19 or 30 cubic feet?

[terrillja]

I'd consider a 30 or 40, since tech divers always want 30s and 40s as deco cylinders, anything smaller really isn't as good for deco, and there is less of a market for. Honestly, if you have a 19 or 30, it's there, and if you are slinging it, it really won't have a huge effect on your diving whether it's a 19, 30, or 40.

 

[ReefHound]

I'd consider a 30 or 40, since tech divers always want 30s and 40s as deco cylinders, anything smaller really isn't as good for deco, and there is less of a market for.

I won't go so far as to dispute that but honestly I'm not seeing where sellers are having trouble unloading 19cf bottles. Show me the forum posts or ebay listings or whatever where sellers are getting no takers for 19cf bottles or having to sell them for peanuts.

 

[AbyssalPlains]

here ya go

I did mine for under 8$

DIR-diver.com - Stagebottle rigging

Not sure how you managed to use this rigging for under $8. I followed the exact same procedure and the parts set me back close to $50. The stainless steel boltsnaps are $16 alone per piece. Having said that, I got my stuff from DiveriteExpress, all stainless and so forth. If you make do with ACE Hardware stuff and don't care about marine grade materials, it may well be cheaper.

 

[terrillja]

Not sure how you managed to use this rigging for under $8. I followed the exact same procedure and the parts set me back close to $50. The stainless steel boltsnaps are $16 alone per piece. Having said that, I got my stuff from DiveriteExpress, all stainless and so forth. If you make do with ACE Hardware stuff and don't care about marine grade materials, it may well be cheaper.

Check these out:
Diving Snaps

All 316 Stainless. I haven't had my snaps in salt water yet, but he has good prices on bolt snaps, and they are built pretty well, so as long as they are in fact 316 bodies and spring (I asked), they should be good.

 

[Waterskier1]

I won't go so far as to dispute that but honestly I'm not seeing where sellers are having trouble unloading 19cf bottles. Show me the forum posts or ebay listings or whatever where sellers are getting no takers for 19cf bottles or having to sell them for peanuts.

I'd like to see this too, since I'm likely in the market for one, and would love to pick one up for peanuts

 

[4sak3n]

What do you guys think of 30cft ponies? Do they get used for deco by tech divers at all? I'm asking because it seems to be caught between the 19cft and 40cft in terms of utility.

If you don't want tons of air, you go for a 19cft. If you want the padding to your emergency supply then why go for a 30 when a 40 is nearly the same price, nearly the same size and has added utility wrt tech diving. Are the few extra dollars and inches really that important?

 

[dave4868]

What do you guys think of 30cft ponies? Do they get used for deco by tech divers at all? I'm asking because it seems to be caught between the 19cft and 40cft in terms of utility.

If you don't want tons of air, you go for a 19cft. If you want the padding to your emergency supply then why go for a 30 when a 40 is nearly the same price, nearly the same size and has added utility wrt tech diving. Are the few extra dollars and inches really that important?

You've really pointed out the main criteria for pony size: "utility". Will that amount of gas ever really be needed for the type of diving being done? If the extra capacity has almost no chance of being used for that type of diving, then going smaller makes sense.

Like many people, I compromise by having just one pony, rather than several different sizes for different dive plans.

For my diving (no significant deco), I always bring an al30, which is usually much more than I would need, but occasionally gets used according to plan, sometimes gets used almost completely. Turns out it's just big enough for my diving and expected contingencies.

But the smaller size of the al30 is actually an important consideration to me, since I'm usually shore diving and, combined with my HP120 and other miscellaneous stuff like camera, etc, I'm already hauling about as much weight as I can stand, especially when wearing winter lead (and blubber)....

If my dives change, my pony size might change, but for now, it's a useful size.

Just for info, here's Huron Scuba's nice chart of specs for cylinders of all types:

Scuba Cylinder Specification Chart from Huron Scuba, Ann Arbor Michigan

Dave C

 

[WD8CDH]

What do you guys think of 30cft ponies? Do they get used for deco by tech divers at all? I'm asking because it seems to be caught between the 19cft and 40cft in terms of utility.

If you don't want tons of air, you go for a 19cft. If you want the padding to your emergency supply then why go for a 30 when a 40 is nearly the same price, nearly the same size and has added utility wrt tech diving. Are the few extra dollars and inches really that important?

Kind of depends on which 30. The Catalina is the same diameter as a 40 but almost 5 inches shorter and the Luxfer is smaller in diameter than a 40 and and about 3" shorter than a 40.

How you are carrying it may influence your choice. For mounting on anything longer than an HP80, I would prefer the smaller diameter Luxfer.

 

[PM-Performance]

IM tossed up on the same issues with size now.
Also does anyone ever plan in their pony or stage bottle at all for certain dives? I would like to have one for redundancy for my own personal reasons, but if IM on a deeper dive and run the primary a little lower, I would like to know I have enuff to surface with and finish the dive at a decent spot.

I tried to hold a 19 vs a 30 yesterday to simulate a sling, I think the 19 would deff be more comfortable, but the price thing makes me want to go bigger.

Does anyone just sling straight across the front rather than at an angle so you dont have to mess with your offset of weighting at all?

 

[Scared Silly]

Slinging a bottle will not shift your weighting as it is at most 2lbs.

As for on a deeper dive and running the primary a little lower cause you have a pony is IMHO poor gas management.