How do you attach your pony bottle?

[NJdiver85]

This past weekend, I took my first plunge into the cool waters off the N.J. coast. (My prior diving had been limited to warm waters only.) My question concerns the attachment of the pony bottle. My rented pony setup had an attached bracket that I threaded the BCD tank strap through. This was quite awkward, since you have to hold the pony bottle in place against the tank while simultaneously tightening the tank band. There has to be a better way. Does anyone have a better setup?

 

[Warhammer]

Most people that I dive with sling ponies as a stage. It's easy to hook this way and can be handed off if need be. It's attach via bolt snaps to your BC's D-rings.

 

[TexasMike]

And the July issue of Dive Training magazine has an article on how to tie off a sling bottle to your BCD.

Additionally some manufactueres have some sort of bracket that "bands" to you main tank and allows your pony to fit into place. Don't know who makes them, but I have seen them.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

please keep in mind the "sling bottle" depicted in the
article, due to its label of "20" was a DECO bottle with (likely) 100% Oxygen.

that is NOT the same as a "pony/bailout" bottle.

G_M

 

[Gaucho]

Arent there setups where the pony bottle straps to your leg much like a dive-knife?

 

[TexasMike]

I don't think I'd want to strap a bottle there.

When someone mentiones a poney bottle, I am thinking of the 20 or 30 cf bail out bottles. That would be a bit too big to strap to my calf. Plus the extra resistance during kicks would wear me out pretty quick.

 

[simonk999]

I posted a similar question a while back. If (and I don't at the moment) I was to carry a pony, it'd be for bail-out from less than max depth recreational non-overhead depths, so according to the air consumption charts, a 13cf would suffice from, let's say 80ft. I guess it'd be no big deal to sling a small cylinder like that from a bc d-ring.

[My original question was about balancing the pony if it was mounted on the side of your main tank]

 

[large_diver]

I agree with the "stage/sling" type mounting. I tried this for the first time recently in a pool with a 30cf pony and it worked well -- did not feel in the way.

 

[omar]

Pony Bottle Disadvantages include:

Increased swimming resistance

Additional entanglement hazard

Greater weight out of the water (boarding ladders, walking with gear on, transporting gear, etc.)

Buoyancy issues (the additional weight of the pony may allow the diver to remove weight from their belt/bc. In the event of an out of air emergency, however, with an empty primary tank and partially used pony tank they may be too buoyant to maintain depth for a safety stop or to manage a controlled, slow ascent. If they don't reduce the weight of their weight system they will likely be overly weighted,requiring additional air in the BC/Drysuit, adding to the issue of swimming resistance.)

Increased configuration complexity

Addtional purchase costs

Greater maintanence costs

Additional failure points

Pony bottles can be difficult to take along on dive trips, requiring the diver to dive a different configuration on such trips..... lack of familiarization with the this configuration can lead to problems in an emergency situation.

Inadequate reserve gas supply for some overhead environments

Temptation to push limits

Temptation to ignore sound gas management protocols

Tempation to fill pony with a "hot mix" to aid off-gassing at a safety stop, greatly increasing the risk of using it for a bail-out system at depth.

Advantages include:

Totally redundant air supply, separate from primary gas

Smaller than twin tanks

Lighter than twin tanks

Usage not overly dissimilar to using a standard atlternate airsource regulator

Other things to consider if contemplating purchasing a pony bottle:

Chance of experiencing an out of air emergency

Do you maintain your equipment properly?

Do you use high quality, top of the line equipment?

Type of diving you do... i.e. could you effectively make an emergency ascent from the dives you do?

Do you usually dive with a familiar buddy or are you frequently buddied with a stranger?

Do you solo dive?

Would you be tempted to breathe your primary air supply lower knowing you had a pony available?

Would you be tempted to use the pony to stretch your bottom time?

Optional systems to consider: H valve, Y valve, Doubles

 

[100days-a-year]

Thanx O,a very succinct analysis.