Cost of pony setup?

[Marie13]

Hi Marie.

As you can already see ponies on SB are a hotly debated issue. I know cost is a factor but I enourage you to buy the right size for your current use and not something that you think you might need in the future. There are tons of threads and lots of good but also confusing information.

As a fellow female that actually dives with a pony and has a fair amount of experience with a variety of sizes, I would be happy to help in any way I can.

Thank you. I've actually got a gal who is a dive buddy who is giving me lots of advice as well. One of the reasons she likes the 30 is that it's shorter. I'm going to pick your brain on a PM.

Friend is a dive addiction enabler. She's learning side mount soon and was telling me to think about it for the future since with my troublesome knees doubles would be too heavy.

 

[Jack Hammer]

19cf bottle is easier to sling than a 13cf bottle and is small enough to be out of the way yet give a useful amount of emergency gas in recreational diving. The argument for larger bottles is mostly based on future usage. If you eventually get into Tech a 40cf bottle makes a nice deco bottle where the smaller bottles don't.

 

[2airishuman]

This is for future planning - a year or two down the road.

How much could I expect to shell out for a complete pony setup? I'd be looking at a 30 cft cylinder.

Thanks!

If you're buying all new, the regs will be the most expensive piece. Prices vary but figure on $300 with the hose and a button SPG with some careful shopping. I would suggest a DIN reg which complicates finding a good deal on anything used. The cylinder will be a little over $100 regardless of size. I make up my own stage rigging with $10 worth of parts. You can spend $100 or more on fancy brackets if that's your thing.

 

[Marie13]

I should be able to try a few on for size, so to speak, next season from amongst divers I know.

 

[scubadada]

I guess, if you are the nervous type and tend to panic, one could double your normal breathing rate, But, with a properly sized pony, you are not OOA or even LOA. You have enough gas to make a normal ascent including a safety stop. So why does your breathing rate change?

As I pointed out, this is a conservative calculation. The reason you had to switch to the pony in the first place may have been anxiety provoking and may increase your gas consumption, i.e., an emergency

In my case, the conservative calculation yields an air consumption of 17 cf for an ascent from 130 feet. I'm comfortable with my 19 cf pony for my particular diving and know that a significant buffer has been included. To each their own.

 

[Marie13]

Thanks for all the comments. I'm going to ask my instructor to bring her pony to one of our sessions this winter to try it on for size. Not sure what she has, might be a 19.

 

[KevinNM]

I've run a 19 mounted to the tank (please ensure the air is on before you pull on the BCD) and also clipped onto the left d-rings on my bp&w as though it's a stage or Deco bottle. They both work. The stage arrangement is easier on a dive boat that has tank mounts in place.

As a stage bottle it was my third 2nd stage regulator, as a back mounted pony it was my octo. (I was going to donate the primary.)

I've seen people using 80s as ponies, mostly because the dive boat almost always has a spare AL80 and it's easy to set up if you are traveling by air. In the water it's supposed to be no big deal, but it's a bit of a pain on the boat to get into and out of the water.

 

[DustyC]

30, 40? Does it really make that much of a difference?

If you NEED it, yes.

 

[DustyC]

I guess, if you are the nervous type and tend to panic, one could double your normal breathing rate, But, with a properly sized pony, you are not OOA or even LOA. You have enough gas to make a normal ascent including a safety stop. So why does your breathing rate change?

Because real life has a way of doing that to some people.

 

[DustyC]

Thank you. I've actually got a gal who is a dive buddy who is giving me lots of advice as well. One of the reasons she likes the 30 is that it's shorter. I'm going to pick your brain on a PM.

Friend is a dive addiction enabler. She's learning side mount soon and was telling me to think about it for the future since with my troublesome knees doubles would be too heavy.

I dive a 30 as well. Works for short deco or a pony. Obviously, some people don't like the size, but whatever works for you m, works for you.