pony bottle reg
- Thread starter MikeC
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Depends on what you're using the pony for. If for a bailout bottle, then you'll want a good deep breathing reg similar to whatever you're using on your back gas. If for a deco bottle then you can use a reg that's good shallow; if for an O2 deco bottle then you'll need an oxygen cleaned and service rated reg.
Rick
Rick
What are you using the pony bottle for and how are you doing to mount it?
Scubaroo
Contributor
Apeks make the DS1 and US1 first stage regulators specifically for pony/deco/stage bottles - you can pick them up from www.simplyscuba.co.uk. They're available in both DIN and yoke.
Hi Mike,
Personally I don't use a pony or a bailout. But we do use deco bottles and all of our regs are (almost) the same whether backgas or deco/stage. This gives us flexibility and standardization. We are using Apeks regulators in 300 bar DIN. I say almost because I use the DST (swivel turret) first stage on my deco bottles with a 36" hose instead of the DS4 with a 40" hose. The reason: I already had them.
Now back in the days when I thought a pony might be a good idea and for my one dive with one I had a AL19cf with a yoke valve and a USD Titan regulator. Worked great except for the entanglement issue when back mounted.
One of the big problems is that folks who use ponies often buy a cheap regulator for them and sometimes only put a button SPG on the first stage. They mount them on the back and turn the valve on before the dive because they cannot reach it themselves UW. If the pony reg should freeflow they could lose the gas without knowing it. Our deco regs are top notch and we have SPGs mounted on them right were we can see them. We pressurize the reg before the dive and then shut it down. When we want to use it we open the valve... the tank is carried on the left side in front so it is easy to get to and monitor. If we were to have a freeflow reg or a leaking o-ring it would be easy to fix UW or control by using the valve. It also produces very little if any extra drag. Check my profile pic for an illustration.
Personally I don't use a pony or a bailout. But we do use deco bottles and all of our regs are (almost) the same whether backgas or deco/stage. This gives us flexibility and standardization. We are using Apeks regulators in 300 bar DIN. I say almost because I use the DST (swivel turret) first stage on my deco bottles with a 36" hose instead of the DS4 with a 40" hose. The reason: I already had them.
Now back in the days when I thought a pony might be a good idea and for my one dive with one I had a AL19cf with a yoke valve and a USD Titan regulator. Worked great except for the entanglement issue when back mounted.
One of the big problems is that folks who use ponies often buy a cheap regulator for them and sometimes only put a button SPG on the first stage. They mount them on the back and turn the valve on before the dive because they cannot reach it themselves UW. If the pony reg should freeflow they could lose the gas without knowing it. Our deco regs are top notch and we have SPGs mounted on them right were we can see them. We pressurize the reg before the dive and then shut it down. When we want to use it we open the valve... the tank is carried on the left side in front so it is easy to get to and monitor. If we were to have a freeflow reg or a leaking o-ring it would be easy to fix UW or control by using the valve. It also produces very little if any extra drag. Check my profile pic for an illustration.
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