Your opinion on configuring a pony

[Jersey Diver]

Hi There!!! What's your opinion on how to set up a pony tank? I have a oms 119
(3442) and i also bought a pony bottle 30 cu. The pony will be at the shop on thursday or friday so i dont have it in my possesion just yet. I bought my equipment from two different shops and they both have something different to say one says they like to hang a tank and the other strap it to the main tank. This will be my first diving experience so i dont have exp doing either. Also when using a pony, do you have one reg on your main tank and one on the pony, or two on the main and one on the pony? Three regs seems like it might get in the way or be to much to handle, so what do you all think?

 

[lundysd]

You've opened up a real hornet's nest here. I know others will suggest the same in a much harsher form, but I would first strongly suggest that you gain some diving experience before you learn to use a pony. Adding a pony, while effective as a redundant air source, adds complexity, and without at least 10-20 dives you will be fighting your side-to-side buoyancy and bulkiness far too much to make it worthwhile.

Once you have sufficient experience to maintain trim and feel less apprehensive in the water, then I would suggest the following:

--Mount the pony bottle inverted using a hard mount system (scubatoys sells a great system that can be removed on the fly by pulling the cotter pins). This allows you access to the valve should you need it.
--Secure the pony reg on your BC at the bottom right using a quick disconnect
--Either add your octo on a surgical tube around your neck, or buy a octo/inflator combo to reduce complexity (I use an Atomic SS1 and love it).
--PRACTICE!!! Make sure you can deploy your pony on the fly, and practice using it.

 

[roakey]

See the "search" button above?

Click it. Select "Advanced Search"

Enter "pony" restrict the search to titles and the Tanks, Valves and Bands forum. You'll get 77 hits -- look for likely titles (there's at least a dozen) and you'll find the answer to your question. Multiple times in fact.

Seriously, welcome to the file, but in the future please ALWAYS use the search function before asking the same, tired question for the umpteenth time.

Roak

 

[Jersey Diver]

OK, I got the search thing down. This was the first time using it. I'm new to the forum, & whoever said about the hornets nest wasn't kidding. That forum has a lot of opinions.

 

[pants!]

That forum has a lot of opinions.

You said a mouthful.

So after reading through those opinions do you have any more specific questions?

 

[XJae]

most people i know that dive off jersey sling an aluminum 40 or 30 (some an 80).
others with smaller tanks, (19's or less) seem to mount them to the tank.
either way, if i were you, i'd get a few dives in at dutch with it before jumping into the atlantic.

 

[Jersey Diver]

Well PANTS, I see you have good taste in motorcycles!!! Do people usually run one reg on the main tank & one on the pony? This is how I've seen some equipment set-ups in the dive shop so I was wondering what some peole on this forum thought.

 

[The Natural]

I have my 30cu pony mounted with a super pony tamer. Everything is out of the way and my trim is fine. Like Xjae said, go to Dutch and try out what works best for you. Its always best to try out new equiptment in a semi-controlled environment like Dutch unlike stepping off the deck of a boat 30 miles out.

 

[Northeastwrecks]

My initial response would be "Don't." However, if you insist, then I'd suggest rigging it as a stage bottle, with the reg where you can see it, and the bottle in a position to remove easily if necessary. This will also allow you to charge the reg, then turn the bottle off. This prevents leaking, whilst allowing you to turn it on if it is needed.

There's a really scary thread out there regarding problems with a pony bottle that was stowed out of sight. Essentially, the reg leaked, the gas supply depleted and the diver found himself in serious trouble when he needed to deploy it.

Here is the link:

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=74063&highlight=memorial

Whatever you do, make sure that you understand why you are carrying the pony. Its for emergencies, not for extending your dive. The moment you start planning to use the pony as part of your available gas, you eliminate the safety factor.

Second, make sure that you can deploy the pony reg, and that you can remove and replace the bottle. I'd also make sure that you can re-stow the reg, in case you have an opportunity to go back on backgas. That's unlikely, but it could occur.

 

[JeffG]

Do people usually run one reg on the main tank & one on the pony?

There's a really scary thread out there regarding problems with a pony bottle that was stowed out of sight. Essentially, the reg leaked, the gas supply depleted and the diver found himself in serious trouble when he needed to deploy it.

So put the two of these together and what do you get. A pony bottle diver with only 1 reg on his main backgas has no regard for a buddy and quite frankly is someone I would not get into the water with.