Octo vs. Pony

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

BigTuna

Contributor
Messages
306
Reaction score
2
Location
NJ
# of dives
500 - 999
I buddy dive at less than 100 feet in NJ waters. I use a single tank and a 19 cu ft pony. When I added the pony, I removed the octo from the tank, leaving the single secondary on the tank and reducing clutter and emergency deployment decisions. I carry the pony's secondary on a breakaway necklace.

I like the pony reg better than an octo with no pony, since it comes with its own gas. I can fall back on the pony if I have a failure in my main system, and I can donate either secondary to a buddy.

What do you think of this arrangement?
 
I think it's bad. You could potentially go to the pony 40 minutes into the dive when you run OOA, but get nothing because your pony had a small first stage leak.

I suggest you keep your primary and octo, and carry the pony slung off the left side like a deco bottle. Less regulator clutter, it's easy to manage, easy to keep an eye on, and easy to manipulate the valve.
 
jonnythan:
I think it's bad. You could potentially go to the pony 40 minutes into the dive when you run OOA, but get nothing because your pony had a small first stage leak.

I suggest you keep your primary and octo, and carry the pony slung off the left side like a deco bottle. Less regulator clutter, it's easy to manage, easy to keep an eye on, and easy to manipulate the valve.

Thinking by analogy, how does my arrangement compare with doubles, which seem to be dived without ponies? What do you do if it's tank #2 that you discover has a small leak?
 
Ditto.

You're creating more potential issues than you're solving.

A secondary second stage (octopus) serves to allow another diver to share your backgas in the event they run out of gas. It's for THEM.

A bailout bottle is designed to respond to a sudden, catastrophic, unpredictable failure of your backgas. It's for YOU.

You've created a situation where, conceivably, you could have gas in a tank that you either cannot access at all or cannot use most efficiently.

As Jonnythan said, I recommend you dive with two second stages off your backgas. Sling the bailout bottle like a deco/stage, with its own regulator.

FWIW.
 
Thinking by analogy, how does my arrangement compare with doubles, which seem to be dived without ponies? What do you do if it's tank #2 that you discover has a small leak?
You shut down the valve of "tank #2" and the manifold allows you to still access gas in that tank via your other post.
 
With doubles, you will detect a small leak either by hearing it or by noticing your SPG drop more quickly than you expect.

With manifolded doubles, you are breathing from both tanks at the same time. In the event of an emergency, you can turn off either regular post and still have access to all of the gas. There are a few failure scenarios that would dictate you closing the isolator between the tanks, thus cutting off half the air, but they are rare.

Your primary and backup regulators are kept on different posts, so if one of your regulators wets the bed you just go to the other for a redundant supply of gas.

A pony is similarly redundant, but it may be slightly (insignificantly? harder to detect small leaks, but all you have to do is check the pony's SPG every now and then. This is another good reason for slinging the bottle on your side, since your second stage, first stage, and SPG are all in one compact little package.

http://krabidivesupply.com/assets/images/Image229.jpg for a picture of the setup I mean.
 
Octo's are a bad idea alltogether, if your diving on a single tank use a y valve and two regs, then if the first stage of your primary fails you still have a working reg. For additional backup use a 30-40 cubic foot stage...
 
jonnythan:
With doubles, you will detect a small leak either by hearing it or by noticing your SPG drop more quickly than you expect.

With manifolded doubles, you are breathing from both tanks at the same time. In the event of an emergency, you can turn off either regular post and still have access to all of the gas. There are a few failure scenarios that would dictate you closing the isolator between the tanks, thus cutting off half the air, but they are rare.

Your primary and backup regulators are kept on different posts, so if one of your regulators wets the bed you just go to the other for a redundant supply of gas.

A pony is similarly redundant, but it may be slightly (insignificantly? harder to detect small leaks, but all you have to do is check the pony's SPG every now and then. This is another good reason for slinging the bottle on your side, since your second stage, first stage, and SPG are all in one compact little package.

http://krabidivesupply.com/assets/images/Image229.jpg for a picture of the setup I mean.

Thanks, jonnythan. It's funny you should recommend slinging the pony, 'cause I've been contemplating that instead of attaching it to my primary tank. It would probably help lower my c.g., too.

But here's a related question. In AOW checkouts and at resorts, I can go deep on just a single tank and two secondaries (one as the octo). Isn't my current arrangement better than that, anyway? Or does the answer depend on failure scenarios? Anyway, I perceive that your recommendation is managing more risks (I'm tempted to say "all risks," but Murphy lives).
 
This is a contentious issue. I think you're better off with a pony if you're dilligent about practicing with it and keeping an eye on it underwater. But I also think you're MUCH better off by simply diving with a buddy you trust, with whom you have excellent contact, and with whom you regularly practice emergency drills.

Since the latter is in my opinion the *best* way, it's the only way I will dive. I think a pony is a poor excuse for having a good buddy, so I won't dive with a pony.
 
From my limited experience diving with a pony.... (1 practice session ~30 mins in a lake then 1 weekend, 3 days 5 dives).. Using BP/W and HOG harness.

1st dive, mounted to main tank w/ pony tamer... very unbalanced. Tried to compensate with changing weighting on belt, still did not "feel" right?? Mounted second stage onto right chest d-ring, along with backup second stage. Seemed cluttered.. (have not tried long hose / bungee backup (yet).

Fortunately, the person I borrowed the tank from had a "sling" mounting kit...

Dives 2 - 5, used the pony mounted as a stage. Regulator second stage in rubber band on pony tank (u-shape), SPG banded to valve (six inch hose). The difference in balance was AMAZING...everything VERY accessible, and unclutered.

I tried it both ways... On my safety stops, I switched to the pony just to try it out... Hey, I only borrowed for the weekend so I tried to get as much mileage as I could.

From my LIMITED experience, I would recommend the sling setup...

FWIW... YMMV
 

Back
Top Bottom