Pony Bottle?

Do You use a pony

  • Yes

    Votes: 27 54.0%
  • No

    Votes: 23 46.0%

  • Total voters
    50

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Fly N Dive

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Location
Newton, MA
How many people here use a pony bottle. Why do YOU use it. being a newbie i don't understand how it works, i know its just a small tank, but any input would be great:) :) :)
 
I dive a PONY. IMO, it's cheap insurance. I learned early on in my diving career, (open water check out dives actually) how easy it is for divers to stray away from each other when looking at wrecks, fish, etc.

My dive buddy, was having a problem with his mask and decided to surface. Not telling me, before I realized what was going on, he was about 40 ft above me. Had I not noticed it when I did - or if in bad vis, it could have been a bad situation (for either of us) had we had some sort of OOA Emergency.

A divers once told me "Be a good buddy, but take care of yourself. You can't always count on a buddy."

I dive an AL19, but soon will be going to an AL40 for an extra margin of error. An AL 19 during a stressful or panic situation can get used in a hurry.

Note: I DO NOT dive a PONY because I have poor SPG skills. But I did find when diving the Florida Keys this year that I surfaced with around 700 psi left in my AL80, but because of strong current and choppy surface, I could not use a snorkel and would up using like another 200-300 psi to get back to the boat. Too close for my comfort level.

In the future I plan on going to twins for the redundancy they offer.
 
FND

Your lucky enough to be asking about a topic that has been discussed in great detail. use the search feature and you will find a wealth of opinions on the use of pony bottles.

Andy
 
PS It normally a small spare tank, say an AL19 or so, rigged either to you main tank (normally a single AL80 tank) with another regulator on it, or, you can rig it on your side of your harness or BC in the same style as a stage or deco bottle.

Its 'redundant' because now you have TWO first stages on separate tanks and TWO second stages as well. And two separate K-valves as well. Were one valve to ever fail (pretty remote odds) or if one of the first or second stages were to fail, you'd have a spare.

Note: A PONY does NOT mean its EXTRA air, in that if you use 2500 psi of your 3000 psi air supply, you say "Oh I want to dive longer, so I'll use my PONY for stay down some extra time." A PONY is 'dedicated' air ONLY for an Emergency Situation - to surface with. It IS NOT used to EXTEND Bottom Time! Proper use of the SPG is imperative and using a PONY is not an acceptable excuse to run out of air!

On the 'CON' side of the coin, it adds an extra expense of having ANOTHER tank, another regulator, another annual inspection, another SPG. Also, it should be where you can see the SPG and verify you DO, in fact, have air when you NEED it. Mounted on your single AL80 on your back, it could trickle with a slow leak and you would never know it until you went to use it and - Walla, NO AIR! It can also add to confusion during an OOAE in as far as "Oh boy, ok, which regulator do I grab now?"

You have to weight the pro's and con's for yourself.
 
thanks for the info, so ScoobieDooo let me see if i got this right.
you can mount the pony on the main tank, with its own 1st stage and primary 2nd stage. would you put a octo on one of these? thanks for putting the note in, i knew that they were for Emergency Situations but other people might not. how much would you say one of these would run (everything included), is there something bad about the "spair air" the bottle with the reg attached, or did i just miss people saying it was a good thing, everything i saw on it was negitive. why is this?

Thanks for helping a newbie
 
A pony bottle has no 'octopus' - just one first stage mounted to the K-valve on the tank, and an SPG psi gauge.

On your MAIN tank, say an aluminum 80 cu in tank, you have one first stage and you could have an octopus on that as well.

Many firms make special mounting options for adding an AL 13 or AL19 PONY to your main tank (on your back).

Some folks advocate them, some do not. Its a controversial subject, just as DIR is.

There are pro's and con's to them. In many ways I can relate to both sides of the argument.

Some dive instructors believe in them, some do not.

IMO, you do what makes YOU comfortable. If you have an exceptional dive buddy that you dive very well together with and are 'in tune' with each others needs - than I'd say you do not need a PONY. But, if you happen to dive with divers that you don't know that well, then add the PONY.

After MY experience, I feel better with one. But, I understand it limitations and don't expect it to replace good common sense in diving AND, careful attention to MY SPG psi gauge.
 
what kind of reg would you recomend?
 
I rig mine as so, under my left arm on my left side:

http://www.dive-rite.com/resource/stage/07.htm

Any quality regulator would work, choose your weapon as far as brands. Thats another story in itself. Scubapro, Apek's and Aqua Lung are good regs that many 'tech' divers use. I like Mares as well.
 
Note: Some dive charters require divers to have an alternate air source (twin tanks or a PONY) when making deeper dives than normal recreational dives - say deeper than 80 ft. I do not know just how much this IS actually enforced though...but I have seen this printed one some state agency pamphlets concerning wreck diving of wrecks in 100+ ft of water.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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