I guess reading comprehension is not your strong suit. Please note I said AFTER DEPLOYMENT when you are done you clip it off. I care what happens to my second stage after it is out of my mouth. I don't like broken regulators do you?
Again, This is
NOT a stage bottle. It is emergency gas. It is
only to be used in training and an emergency. Once deployed, it is not restowed. It is only used because someone, you or another diver, is out of air. When you start using it, you will use it through your ascent, your safety stop (if you have gas to do so), through your de-finning at the surface, and through your ladder climb.
You will not switch back and forth like a stage or deco bottle. Once it's deployed, it's in your mouth till you're on the boat, or it's dry. And in that case, you're either breathing from another diver...or dead. In either case, you are in a bad emergency, and no one cares about damaged equipment- your life is more important. Let the reg get broke, it's better than wasting time trying to clip it to something.
The hose is attached to the first stage normally and finger-tight on the second. There is nothing loose. If it is so dangerous then why is this technique taught in technical diving courses for changing malfunctioning second stages under water? I guess you know more than tech agencies. Also please tell me the last time you saw a dive shop use a torque wrench on a hose fitting. Better yet ask them to explain to you how to do the math to calculate the torque when using an extension on a torque wrench. I am sure they will have no idea what you are talking about.
I know what you're talking about. First, as PfcAJ said, this is a dangerous technique, no longer taught. So, how much do
you know about tech agencies? Apparently not much.
Where did you hear this? Who trained you on it? Was it written and endorsed by a major training organization?
Or did you just overhear some tech divers talking about this and get attacked by the Good Idea Fairy?
*edit- see below*
Second, It Does Not Make Sense.
Maybe a
tech diver would want to do this.
Maybe. But
WHY would a recreational diver want to? Where would a recreational diver get another second stage underwater? Rec. divers do not get the training to assess, diagnose, and replace life support parts underwater. If a rec. diver's 2nd stage fails, he is trained to bail out to his octo, his buddy's octo, a pony, or to CESA. They are not taught to fix stuff underwater, they are taught to abort the dive immediately.
Third, every fitting should have a torque setting issued by the factory to aid technicians. This ensures that the small woman working on your gear gets the same tightness as the 270 pound half-gorilla, half-man, ex-NFL Lineman who strips fitting with two fingers on the wrench.
All my second stages are finger tight as I do swap them from first stages. NONE have ever come undone. I also lube the fittings lightly so the parts don't stick. The o-ring is what seals the connection not how tight it is (within limits).
And a loose hose can allow an o-ring to slip or gap, even slightly. That give the potential for a burst o-ring. Again, no rec. diver is trained or plans to swap parts on his life support equipment underwater. I would be very careful about this loose connections on your life support gear. Just because it has not happened, doesn't mean that it won't or can't. You have just been lucky that it hasn't so far. As PfcAJ said, it will lead to bad things underwater. Finger tight is finger loose.
For the rest of the divers reading this now and in the future, my advice is this: Don't set yourself up for failure; don't leave your regs
loose.
I disagree. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it is a duck. The only real difference between a pony and a stage is how it is used. However, in practice usually ponies are a smaller cylinder but not always, some people like to use 40s as both a pony and a stage. A pony bottle is insurance against first stage problems when diving solo or when buddy separation could be a problem.
WRONG. A pony may look like a stage bottle to the
untrained eye (I've been asked if I'm a tech diver because of it), but is most certainly is
not the same.
A stage or deco bottle is gas that is planned to be used at a certain point in the dive. It is not emergency gas, it is planned for use. A pony is not planned for use. Every dive should be conducted so that the diver is back on the boat with adequate supplies of air in their main tank. It is an insurance policy against emergencies like the diver running out of air, his buddy running out of air, or a malfunction. It is not planned for use like a stage/deco bottle is, and once in use, is used through the remainder of the dive, for one purpose, to get to more gas- preferablely a place where gas supplies are unlimited and free.
The same rules do not apply. The reg does not need a clip, because it is not restowed. There isn't a side requirement, because the diver should keep it where they are comfortable. And it should be treated as an emergency reserve, never as a means to extend a dive, or decompress on.
This is what I am talking about but it is difficult to see the bolt strap under the inner tube. Mr Chen mentioned he has no way of restowing the hose underwater. My suggestion is don't, just clip off the second stage to a shoulder d-ring. Most BCs have them.
This is your problem, no one will be restowing a pony reg underwater. You use it because there are no other gas supplies to switch to. MrChen already knows this:
I thought to myself, once this hose comes out, it isn't going back in if I'm under water.
(emphasis mine).
. I'll try cutting the bands in half first and go from there and keep the clip in mind.
