Sly New Girl
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It looks pretty cool but what was/is its intended use?
What is the purpose of a Tri-Pony setup in a shroud?
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It looks pretty cool but what was/is its intended use?
Not seen one of those in years, was a very slick setup... Was very streamline.
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That's not three pony, that's 90 cubic feet of primary gas. That was, once-upon-a-time, USD's top of the line rig. I have a set like that too.
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Sly New Girl
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You might search the vintage subforum for some info on triple cylinder rigs. Here is a quote from one of the threads there with a little info:
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Sly New Girl
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Thank you! I was searching for 'Tri-Pony' everywhere. The dialect of scuba still leaves me totally baffled more often than not.
Scared Silly
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That was designed BITA by US Divers for Cousteau and company then also sold to the general public. Looks to be in nice condition. If the cylinders are original be aware they are AL 6351 (see the sticky thread at the top of this forum).
That is an ABS....Advanced Breathing system (and it's not vintage- it's mid 80s). You can still use it but frankly it's not worth the effort except for the cool factor. The tanks are most likely 6351 alloy but that not that big of a deal in reality. The issue you have is many dive shops will refuse to fill any aluminum tank that is older than 1990- misguided but none the less it's their compressor so their rules. Then there is the cost. You will need 3 hydros and vips and at roughly $50 each the cost is fairly high. Plus I would guess most shops would charge some kind of dis/assembly charges. All in all, you are much better off cost wise with a single 90 or 100 cf tank. The nice part is yours seems to be complete, I don't think I have ever seen one that included the BC. Most kept the BC and got rid of the tanks. Bottom line, you can have it serviced and dive it but the cost is going to be fairly high and you may have issues getting the tanks filled due to the tank alloy.....add to all of that, many places charge extra for filling doubles...not sure what they would do with triples. Fun toy for the collector but not really practical for the average diver.
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Sly New Girl
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Well, The bad news is its actually never been in the water! haha. It still has all of the original stickers from US Divers Co and the BC is still stiff from the factory. Not sure what I'll do with it right now. I should probably make someone else test it for me first ... I have an all original AquaLung DW Mistral and the most hideously sharp brass dive knife they can test for me at the same time! If I didn't know better I'd suspect the old people around here don't want me to come back up. 
I'd LOVE to have that rig.... really awesome IMHO.
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