x-tra air

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!

downinFL

Registered
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Location
Sarasota, FL
There's a product out there called x-tra air. As I understand it, the thing is another first stage, fed via HP port from your primary first stage, but with a check valve to prevent backflows. In use, one either mounts another octo to it, or transfers the existing octo from the primary to the x-tra air.

It's designed to fit any tank, but the retailers usually mount it on an AL 6 or AL 13, meaning it's probably marketed at the recreational diver rather than the tekkies. The concept seems to make sense.

Pros:
- Your main always fills your pony; no forgetting to do so.
- In one instance, fewer hoses than a completely independent pony with its own octo.

Cons:
- The first few fills from your main would likely suck down a lot of air to fill the x-tra tank
- Switching gases -- air to nitrox and back again -- poses a new set of complications because the mix in the pony isn't necessarily the same percentage as in your main, due to "leftover" gas from the previous dive(s).

Any thoughts?
 
Pros:
- Placebo effect of thinking you have a bailout


Sounds like a bad investment to me.
 
I wouldn't bother with it. I would concider the reasons I felt a need for it. Forin stance (just off the top of my head) if you feel you need redundancy on deep dives you might think about more training and real deep diving equipment. My point is that whatever the reason one would want such a thing I think there is a better solution. Also from a equipment configuration point of view I think it makes for a mess.
 
IMHO anything (and i would underline "anything" if i knew how to) that depends on something else....one tank on another for air....is NOT redundant. And, i dont know about you...but i dont think i could hold my breath long enough if the fecal matter was hitting the ocsillating air dispersement device to get out of my gear and change octo's....

if you think you need redundant air...go with a pony bottle...and BE redundant. It isnt that big of a hassle to get it topped off.

Def agree with Jim....a bad investment.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom