An actual legitimate use for spare air???

[ofg-1]

I thought that someone would have come up with a way to inflate a flat tire with a spare air by now.

 

[Dan]

I thought that someone would have come up with a way to inflate a flat tire with a spare air by now.

It’s called Air Chuck. Unfortunately they use CO2 for safety reason as CO2 turns to liquid at 100 psi. So we just need a tiny low pressure bottle to inflate a bike tire. I carry them in my tire repair kits for my road bike (16 gram bottle) and my mountain bike (20 gram bottle).

 

[kelemvor]

It amazes me how many people I see people walking away from their cars with an empty gas can. I guess they don't have to worry about dying from running out of gas.

I think that is generally a function of finances rather than skill or planning. When I was a broke teenager, running out of gas was a constant concern. Since I got out of college and got a real job, it no longer is. Now, I just go to the gas pump and fill the car all the way up. As a kid, I don't think I ever even once had enough cash to fill my car all the way up.

You don't even have to own a spare gas tank, as many gas stations have a loaner. You do generally need some kind of collateral to convince the clerk that you'll return it.

 

[Dan]

However for the same money you can get a 19 cuft tank and have a real reserve if you want.

Where can I get the 19 cuft pony tank set-up with 1st-stage & 2nd-stage regulators ready for use for <$300? I’d like to get one.

I saw such a set up in eBay for $599, below:

I also like the idea of refilling it from a regular AL80 tank, as shown in this video, below, which make it so easy to refill it when I get to the boat. All I need to do is to go to my rental AL80 and refill it with the valve adapter provided in the Spare Air kit.

The 3 cuft tank is small enough to strap it on my BCD butt strap, horizontally between my butt & the AL80. It’s also small enough to strap the empty can on the side of my backpack, ready to be inspected by TSA.

 

[M-Cameron]

Where can I get the 19 cuft pony tank set-up with 1st-stage & 2nd-stage regulators ready for use for <$300? I’d like to get one.

I saw such a set up in eBay for $599, below:

View attachment 618313

I also like the idea of refilling it from a regular AL80 tank, as shown in this video, below, which make it so easy to refill it when I get to the boat. All I need to do is to go to my rental AL80 and refill it with the valve adapter provided in the Spare Air kit.

The 3 cuft tank is small enough to strap it on my BCD butt strap, horizontally between my butt & the AL80. It’s also small enough to strap the empty can on the side of my backpack, ready to be inspected by TSA.

Tank - $150
Catalina Pony Bottle Tanks, Yellow with Pro Valve

First stage - $90
Highland by XS Scuba Compact DIN First Stage

Second stage - $80
XS Scuba Standard Octopus

$320 all in.



also, what is the benefit of refilling your spare air from your main tank?.....wouldnt it be better to just leave that air in the tank?

thats like siphoning a gallon of gas out of your fuel tank, and carrying it in a fuel bottle in your trunk in case you run out of gas.

also, how often are you resorting to emergency gas that needing it easy to fill is a big concern to you?

 

[lowwall]

Also, what is the benefit of refilling your spare air from your main tank?.....wouldnt it be better to just leave that air in the tank?

thats like siphoning a gallon of gas out of your fuel tank, and carrying it in a fuel bottle in your trunk in case you run out of gas.

Who said you need to fill it from your own tank?

But (semi-)seriously, since this is for people who think OOG (either diving or driving) just happens, it makes sense that they would take some out as a reserve against their own lack of attention.

Maybe a J-valve would be a better solution?

 

[Dan]

...also, what is the benefit of refilling your spare air from your main tank?.....wouldnt it be better to just leave that air in the tank?

thats like siphoning a gallon of gas out of your fuel tank, and carrying it in a fuel bottle in your trunk in case you run out of gas.

also, how often are you resorting to emergency gas that needing it easy to fill is a big concern to you?

Thanks for the links to pony bottle setup. $320 is certainly a good deal. That’ll keep pressure on Spare Air to lower their price if they want to compete with pony setup.

I usually go on liveaboard trips. The first dive is a checkout dive in the shallow bay. So seeping a 3 cuft air of the tank for such dive wouldn’t make a difference.

That spare air can such a small & light unit, easy to be put in my carryon bag during air travel. TSA can just unzip my carryon bag and look at the empty can and hand my carryon bag back to me.

 

[BRT]

I don't carry a pony (or spare air) at all.

But if I were of the frame of mind that I needed redundant gas, I would carry a Pony over a Spare air.

A small pony tank isn't really that much more inconvenient to carry that a SA

I always carry a spare air. So the difference between me and you is I have a little bit of backup air and you don't.

 

[BRT]

Tank - $150
Catalina Pony Bottle Tanks, Yellow with Pro Valve

First stage - $90
Highland by XS Scuba Compact DIN First Stage

Second stage - $80
XS Scuba Standard Octopus

$320 all in.



also, what is the benefit of refilling your spare air from your main tank?.....wouldnt it be better to just leave that air in the tank?

thats like siphoning a gallon of gas out of your fuel tank, and carrying it in a fuel bottle in your trunk in case you run out of gas.

also, how often are you resorting to emergency gas that needing it easy to fill is a big concern to you?

The first dive or dives of each of our vacation trips we fill our spare airs. We then go out and test all our equipment, make sure weighting is right and enjoy a shallow dive or two. At that point we don't empty the spare air and fill it each dive.

 

[M-Cameron]

I always carry a spare air. So the difference between me and you is I have a little bit of backup air and you don't.

I can blow up a hefty bag and keep it in my pocket and make the same claim.....doesn't mean the hefty bag or the SA is going to be an appropriate tool for the job.

For the same cost, I can carry 13-19 cuft of air, which is enough to collect myself, surface from depth and do a Safety stop.......so why would I intentionally carry less than an optimal amount of gas?

You could also learn to regularly check your SPG, which pretty much eliminates the need for redundant gas in the first place.

I'm guessing 99.9% of the people that have needed a safe second, pony bottle, or SA have done so because they ran out of gas, and not because of some freak equipment failure