What pony size?

[Max Speed]

Nah, you see you found a "stage" bottle in the sand to increase your dive time. You lucky SOB, all I find is lead and golf balls.

That's the perfect solution. I will never carry my dangerously distracting pony bottle again. I will stick to stage bottles. Whew! I have seen the light.

Best of all, I can transport my 3 cubic foot stage bottle in the glove box...

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[saudio]

More is better, but I use a 13 cu foot because it's small enough that I will never be be caught without it because it was just to big and heavy to bother with. I've traveled all over the world with my pony tank and reg in checked luggage, and I never dive without it. I'm a photographer and I'm almost never close enough to other divers for it to make sense to go to them instead of the surface.

 

[RJP]

What size pony?

Man, I would love to dive with a pony!

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I don't think the "found it in the sand" comment was serious. It was meant to be a joke.

I personally have no problem planning my dive to use my pony to extend my runtime. For details on how I do this, see the Dark Magic Divers group.

All joking aside, the second you admit you are using that big a$$ tank slung on you side to extend your dive time, its a stage not a pony. Yes, it's semantics. Yes, it can function as both. Yes, you can find a hypothetical situation that an AL40/80 might save your life vs a smaller one.

What I point out is that equation we play out in our heads of balancing size vs.. practicality is skewed the moment you want to extend your dives. Now your are considering not just what you need to get to the surface in an emergency, but also what is a practical size to maximize your bottom time. Then of course you start also thinking about what mix is optimal, etc... How much you should use and when make a simple issue that we make into a complex one a complex issue most agencies run away from because the variable become overwhelming for most rec divers.

Ah, you have entered the tech world and hopefully you have training to match.

 

[redacted]

Ah, you have entered the tech world and hopefully you have training to match.

But you do not have to enter the tech world to plan a dive including a stage bottle to provide the required gas supply and serve as a redundant air source in the event of a failure. When I need 120 cf for a planned (long) dive plus a redundant gas supply, I can go for an AL80 on my back and an AL63 slung at my side. Breath the 63 down to 1000 psi and shut it down when I switch to my back gas. Works great - no tech training. But I would not add that 63 (it's heavy on land) unless it is part of the dive plan.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

But you do not have to enter the tech world to plan a dive including a stage bottle to provide the required gas supply and serve as a redundant air source in the event of a failure. When I need 120 cf for a planned (long) dive plus a redundant gas supply, I can go for an AL80 on my back and an AL63 slung at my side. Breath the 63 down to 1000 psi and shut it down when I switch to my back gas. Works great - no tech training. But I would not add that 63 (it's heavy on land) unless it is part of the dive plan.

Admittedly, my tech remark is a little arbitrary. I think slinging a stage for extended bottom time is on the edge. With the proper mindset and some discipline its not an issue. I don't do it because I am almost always NDL limited or over an hour dive time. Either case I am ready to ascend.

It's more of the divers who think they are tech divers because they sling a bottle and dive a BP/W that is more scary.

 

[Asmordi]

Ok First you want to know at what depth you will be diving at.Let's say 100ft So you will need around 2 Minutes to sort out things so this is around 8.5cf on air.Then for ascent it will be around 9cf and the safety stop will be around 5cf. So for the average diver diving at 100ft you will need around 21cf of gas.I personnaly dive with a 40cf al that I sling off my bcd.Anyway go look at this:Pony bottle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Max Speed]

If you need more gas for your planned dive, get more - either a bigger tank or doubles. The nice thing about doubles is they can also serve as your redundant gas supply. .

I have given up my pony bottle due to the danger. These days I only dive unequal independant doubles.



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[maniago]

I subscribe to the mantra that a pony bottle is to help you make it through a CESA - period. Its a few extra breaths to survive at whatever SAC rate you want to use. For the deep specialty, I used my 19 pony as my redundant source at the 15' safety stop. I did 8 mins on it and when we surfaced, it still had 1000psi in it. So I expect that with a CESA to that depth in mind, and a stop until it runs out then surface, I ought to be inside the survive envelope.

I also subscribe to "if its not a PITA, you'll take it with you all the time and even forget you have it". The 19 doesn't change my weighting and I take it on every dive - except pool dives with classes; unless its for demo purposes.

FWIW, my consistent buddy dives the same rig. Pretty unlikely both of us will have a problem and need to dig into the pony simultaneously. So that's ~40cu of extra gas that we don't plan in our dive times. Either way, I think thats more than enough for me/us.

 

[Only halcyon]

Just remember the major points:

1) a pony is only useful for strokes who are unable to plan their dives and stick with the plan.
2) good divers don't make mistakes.
3) your buddy will save you
4) it takes 2 minutes to figure out bad stuff and by then the pony is empty anyway
5) well maintained stuff never breaks

All of the above is true on the internet. Then you get on a real dive boat with experienced real divers and....surprise... everyone not on doubles has a....pony!

Pssst...the guys with really big pony bottles have figured out a way to keep internet divers off their case....they don't call it a pony, they call it SIDEMOUNT.

BTW- if you have survived driving a car it is because the human brain can diagnose and react to a problem in a couple of seconds...or less.

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Lol: I hardly know where to start! No diver searching for advice should act on that nonsense. ( I have been diving the Andria Doria all summer so my credentials have enough weight to back up that comment ). For years I have be a huge advocate of being self sufficient based on worst case scenario. Buddy's in my opinion are only to be called on after your 'pony' 'bail out' fails. It's not fair on them and negligent of you. If anyone is serious about diving, figure out what you need to survive if it all goes wrong. I pose the question how much is your life worth??? Zero, " I trust the company services their equipment!" ( truthfully I have more confidence in rental equip than equip that sat in an attic for 3 years and am told that its only been used once, so it should be ok right???). Safety first!!!