Putting together a Pony Tank

[cbrich]

"You were "pretty pissed" because he was breathing off that thing during our safety stop"

Perhaps he was down to around 3 or 400 lbs in his primary and he was overly concerned about draining it?


Perhaps he was practicing using his pony bottle and what better time to do it would be during a safety stop?

Here you are jumping to conclusions and getting all bent out of shape because you think he did something reckless.

He did so something reckless, he drained his primary gas supply because he did not want to end a dive early because of his gas consumption. When we got to the surface he took off his regulator, and the tank just hissed out a little bit of gas. The boat DM was pissed at him also because he had to check the tank. This particular person used the pony as a crutch, instead of the actually ending a dive when he should have. (This is the reason why I want to see my dive buddies pressure gauge, if they are a beginner.) I ended the dive when I reached 1,000 psig. I don't get pissed at a person for ending a dive because they suck down the gas quicker than me. I got pissed because he told me different underwater.

I forgot to add the 30 cf cylinder was down to 1,000 psi when we got to the surface. No way to use 2,000 psi for practice. If my math is correct he used a 100 cf of air, and 20 cf of that was for an emergency.

All this comes down to how a person was trained. I was taught to end a dive with 1,000 psi, because you might have to share air at your safety stop if your buddy was not watching his/her pressure closely. I let my dive buddy know that also, because I have dove with people that have great air consumption. I was also taught if something does not feel right abort the dive.

Several months ago, my dive buddy suck his tank down 200-300 psig. During our safety stop I was on my octo, and made my primary available for him if he descided he needed it (I was holding it a foot away from his face.)

 

[muddiver]

Diving is a progressive learning experience like many other things in life. Jumping in with too much gear too fast can lead a person into relying on gear to cover up for fundamental skill issues and/or have too many options too fast, leading to poor decisions. There is a reason no agency teaches pony use for brand new divers.

You have listed 0-24 dives, you are not sure what kind of tank you just purchased (is it AL or Steel?) and you are not sure whit kind of regulator you can or should use. You purchased a rather large pony that will probably be slung, adding some complexity. I would delay using it. If you won't delay, at least dedicate multiple dives to practicing with it under controlled conditions. Don't just hook it up and think you are invincible because you have redundant air.

BTW: I own 2 pony bottles (different sizes) and use them often. They are a great tool to use with the right mind set and practice.

You are assuming that the dive location does not require one. There are a number of dive operators on the east coast that will not let you on their bost without a pony.

 

[N2DeepInAz]

If you take this bad advice you'll be diving at least 50x without a redundant air source that you're ready and willing to pay for and use. If you run into a low or out of air emergency, which is probably more likely for a newer diver, I hope the last thing you aren't thinking is "Damn why did I listen to that OldGrumpyguy on that internet forum who told me to throw the Pony bottle in a closet?"

There's nothing inherently complicated about using a pony, like anything else it takes some practice.

Good to see some new divers getting right into some of these additional available resources. I only started using a pony in the past few years, before that I had a Spare Air cylinder which I maintain is better than nothing but definitely inferior to a Pony Bottle for most recreational diving applications

Actually, I think the GrumpyOldGuy has a point there. I was a new diver not that long ago and thought a pony would be a great idea. I had barely figured out how to keep bouncing off the bottom and mucking things up until about dive 50 or so. To have thrown a pony bottle into the mix would've made learning that much more difficult, plus it made me keep a very close eye on my air because I didn't have a pony bottle with me. I think having pony bottle that early will be far too distracting and create bad habits that may be hard to break down the road.

At almost 100 dives myself, I still rarely ever dive with my pony bottle and am thinking of turning it into a drysuit inflation bottle at this point. If you want more air, I'd suggest getting a larger tank than what you normally dive with and then just make sure you keep a good eye on your air consumption at all times.

Good luck and keep diving, it'll get easier with consistent experience!

 

[idocsteve]

I was taught to end a dive with 1,000 psi, because you might have to share air at your safety stop if your buddy was not watching his/her pressure closely.

Several months ago, my dive buddy suck his tank down 200-300 psig.

Personally I think your numbers are way too conservative, and you're forfeiting several good minutes of dive time, EVERY time.

If I'm back on the boat with 300 lbs then I'm thinking it was a good dive and I didn't miss any opportunities to see everything that was down there.

I dive solo and I carry a 19 cf Pony so 300 lbs left in my tank is more than enough as far as I'm concerned. I'm not going to sacrifice as much as 10 minutes of every dive so I "might have the gas available to help out a buddy".

Which is of course another advantage of the redundant gas supply...not to dive "recklessly" but to give you that extra margin so if you're so inclined you can dive a bit less conservatively.

 

[Dr Wu]

Thanks for all the great replies and advice. As for "Grumpy Old Guy", the pony is for you or any diver that has OOA including myself. As far as it fumbling around and having extra crap to carry around, I would rather do that than having OOA.

You really must stop looking for reasons to excuse running out of air.

Pony bottles do not stop you from running out of air.

Your thinking is dangerous.

Learn to dive. Dive a lot. Leave the toys in the closet.

 

[idocsteve]

You really must stop looking for reasons to excuse running out of air.

Pony bottles do not stop you from running out of air.

Your thinking is dangerous.

Learn to dive. Dive a lot. Leave the toys in the closet.

You're suggesting that a potentially lifesaving piece of gear is a toy and to leave it in the closet

Your thinking is dangerous.

 

[hbhobby]

I have a pony and love it I went to my LDS when they had their rental gear sale at the end of the year and got a perfectly functional regulator setup with lots of "cosmetic scratches"
and on the last dive of the day I always breath my pony for the safty stop it helps me to practice with it and keeps the air freshly filled (I read on the internet that it can go stale after a while and if I read it on the internet it MUST BE FACT!)

 

[eth727]

I hear both sides of the argument but when the poop hits the fan, wheter it be newbie or vet someone is going to need air.

 

[mpgunner]

Ok, back to the topic. What about Spare Air to be used for getting to your buddy? Versus going to the surface?

 

[Dr Wu]

I hear both sides of the argument...

Perhaps you hear "both sides"

but when the poop hits the fan, wheter it be newbie or vet someone is going to need air.

But this proves you are not listening.