Recreational Pony Bottles, completely unnecessary? Why or why not?

[grf88]

I just don’t believe a regulator first stage can fail instantly, not my scubapro,s at least, so the only other reason to end up with no gas is to unwittingly use it. I’m definitely not going to do that.

Then I guess you have never seen a high pressure seat fail with resultant diaphragm extrusion and shredded environmental seal. I can tell you the tank will empty pretty quickly and the second stage work poorly for the time it takes the tank to empty. Never heard of a blocked dip tube on a rental tank. There are definitely other scenarios but I have witnessed these first hand.

 

[BoltSnap]

It's a pity some posters don't read all the posts from the beginning before they delve in with their comments too.

But hey this is ScubaBoard

It makes it worth the price of admissions here

 

[grf88]

So people never get bent from a rapid ascent even if they are within NDL. Give me a break.

 

[Blackcrusader]

Nobody on this thread is recommending everybody to use one. What I and others object to is people suggesting to those that wish to use one should not.

If a diver wants to use a pony I am all for it. I will not tell a diver not to bring a pony if they are my dive buddy. It is their choice to bring one if they want. Sometimes Solo divers have decided to buddy up with me for a dive and they bring their pony bottle.

 

[BoltSnap]

This is way people run out of air also. Poor planning, it wasn't an accident that caused you to be in a location without a gas station.

In our part of the world, you can get on roads without gas stations for hundreds of miles, proper planning here is carrying your own fuel in spare tanks. Same thing for going out in the desert, you know your way and have plans for gasing up but one can't predict problems and thus you carry several fuel tanks just in case you face issues that make it impossible to reach a gas station before you run out of gas.

 

[jadairiii]

Since when is a dive to 120 ft. necessarily a technical dive. Maybe for your organization but for many this is a simple dive to a wreck on a large single and a pony.

First off, I dont have an "organization". Second, doing a wreck dive in 120' with "a large single and a pony" is not a typical recreational rig or a recreational dive.

 

[grf88]

If a dive wants to use a pony I am all for it. I will not tell a diver not to bring a pony if they are my dive buddy. It is their choice to bring one if they want. Sometimes Solo divers have decided to buddy up with me for a dive and they bring their pony bottle.

The problem is that others on the thread have declared that people who dive with a pony obviously don't know how to gas plan or fail to look at their spg and are generally lousy divers that should not be in the water. That is what got this whole debacle started

 

[BoltSnap]

So you don't plan on catastrophic gas loss? That's fine if you dive that way but no single solo/self-reliant/independent course from SDI, PADI, SSI, or IANTD teaches solo diving without redundant gas.

You may feel differently if you ever have a hose burst, first stage failure, or burst disk rupture. All unlikely events, but they do happen.

I have been reading your responses here and it is getting really scary for me, I agree almost 100% with you. Something ain't right.

 

[grf88]

First off, I dont have an "organization". Second, doing a wreck dive in 120' with "a large single and a pony" is not a typical recreational rig or a recreational dive.

No! your GUE is showing and not the modern GUE but the one more akin to 20+years ago when it was more GI3/DIR. Where I am a dive to 120' on a single is a common occurrence and more than 50% of the divers will be carrying a pony.

 

[Celt]

Then I guess you have never seen a high pressure seat fail with resultant diaphragm extrusion and shredded environmental seal. I can tell you the tank will empty pretty quickly and the second stage work poorly for the time it takes the tank to empty. Never heard of a blocked dip tube on a rental tank. There are definitely other scenarios but I have witnessed these first hand.

No never seen that to happen in the water. And never seen a completely blocked tank tube go unnoticed till it was brought to the bottom .