Looking for a Pony set up. Would this work? What would you recommend?

[drbill]

IMHO the decision about what pony to use is dependent on many different factors: your SAC rate, the maximum depth of most of your dives (and duration at depth), water temperature, etc. Personally I find a 19 cu ft pony fine for my diving (although if I'm diving beyond rec depths a minimum of 40 cu ft is preferred), most of which does not exceed 100 fsw and does not involve deco. My SAC rate is pretty good though so your mileage may differ. In warm water the same volume of air lasts significantly longer than here in the chilly temperate waters of SoCal.

 

[chrisch]

My reason for wanting one was that on too many dive trips I've ended up being "buddies" with either a macro-photographer (who never ever looks up) or a new diver who I can't really expect to help me. ....

Do the PADI Self Reliant Diver or similar before you start using gear to overcome a perceived issue. A course like that will answer the questions that you haven't yet thought about to ask. Getting a Pony without any training is not a good idea.

 

[Bob DBF]

I recently started diving and for peace of mind/safety I wanted to look into a pony setup.

I am of the mind that peace of mind/safety are dependent upon ones skills diving and dive planning. Make sure, when you get one, it is an asset rather than a crutch.

I was unimpressed with the price/capacity of SpareAir & the Zeagle all in one system and wanted your opinion on this setup I am considering purchasing.

40 cu Tank: 40 Cubic Foot Pony Bottle discounts on sale Catalina
33" Kevlar Hose: https://11main.com/scubachoice/33-k...essure-hose-for-gauge-spg-1st-stage/p/2774783
Regulator: https://11main.com/scubachoice/scub...&utm_term=_&utm_content=11_main&utm_campaign=[pla]-(sgf)&ref=DF4rcI_udU6GfakKSQwtHg&kpid=628210

First off, are all these components compatible?
Second off, would side mounting this on my main tank with straps work?
Lastly, general thoughts on the setup/components.

Thanks,
Max

Not only are you are short of equipment to operate the pony bottle, unless you have gear you are not talking about, but I found more reasonably priced gear by shopping around. Your LDS could have good used equipment at a better price as well, if you talk to them.



Bob
-----------------------------------------------

That's my point, people, by and large, are not taught that diving can be deadly, they are taught how safe it is, and they are not equipped with the skills, taught and trained to the level required to be useful in an emergency.

 

[Searcaigh]

Different horses for different courses (there's a joke in there )

My little ponies



13 cu ft for dives down to 20M, 30 cu ft for dives to 30M (actually a stage used for deco) and a 50 cu ft that I use for deco when deep diving on trimix.

The 13 cu ft gets topped up via a whip with whatever gas is available and generally contains anything between 21 and 32%

What you need depends on your SAC rate, and as chrisch mentions above doing a course where a pony is used is very helpful, and may avoid some expensive mistakes.

With regards to a regulator make sure the first stage is a DIN and the valve on the pony a DIN

 

[lemonfish]

This seems like an interesting discussion. new Member permission to listen in this discussion

​

 

[uncfnp]

Welcome lemonfish! FYI, if you see a thread you want to follow and you are signed in, look for "thread tools" in the blue bar at the start of the posts. Click on it then "Subscribe to this thread" and it will save it to your User CP page.

 

[rhwestfall]

i am of the mind that peace of mind/safety are dependent upon ones skills diving and dive planning. Make sure, when you get one, it is an asset rather than a crutch.

^^^^^^ this!!!!!!!!

 

[KevinNM]

Do the PADI Self Reliant Diver or similar before you start using gear to overcome a perceived issue. A course like that will answer the questions that you haven't yet thought about to ask. Getting a Pony without any training is not a good idea.

They want 100 dives before you can take those classes. After 50 dives I realized I was diving solo despite having a "buddy".

There are lots of minor issues you will find. The first is trim, it will blow your trim until you adjust weighting. On a dive trip on a dive boat it will be a pain, life is hard, you'll figure out how to deal with their tank racks. The only serious issue was using the wrong reg on a dive. I noticed this after 20 minutes and corrected it, no big deal, but it was an eye-opener. I first went to different color hose, then changed a few dives later to a GUE style necklace. That has worked fine, other then occasionally getting my neck damp when it bops the silicone seal on my drysuit.

 

[industrious95]

I don't know anything about the components you're talking about using, so no comment there. Just my story about how I put together my Pony:

When I first started diving locally in the Northeast, I realized that with all the "buddies" out there I'd be smart to have a Pony. My LDS sold me a 13 cu and said it would be fine.

I'd say that on the dive boats I frequent, 19cu seems to be the most common. This is for open water dives, no caves or wreck penetration, average depth 80-100 ft. If I ever need a new Pony, I'd go for the 19. Trim and weighting is a PIA, but you'll get it worked out. It's not like a pony hanging on your tank is going to make you sink or float uncontrollably.

I have a Sherwood Brut as my regulator. Not because I like it, just because I had it when I added my pony. The Brut's not their top of the line reg but it's fine, even if it's black instead of yellow. I wouldn't buy it again because the first stage is designed to bleed continuously, which means I'm constantly loosing air in my pony. Crazy design, plus I constantly have other divers telling me "your pony has a leak." Sherwood says it's supposed to do that. My LDS doesn't charge me to top it off, plus I have a whip to top it off myself if I'm on a boat.

I use the pony at least once a month. Not because I run out of air, but because I want practice. It's a good idea to build up your muscle memory so you take action without thinking about it. When the day comes that I need it, I want to be experienced with finding it hanging around my neck and shoving it in my mouth. Not a big deal, you might think, but who knows how much of a panic you'll be in when you're 130 feet down and you don't get air from your main regulator.

Whatever equipment you buy, make sure you use it regularly, test breathe it before each dive, and maintain it just like it was your main regulator. Some people forget to get that backup reg serviced, which is a bad mistake because the day you really NEED it, you want to make sure it's in good shape.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

I think it safe to say that trim is easier with a 30 or 40, because it's long enough to sling properly. A 19 is going to be more difficult to square away in that manner - back when I had a Zeagle 20cf pony system, I found it rather annoying. A properly slung 40 basically vanishes underwater and is NBD to handle topside (unless it's one of 3-4 bailout tanks you're mounting, but that's a discussion for another forum).

Definitely practice deployment regularly, as the easiest way to learn what you'll do wrong is to simply give it a go. Beyond that, I'm not sure what "training" you need. It's an OC SCUBA system - you're trained to use those already. I second the suggestion to base a pony rig off the simple, tried and effective "DIR" stage rigging and stage regulator configuration. It works.

That said, air travel with a pony is sort of a pain. You're likely better off just bringing the reg and stage rigging and renting whatever you can lay hands on at your destination. Otherwise, be prepared to invest in a transfill whip so you can avoid the whole 'well, I'm not filling this empty tank without a fresh viz!' discussion/delay.