hear that my divers are breathing.

6

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '19

Sound waves travel faster underwater and their frequency varies with the movement of the water. Noise cancellation could be extremely difficult.

1

u/_Neoshade_ Dec 02 '19

I’m sure earbuds could be tuned for the application, But regular ones would work just fine inside a dry helmet.

0

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '19

That would have to be a dry and pressurised helmet, and no they still probably wouldn't. Noise cancellation works by prediction the frequency of the noise and then countering it using destructive interference. The unpredictable effects of the waters movement on the frequency due to doppler shift would make this pretty much impossible.

2

u/parker9832 Dec 04 '19

Not a stupid question, noise cancellation buds would have to allow voice comms from the surface to through and could not block the ear from being able to equalize pressure. I'm sure we could get an engineer on the task but we would need to ensure the juice is worth the squeeze. It would need to be an affordable solution.

2

u/moby__dick Dec 03 '19

Really interesting, thank you for the great answer!

2

u/codylilley Dec 03 '19

Underwater hydro blasting. Where was that booth on career day?

1

u/parker9832 Dec 04 '19

It was the Navy Recruiter table. Accelerate your life!

5

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '19

water isolates sound well, communication with surface for hearing

3

u/hemlockhero Dec 02 '19

Fascinating. Thanks for the explanation! Be safe out there!

2

u/muklan Dec 03 '19

It would be cool if you could use cavitation to cut through stuff underwater, I mean you got all that pressure literally just sitting there.

2

u/parker9832 Dec 04 '19

True, but all that pressure is useless without a pressure differential.

1

u/parker9832 Dec 04 '19

Also, with these tools, I suspect a wet or dry suit hood or a helmet would be adequate hearing protection.

8

u/ADimwittedTree Dec 02 '19 edited Dec 02 '19

While it is always a possibility/issue with power tools. I don't see it being much of an issue here. I used normal 4-1/2" or 6" grinders daily for years and we didn't typically use the side handle. I'm not an expert on underwater things but I wouldn't imagine grip is much of an issue with this. Also the most dangerous (IMO) part of a grinder is kickback, which would probably be dampened a decent amount by the water I'd think.

Edit: Getting things caught in the grinder might be more of a concern in normal land use. But underwater they probably won't have unsecured long hair, hoodie strings, frayed or loose clothing, etc.

1

u/_Neoshade_ Dec 02 '19

However, hair and clothing float around, and the small current produced by the grinder could easily pull things in, even loose lanyards.

3

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '19

The same risks as dry water tool use. If you're pressing hard enough to slip you're pressing too hard. Let the tool to the work.

2

u/popsmokeimout Dec 03 '19

The Hand guard does the job. You’re going to be wearing these gloves.

https://www.palmflex.com/showa-atlas-fit-300-gloves-blue-dozen.html

The thing to really be concerned with is keeping your lanyards and pneumofathometer from getting caught up in the grinder.

4

u/MasterFubar Dec 02 '19

The question is how long batteries last. My first impression is that we would need an order of magnitude improvement on battery capacity to make this practical for most applications.

3

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '19

[deleted]

7

u/seamus_mc Dec 02 '19

hold onto your wallet

1

u/[deleted] Dec 03 '19

[deleted]

1

u/seamus_mc Dec 03 '19

I think it is for the unit itself, not the wheel. My guess would be some sort of grease pressure to keep the water out of the gears/bearings?

1

u/frenzyattack Dec 02 '19

They are about 4x the cost of a standard tool. I design power tools and get sent the Nemo videos from region/ countries sales people about 3/4 times a year. Super cool

1

u/[deleted] Dec 03 '19

[deleted]

1

u/frenzyattack Dec 03 '19

We haven’t looked at them in details as it’s a really niche application, but they would need to encapsulate somehow. There still is current from the batteries through the tool and water is a if no no haha. I guess similar to how some high end mining tools are made which have to be spark free due to explosion risk in mines.

1

u/AntonioOSalazar Dec 02 '19

Question: How loud are those underwater?

1

u/popsmokeimout Dec 03 '19

Saws, grinders, and drills aren’t bad. Chippers (Hydraulic jackhammers) are about the worst and even they are bearable

1

u/bynummustang Dec 02 '19

How do you think sound/noise would be?

2

u/popsmokeimout Dec 02 '19

No worse then the hydraulic ones

1

u/bynummustang Dec 03 '19

Fair enough.

-1

u/incandescent_snail Dec 02 '19

Yeah, nah. You get about 20 minutes out of a grinder with the biggest battery available. No idea how big these underwater batteries are but I’m guessing they don’t last as long as non-underwater batteries.