Use pony for additional air supply

[robo]

I know i eventually need to buy a steel 120 or similar, but I have 4 AL 80's, and bought a AL 30 for a pony backup.

Does anyone use their pony bottles for additional air supply, and how do you do it?

Thanks

 

[RICHinNC]

I will assume this isnt a troll.......

The generally accepted use of a pony is NOT to extend a dive, but to act as an independant...stand alone...source of air in the event of a primary air source failure. Some prefer to sling their pony because they believe it is to be handed off to another diver.... and some prefer to (by some kind of mount) place their pony on their back in a static position where by it can not be handed off because it is there for the owners protection in the event of a primary air source failure. If another diver needs air assistance.....that is what the octo is for.

Regardless of whether you sling or static mount your pony.... I know few that believe they are dive extenders. If that is what you are looking for.....wear doubles.

Im sure someone will come on and disagree with me...and that is fine....but I will go by what I have stated.

This ought to get interesting.

rich

 

[Rick Inman]

I know i eventually need to buy a steel 120 or similar, but I have 4 AL 80's, and bought a AL 30 for a pony backup.

Does anyone use their pony bottles for additional air supply, and how do you do it?

Thanks

A buddy of mine went on a charter that did exactly this. The charter gave everybody nitrox ponies. The dive was to 134', and at 90' they switched to their ponies. From what he told me, using the backgas, then switching to the pony, was part of the gas plan.

These were recreational divers.

Here's his report: LINK.

 

[wedivebc]

A buddy of mine went on a charter that did exactly this. The charter gave everybody nitrox ponies. The dive was to 134', and at 90' they switched to their ponies. From what he told me, using the backgas, then switching to the pony, was part of the gas plan.

These were recreational divers.

Here's his report: LINK.

I disagree that this is the same. This is more like a tech dive using an enriched mixture during the ascent not using a pony to supplement bottom gas. I do agree that your buddies dive was outside his training and experience

 

[dannobee]

Why can't you use one of your other AL80's as a stage bottle instead of using the pony if you wish to extend the dive? You could rig it side mount style, with your backup reg and an spg and change every 300psi or so. You do have an spg on your pony reg, right?

 

[ianr33]

Why dont you just turn two of your tanks into a set of doubles and do it properly?

 

[wedivebc]

Why dont you just turn two of your tanks into a set of doubles and do it properly?

What's not proper about sidemount?

 

[Tod]

The generally accepted use of a pony is NOT to extend a dive, but to act as an independant...stand alone...source of air in the event of a primary air source failure. Some prefer to sling their pony because they believe it is to be handed off to another diver.... and some prefer to (by some kind of mount) place their pony on their back in a static position where by it can not be handed off because it is there for the owners protection in the event of a primary air source failure. If another diver needs air assistance.....that is what the octo is for.

For what it's worth, I will just add that I concur with this practice of using the pony only for a back-up source of air. I have made an exception to this before while on a recreational dive boat and used the pony just to extend my dive in a particularly interesting area. (Only because I knew I could get it refilled immediately after the dive.) But as a general rule, I don't do this.

I will add that some (not all) brackets for pony bottles do allow for quick-releases. The bracket I have has a set of pins (secured with a wire cable) that could allow someone to remove the pony during the dive and take it with them if need be.

Regardless of whether you sling or static mount your pony.... I know few that believe they are dive extenders. If that is what you are looking for.....wear doubles.

Im sure someone will come on and disagree with me...and that is fine....but I will go by what I have stated.

I've even seen some divers START their dives by using their pony gas - just to extend their dive time! To that practice, I'll just wait to watch if Darwin's theory is correct... :eek5:

 

[robo]

I will assume this isnt a troll.......

Nope, not a troll, honest question. I have more respect for people's time than to do that

I've even seen some divers START their dives by using their pony gas - just to extend their dive time! To that practice, I'll just wait to watch if Darwin's theory is correct...

Extending dive time, kind of what I was thinking...... Funny Darwin crack there...

Why can't you use one of your other AL80's as a stage bottle instead of using the pony if you wish to extend the dive? You could rig it side mount style, with your backup reg and an spg and change every 300psi or so. You do have an spg on your pony reg, right?

I'm generally a lobster season rec diver, and need to extend my dives a few minutes, or at least have a little more air on a safety stop for my second dive. We usually dive 75-90 feet, two tank dives with an hour or more surface interval, and after that call it a day. I'd rather get some larger tanks when funds are available than go to doubles, and space is usually limited in our boats (4 divers, 20-30' crafts, tanks all over the place) How does the sidemount option work, and what is the advantage there? I do have two regs. How about if I call it a stage bottle than a pony, does that make a difference?

Thanks all, I'm new to the board and have really enjoyed reading the posts, it's a wealth of information, have learned some things and opened up my eyes to the different facets of the sport. For example I switched from a jacket bc to a dive plate and wing, which has worked incredibly, super comfortable, trimmed out, use far less weight. I plan on increasing my experience to wrecks and caves, so many opportunities here in central florida. I hope to have some good stories and contribute to the boards in the near future.

 

[captndale]

I know i eventually need to buy a steel 120 or similar, but I have 4 AL 80's, and bought a AL 30 for a pony backup.

Does anyone use their pony bottles for additional air supply, and how do you do it?

Thanks

You should NOT use a pony to extend your dive time. With the proper experience and training, larger tanks, such as 80's, could be used for this purpose. It is called staging. You breath off of your stage bottles and keep your back gas in reserve.