Deco reg on a pony?

[TooManyHobbies]

Pardon my ignorance.
I am getting a pony soon. I’ve read LOTS on here about bottle size, slinging, safety stops, etc. I know I’ll set my bottle up with a DIN 1st stage and a button SPG.
But I keep seeing this Dive Rite deco reg around for way cheaper than anything else. It looks like it has all the things a bailout bottle needs. I know it’s certified for O2, but does that mean air won’t flow properly? I’d there some bad juju about it being green?

FWIW, I’m going to be diving with my instructor and some other experienced bottle carriers before slinging with an average buddy. Just want the consensus here.

 

[Mr. Sunday]

No issues. Its just green to designate that it was set up for O2. You can use it for air or nitrox.

 

[KenGordon]

Where I live an Apeks DS4 and ATX40 costs about £180,so about 250USD (but less after April). Only the bottom of the range <insert random manufacturer here> are cheaper and then only a little bit (maybe 30USD). However a bottom of the range Oceanic (for example)is really quite a nasty thing in comparison. They are usually more fragile (we had to replace every Oceanic purge button on our club regs within 6 months of buying them) and don’t breath quite so well.

Regulators have a long life, the initial purchase price is soon lost in the noise.

A pony is to be used in higher than normal stress situations. Swapping from a nice regulator to a nasty one is not ideal.

I don’t know about the specific Dive Rite one you mention, it might be great and just a good deal.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

If you breathe regular air through a green reg, you will die. Almost as quickly as if you were wearing split fins.
Seriously, the color doesn't matter. A lot of us use green to indicate high-octane mixes (I use it on anything higher than 50% O2). But it'll work just fine with anything you care to breathe.

 

[ahereng]

If it is this reg Dive Rite O2 Deco Regulator Package it's not good for a pony. It's not intended for use deeper than 50 feet. You would not use O2 that deep anyway, so it works for O2-deco.

"Because of the piston first stage, the Dive Rite Deco Regulator is ultra reliable but the unbalanced design is not intended for use deeper than {50 ft | 15m} on an appropriate gas mix."

 

[-JD-]

A tad more @$260, but how about this: DGX Custom - Deep Six DGX Bailout Reg Package

 

[uncfnp]

I know nothing about it but have been pleased overall with my dealings with Randy and Piranha Dive.

M Synchro Complete w/ First & Second Stage plus Hose

 

[TooManyHobbies]

If it is this reg Dive Rite O2 Deco Regulator Package it's not good for a pony. It's not intended for use deeper than 50 feet. You would not use O2 that deep anyway, so it works for O2-deco.

"Because of the piston first stage, the Dive Rite Deco Regulator is ultra reliable but the unbalanced design is not intended for use deeper than {50 ft | 15m} on an appropriate gas mix."

That's exactly the one I was looking at. Good find on that piece of information. I hadn't seen that.

A tad more @$260, but how about this: DGX Custom - Deep Six DGX Bailout Reg Package
View attachment 479420

That's another one I've bookmarked. It seems people on here have had very good experiences with DGX and Deep6 regs.

I know nothing about it but have been pleased overall with my dealings with Randy and Piranha Dive.

M Synchro Complete w/ First & Second Stage plus Hose

That price is insanely good. I will do more research on the reg. Thanks!

 

[kelemvor]

I've got one of those as well. As mentioned, it's not supposed to be used very deep. I think that's because it's not a balanced regulator.

I got a valveulator for my pony, which is a combination valve and first stage regulator.

Zeagle makes a good one, as do a few other companies. Zeagle Razor II Regulator

You end up with less "stuff" on your pony since you don't have the bulk of a standard first stage. The downside is that you can "only" fill with a transfill whip from another tank. You can't just take it to the LDS for fills. You might consider that an upside, I suppose. Since you don't have to pay to get your pony filled - or worry about a destination maybe wanting you to pay for a vip after flying with no valve installed.

 

[tbone1004]

@kelemvor Piranha sells adapters that allow you to fill from a fill station.

downside to those on a pony is if you sling it, you don't have a valve knob to snap a loop bungee over so it rides much more streamlined