Pony bottle vs. Spare Air?

[laurendell]

Hi -- I guess this thread is kind of old now. Also don't know if this has come up yet, but I can't read 32+ pages of posts.

My dad just got sold a Spare Air from a local dive shop that he's planning on using for emergencies on his boat when he needs to detangle a line from the prop or something like that. (He's not using it for conventional diving in any way) He wouldn't need it for very long, maybe 5 minutes, and only to go the depth of the bottom of the boat. I see people saying that at significant depth you could only get a few breaths from it, but would it be usable for what he intends to use it for? How long would the thing last in, say 10 ft of water?

I spent awhile trying to research something that would be good for him (a SASY, the MINI-B, Zeagle's RapidDiver, a Sea Breath (hookah diving system) ), and by the time I called him to tell him, he'd already gone to the dive shop and bought a Spare Air....

 

[laurendell]

Hahaha, that flying monkey is great. I want one!

 

[DandyDon]

Hi -- I guess this thread is kind of old now. Also don't know if this has come up yet, but I can't read 32+ pages of posts.

My dad just got sold a Spare Air from a local dive shop that he's planning on using for emergencies on his boat when he needs to detangle a line from the prop or something like that. (He's not using it for conventional diving in any way) He wouldn't need it for very long, maybe 5 minutes, and only to go the depth of the bottom of the boat. I see people saying that at significant depth you could only get a few breaths from it, but would it be usable for what he intends to use it for? How long would the thing last in, say 10 ft of water?

I spent awhile trying to research something that would be good for him (a SASY, the MINI-B, Zeagle's RapidDiver, a Sea Breath (hookah diving system) ), and by the time I called him to tell him, he'd already gone to the dive shop and bought a Spare Air....

Really, that's more in line for what a SA is good for. It won't do much for a diver at depth, it's kinda pointless on shallow dives when one can do a Contolled Emergency Swimming Ascent (CESA) fairly easily, but not a bad choice for a well trained and experienced diver to work on the bottom of his boat.

That said, there are certainly risks - especially if you dad is not a well trained and experienced scuba diver, i.e. entanglement, embolism from breath holding on ascent, out of air before expected, etc. It would be prudent for him to train with the shop on this idea even if he is a well trained and experienced diver.

 

[Bob Vincent]

It's challenging for me to keep a straight face when anyone suggests a Spare Air as serious scuba equipment. 3 Cubic Feet is like an extra 112 psi in a standard 80 if you ever get the mini-tank to full 3,000 psi.

But I looked at their site, and it get's sillier. Submersible Systems - Spare Air Models

For an extra $21, get one that is O2 clean and fill it from straight from your tank? Why bother? Tank Nitrox is already blended so the O2 clean is useless. I've been offered blended Nitrox for my pony many times, but I always take Air just in case I ever need to exceed 1.6 in an emergency. The main point is that no Spare Air needs to be O2 clean. I actually feel insulted from reading the ad.

But get this!! At no extra charge one can have a 1.7 CF Spare Air that weighs 1.2 pounds less. Is that going to give a full breath at 130 ft? :silly: Now I am really insulted.

Yeppers!

 

[laurendell]

yes... that would be prudent. Unfortunately he's not a very prudent guy.

Up until now, he just goes down there and holds his breath, and untangles stuff, or cleans the bottom, or whatever. Last weekend though he was in Maine and couldn't get the line off because it was too cold and he couldn't hold his breath long enough to get it untangled and was afraid to cut himself on the prop. Also he didn't have a mask. haha - As I'm saying this it sounds bad but he's always doing this kind of ridiculous stuff.

I'll definitely be stressing the "don't hold your breath when you come up no matter what you do" point though - since that's the really dangerous thing, as far as I can see. Obviously not an issue when you're just holding your breath from the surface and going down.

Yes, he could get tangled up in the rope, but he could have done that plenty of times by now anyway! He actually asked me if I knew of something "like the thing James Bond uses underwater that you just put in your mouth".

 

[RJP]

yes... that would be prudent. Unfortunately he's not a very prudent guy.

Exactly the kind of person who should NOT have a SpareAir!

I shudder to think what kind of trouble an imprudent person with a Spare Air - and I assume no Scuba training - could get themselves into!

:11:

 

[laurendell]

Well, I guess we'll see what happens. (I'm obviously not too worried). I was just wondering how long it would last for at that depth. I wasn't really looking to start off a chain of over-reaction.

 

[scubajcf]

yes... that would be prudent. Unfortunately he's not a very prudent guy.

Up until now, he just goes down there and holds his breath, and untangles stuff, or cleans the bottom, or whatever. Last weekend though he was in Maine and couldn't get the line off because it was too cold and he couldn't hold his breath long enough to get it untangled and was afraid to cut himself on the prop. Also he didn't have a mask. haha - As I'm saying this it sounds bad but he's always doing this kind of ridiculous stuff.

I'll definitely be stressing the "don't hold your breath when you come up no matter what you do" point though - since that's the really dangerous thing, as far as I can see. Obviously not an issue when you're just holding your breath from the surface and going down.

Yes, he could get tangled up in the rope, but he could have done that plenty of times by now anyway! He actually asked me if I knew of something "like the thing James Bond uses underwater that you just put in your mouth".

WOW ... I almost wonder if you are making these posts up. People who do not have proper training in Scuba gear should not use Scuba gear! I don't know what the draft is on his boat, but I assure you he could get seriously hurt and/or killed doing the type of activities you describe.

The dive shop must have been privvy to the bravado you are describing herein. I can't believe they would sell this to him. Then again ....

You have 60 posts in Scubaboard. You must be savvy to the dangers at the very least. Does he completely ignore what you are telling him?

Good luck,


jcf

 

[laurendell]

Well, I don't see what having 60 posts has anything to do with my knowledge of what the dangers are of using a Spare Air at 10ft without being officially certified for full on Scuba.

Besides holding your breath when you come up, what are the other real dangers here? I'm asking seriously, I'm not saying there aren't any. And besides telling him what the danger is and explaining it to him why, which he would know anyway cause it's kind of common sense, and which is pretty much what they would tell you in a course, what do you want me to do?

I can see that it's unsafe, but so is riding a motorcycle without a helmet, or fixing your very steep roof yourself when you don't know what you're doing, or lots of other stuff that people do.

I know people like to freak out on these boards about anything that's not by the book. And I'm not saying what he's doing is right or wrong, I was just asking a question. Kinda wish I didn't though since I see where this is going...

 

[RJP]

Besides holding your breath when you come up, what are the other real dangers here? I'm asking seriously...

Well, since I believe you need to hold the SA in one hand, that leaves only one hand for doing any sort of work. I'd be nervous that the mouthpiece would come off if he was holding it simply by biting on the mouthpiece. (Note: couldn't find any info on SA website to confirm that you MUST hold it in your hand, but all the pictures of it in use show the user holding it.)