Should we get pony bottles?

[Mr. Black]

Pony gas isn't part of the dive plan either. The fact that you may need to switch to a pony to ascend from max recreational depth means something has gone wrong already. There's very little NDL at 40m. Dealing with whatever emergency caused you to now need your pony may well have bumped you into a few minutes of deco.

Anyway it's a free world and I am not a pony salesperson. I just put my opinion and reasoning out there into the mix.

Sent from my HTC One

 

[maniago]

@ maniago could you send me a link to the x brace... i have some very good welders in my family maybe i can get them to make it

I guess its called an X-bracket - everyone sells them - google it - but heres an example Amazon.com: New X-Bracket Pony Bottle Mounting System: Sports & Outdoors

Good welder? No, not even a passable welder is required. You could even silver solder something like this if you wanted. Just get the right pipe diameters and a hack saw and have at it. You could probably even do it out of PVC drain pipe and dope from home depot...Still at $35, its not really gonna break the bank either way. I think with the two tank bands, I have maybe $50 in my two setups...

---------- Post added March 7th, 2014 at 02:21 PM ----------

CESA bottle is a cool term for the sub 30 cu ft tanks. I will use that term going forward.

In the mil-flying world, we used to call them bailout bottles - a very small O2 finger tank strapped to your ejection seat - but that term makes no sense to divers really. Still, the same idea - to get you to a breathable atmosphere...

 

[phoenix31tt]

I guess its called an X-bracket - everyone sells them - google it - but heres an example Amazon.com: New X-Bracket Pony Bottle Mounting System: Sports & Outdoors

Good welder? No, not even a passable welder is required. You could even silver solder something like this if you wanted. Just get the right pipe diameters and a hack saw and have at it. You could probably even do it out of PVC drain pipe and dope from home depot...Still at $35, its not really gonna break the bank either way. I think with the two tank bands, I have maybe $50 in my two setups...

i like that.. i will check it out.. doesn't seem to pricey... not to mention i actually don't have to worry about cambands... i get to use hers from her BP/W until she returns

 

[CT-Rich]

Seems a little far fetched to me. 2 somewhat major issues back to back, AND you can't CESA? I'd say that if we're going down that road, your pony bottle probably disappeared and gremlins sunk the boat while you were diving.

But hey, if you wanna drag extra stuff along rather than focusing on basic dive skills, go nuts.

I used to teach my science students that accidents don't happen when one thing goes wrong, they happen when two things go wrong. Either losing your buddy or having a system failure should not be a problem. the fatalities happen when they both occur.

 

[theskull]

I'm pretty risk averse and conservative as a diver. I don't carry a pony bottle, and here is why.

To begin with, I have the tools to calculate whether the gas supply I am carrying is sufficient for the dive I intend to do. This is the "rock bottom" calculation people are talking about above. To get more information, read NW Grateful Diver's article on Gas Management. It was his lecture on this topic that changed my diving life forever. As a result, I simply don't descend with a gas supply that isn't generous for what we have planned. An example was last night . . . we met at a dive site where I THOUGHT the plan was to paddle around in 20 feet of water, looking for a specific fish. Turned out the plan was a little different; it was proposed that we go to 70 feet to explore a bottle field, and then work our way upslope and finish our dive decoing out in 20 feet of water, photographing lumpsuckers. We had brought HP80s, figuring they would be more than ample gas for what we were going to do, but with the increased depth, the relationship between total gas and rock bottom started looking iffy -- so we swapped out our 80s for a pair of HP100s we had in the truck, and relaxed, knowing we had plenty of gas for the entire dive and the required reserves.

So, since we KNOW we start the dive with more gas than we need, the only way we could end up needing to share gas would be if we had a catastrophic equipment failure. But in that case, each of us is carrying at LEAST enough gas to get both of us to the surface, and often far more than that. We also practice air-sharing on a regular basis, and do air-sharing ascents, so having to do it for real ought to be a "shrug and get on with it" kind of experience. Since catastrophic gas failure is rare -- we've had one such event in 8 years of active diving -- I'm happy that what we have is enough.

Pony bottles are great for people who travel and have to dive with unknown instabuddies, or for people who solo but don't want to use doubles. I really see no need for them otherwise.

Totally agree with all points here. If recreational diving with a trusted buddy and good skills and habits, a pony bottle is completely unnecessary. If diving deep with an unreliable or untested buddy, it is essential!

theskull

 

[Freewillow]

I have yet to see a recreational diver with a pony here in Europe. For the kind of dive in warm and clear waters and with a trusted body, I think the best solution is to have 15L (S100/120?) tanks with double exits. Two independant and separate first stages and regulators. But this is only my setup.

 

[maniago]

Totally agree with all points here. If recreational diving with a trusted buddy and good skills and habits, a pony bottle is completely unnecessary. If diving deep with an unreliable or untested buddy, it is essential!

theskull

Each to his own. When I fly on an airlines plane - or a small private plane - I don't carry my parachute. When I'm doing aerobatics, I do (ok forget that this is all regulated).

As long as you've consciously evaluated the predive environment, made a reasonable decision, what else could anyone want? Every decision in life has its risks and its consequences. If you're choice is to mitigate every risk, you probably should have never left the womb.

 

[DaleC]

If you're choice is to mitigate every risk, you probably should have never left the womb.

It's a mistake I try to correct whenever the womb doesn't have a headache.

moderation in 3..2..1..

 

[Alabama]

Running out of gas is not an option. No one should ever have a contingency for running low on gas...you just don't do it. Where the pony is helpful is when things go sideways that are beyond your control. For instance, what if the high pressure line blew? Or worse, a burst disk. What if your first stage froze? Those are the reasons to carry a pony.

I'm curious as to why you have so many "We Won't" statements.

 

[PfcAJ]

If a HP hose bursts, it takes a REAL long time to drain a tank.

The rest (well, all of it, really)is solved with a proper buddy which you should have anyways. Its just not genuinely needed since you're both diving minimum gas and near each other. If you're not, you need to be heading to the surface anyways.

Plan your dive, manage your gas, stick together.