Pony Bottle: Type and Usage discussion

[TexasMike]

A few divers I know of personally employ the use of pony tanks in their diving style, especially when diving in salt water.

For those of you that use ponies on a regular basis, I'd like to know the following information:

1. Describe your pony setup. Include details such as size/type of cylinder, type of regulator, SPG, rigging to your BC, etc.
   
2. Are there specific profiles where you will carry the pony bottle? Which ones? When will you leave it on the shore/boat?
   
3. What is your logic/thoughts/reasoning for carrying a pony?

Thanks in advance for your answers!

--TM

 

[The Chairman]

19 cf luxfer with an oceanic reg and full console as well. I have zip tied the hoses together, so I don't have to look for them. I generally will only use it on dives deeper than 100'. It has had the same fill for over a year now... I never use it. It is for emergencies only. I am thinking about just draining it and refilling it with "fresher" air. While it is NitrOx clean, I don't see the need for having to worry about MODs on a bottle that is only there to used in an emergency. It is NEVER figured into my dive as more gas to use.

 

[Rick Murchison]

I carry a pony for two scenarios.
(1) When I have a student whose gas consumption/monitoring skills meet the minimum for taking him (never had it be a woman) in open water but I'm still concerned that he may screw it up and get low on air, I carry a pony with me and check on him more frequently than the "norm."
(2) As a deco bottle with deco gas.
In either case I carry it clipped under the left arm.
Rick

 

[redacted]

AL13 with Mk2/R190 (detuned) and old Dacor SPG. Ultimate pony provides hard mount to main tank. 2lb weight on pony strap for balance. 2nd was in an octo holder but I'm going to go to a necklace rig for more positive control. Pony SPG straps to my primary tank SPG so it is easy to check both.

I carry the pony on all dives over 60 ft and many shallower dives particularly if I am solo. Seldom carry it for dives less than 30 ft.

Using spare air filler yokes and a hose made by a local hydraulic shop, I made a equalizer hose which I use to top off the pony. Last trip to COZ, I used it to fill fill the pony from a couple shore tanks when local shop wasn't going to fire up it's compressor for a couple days.

 

[Spectre]

Originally posted by TexasMike

Describe your pony setup. Include details such as size/type of cylinder, type of regulator, SPG, rigging to your BC, etc.

19cf aluminum. I replaced my primary regulator when I purchased the pony bottle, and my old primary (a Mares Axis) was moved over to the pony bottle with a longer hose. I don't have an SPG on it, I check the pressure during my pre-dive checks. It's rigged to the left side of my tank, upside-down. I purchased a Zeagle mounting kit to rig it up cheeply, but the mounting kit twisted too much, so I fashioned up a bracket on the tank itself and use both straps from the zeagle kit around my main tank. I have surgical tubing that I use to secure the regulator hose to the side of the pony bottle, and the regulator sits right by the valve assembly for ease in locating blindly.

There are a couple pictures I've uploaded in another thread:

Home-Made Bracket

I had a picture with it rigged, but I guess I didn't upload it yet, so it's attached. Unfortunately I've not taken a shot with it completely rigged, and with the regulators attached...

Are there specific profiles where you will carry the pony bottle? Which ones? When will you leave it on the shore/boat?

Diving in depths exceeding 60, and/or diving with a buddy I don't trust explicitly [i.e. solo diving, regardless of if I'm diving alone or with someone else].

What is your logic/thoughts/reasoning for carrying a pony?

It was also a requirement for my wreck and deep AOW dives, and some of the dive club members that offered to help me train required the pony as well. The reason I carry the pony bottle is the same reason I don't feel I need a pressure gauge on it. If the regulator is placed in my mouth, I've now been given a second chance at life. It's that simple.

-Jeff

 

[Spectre]

Originally posted by funky__monks

I had a picture with it rigged, but I guess I didn't upload it yet, so it's attached. Unfortunately I've not taken a shot with it completely rigged, and with the regulators attached...

Oops... forgot the attachment [I wish we could add attachments when we 'edit']

 

[Uncle Pug]

1. My pony is an identical LP104 held to my primary LP104 by 3" HM SS bands. There is an isolation manifold between my pony and my main tank so that I can use the gas in either to supply both sets of regulators or I can isolate the regulators. The regulator on my main tank feeds my primary second stage and my wing inflator. My pony regulator feeds my backup second stage, my SPG and some times my suit inflator (unless I am using argon.)

2. I only use my pony set up when I need to have that much gas & redundancy, or we are practicing pony skills. Most of my dives <100 fsw I use a single LP 104 with a single Apeks DS4 1st stage. These regulators are so reliable that I don't need to worry about them failing me. Besides I dive with one of my trusted & trained buddies below 40 fsw and we provide extra redundancy for each other. Less than 40 fsw I will dive with most folks... at least once.

3. I really like my pony set up because it is a very clean configuration without the line traps of the conventional back mounted pony (see the picture in this thread and note the line trap between the pony and the main tank.) I can reach the valves on my pony set up with ease. One of the very best features of my pony setup is that the gas in the pony is actually calculated as useable gas for the dive! This is different than a lot of pony setups where the pony gas is not included in gas management calculations but is relied upon eliminate gas management calculations.

Hope this helps,

 

[Waterlover]

You can lead the pony to water but you can't make him drink;-0

 

[diverden]

Thanks for all the great ideas folks.

I only started considering a pony setup because I do solo dive on occassion. With an octo and a buddy at recreational depths, I mostly agree with the arguments against a pony in those situations (lively debates to say the least). However, solo diving is a bit different.

I don't necessarily choose to solo, but I find myself more comfortable doing that than a random boat-assigned buddy (which I often end up babysitting and sending back to the boat when he's out of air and I have a half tank left). I haven't experienced the 'required' redundancy on boats like in NJ (I mostly dive California).

I have advanced and rescue training, and practice octo, emergencies, etc. I usually choose to solo when I'm on a local boat and scheduling doesn't allow a regular buddy to join me. I have also solo dived in 30 ft from shore or kayak. I'm actually very comfortable soloing without a buddy and without a pony, and I'm not a big risk taker (diving since 1980 and have experienced the equipment improvements ... may have biased my view). I just weigh a first stage failure as remote, and having the octo and practiced emergency ascents from depth, I feel I'm not taking a big risk.

So to comfort my wife, and admitadely myself to some degree, I should probably come up with a pony setup should I decide to contiue on solo diving. I doubt I would use a pony setup with a buddy (unless >100).

Recommendations? Comments? Thanks.

DiverDen

 

[DA Aquamaster]

About half my dives have been solo over the last couple years and I tend to do a very large percentage of them as deco dives in the 100-150 ft range, so redundancy is very important to me.

I normally dive independent doubles (steel 72's) with the "pony" being the 1/3 to 2/3 remaining air supply (24 to 48 cu ft) in the tank not currently in use. (When bouyancy and weight requirements are considered it is only about 10 lbs heavier than the steel 72/AL 30 pony combination I used to use.) For deco dives, there is also an AL 30 deco bottle slung on the left side, usually filled with 50%, so from 70 ft to the surface it is also available for additional gas for ascent.

On rare occassions when I do single tank dives (shore dives) I will sling one of my 30 cu ft deco bottles (but filled with air) on the left side as a pony. The "pony" reg is one of my deco regs and consists of a Scubapro Mk 3 DIN first stage with a Balanced Adjustable second stage on a 40" hose and a button type SPG.