Info Are Pony Bottles Dangerous?

[KenE]

Ok but you missed the point, the person he is replying to did not say this.

I beg to differ, politely. Below you can see that he used the phrase "to replace the reserve".

A full 19cf holds about the same amount of gas that is typically left as a reserve in the main tank and therefore is perfectly suited to replace that reserve especially since I leave at least 200 psi in the main tank at the end of a dive.

This is what I believe sparked the comment.

 

[happy-diver]

May I ask

So these regulating dudes regulate I wear an extra bottle when I dive alone with commercial operators
So since they have done that, I'll keep the peace, do that and take advantage by also adding some flair

15L steel bottle nitrox, trimix, 3L other steel bottle 50%, both cave filled, ocean dives

So not to garner attention or foreign analysers, the bottles aren't marked with any stickers, nitrox mod
So no one knows what mixtures I'm diving, or where, using this set up between 40metres and 0metres

Are there terms that describe this system, the bottles, or the system of diving!

I use the 50% on deco dives or on the way up on other dives when I feel like it

Thank you

 

[BlueTrin]

I beg to differ, politely. Below you can see that he used the phrase "to replace the reserve".


This is what I believe sparked the comment.

He said it is “suited to”replace the reserve.

He could mean that he would use it in case of emergency.

In case of ambiguity, you have to use the conditional tense or ask a clarification.

Edit: ah actually in the post before that, he talks about using it to extend his dive.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

May I ask

So these regulating dudes regulate I wear an extra bottle when I dive alone with commercial operators
So since they have done that, I'll keep the peace, do that and take advantage by also adding some flair

15L steel bottle nitrox, trimix, 3L other steel bottle 50%, both cave filled, ocean dives

View attachment 817180

So not to garner attention or foreign analysers, the bottles aren't marked with any stickers, nitrox mod
So no one knows what mixtures I'm diving, or where, using this set up between 40metres and 0metres

Are there terms that describe this system, the bottles, or the system of diving!

I use the 50% on deco dives or on the way up on other dives when I feel like it

Thank you

I think your mixtures are yours and yours alone.
Somebody coming up to you begging for an unknown mix because they were too stupid to pay attention to their own supply needs to go back to diver kindergarten and figure it out.
Look, If you’re set up to solo and your mixes are your own mixes based on your own profile then don’t think that you have to cure the rest of the world of diving from their own idiocy, you don’t, you’re solo!
They are not your problem!

 

[Still Kicking]

I sure wish I could be so arrogant and perfect to not need a pony! Unfortunately, I am human, make mistakes, get narked, and many other reasons why I might benefit from having a pony. So, I will carry the pony, rather have and not need it then need it and not have it. Don't feed the trolls!

I am torn on this one - i lean toward the "better to have it...." end of the spectrum in life in general (over packing, over buying etc) but, in 30 years of diving, i have come to realize that less is generally more. Actually i have found that more is more -- more drag, more chances of equipment problems, more entanglement headaches in kelp, more cumbersome on land etc.

Instead, i dive with a larger primary tank (more reserve gas yet still relatively streamlined), well maintained gear (I am a tech) and conservative solo dives (i limit myself to NDLs at depths i can freedive to so a CESA bailout is not unreasonable, my SAC is good, and i keep a hawkeye on my SPG etc.)

At one shop where I worked, i remember when a new employee bought pretty much every single piece of equipment and doo-dad in the store and carried it on the basis of "i need this in case X happens..." He was the classic Christmas tree diver. I fight that urge all the time and he has always been a great reminder of why not to carry more than I reasonably need.

The problem is the definition of "reasonable." I don't have an issue with people who find a pony reasonable, especially for less conservative diving.

 

[SlugLife]

I think almost every diver, finds the pony bottle inconvenient and would prefer to leave it behind, if safety wasn't a concern. I have spare pony-bottles and regs, in several sizes, and nobody I dive with ever wants to borrow one.

A "Christmas tree" diver, or "spare air" diver who has no idea how it works, is a radically different analysis from someone who is at least somewhat informed and properly uses redundant air. It would be similar to considering SCUBA accidents by people with zero scuba-training, similar to those who had accidents while diving within their training level.

 

[Angelo Farina]

A pony tank becomes dangerous if it causes the diver to move his secondary reg from the main tank to the pony bottle, leaving the main tank with just one reg.
Doing so can result in the incapability of employing a large amount of gas stored in the main tank if the primary reg fails.
Using a pony tank should always be simply "incremental" to the standard setup, not a trade-off between the main tank and the auxiliary one.

 

[Still Kicking]

I think almost every diver, finds the pony bottle inconvenient and would prefer to leave it behind, if safety wasn't a concern. I have spare pony-bottles and regs, in several sizes, and nobody I dive with ever wants to borrow one.

A "Christmas tree" diver, or "spare air" diver who has no idea how it works, is a radically different analysis from someone who is at least somewhat informed and properly uses redundant air. It would be similar to considering SCUBA accidents by people with zero scuba-training, similar to those who had accidents while diving within their training level.

how many dives have you carried a pony and how many times have you needed it?

 

[Boarderguy]

how many dives have you carried a pony and how many times have you needed it?

200+, needed it once (buddy went low on air and we shared my back gas until we hit my planned switch pressure for my pony), used it quite a few times to drain it on the last dive of a trip or before a trip. Need an empty bottle to pull the valve and that's another 15-20 minutes under water (planned usage).

 

[Still Kicking]

200+, needed it once (buddy went low on air and we shared my back gas until we hit my planned switch pressure for my pony), used it quite a few times to drain it on the last dive of a trip or before a trip. Need an empty bottle to pull the valve and that's another 15-20 minutes under water (planned usage).

I am talking about NEEDING it.... lol