Fill pony bottle from main tank?????

[mattc]

I recently heard from a few different sources that you can fill a pony bottle from your main tank. I was wondering if this is correct. If it is, does it work well, how do you do it, and where can you get the equipment to do it?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Uncle Pug]

mattc once bubbled...
I recently heard from a few different sources that you can fill a pony bottle from your main tank.

and there is even a first stage device that can keep your pony filled whilst you dive...

What could be better?

I have adapted this idea over to my car and now I have a plastic 5 gallon jug duct taped to the fender with a direct feed from my fuel pump so that I can keep my *gas pony* filled while I drive.

Works great... and I no longer have to fear running out of gas on one of those cold dark rainy lonely PNW night drives! I enjoy driving now so much more knowing that I am completely safe with my *gas pony*.

 

[Dryglove]

I think leisure pro sells them.It hooks from your tank to your pony and equalizes the air from your main tank to your pony.It doesnt work so good for me as i use LP tanks and only fills my pony to 2600 psi if i have 2600 psi in my main tank.If you have an alum 80 with 3000psi it should top off your pony pretty good.You can also use it to equalize air betweeen your main tanks.Say one tank has 3000 psi and one has 1000 psi it will equalize the pressure between the two.It would probably bring both tanks to close to 2000psi.But im not positive on this and dont know the math for it but i think you get the idea. http://s1059kxm.leisurepro.com/webapp/commerce/command/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=1791&prmenbr=946

 

[Dryglove]

I forgot tot tell ya.Dont mention the pony bottle word around PUG.Its a sore subject and im sure he would be more than happy to give his opinion about where to put it...uhm i mean what to do with it......lol.

 

[jonnythan]

Anyway, you can "fill" a pony from a main tank, but you'll just be transferring your back gas to your pony bottle.

Here's a little math.. say you have an Al 80 at 3000 psi, and a 13cf pony bottle with 500 psi. If you hook the two tanks up together to "fill" the pony, you'll end up with 2640 psi in both tanks. This leaves you with around 68.112 cf in your main tank and 11.4 in your pony, which isn't really a favorable situation.

 

[jonnythan]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...

and there is even a first stage device that can keep your pony filled whilst you dive...

What could be better?

I have adapted this idea over to my car and now I have a plastic 5 gallon jug duct taped to the fender with a direct feed from my fuel pump so that I can keep my *gas pony* filled while I drive.

Works great... and I no longer have to fear running out of gas on one of those cold dark rainy lonely PNW night drives! I enjoy driving now so much more knowing that I am completely safe with my *gas pony*.

Oh come now Pug.. I keep a bottle of Rescue Fuel in my trunk for just such an emergency!

Maybe I should ditch that and get dual gas tanks hooked by an isolator manifold? Oh! and drive with a Buddy Car and a second fuel line!

I'm starting to like this idea!

 

[redacted]

jonnythan once bubbled...


Oh come now Pug.. I keep a bottle of Rescue Fuel in my trunk for just such an emergency!

Maybe I should ditch that and get dual gas tanks hooked by an isolator manifold? Oh! and drive with a Buddy Car and a second fuel line!

I'm starting to like this idea!

But back to the question.

I made an equalized hose to fill and top off my pony.

http://www.scubadiving.com/talk/read.php?f=1&i=428602&t=428524

It works quite well. Usually I'm just topping it off so it might take a 3000 psi tank down to 2900 - the independent reserve is what I was after. And a short tank is not a problem unless you try to make up for it at the end of the dive. Just plan accordingly. It is especially usefull when traveling, like Cozumel. Sometimes it's not easy to get to a compressor, so I just take a shore tank (or 2) and fill my empty pony. Then I do a shore dive to check everything out befor the boat the next morning.

Uncle Pug may have an extra spare air yoke you can get cheap. Actually, you might want to read Uncle Pug's stories about spare airs and ponys. There are right and wrong ways to use them, and they can contribute to you getting yourself in trouble if you use them the wrong way.

Oh, you can probably use a DIN to yoke adapter on one end but at least one of the connectors must have a bleed valve. Just have the hose made accordingly.

 

[mattc]

Thanks guys!!! This was a big help.

 

[MikeFerrara]

UP,
What is your prefered method of gas management with such a set up? With the pony tank do you even need a gas management plan?

 

[mddolson]

From a gas management point of view,
I always try to fill my pony bottle from my buddies tank,
rather than my own. (LOL)


Mike D

:blfish: