Skills For Carrying And Using A Pony

[Patoux01]

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.

On an emergency tank, you're gonna go through that procedure?
So if you're somehow OOA and your buddy hands you a reg, you're first gonna swim around him to see the mod of what he's handing you, and then if you like it, you breathe?


If anything, I'll breathe, then check. But since a pony is not compatible with any multi-gas dive imo, there wont be such thing as "wrong gas in pony".

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

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.

Pete,

Easy to trace if you have it mounted upside down like I do. Or do you see another issue with that? With regards to the MOD, I can't see why anyone would have anything but air or the same gas as their back gas in a pony bottle, as it isn't a deco bottle.

Kosta

 

[The Chairman]

On an emergency tank, you're gonna go through that procedure?

Dude, it only takes a couple of seconds. Max.

Second, and here's the important part, since I've started using SPGs, I have not run out of air once. Not once. That's no accident. (See what I did there?) I don't rush my diving. I take my time and check the details. There's just no excuse for running out of air. None, nada and squat.

 

[2airishuman]

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.

Not my day to write clear prose, sorry.

He saw that the gauge was at 3000, or 3100, or 2450, or whatever the full tank pressure was, because the regs had been charged and the valve shut off previously. When I wrote that the gauge "didn't move," I meant that it remained at the full pressure value even though he was breathing the reg. The diver was following the nearly universal procedure of breathing from the reg while checking the SPG to see that the SPG does not drop precipitously as it always will if the tank valve was shut off after the regs were charged -- as it always will, at least, if you're breathing from the back gas reg.

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.

I have a couple of tanks like that, that are once (and future) manifolded doubles, which contributes to my paranoia about splashing with the valve off. I breathe my reg at the top of the ladder, whether the DM is in hell's own hurry to get me in the water or not.

 

[2airishuman]

for #1: un-buckle waist belt, and let rig slide toward head. valve now is in reach......

It takes practice. I wonder why it isn't a skill that is taught at the OWD level. If you've never ever tried it, you're likely to put your elbow to the side rather than over your head, which doesn't work for most people. Not a good thing to sort out for the first time when you're OOA and sinking like a rock because you have no way to inflate your BC.

 

[2airishuman]

I disagree with #1 [1) Dive a configuration where you can reach all your valves.--Ed.] 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.

If you can reach all your valves, it provides another layer of safety against (among other things) this particular accident pattern. ::shrug:: We all choose how safe we have to be. Obviously you've taken steps to prevent this accident pattern, and thought about it, so I'm going to be last one to second guess you.

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)

I make it part of my personal approach to dive safety to be able to reach the tank valve on my primary tank when diving singles. I haven't used a drysuit, but if I found that I then could not reach my tank valve, I would think seriously about changing something about my configuration so that I could -- tiny doubles, or sidemount, or just moving the tank higher on my back, or something.

 

[2airishuman]

"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.

I'll try that. I'm going to replace all the exhaust Ts with the newer style because the plastic has lost its elasticity. I understand that the newer elbows are a little smaller, and I can carve up the old ones before I toss them and experiment a little.

 

[The Chairman]

Or do you see another issue with that?

I don't like a pony/stage mounted to my back. When I sling it, I can easily pass it off, if need be. We're different and that's OK. I would still dive with you!

 

[The Chairman]

When I wrote that the gauge "didn't move

So, he was breathing on the pony from the get go. I wonder if he actually checked the gauge or if this is blame shifting on his part. Too often, people (especially divers) want to appear that they've done nothing wrong when they are the problem so they reinvent history. They have memories of doing stuff that they didn't do because that was how they should have done it. The first time it happened to me, my buddy remembers us breathing on our regs together as we were kitting up. She had a short fill and I pointed out that she would still outlast me.

I breathe my reg at the top of the ladder, whether the DM is in hell's own hurry to get me in the water or not.

I do that as well, but I also turn when I get to the back deck, so they can't screw with it. I've pissed off more than one dive master that way. It's OK: my air is always on.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I'll try that. I'm going to replace all the exhaust Ts with the newer style because the plastic has lost its elasticity. I understand that the newer elbows are a little smaller, and I can carve up the old ones before I toss them and experiment a little.

Those exhaust tees never had any elasticity.. they were always hard plastic.. i never liked those second stages very much.. For whatever reason I like the SP metal second stages.. i think they are more comfortable or something.. can't really remember. Those first stages are really nice because you can adjust the IP so easily.

As for Netdoc saying he likes the ability to pass of a slung pony bottle.. i started a thread on that very issue a while ago.. and IIRC, nobody has ever done that on this forum..