Pony Bottle, On or Off

[tc]

Back mount so I leave it on, the pony reg is on a bungie necklace so if it develops a leak I should notice.

 

[The Great Kazoo]

Back mount so I leave it on, the pony reg is on a bungee necklace so if it develops a leak I should notice.

Ditto If I am diving singles. Doubles, I sling it.

 

[ivobj]

Turn it on before entering the water to pressurize it, then turn it off during the dive, tu use it first turn it on, then deploy the reg. From time to time monitor the SPG, if it goes low turn it on and off to pressurize again. Reasons for that procedure?

1 - You must have it pressurized in the water because

a) if not pressurized screws are loose and could accidentaly unscrew, causing water to enter the reg, damaging it.

b) You must be sure it is functional, so keeping it pressurized, gives you assurance that it is ok (of course you should also test the reg...)

2 - Although pressurized, you should keep it of to avoid leaks that would cause you to loose the gas during the dive and have a big (and terrible) surprise if you need the pony bottle.

Then same is valid for deco bottles.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Off. I treat all slung bottles as deco bottles.

 

[letterboy]

slung, on then off, allows a breath or two while turning it on

 

[muddiver]

On to charge before entering the water then back on and off 1/4 way thru the dive, again at 1/2, and then again at beginning of ascent at which point it stays on. Reason for this is it does offer some insurance against water pressure migrating back thru the hose ( very minor issue), and if the reg would get bumped or freeflow all the air you'd lose is what's in the hose. On the other hand should you need to deploy in an emergency there is a breath or two while you are turning the valve on. And it builds muscle memory for working the valve. Don't need to see it to use it. My tech instructor teaches on then off, on at the turn point then back off, and on as we start ascent and left on til surface. This is of course with the bottle slung. I would not carry one any other way. I have a 19, 40, and if need be an al80 I can set up.

Jim, can you make that any more confusing?

My answer: I use to leave it off because I side mount and I have muscle memory trained to go for the valve while switching gas sources. It is an old commercial diver thing. We mount a 30 to 50 cu cylinder up side down on the back and plumb it to the hard hat through a first stage on the cylinder and a valve on the side block of the hat that is a shut off for the bail out.

I have since changed to opening my pony when gearing up and leaving it on to 1) prevent water intrusion into the first stage (my back up reg was getting rusty) and 2) As mentioned above the yoke can loosen if the regulator is not pressurized.

My backup first stage regulator has a button gage that I check before each dive, the second stage is detuned to prevent free flow, the regulator clip I use has a plug that fits in the mouth piece which reduces the possability of free flow and the second stage is clipped off on my right shoulder harness so if it did free flow I would definatly notice.

 

[hudson]

Slung and on. There is no point in turning it off for me, because the pony is for my own use, the secondary is on my necklace and I will notice any leaks.

If I were to keep the second on the bottle, then it would be pressurized and then turned off, and I would have a piston regulator on it.

 

[Jorgy]

I am in the pony bottle "on" crowd...........

I sling the bottle so I could see if there is a free flow (I hope)......

I recall there was an OOA thread a bit ago, where it was compounded by his pony being off when he switched to his bungeed pony fed secondary........

I think the task loading in a real OOA situation will be high enough, now this can be overcome with lots of training and practice (as in commercial diving), but unfortunately I don't think I dive that much...........

Also prevents water migration in the rig...........

I just have a short primary hose on my rig, when I close the valve and purge the air at the end of the dive it is an awfully short "pffffftttt" so I think there is maybe a 1/3 or 1/2 breath at depth......never checked it...........

I am always topping off my pony as I do breath from it (a breath or two) on the safety stop, just to make sure it is all OK and functional.

Hope this helps..........M

 

[DaleC]

Slung and on. I can see if it leaks and read the SPG.

From a solo perspective I don't think it matters, on or off. What matters is that the diver is completely familiar with access and deployment.

For group diving I choose to have all regs ready for immediate deployment. I don't want an OOA diver to come up on my left side without me noticing and grabbing the reg on the bottom of a breath only to find it doesn't breath. Now he's scrambling for the valve and I'm scrambling for the valve and I'm turning it on while he's turning it back off...

I think the valve off method is a bit of a throw back to the use of deco bottles which are carried valve off as they are used more on a set schedule than as an emergency bailout bottle (Just an observation - not a criticism).

 

[gumbo717]

Slung and on for me as well.

I don't like the task loading in any situation