spare air

[Berdman]

Do you know what depth you can go to and rely on a 3 CF spare air for your only gas? Throw in a safety stop? How deep can you be now?
If you don't know the answers to those questions, you probably shouldn't be doing solo yet.
How deep will you be diving? Will the 3cf get you to the top safely if you run out of gas? Do you know how fast you will go through 3 cf at 80 feet based on a SAC calculated when you are under a LOT of stress.
If you do know the answers to these questions, then you probably will realize that it isn't a good option for much more than cleaning a boat. (OK maybe a bit severe)
At a minumum I would get a 13 cf or 19 cf pony and pick up an inexpensive reg.

I only go to 15-20 ft because that is what I am comfortable with right now. I went to 30 once and that was a down and back to 15.

I do have another set of regulators laying in front of me, would it be cheaper and better to get a 19 or similar and a tank mount? The only thing that was detouring me from that idea was I didn’t want the extra hose and regulator hanging around on me....


Sure I don’t know everything there is to know but really who in the world knows everything?

 

[ReefHound]

I did a search the other day I must of spelt it wrong..... I already have solo dived, thanks for caring though :14:

We do care, don't you see how sick people feel when there's another accident thread running?

The fact that have done something and got away with it a few times doesn't mean it is safe.

If you do, I'd advise getting a pony at least 19cf, and if you're going deep consider 30 or 40cf or even doubles.

Spare Air would be more appropriately named Spare Breath, perhaps better than having nothing at all, but only if it doesn't lead you into a false sense of security. BTW, I have one, sitting in a box on a shelf, one of the few purchases I regret.

 

[Berdman]

I guess I should have clarified the depth I would be diving at sorry...... Darthwader you feel up to 45 degree water?

 

[Noviz]

You can buy an aluminum 80 for $150 and an inexpensive reg for another $200.

Think about it.

the K

Scuba Toys... 19cf. pony $115.95, Mares R2 req $134.95.
Total = about $250, minus Scubaboard 10% discount = $225.
Sling = 2 snap bolts and 4 feet of rope, $8
Don't think about it. Just do it!

 

[robertarak]

I already have solo dived, thanks for caring though

Ah! Already did it, and you are still alive! Well, you must be an expert...or just lucky. Like with most things in life, you can get away with doing some dangerous things for a while, but with each time your odds of being a Darwin statistic goes up.

I only go to 15-20 ft because that is what I am comfortable with right now. I went to 30 once and that was a down and back to 15.

You have no comfort below 15-20 feet, but you are comfortable diving solo?


PS. At 15-20 feet I would think that CESA would be a better (and yes, cheaper) option then spare air, but the folks with far more experience then me would be better suited to comment on that.

 

[UP4AIR]

This could get good!

 

[ippy01]

Berdman, you are getting some very good, caring advice from the other posters here -- PLEASE give their advice some thought.

Please note that I find the equipment fixation on this board downright silly -- and there is a group on this board who love to exaggerate the danger of diving (don't know why...I think they like feeling that they are part of some sort of elite, cool, quasi-military group or some such nonsense). But......Spare Air equipment is junk. i bought a number of their products and none of it has functioned properly. Given the mission of this equipment, this is more than a little disturbing.

The posters who recommended that you buy a REAL pony bottle with dedicated regulator are correct. Don't be cheap on this item -- just buy it and make the dollars up in some other part of your life. Seriously, don't mess with your safety!

 

[Noviz]

I do have another set of regulators laying in front of me, would it be cheaper and better to get a 19 or similar and a tank mount? The only thing that was detouring me from that idea was I didn’t want the extra hose and regulator hanging around on me....

If it's a money issue, sling the pony. Those brackets are not free. If it's a "too many hoses" issue, all the pony needs is a 1st and a 2nd. The HP hose and console, the octo, and the inflator hose can all go away. You can get port plugs for next to nothing from a dive shop. Every time the set up a new reg set they take them out of the 1st stage and throw them into a box. The last two times I asked for one I got them for free. Marcinny's picture in post #5 above will show you an inexpensive and reliable way to sling the bottle. Notice he has a pressure gauge. Great idea, or get the little button style SPG for about $48. If you trust yourself, you can do without the SPG initially.

 

[EvaL]

Berdman, take it from someone who used to own a spare air (for 3 years) and recently switched to a 19 cu ft sling pony: a pony is way better, especially if diving solo.
I have a couple of issues with the spare air (not in order of importance):
1. I tested it at depth - It breathes very wet and not well at all below 30ft (definitely not good if you're under stress and breathe heavily when OOA).
2. If you go deeper than 60ft, it almost certainly won't allow you to make a safe ascent + safety stop.
3. Although mine didn't leak, I've heard many do.
I know, having a spare air is better than nothing, but if you're comparing spare air and pony, the pony is really the way to go and cost wise, pony is close (unless you're assembling top-of-the-line Ti pony reg setup). I agree with above poster, sling is more economical (and IMHO safer for me - I can see the gauge).
I use my old reg, screw-in mini SPG and Dive rite pony sling.
As for size of tank, I'm reading on a chart I downloaded from a site called scubanaked a while ago: for up to 66ft depth get a 13 cu ft; for up to 99ft get a 19 cu ft and for up to 132 ft get a 30 cu ft.
Everyone makes their own decision, if you choose to solo dive, it's your perogative. If you are a friend of mine, I'd recommend that you get training at least to Rescue (it teaches situation assessment, accident prevention, self-rescue etc) before doing so.
What part of Wis do you dive? I used to dive Lakes Mendota and Monona a lot while at UW-Madison. Also went to Lake Wazee once a while.
Dive safely.

 

[texdiveguy]

For a rec diver on solo or buddy runs,,,,a 19cf slung pony is way plenty....remember this is just for contingency use only....practice with it once you set it up. The Spare Air products are worthless. Good luck.