Stage and pony bottle regulator question

[=C=]

I typically charge a stage (put pressure into it) and then turn it off. I started doing this because I was diving in cold, dark, poor viz water with a thick hoodie and thick drysuit and was not always able to tell if a reg was flowing. I keep doing it that way because I have set mine and my buddy's expectations that the stage is off.

Air needs to be in the reg. Flooded regs should be rebuilt.

There may be other considerations... like "can you reach the valve?"

With questions like this you should probably seek additional training.

 

[corvettejoe]

I test all my tanks/regs/SPGs before entering the water, shut off the valves on the un-used tanks and leave them "primed". This way its pressurized and ready to be used. You can even grab one and take a couple breaths out of it if need be...and it keeps the water out. Pretty simple really.

 

[GrimSleeper]

Keep it on, don't add extra steps in cases of OOA emergency! If no buddy assists you, you only have a few seconds before drowning...
As for servicing the reg following water ingress: yes definitely and immediately. Water will do damage if the reg isn't opened and dried.

Really? Seconds before drowning? There are a range of opportunities in an Open Water course for the instructor to give students an appreciation of how long they can safely and (reasonably) comfortably spend without a breathable reg while they fix the problem. It's a lot longer than a few seconds, and nobody should be panicking at the thought of having to deploy a reg and turn a valve on.

I would say that, if you're going to dive a pony or a stage, get someone with experience to show you how to rig it, carry it and deploy it. But whether you charge the regs and then turn them off, or leave the valve open and monitor for free flows, gekodivebali is right about getting water in them. I now have to repair three stage regs because I hired them to someone for a deco dive and they let them all depressurise... Grumble.


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[MalibuJerry]

For stage bottles, I turn them on and then once in the water just prior to descent turn them off. I'll check during the dive to see that they are still charged, particularly if I'm on a wreck where something might have hit the purge without me knowing it. If it is a pony, it needs to be ready to go and easily accessible. That means it should not be attached to your tank in the rear, but slung like a stage where you can monitor it and insure you have the redundancy you want.

 

[saudio]

For stage bottles, I turn them on and then once in the water just prior to descent turn them off. I'll check during the dive to see that they are still charged, particularly if I'm on a wreck where something might have hit the purge without me knowing it. If it is a pony, it needs to be ready to go and easily accessible. That means it should not be attached to your tank in the rear, but slung like a stage where you can monitor it and insure you have the redundancy you want.

I know this is a bag of worms, but I back mount mine because I'm a photographer and slinging it gets in my way. I mount the tank upside down so I can easily reach the valve to check it's status, and I dive with the valve turned on and ready to use.

I don't do technical or penetration dives so I don't think entanglement of the tank will ever be a concern. It's what works best for me.

 

[GrimSleeper]

I know this is a bag of worms, but I back mount mine because I'm a photographer and slinging it gets in my way. I mount the tank upside down so I can easily reach the valve to check it's status, and I dive with the valve turned on and ready to use.

I don't do technical or penetration dives so I don't think entanglement of the tank will ever be a concern. It's what works best for me.

My partner regularly dives with a housed DSLR in twins and two side-slung 80s, without any of that getting in the way...


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[DevonDiver]

My partner regularly dives with a housed DSLR in twins and two side-slung 80s, without any of that getting in the way...

I agree. It's just equipment familiarity. If you notice it, then it's not part of you yet...

 

[Colliam7]

I carry a pony bottle while I'm diving and will soon be carrying additional back gas and deco gas. I didn't turn on the vavles on the bottles so the regulator on the tanks seem to get water all the way up into the first. This isn't good because we dive in cold water so water entering the first stage could cause a freeflow later. . . . Are you supposed to open your tank valves before heading into the water so there is pressure in the first stage and thus water will not enter it? If so would an inline shutoff valve help keep the water out of there?

As the responses indicate, practices vary, and it is hard to say that one approach is right, and another is wrong. Like many, I 'charge' the system before entering the water, and dive with the valve closed, but the regulator pressurized. That offers the advantage of providing a bubble check on the system, and maintaining a higher pressure than the surrounding environment. But, I also sling my pony / stage / deco bottles, so the valves are readily accessible. If I dove a pony mounted as a remora on my back gas cylinder, I would probably open the valve throughout the dive. Either way, having the system pressurized should prevent water from entering the first stage - if the IP is 140 psi, that is essentially 10 ATA, and you are unlikely to be diving at a depth where the ambient pressure will exceed that.

If fresh water got in my first stage a few times do they need to be rebuilt?

YES, irrespective of the putative 'quality' of the water. One exception might be if you were diving in sterile, distilled water. But, why do you conclude that water entered the first stage (through the second stage and the LP hose)? I am not disagreeing, just trying to understand the basis for the conclusion.

 

[scubadada]

I carry a slung 19 for solo diving. I turn it on and leave it on. The regularor and SPG are right in front of me, no surprises. I've never had to use it but practice.

 

[Michael Guerrero]

I side-sling a 30 cu ft pony on my left, prime it, and leave it off. You have plenty of time in an OOA situation to turn the valve on, reduce the likelihood of free flows, and there will be enough air to start the purge when you reach for it.

I find side-slinging easier than back-mount when changing tanks on repetitive dives, and it doesn't get in the way of my picture taking, but I'm a crappy photo/videographer.