Spare Air / Pony Tanks - Real life stories ??

[JeffG]

OK I called Spare Air and asked what the difference with the two versions is. They said the Nitrox unit uses Crystal Lube instead of food-grade silicon, and there is a sticker on it. I asked if that means it is oxygen compatible, they said "No", you can only fill it from premixed Nitrox up to 40%, and if you ever mix it with air, it will be contaminated. The guy said really, it's ... "because some people are sticklers for keeping everything the same. A lot of people end up putting regular air in it, and if it were mine, I'd just get the Air unit, because when you need it, it doesn't matter what is in it. Some people who dive Nitrox all the time might want to get it."

So...the only logical conclusion is............

Crystal Lube must be really expensive!!!

Well, I'm not going to admit that Jeff was right

Rob

My god, thats even more laughable. They even get the specifics of Nitrox filling wrong.

 

[lamont]

But it would focus on the fact that Two Tanks are Two Tanks are Two Tanks regardless of their relative size. Two tanks are doubles. In my opinion the folks who thought up a special name for when one of the two tanks is smaller than the other are the one's who should be blamed for the confusion.

a pony bottle is more analogous to "independent doubles" and there are significant differences between that and doubles with an isolation manifold, which is what people typically mean by "doubles".

generally this works out fine because when people say "doubles" they mean something different from a pony bottle or independent doubles.

Two Tanks are not all configured equivalently.

nice try at attempting to equate pony bottles to doubles, though. that would have eliminated 99% of the arguments about pony bottles if you could actually make that work...

 

[Ironhed]

I myself went with a 13 cu ft pony as most of my diving is 100 foot to 130 foot. I recently did a test on it at 120' I breathed the pony at a normal ascent and did a 3 minute safety stop once I surfaced I still had 1500 psi left in the tank. I know if it were a real panic situation my breathing would be substancially higher but I fee I would still have had sufficient air to make it on a 13 ft tank. I am using the zeagle pony straps to mount mine directly to my main tank. I have to say that this setup is probably the best out there, anyone looking into a pony rig should definitely check out ZEAGLE on this. with a 13 cu ft pony I only need one strap and it only cost 20 bucks each. this offers the same camlock that my main tanks use and it will fit any size pony. if your running a 19 or 30 I would get 2 straps then. I never go without my pony ever, I am a hunter and it is even more important for hunters to have a backup air. it is real easy to get into stringing a tough fish and forget to watch that air consumption. I know of a few people that this happened to, not all are here today.

 

[roakey]

For the record, CHRISTO-lube. And even then, there are a whole bunch of different kinds christo-lube:

http://www.lubricationtechnology.com/sitemap.htm

MCG-111 is the kind used in SCUBA applications.

Roak

 

[smokey braden]

ironhed,
i use a zeagle ranger ltd.
two summers ago i took the sdi solo class.
i rigged the two tanks with the zeagle pony straps.
i am comfortable with this configeration.
the only thought i have is that one side of me was more negative than the other.
this was quickly fixed by moving my trim weights to the less negative side.
regards,

 

[roakey]

Most of the people I have personally experienced use the word "pony" to mean a second tank with just enough gas to make it back to the surface after an equipment failure. Where most of the people who use the word "doubles" mean a second tank with enough gas to handle just about any conceiveable unforseen situation.

So, maybe the biggest favor we could all do for the cause of good analysis is stop using the word "pony" to mean a small second tank. Instead, acknowledge that adding a second tank by definition makes it doubles and concentrate on developing good analysis that will insure the amount and distribution of the gas will meet any forseen contingency.

Actually when I hear "pony" I don't think of its size first, I assume that it's a cylinder that's brought along for an emergency -- specifically it's NOT part of the pre-dive gas planning. Doubles (independent or manifolded) ARE part of the gas plan. This is what also differentiates a "pony" from a "stage" as well -- a stage is consumed as part of the dive plan.

So I feel your proposed definition change is very innaccurate, and loses the difference between gas that's part of the dive plan and consumed, versus gas that isn't part of the plan and is held aside for an emergency.

Roak

Ps. My "pony" is my teammate.

 

[Ironhed]

I had to trim out my ranger when I had it too, if you have a ltd you have an option of the pony sleeve which is what I had, I put 2 lbs on the opposite side for my 13 cf tank and it trims out well. I got rid of the ranger and went with a zeagle bp&w with the rear mounted straps, I like this setup alot better. the pony is completely out of my way now and I don't even know it is back there. the first time I dove my pony I was litterally sinking and turtling the entire dive it sucked, I put 2 lbs in the opposite side and it was completely fixed.
in my avatar you can see the pony mounted with one zeagle band, I also am diving 120 cf steel tanks so I usually get 2 dives out of one if the depth of the dive is 90 feet and I keep my dive a tad shorter. with the pony I am able to drain my main tank a little lower than I would not having a second air source.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

My god, thats even more laughable. They even get the specifics of Nitrox filling wrong.

Yabbut, they don't have to be right ... just convincing.

Something about one being born every minute ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[JeffG]

Yabbut, they don't have to be right ... just convincing.

Something about one being born every minute ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Scary but true. Some dive shops operate like that too.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Scary but true. Some dive shops operate like that too.

Too many, to my concern ...

Some of the most obviously fabricated diving anecdotes I have ever heard came from shop owners and/or staff. But you know the saying ... "A good story doesn't have to be true, it just has to be interesting" ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)