Is there a valid reason for a pony bottle
- Thread starter Ryan Mcshane
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
tarponchik
Contributor
But we do not know how old the hose was! Maybe a rational strategy would be to replace the hoses every, say, 5 years?
And BTW, this is another argument against using EAN when you do not need EAN. Most of the damage to the rubber is done by the oxygen diffusing into it under high pressure.
And BTW, this is another argument against using EAN when you do not need EAN. Most of the damage to the rubber is done by the oxygen diffusing into it under high pressure.
60plus
Contributor
Some things posted are fact, some are not but I think its fair to say that those who dived without a pony then needed one are unlikely to be putting their side of the argument on this or any other forum. I am beginning to think a pony is a wise precaution for any dive over even 12 to 20 meters. Like , I assume everyone else on this forum I have done a CESA from about 9 m early in the dive when nitrogen loading was not a problem and an instructor was monitoring me very closely. I have also done a carefully controlled ascent with my reg out of my mouth (but held very close to it) from 32 m to 13m, this took 85 to 90 seconds. I could almost certainly have made the surface from 32m. However this was in a situation where I was prepared for it not when I suddenly and unexpectedly could not get air from my reg. Although my gear is newish Aqualung, equipment failure can happen and close buddying seems to be none existent where I dive. I know one of the dive ops I have used is considering making pony bottle carrying compulsory on dives over 20m.
Data, or speculation?
MichaelMc
Working toward Cenotes
Stuff sometimes goes other than as planned and it is not the readiness of the gears fault. Backup is helpful.
I dove Carmel River beach, CA, today. Monastery looked maybe fine, but I had planned on Carmel River up the bay from it. Some occasional thin washes up the beach but seemed fairly tame and I entered in the sheltered corner walking out to waist deep water. Awesome I figured. I'd dove Monastery four times and Carmel River once before.
Around the point surge picked up at 15-20' and while holding woody kelp stalks I was occasionally pulled straight arm and body out in one direction and then straight out the other. Stalks pulling at hoses, tanks, fins. Plus occasionally getting tangled in the bottom kelp. If anything ripped my reg out the one under my chin would be my best friend. Other times only 3-4 feet of surge.
When I exited I came out farther to the right than I entered and the bottom went from 6' to 1' in a few feet of travel, like Monastery. I hadn't anticipated that, caught a wave while climbing that step, and got washed up the beach 3-4 times, laughing, despite digging my hands in and trying to crawl ahead of the next wave, to be pushed up and dragged back, while all my gear filled with giant sand berries. There were good odds my primary might jam open, and again my octo would be, hopefully, my best friend. Really I was skimming on my belly in 6" of water, which is why I was laughing, but I might not have been. I emptied two teaspoons of sand berries from my diaphragm cover. So not everything is a mechanical failure of the gear. Not a pony issue exactly, but backup is good.
50 degrees, 20' vis, 60 min, 22' max 14' average 15/10/5 wetsuit. Started getting cold but very fun dive, mini boulders with lots of inverts, sea stars but tons of urchins.
I dove Carmel River beach, CA, today. Monastery looked maybe fine, but I had planned on Carmel River up the bay from it. Some occasional thin washes up the beach but seemed fairly tame and I entered in the sheltered corner walking out to waist deep water. Awesome I figured. I'd dove Monastery four times and Carmel River once before.
Around the point surge picked up at 15-20' and while holding woody kelp stalks I was occasionally pulled straight arm and body out in one direction and then straight out the other. Stalks pulling at hoses, tanks, fins. Plus occasionally getting tangled in the bottom kelp. If anything ripped my reg out the one under my chin would be my best friend. Other times only 3-4 feet of surge.
When I exited I came out farther to the right than I entered and the bottom went from 6' to 1' in a few feet of travel, like Monastery. I hadn't anticipated that, caught a wave while climbing that step, and got washed up the beach 3-4 times, laughing, despite digging my hands in and trying to crawl ahead of the next wave, to be pushed up and dragged back, while all my gear filled with giant sand berries. There were good odds my primary might jam open, and again my octo would be, hopefully, my best friend. Really I was skimming on my belly in 6" of water, which is why I was laughing, but I might not have been. I emptied two teaspoons of sand berries from my diaphragm cover. So not everything is a mechanical failure of the gear. Not a pony issue exactly, but backup is good.
50 degrees, 20' vis, 60 min, 22' max 14' average 15/10/5 wetsuit. Started getting cold but very fun dive, mini boulders with lots of inverts, sea stars but tons of urchins.
TeamBubbles
Registered
Was I the only one who grinned a little when the bolt cutter first appeared in that video?
Max, it certainly is your boat and, accordingly, your right to make the rules is absolute. Your posts seem to indicate that, rather than the pony bottle being the problem, it is your friend's consistently poor decision making and willingness to disregard safety practices that put him in danger - not the pony bottle. Removing the pony bottle from the equation and failing to address the root of the problem may only be delaying the inevitable.
Think of the pony bottle as being similar to concealable body armor. The body armor is worn as an extra measure of safety in case things go sideways. If, however, one chooses to run into a hail of bullets with the thought that they are invincible because it is there, that person is likely to find out otherwise very fast. Both are devices which, when properly used, can provide a significant measure of safety. Anyone who uses either thinking that it will provide them with the invincibility of Superman is asking for trouble.
Max, it certainly is your boat and, accordingly, your right to make the rules is absolute. Your posts seem to indicate that, rather than the pony bottle being the problem, it is your friend's consistently poor decision making and willingness to disregard safety practices that put him in danger - not the pony bottle. Removing the pony bottle from the equation and failing to address the root of the problem may only be delaying the inevitable.
Think of the pony bottle as being similar to concealable body armor. The body armor is worn as an extra measure of safety in case things go sideways. If, however, one chooses to run into a hail of bullets with the thought that they are invincible because it is there, that person is likely to find out otherwise very fast. Both are devices which, when properly used, can provide a significant measure of safety. Anyone who uses either thinking that it will provide them with the invincibility of Superman is asking for trouble.
This was done many years ago -- and with less chatter -- by Curt Bowen.
Life Ending Seconds ADVANCED DIVER MAGAZINE By Curt Bowen
Life Ending Seconds
ScubaToys had a humerous version in 2008.
ScubaBoard talked about it in 2010.
Life Ending Seconds Free Flow Depth Test
The conclusion is always the same: LP hoses empty the tank FAST; HP hoses are SLOW. and it is all because of the tiny little hole in the end of the HP hose, at the first stage end.
Caveeagle
Contributor
I think we are about ready for this.....
Similar threads
