Pony bottle setup/config

[DA Aquamaster]

dvrdown once bubbled...
Sounds like I am glad I go the forty, The super pony tamer keeps it very secure. But I see a trend here on people who get themselves in trouble. Everytime I read a horror story, they started off by doing something really stupid. Rodale's mag seems to be famous for this. You read it and say to yourself, "boy that was really stupid" Darwin seems to love scuba divers.

You make a good point. Many people have expressed opposition to a pony as a half baked substitute for doubles but that really is not the problem. Instead, the problem is people becoming over confident and pushing themselves, intentionally or otherwise, beyond the limits of their pony and their ability. Many of these divers, if you gave them a set of doubles, would do the same thing. It's a case where the attitude is what is important no the equipment.

The example of the guy pulling the anchor is a classic example of someone pushing their backgas to absurd limits because they "know" that they have a pony to save them. It is also a prime example of the disadvantage and danger of using a pony that is not adequate for your depth or air consumption.

 

[Whirling Girl]

paulwlee, thanks for the clear explanation, that's pretty much the calculation I did too, so I'm glad to have the chance to double check my assumptions.

Speaking of which, there was an article on redundant gas supply (pony bottles, etc.) in a dive magazine I was reading yesterday at my LDS, and the first two sentences went something like "Out of air and low on air situations can arise from a variety of situations. You could have a short fill, or the dive shop could have forgotten to fill your tank...."

Am I crazy for thinking that this statement is, well, crazy? How does having a short fill or an empty tank before you get in the water somehow lead to an out of air situation at depth?

Sorry, that was OT, but I wanted to share it.

Margaret

 

[paulwlee]

The person who wrote the article must have stopped diving before people started using SPG's..

 

[dvrdown]

It seems the attitude anf the amount of testosterone have more to do with the probability of an accident than anything else. It seems that if you do all the things you are supposed to do ( pre-dive check, monitor gauges, stay within your personal limits) th chances of an accident under water are extremely unlikely, everytime I hear a story it amazes me. People stop thinking and that is where things go wrong. I think these people will do themselves in one way or the other, wet or dry, I'm sure this is true of any other recreation (think moutain climbing) I'm sure they have the same debate on redundant gear on their board.

 

[chickendiver]

Hi Jep...

I can only give you what I have experienced and learned. I do have a pony bottle and it is a 30, it is big so I think I am going to take EZ advice and mount it on my side. I use my 30 mainly for deco @ 20' filled with a mixture of 80% ...depending of course the depth etc. I have never used it because I planned poorly or relied on it as a backup. It was used once due to a problem with a buddy and it saved his life so to me it was worth it. My only suggestion is go bigger and hange it....its a pain in the @!!$$# to change all the time. Safe diving!

 

[H2OHead]

“I do have a pony bottle and it is a 30, it is big so I think I am going to take EZ advice and mount it on my side. I use my 30 mainly for deco @ 20' filled with a mixture of 80% ...depending of course the depth etc.”

Just to ensure that I understand this correctly; up until this moment, you’ve been diving with a bottle on your back where you can’t see it, with a reg on a hose that you can’t see, that contains 80% oxygen?

 

[lindner514]

Sorry, what does "slung like a stage" mean? I use a camera on every dive...I would be using the pony for solo diving...does someone make an attachment device, that is easy to change...and that has a built in counterweight...finally,what is wrong with routing the regulator and SPG (clipped to the regulator) under the right arm like an octo.

 

[jerzeedivr]

Hey! I was at my local dive shop this past week and i said that i dive a single H.P.120 no pony. The store Mgr. said that i should install an H valve with a second valve screwed into its side making two valves operating independent of each other and use two seperate Regs. This would be considered a redundant system.

 

[Genesis]

BUT you had better be able to shut down the offending post QUICKLY if there is a problem, since there is only one bottle of gas.

It also does not address a blown tank neck O-ring, but those are very rare.

 

[Pepsi]

This post is unbelievable.

Point blank- a pony is a rebundant air source. In the event of an emergency- what ever it may- you have complete separate air source on you render.

To the idiots that think a single is just as safe- plan your dive, hit an unexpectant bottom current and get blown of course of your planned dive, struggle to get up, die. Me- I chose to have a complete backup with its own gauge where I can monitor its there and test on the deck AND during every decent.