My Little Pony!

[Jasonmh]

... I will use it next at the Hole just to try out the weighting. I thought about putting offset weight on one side, but on the BP/W I don't have any pouches on the bands.

Hey Ron,

I just wanted to say that you might not need any weight to offset the pony. When I used a 40cf pony I didn't adjust my weight at all, worked fine. If you do, you could use one of the XSScuba weight pockets added on to your BP waist harness. They are cheap and work well. But I think that the extra weight of your pony is going to be very slight, and close to your body's centerline, so you shouldn't need to move weights too much, if at all. I have never used a backmount pony system, I would just say to make sure there is enough room for your wing to inflate without being restricted by the pony. You can alway put alittle more air in the side the pony is on to help balance you out if it is needed. Have fun with your new toy.

 

[RonFrank]

Hey Ron,

I just wanted to say that you might not need any weight to offset the pony. When I used a 40cf pony I didn't adjust my weight at all, worked fine. If you do, you could use one of the XSScuba weight pockets added on to your BP waist harness. They are cheap and work well. But I think that the extra weight of your pony is going to be very slight, and close to your body's centerline, so you shouldn't need to move weights too much, if at all. I have never used a backmount pony system, I would just say to make sure there is enough room for your wing to inflate without being restricted by the pony. You can alway put alittle more air in the side the pony is on to help balance you out if it is needed. Have fun with your new toy.

Hey Jason,

I just purchased the XS scuba Weight belt, so I will likely have a pouch or two as spares if needed. Yeah, I may just drop a couple pounds, or not. I don't think the amount of weight necessary is going to change much, I am just not sure if it will roll me if I have it to one side. Well, I guess we just have to get down to the Hole and try it out!

 

[Divedoggie]

A 19cf bottle with valve and 1st stage is fairly heavy compared to the water it displaces. Just like a 4lb bag of lead.

A 40cf bottle may be just a little heavier, but it displaces quite a bit more water.

Therefor, I find that I need to adjust weight a little bit for my 19cf.
Since I will most likely not be breathing off that pony, its weight will remain constant, and I can adjust my weighting while I experiment in the pool.

I guess that it all depends on where its mounted or slung, what your set-up is, etc.

Ron specifically said that he bought it because he and his buddy were not always close together while drift diving in Coz using his Zeagle Stilletto.

 

[Cacia]

So...Ron, do you have to buy your buddy one to be a "good" buddy?

I may break down and get one. If it is small enough.

 

[RonFrank]

So...Ron, do you have to buy your buddy one to be a "good" buddy?

I may break down and get one. If it is small enough.

Heh, well, I have my own gear explosion to maintain! Fortunately my Buddies all seem to think and spend $$ as I do!

Having my air or reg shut down is my major concern while diving. I don't think I would ever run out as I'm rather careful about that even if I am guilty of breathing a tank down to 250 on ONE dive. I was at less then 20' feet with a SS done and a very slow ascent profile when I hit about 300 so I was not too worried. However after reading a few incidents of Alum Oxidation, and a couple where experienced divers have gone down with air off, a pony seems like a rather good idea. The setup ran me about $170, but I had my octo, and an SPG.

Breakdown darling, it could save your life. I KNOW that an OOA incident would never happen with experience.. well umm.... I guess it can! I just know that I dive enough to have a backup air source with redundant Reg, and it's just not such a bad idea for not a lot of cost. Drift diving, and swimming in some SERIOUS current was enough to convince me that the buddy system is a failure point.

 

[ddavies]

I am not going to comment on all the crap you gave me when I started looking at getting a pony. My question is, how do you transport the bottle when flying somewhere?

 

[Web Monkey]

I am not going to comment on all the crap you gave me when I started looking at getting a pony. My question is, how do you transport the bottle when flying somewhere?

With the valve removed.

The DOT doesn't consider it to be a pressurize dgas cylinder when there's a bog hole in the end.

However some airlines won't take it no matter what you do.

I bought an extra 19 and leave it in FL for when I visit, since it's just too much of a PAI to fly with.

Terry

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Hey DD,
, or I considered just mounting the pony directly behind the AL80. It would stick up farther, but maybe more balanced. Thoughts?
.

If you back mount the pony, you want it tucked in on the side of your body, pressed against the backplate or BC, normally. Mounting it on the centerline of your main tank and sticking way out will create more drag, I believe, but more importantly it will make you very "tall" when peaking into holes and ledges and you will tend to smash the pony bottle reg on the ceiling. It will also tend to make the tank flop around a lot because the center of mass will be far from the center of you body, plus it won't sit in a tank rack and probably a lot of other reasons also.

 

[Diver Dennis]

So...Ron, do you have to buy your buddy one to be a "good" buddy?

I may break down and get one. If it is small enough.

When?

 

[RonFrank]

I am not going to comment on all the crap you gave me when I started looking at getting a pony. My question is, how do you transport the bottle when flying somewhere?

I've never gave anyone crap in my life!

I've never have had a problem with Pony's, they are just another tank. I'm thinking we may have been discussing "Spare Air"?

I think your question has been answered, you remove the valve.