Difference between a steel pony and Al

[Davidstealey3]

i use a steel 46 and also have a alm 30 and they both work fine for me. i dont chose one over the other for any reason, other then the steel has 100% and the alm has air.

as you can tell from this one is for deco and the other is just a backup. i dive many different setups including doubles with two alm 80's for deco ( getting use to this for trimix ) and i dont notice much of a pull to one side or the other and i wear them both on the left.

the big difference is how much gas they will hold. steel probally being a lp and the alm a 3000psi tank. my 46 is the same diamater as the 30 just a little taller but has a lot more weight. figure out what your end goal will be with the setup you chose and then try some different type bottles out with different placement ( slung or attached to the back gas ) before you make a decision. as for as price you can find ponies on ebay pretty cheep. i got my 46 for $80.

 

[UaVaj]

figure out what your end goal will be with the setup you chose and then try some different type bottles out with different placement ( slung or attached to the back gas ) before you make a decision. as for as price you can find ponies on ebay pretty cheep. i got my 46 for $80.

If the end goal was to have at least 19cf in the smallest tank profile plus that it feels like it is not on my back until it is needed.

Which pony would you recommended.

 

[Davidstealey3]

i cant really recomend one over the other. i have never wore a pony on my back, but dive with many people who do this setup, and they all have alm 13 or alm 19. this being said, they put the tank to the right side and have the valve up. then they take the octo off the back gas reg, and use it on the pony to help eliminate grabing the wrong reg if they need it. they also put the tank at a height as to reach the on/off knob if need be. , and have the knob facing towards them, not away from them. now i dont know what they do with the weights to counter act the balance of this setup.

personaly i just lean a little to the oppasite side while diving. this works for me, but not might work for everyone

one thing you could do is mount the tank dead smack in the middle of your back gas tank ( do not recomend if you plan on going into wreck diving )to help eliminate the need to move weights to one side or the other. but your tank bands need to be in a position to accomadate this. also you will have to make DAMN sure the tank is on when you get in the water, because you wont be able to reach it in an emergency. also you will have to try mounting the tank with the valve up and down, because the weight of the valve and reg could cause you to swim in a heads down position, thus causing you to put extra weight in you bc or belt ( dont know what system you use ) or you can end your dives with a cramp in your neck or back from looking up durring the dives.

if you are looking for the smallest profile, go to a dive shop ( or call scuba.com or some other internet shop ) and ask them what sizes and diamaters different manufactors have. luxfer and catalina might differ by a little in height and diamater, if it makes much difference at all. but it is helpful to know if you have to get new stainless steel bands to mount to the pony harness.

hope this info is helpful, and if you need anymore advice, try one of the tech forums and ask them what they think

 

[mike_s]

I have never seen a steel pony, but I suppose someone somewhere probably makes them.

well... not anymore, I don't think.... (at least for purchase in the US).

Worthington was making them, but I think they quit a while back. I remember a year or so ago, there were "last chance to get a steel pony" sales going on.


Maybe you can get an imported BlueSteel/Faber one.... dunno. But I don't think Worthington is stamping out steel ponies anymore.

I have a steel 40cf (AA40) pony made by Worthington and resold as XS Scuba. .

XS Scuba is the US distributor for Worthington tanks. At one time Sea Pearls was also... but XS bought them out. so that's why there's an XS Scuba sticker on some worthington tanks.

 

[Davidstealey3]

as far as i know xs still sells them. i was debateing buying a used one over the cost of a new one when i got my steel46. shops just might not keep them in stock, but a good tech shop should still have them. if you want i will look at the shop tomorrow to see if we can still get a steel pony