Pony Bottle setup

[elan]

There are two school's of thought on that - my personal view is that there is every point in looking at the gauge.

For example, you may have forgotten to close the tank valve during the dive and a small freeflow has led to you having half a tank... so 6 cu ft of gas (the same size as my drysuit inflation bottle!). You are at 30m, is 6 cu ft enough to get you up? Do you end the dive, do you close the tank valve and go shallower to a depth where 6 cu ft is enough.... and so on.

Another example, you've bailed out and an ascent... a 13 cu ft is woefully small in my opinion. Is it better to be able to see the gauge and how fast it is dropping (so you can either vary your ascent rate or relax your breathing)or would you rather you just run out of gas half way up?

There is no definitive answer as to whether or not you should be able to see the gauge or not - you are correct, as am I. We make a choice to decide what to do - but simply telling someone what to isn't giving them the option of informed choice!

You have the valid point. Though I think 13 cuf is a bit on the small side.

 

[bamamedic]

If you include your pony into the gas calculations for the dive it's a bad thing IMHO. You suppose to have enough gas in your main tank to be able to ascend from any point of your dive together with your buddy breathing harder than usual.

I was under the assumption that I was discussing the issue of something horrible happening to my primary cylinder, thus having to bail out to the pony bottle to complete the ascent. Every diver should plan to be able to complete a safety stop with adequate reserves in their primary cylinder, but one in a blue moon, there might be some horrible massive equipment failure that might render the primary cylinder unusable.

If I have a readable gauge, I'll feel a lot more reassured about my gas supply...I'll know if I have enough gas in my pony bottle to complete my safety stop, and I won't feel nearly as rushed during the ascent because I'll know exactly how much gas I have left.

At least that's my two PSI

 

[Michael_Lambert]

The idea is to have enough gas remaining in your primary tank for the safety stop, which should be considered mandatory for dives greater than 60 feet.

In a ideal world

 

[Jorgy]

Having a gauge makes me feel better.........

When I setup my gear prior to the dive and I pressurize the reg, I like to look at the gauge and see 3000 psi........

I also keep the valve open during my dive, so I guess I could have a small freeflow that could over time drain the pony......

With it slung right under me, I'm guessing a free flow would not remain undetected, but I also take pictures, it is easy to get caught up in the dive and not pay as much attention............no excuse I know.......but I like having a gauge............

If I did ever have to use the pony to get to the surface, I would like to know how much gas is left, this would make me feel better as I do my safety stop, I realize that due to stress my breathing rate would be much higher than normal, once I got near the surface then knowing if I had 1500 psi or 200 psi would make a difference.......

I also use the pony reg to check the back gas tanks once I get on a boat - that way I am not hooking up my BP/W to an empty tank........any my pony setup is just so simple.......

M

 

[AndyNZ]

You have the valid point. Though I think 13 cuf is a bit on the small side.

Yeah, 19 cu ft starts to give you options.

Personally, I use a 30 cu ft. If you get it rigged right you don't even notice it. And it gives you lots of options! :cool2:

 

[elan]

I was under the assumption that I was discussing the issue of something horrible happening to my primary cylinder, thus having to bail out to the pony bottle to complete the ascent. Every diver should plan to be able to complete a safety stop with adequate reserves in their primary cylinder, but one in a blue moon, there might be some horrible massive equipment failure that might render the primary cylinder unusable.

If I have a readable gauge, I'll feel a lot more reassured about my gas supply...I'll know if I have enough gas in my pony bottle to complete my safety stop, and I won't feel nearly as rushed during the ascent because I'll know exactly how much gas I have left.

At least that's my two PSI

Yeah I got your point, though the same applied to the pony, before the dive you should make sure the pony has all the gas for doing all necessary steps for you and as a big plus for your buddy.

Besides one should not forget about the buddy. Depending on the conditions he can also be the backup source.

 

[elan]

Yeah, 19 cu ft starts to give you options.

Personally, I use a 30 cu ft. If you get it rigged right you don't even notice it. And it gives you lots of options! :cool2:

I used the one for some time but after switching to double tanks I was wondering why the hell I was wasting my time with the 30cuf pony More streamlined, more options no clutter

 

[bamamedic]

Yeah I got your point, though the same applied to the pony, before the dive you should make sure the pony has all the gas for doing all necessary steps for you and as a big plus for your buddy.

Besides one should not forget about the buddy. Depending on the conditions he can also be the backup source.

Very true, and a good, attentive buddy pretty much negates the need for a pony/bailout bottle.

When I'm diving to rec limits with a diver from my usual collection of buddies, I don't really worry about carrying a bailout, as my spare gas is on my buddy's back (or on his/her sides )

 

[AndyNZ]

I used the one for some time but after switching to double tanks I was wondering why the hell I was wasting my time with the 30cuf pony More streamlined, more options no clutter

But more weight and more complexity! Actually identifying and resolving failures behind your head are hard work.

70% of my dives are in twin 95s, the rest split between a single 95 + 30 pony, twin 72s or sidemounted 80s.

It's horses for courses - there's no one configuration that is perfect.

 

[mrivken]

First, I want thank you all for excellent suggestions.

1. I am planning to use it up to 90feet depth NDL single tank dives and only for emergency bailout or looking for my buddy. But most of my dives is shallow shore dives (<70feet) and "dry" weight is consideration to me. So, I will consider to buy 2 different bottles (13 shallow shore, and bigger then 13 for deeper boat dives)
2. I am not diving nitrox yet, but it very good point to have matching mix in main tank and pony.
3. Thank you, I will look on what I need to be able sling it with/on Ranger LTD.
4. I want to buy Zeagle Rezort First Stage Regulator use it with my Oceanic Alpha 8 octo and put Zeagle Octo Z Combination Regulator Inflator on my BC, so I will able to donate or my primary or pony if it needed.
5. Looks like button gauge will good enough to tell if pressure to low and pony need to be filled.
6. I am diving mostly in California and I am kelp magnet , so I thought about using something like this one: Valve, Convert Din To Yoke - eBay (item 350275523285 end time Dec-05-09 18:09:00 PST)
So, if I need to refill bottle only once in few months that is not a problem.


Thank you,
MR