Should I get a Spare Air?

[VTWarrenG]

Mike,

If I'm ever in MI, wanna show me around your favorite dive sites?

neil,

why do you have THAT if your gas management is good and s**t doesn't happen?

A thorough dive plan has solutions for all problems less severe than three simultaneous equipment failures at max depth. Your buddy's reserve gas is a very important part of gas management. How is that relevant to a pony bottle? I fail to see the connection. **** does happen, but proper planning and equipment, not a pony bottle, are the solutions.

A redundant reg is not the same as an emergency air supply, is it? Last time I looked, both regs on an "H" valve get air from the same tank. The pony is for accidental air loss, say from a blown o-ring (been there, done that)or a bad free-flow (it could happen). The "H" valve won't remedy that situation. The pony will take care of either catastrophic air loss OR reg failure.

It's time to go look before you speak. Y and H valves have two separate posts, two separate knobs, and two separate o-rings. If one first-stage develops a problem, you shut it down by turning off its valve. The other reg, on its own valve, has no problem. Y and H valves supply two-post redundancy to single-tank configurations.

A. All divers should have buddies.

This is a huge topic in itself, but there are only a few very, very specialized places where a buddy is more liability than asset. In 99.9% of diving, a buddy is essential, or at least "couldn't hurt." Indeed, all divers should have buddies.

B. Nothing unforseen ever happens to rec divers.

Plan correctly, and this is true. Unforseen or irresolvable events should be seen as a failure of your dive planning ability.

C. the well-honed buddy system works, therefore nothing else should.

I can't even figure out what this means.

WARREN, CHILL OUT DUDE, YOU'RE GONNA BURST A VESSEL!!

*pop*

- Warren

 

[Lost Yooper]

Warren,

Consider yourself permenantly invited. I have some of the most pristine wrecks in the world in "my own back yard" that range from basic to extreme.
That goes for everyone here. Just let me know, and I'll personally make sure you have a killer vacation .

Mike

 

[neil]

Mike,

Any wreck diving suitable for non-tekkies?

Neil

 

[Lost Yooper]

Absolutely!! There's a preserve up here (where the mitten of Michigan meets the upper peninsula called the Straits of Mackinaw) where most of the wrecks are under 140' and are sitting upright and intact. The good one's range in depth from 60'-140'. Most are wooden steamers, but there's a few really old ones, and a relatively recent freighter (550' long or so) that sets on it's side in 35-110' of water (sunk in 1955 or so).
There must be twenty-five excellant wrecks in that preserve within an hour boat ride of each other. All things considered, I think you would be hard pressed to find a better shipwreck diving destination than that preserve -- and most people don't even know about it. It's completely undeveloped as a dive destination -- though there are a few charters that go out to some of the wrecks. For the non-diver, we have the beautiful scenary of the UP, casinos, fishing charters, and Canada is only an hour away from the Straits.

You name it, we have it up here -- except a big city and lots of noise. I still love to dive many of these old wrecks, even if they are shallow. The historical aspects are really neat. The deeper you go, the better the wrecks and artifacts get, but the shallow ones are still really nice.

Mike

 

[Phil]

Greetings,
As a new diver, I was curious about a product called Spare Air. My diving will be more than likely maybe 25 or 30 warm water dives a year while on vacations. I am not into teck or deep dives, strickly pleasure diving.

It appears to be just an extra bit of insurance against running out of air. or malfunctioning equipment.

It is light weight and clips right on the front of your BC. They advertise the item as giving you 60 surface breaths and refillable right off your main tank...

Curious if any of you have any + or - opinions of this item.
Phil

 

[jamespitt]

Hi Phil,
just do a search on this board and u can see that the majority feel that Spare Air is a bad bad idea. Apparently it was developed for helicopter pilots incase they crash in the sea.
i read a post where someone did a calculation on consumption rates at depth and taking into account the 3ft capacity of the cylinder and came to the conclusion that u will be out of air pretty soon.
as i am sure someone will post here, all the spare air u need is diving right beside you - your buddy.
if u are dead set on getting a redundant air source, then i would say a bigger pony bottle is a better choice.
the spare air cylinder is also has a potential entanglement danger.
60 surface breaths (and fully relaxed and not panicked) will give u 30 breaths at 30' and 20 breaths at 60' and so she goes (i hope these calcs are right!!). now imaging being stressed in a current breathing off a spare air.
Always plan for the worst case scenario.
I hope this helps u,
James

 

[danceswithoctopus]

No! Just No! jamespitt suggests you look at other threads on this board. Do that. I'll be surprised if you find anyone who supports the product.

Ponies are subject to debate. I haven't yet seen anyone who would advocate the use of Spare Air. There just isn't enough.

You've take a great first step in researching this subject. I expect you'll have a lot more input before this thread is through.

 

[Burke]

I am jealous, I got a spare air, only to come here and have it be pointed out how obviously ineffective it is (for the reasons mentioned) you on the other hand are getting this information BEFORE wasting your money. Live and learn I guess.

 

[MikeS]

The best description I’ve heard of Spare Air was from my Rescue Instructor who said “it has just enough air for you to see the rest of your life flash before your eyes.”

But seriously, read the other threads on this subject, do the calculations for yourself to figure out how much usable air you’ll have at the depth you intend to be. Based on your post you're only going to 25 to 30 fsw and at this depth it is very easy to make a controlled emergency decent. I think that your money would be better spent on additional training that will add more to your safety than a spare air of that is of dubious value.

Mike

 

[Ontario Diver]

Phil;

Take the money and get some more training. The Spare Air is not a good safety device for divers. It was designed for helicpoter pilots for safe ditching. (They have to stay underwater until the rotors stop!) Of course, I don't know what level you are certified at, but Specialty training, AOW, and Rescue training are of more worth because they will increase your comfort, safety, and enjoyment of diving.

If you are pleasure diving, I don't believe that you need a pony bottle either. Make sure that you check your buddy's alternate air (and other gear), keep an eye on your SPG and your buddy's SPG and know where your buddy is at all times. That is safer for OOA scenarios and makes you a better safer diver all around.

Good luck and have fun.