Pony bottle Setup

[MikeS]

Pony bottle Setup

I am considering buying the following pony bottle configuration and would like to get any comments and suggestions. The reason I am considering a pony is that I am interested in doing some east coast wreck diving and must of the wrecks seem to be at 100+ FSW. The purpose for the pony bottle is for “bail out” at a maximum anticipated depth of 130 fsw. I like the sling approach so that it’s easy to see the gauge and reach the valve. Being able to hand off the pony to a buddy is also a big plus.

Another consideration is that I would like to let my wife use the reg/guage setup when we go to Aruba and I can’t (in practicality) take the pony along. Long rang plan is to get a wrist mount computer (vyper?) that she can use but that I can also use as a backup to my Cobra.

Setup

Sherwood 30 cf aluminum tank (yoke)
Apex TX-40, DS4 (yoke)
Suunto SM36 Pressure Gauge

Thanks for any help,
Mike

 

[NJdiver85]

I did nearly the same thing. However, I went with Dacor's Supreme P pressure guage. It is extremely compact and all brass with a rubber boot.

 

[nickjb]

I am looking to set up a pony also. I did a quick search for the dacor guage and found this:

http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/news/article.asp?newsid=140

Worth checking out if you didn't already know

 

[tchil01]

Mike

The setup looks good. I have a 19 cf with a Poseiden Cyklon that I bought used on EBay and my oceanic SPG and computer. I bought the Poseiden as a back up for my main reg and have my oceaninc reg in my save a dive kit in case I have trouble with one of the two others.

As for traveling, I just bought two 13 cf ponys for my Girlfriend and I to use for traveling. They are smaller and won't take up too much room in our bags.

How are you going to attach your Pony to your tank? There are a number of ways to do it, but the one I prefer is the Pony Tamer from Reef Scuba. It holds the Pony tight to your main tank and is easy to change over. It only works though if you are using your own tanks.

Good luck and safe diving.

Ty

 

[MikeS]

Ty,

I intend to carry the pony in a DIR stage (sling) configuration rather than attaching it to the primary tank for several reasons including:

1. The balance, trim, and drag problems associated with tank-mounting a pony.

2. The time required to move a tank-mounted pony from one tank to another on multiple tank boat dives.

3. The big advantage of being able to disconnect and “hand-off” the pony with the sling configuration.

Thanks,
Mike