Pony bottle skills

[michaelp68]

I'm considering a 30 cf pony bottle, which I'll probably clip to my tank, an AL 80.

I'm wondering what other divers think are some good and necessary skills to have for diving with, managing and using the pony bottle.

I can think of a couple obvious ones, but I'd like to know what others can identify and explain.

I'd rather not just buy it, attach it and then assume that's all there is to it.

Thank you.

Michael

 

[jonnythan]

Practice.

 

[matt_unique]

I'm considering a 30 cf pony bottle, which I'll probably clip to my tank, an AL 80.

I'm wondering what other divers think are some good and necessary skills to have for diving with, managing and using the pony bottle.

I can think of a couple obvious ones, but I'd like to know what others can identify and explain.

I'd rather not just buy it, attach it and then assume that's all there is to it.

Thank you.

Michael

How do you plan to clip to your tank? This would dictate a few things. For pony uses with a single tank/BC I prefer to hard mount (Highland Mills bands), upside down, right side of tank. I arrange my lead to counteract the roll tendendency. I attach the reg to a clip in the triangle.

If I am diving doubles with deco bottles I sling. The reg/hoses are bungied to the tank. So far my deco profiles require only one deco bottle so I keep it on the right side. I trim the weight to counter the roll tendency. I use an alum 30 or an alum 80 for a deco bottle depending upon the profile.

--Matt

 

[Uncle Pug]

I'd rather not just buy it, attach it and then assume that's all there is to it.

You are to be commended for that Michael.

An alternative (and better IMO) solution would be to purchase a larger main tank... say a PST steel 130. You would have more capacity and save the extra hydro/vip.

 

[jamiep3]

Just curious Unkle Pug, If you go with the 130, would you recomend a H valve and redundant reg? It seems to me that the pony give you the extra air and a back up reg. Plus it has the advantage of being an untouched source of gas if you really f@#k up.

Or am I just looking at this wrong?

 

[Soggy]

Just curious Unkle Pug, If you go with the 130, would you recomend a H valve and redundant reg? It seems to me that the pony give you the extra air and a back up reg. Plus it has the advantage of being an untouched source of gas if you really f@#k up.

Or am I just looking at this wrong?

It depends on how you look at things...Many of us see our buddy as a redundant source of gas and a back up reg and utilize proper gas planning to ensure that there is always a sufficient quantity of gas to get everyone home safely. If you do not subscribe to that way of thinking, or dive alone, a pony bottle, H valve, or doubles (best) is a good idea.

The problem with sticking the pony on your back is it becomes a line trap and you likely cannot remove it if it gets tangled up. Compound this with solo diving, and you have a deadly situation.

 

[Uncle Pug]

I don't want to hijack Michael's thread and I don't know what other factors might be compelling him to dive with a pony. However I will answer this one question here and if there are others we can start another thread.

Adding redundancy also adds complexity and therefore adds additional failure points. Redundancy must be well thought out and the positives weighed against the negatives. Do I really need to take an extra valve and an extra first stage on a recreational profile dive? Exceptional circumstances could be cited but for the most part the answer is no.

 

[redacted]

Exceptional circumstances could be cited but for the most part the answer is no.

Like flying to a dive location making the 130 a bit of a problem. And then compound that with an assigned dive buddy of questionable reliability. The yellow buddy may not be a bad option then.

I deploy the reg and breath from my pony every day that I carry it. Parachutes should be checked often.

 

[Tanked]

Do I really need to take an extra valve and an extra first stage on a recreational profile dive? Exceptional circumstances could be cited but for the most part the answer is no.

Many of us see our buddy as a redundant source of gas and a back up reg and utilize proper gas planning to ensure that there is always a sufficient quantity of gas to get everyone home safely.

I've been diving with an AL80, with an AL30 pony for a few years now, and I won't dive without it. Whether I'm going down 60 fsw, or 110 fsw it doesn't matter. I really don't know too many other divers, so most of the time I'm paired up with someone I've never met before, so to rely on them as a back up incase of emergency can be foolish. Underwater if I blow an O ring, or my reg craps out, I can fix the problem myself, by switiching to my pony reg, without haivng to look around for my buddy. To some it can seem like overkill, I thought that myself once, but as someone else on this board pointed out "you can never have too much air".

 

[michaelp68]

The primary reason for me to consider the pony is that it's my understanding that it's required by some, not all, dive operators for some of the deeper dives, within rec limits, in the northeast. While I may be wrong, this is my understanding.

I was told that I need one for one of the dives around here that I'd like to do this summer, and I was on a dive boat off of New Jersey last summer where they'll only let the divers below a certain depth if they have doubles or a pony. I can't remember what that depth was, but my memory tells me it was around 80 feet. Maybe that's good safety and prudence, or maybe it's a way to make extra money by renting ponies.

(As a side note, it didn't matter that day, anyway, because the dives were only in the 50-60 foot range. Never mind that the anchor came loose and I surfaced to no boat because of it....)

My thought has been to mount the pony to a bracket on my tank.

All of my diving has been, and my future dives plans at this point in time remain, to stay within rec limits. So, I'm not planning on the pony for expected deco purposes, or any other planned needs.

I'm thinking about having the pony because it might be required if I want to do certain dives, and because it would be nice to have the extra gas for unplanned needs. My dive plans do not require the extra air. It's for something unplanned. My thinking was that I should not be in a situation where the extra gas is necessary. But it would be even worse to be in that situation and not have the extra gas.

UP, I had ruled out a larger tank for 2 main reasons: 1) a bigger tank still means no pony which might result in a problem if doubles or a pony are required by a dive operator; and 2) the negotiation psychology with my wife of buying a "small extra bottle of air for emergencies" versus buying a new big steel tank....

Thank you, everyone, for the thoughts so far, and please keep them coming. I appreciate it.

Michael