You won't be the first... I know I stole it from someone else. Glad I was able to help.
Skills For Carrying And Using A Pony
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claymore
Contributor
A little off topic but when we were in DM class our instructor had us do a little exercise in the shallow end of the pool. We would sit in a circle on the bottom with a tank in the middle and pass a reg around the circle. Starting with 2 and adding in person on each round. I think we got up to about 8 people in the circle.
For someone like myself who is air consumption challenged it could be a long wait for the reg when the full circle was going around.
For someone like myself who is air consumption challenged it could be a long wait for the reg when the full circle was going around.
If you want fun, and I mean real fun, try to buddy breathe with a full face mask. I've only done it with another instructor/trainer in the pool. Worth a giggle. Lot's of giggles. Water hurts when you snort it up your nose while giggling. We made it though. Sorry for the hijack.
OP
2airishuman
Contributor
It was a good diversion. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.
I was at the pool with the dive club last night, fiddling around trying to get my weights and trim exactly the way I want them, and performing drills with the pony cylinder. The pony is negative overall with the valve end of the cylinder being much less buoyant than the base of the cylinder. I don't like what it does to my trim or streamlining, but I can live with it.
The Conshelf second stage I had on it has a largish exhaust elbow that contributes to the clutter, and I may rearrange my regs so that my Hog Classic is on the pony and the Conshelf is the necklace reg, where the elbow won't be a problem.
The neck of the pony cylinder sits too far away from me in the water, and I'm going to fiddle with the rigging a little bit and try to snug it up. I have some larger braided nylon line on order that I'm going to use, which should stretch less, and I'm switching to a smaller bolt snap at the cylinder neck. I'm also going to move the bottom band clamp up just a little so that the bolt snap doesn't drag on the floor, which is a minor nuisance.
NetDoc, thank you for the tip on using a bungee at the neck. It saves a hand motion when switching and I'm extremely pleased with the way it works and the way the extra hose stays with the cylinder when the reg is deployed.
Any additional rigging advice would be welcome.
Put another zip tie on that bottom bungee. Make it loose and simply clip the bottom snap there when not in use.
Try a one pound weight on the cylinder. I've used three and four pound weights on an AL80 with great success while sidemounting. Here I am in the Sea of Cortez with AL 80s. I put five pound weights in the pockets to take some off of me. I float like a cork. Look how nice they lay.
OP
2airishuman
Contributor
Last night two divers approached me and expressed reasoned concern over my use of a pony cylinder. One of the fatalities mentioned upthread was someone who dived with the club. We chatted and they pointed out some things they liked about my configuration, that they had not seen before, that could reduce the likelihood of a similar accident.
The accident as they described it last night went like this:
1) Diver checked his air before entering the water while breathing his reg. SPG didn't move, diver figured air was on and entered the water with full confidence that he had air + redundant air.
2) In actual fact the back gas was still off and the diver was breathing the pony reg.
3) Diver descended to 60 feet.
4) Roughly 15 minutes into the dive, the pony bottle was exhausted. Diver was OOG and switched to octo.
5) After 2-3 breaths on the octo, diver was again OOG because valve was off.
6) Diver was unable to reach valve and did not have a buddy nearby, and drowned.
So, three easy operational mistakes that, individually, any diver has probably made over the course of their diving:
1) Entering the water with the valve off
2) Breathing the wrong reg
3) Not checking the SPG in the first ~15 minutes of the dive
The divers had clearly hashed over the accident in their minds many times, and had drawn three conclusions from the accident. I present them as received -- they don't reflect my own point of view:
1) Ponies have inherent hazards that may outweigh their benefits
2) If using a pony it is important to secure the pony reg in a location where it is hard to confuse with the octo or primary
3) If using a pony it is important for the pony reg to be visually distinct from the primary and octo
Beyond operational excellence, I think there are a number of configuration choices and dive procedures that can provide an additional layer of prevention, among them:
1) Dive a configuration where you can reach all your valves.
2) S drills. Even, maybe especially, when diving solo.
3) Dive your pony with the valve off.
4) Positively identify your primary reg. (One of the benefits of using a bungee rather than a bolt snap on ponies/stages, now, for me, is that the primary reg is the only one with a bolt snap, which gives me something unambiguous to look for)
5) Anything to give you a hint that you're on the wrong reg. Brand, color, rubber hose vs braid hose, location, hose length, mouthpiece.
The accident as they described it last night went like this:
1) Diver checked his air before entering the water while breathing his reg. SPG didn't move, diver figured air was on and entered the water with full confidence that he had air + redundant air.
2) In actual fact the back gas was still off and the diver was breathing the pony reg.
3) Diver descended to 60 feet.
4) Roughly 15 minutes into the dive, the pony bottle was exhausted. Diver was OOG and switched to octo.
5) After 2-3 breaths on the octo, diver was again OOG because valve was off.
6) Diver was unable to reach valve and did not have a buddy nearby, and drowned.
So, three easy operational mistakes that, individually, any diver has probably made over the course of their diving:
1) Entering the water with the valve off
2) Breathing the wrong reg
3) Not checking the SPG in the first ~15 minutes of the dive
The divers had clearly hashed over the accident in their minds many times, and had drawn three conclusions from the accident. I present them as received -- they don't reflect my own point of view:
1) Ponies have inherent hazards that may outweigh their benefits
2) If using a pony it is important to secure the pony reg in a location where it is hard to confuse with the octo or primary
3) If using a pony it is important for the pony reg to be visually distinct from the primary and octo
Beyond operational excellence, I think there are a number of configuration choices and dive procedures that can provide an additional layer of prevention, among them:
1) Dive a configuration where you can reach all your valves.
2) S drills. Even, maybe especially, when diving solo.
3) Dive your pony with the valve off.
4) Positively identify your primary reg. (One of the benefits of using a bungee rather than a bolt snap on ponies/stages, now, for me, is that the primary reg is the only one with a bolt snap, which gives me something unambiguous to look for)
5) Anything to give you a hint that you're on the wrong reg. Brand, color, rubber hose vs braid hose, location, hose length, mouthpiece.
I disagree with #1 if the pony is configured in a way that is error proof. I don't see how I can possibly start breathing from my pony instead of my main tank when I have the pony upside with the valve pointed out an the 2nd stage secured there.
For #1, do you include your primary (single) tank? I can do that in warm water, in a wetsuit. No way could I do it in a drysuit (except if in backmount doubles)
Agreed on #2, 4, 5, but not #3 (surprise, surprise!).
First off, in regards to the accident, the pony was not the problem. This was diver error and only diver error. He saw the gauge was at zero and went diving? There are no words to express how stupid that is. The only time I ever splashed with the tank off was when the DM closed it on me on my way from the bench (where I breathed on the reg) to the back of the boat. Even then, it only took me a few seconds to reach back and turn on the tank, even though I have arthritis and the handle was on the other side. Mr DM and I had a terse conversation after that. That's happened twice (the valve sticks to the left not the right) so now I don't allow the boat staff to touch my tank.
Secondly, it's a best practice to trace any reg back to it's source before you breathe it. That's why a back mounted pony just won't work for me. I pull the reg with hose out completely, trace my hand down the hose to the tank it's coming from, read the contents and MOD on the tank, match the mod against my current depth (if not air) and then, and only then, do I breathe off of it.
Secondly, it's a best practice to trace any reg back to it's source before you breathe it. That's why a back mounted pony just won't work for me. I pull the reg with hose out completely, trace my hand down the hose to the tank it's coming from, read the contents and MOD on the tank, match the mod against my current depth (if not air) and then, and only then, do I breathe off of it.
for #1: un-buckle waist belt, and let rig slide toward head. valve now is in reach......
Ghetto Diver
Contributor
"The Conshelf second stage I had on it has a largish exhaust elbow that contributes to the clutter, and I may rearrange my regs so that my Hog Classic is on the pony and the Conshelf is the necklace reg, where the elbow won't be a problem."
Trim the exhaust T.
I had a older Aquarius that I trimmed for the same reason.
Trim the exhaust T.
I had a older Aquarius that I trimmed for the same reason.
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