how to configure hoses

[paintsnow]

i have a question about hose routing.
im not a psd but would like to be someday
but thats a long ways off

right now i would like to use a 5ft hose for my primary reg on my rig.
instead of an octo i will be using an intergrated inflator.

so i was going to run the hose under my right arm, across my chest, behind my neck and into my mouth.

so in a air sharing situation i would donate the primary and switch to the intergrated inflator.

now things get tricky.

i would also like to have a pony, mounted upside down on the tank, using the ponease rescue (detachable)

im dont care what side its on but i want to be able to donate it to another diver if neccessary, but keep the reg bungeed for me until then.

if i want to donate that i would yank the reg out of the necklace and detache the bottle

BUT i do not want the hose routeing of the pony to interfere with donating the primary

AND i dont want the hose routing for the primary to interfere with donating the pony.

any suggestions?

im up for anything just to make this work.

 

[bridgediver]

I think you're trying to overcomplicate things.
I'd stick with one alternate air source. In the heat of the moment the more gear/procedures you have will increase confusion and may lead to a panic situation.
If you're usually diving with an unknown group or you're relying on yourself then the pony is a good choice. I'd mount it upright as it'll give more play with the hose (also easier to sort it out if passing it off). It won't interfere with your long hose if its upright - run the octo under your left arm.
Standard octo is the simpilist form provided you have a good buddy and you're both well practiced.
Integrated... We've beat that to death in this forum. I don't like them because their use is limited and it isn't a simple system (more prone to failure). You're not really gaining anything over the standard octo. Opinions will vary...

I wouldn't worry about trying to dive a PSD type rig until you're actually going to be doing it. You'll find that many teams have alot of different approaches to equipment config. which is best can always be debated BUT the important thing is that its standard for THAT team. They may use something different anyway.

Generally speaking I don't think the long hose is suitable for regular PSD work. Entanglement is the biggest risk for PSD so a long hose becomes a liability. As the work is primarily solo there is no "buddy" to pass off the long hose to anyway; pony bottles are the norm.
Having said that, don't give up your long hose for sport diving if you like it! You will need 2 different rigs though... My tech/rec rig is a DIR config and I dive a long hose - as do most tech divers. The biggest risk here is gas management (not entanglement) so long hoses are important. Again, the "team" I sport dive with is configured relatively the same and we practice our procedures alot, just as I do with my PSD team.

If you dive different rigs you'll have to practice BOTH alot more than you would if you just dove 1 (just my experience).

 

[Yotsie]

Like Bridgediver said, I would wait to see what configuration the team you’re going to join is running before you get overly concerned with it. Most teams now use FFM (full face masks) with pony bailout bottles. Overly long hoses are generally not the norm in PSD as we work in an environment which affords a ready supply of entanglement issues.

Our configuration is an AGA FFM with a Sartek gas block. We can either run surface supplied air or from our steel 110s. We all have 30 cuft alum pony bottles mounted in the upright position with a 36" hose and quick disconnect to the gas block. If you are a safety diver and need to donate your pony, we have a quick release bracket to disconnect the pony from the main tank and the donating diver can disconnect the hose from his gas block and connect it to the gas block of the entrapped diver. We also have an alum 80 as a standby bottle with a 6' hose that the 90% diver can bring down and connect to the entrapped diver. This will give that diver a ready supply of air until a surface supply line can be brought down and plugged into his block.

 

[SDAnderson]

im up for anything just to make this work.

Oh, good grief. :shakehead

If you're determined to reinvent the wheel the hard way, why ask for help from the peanut gallery? If you actually want to unfuster the cluck, start over and stop complicating things.

 

[paintsnow]

thanx guys
guess im just going to clip it to a d ring and run the primary as normal.

 

[Gary D.]

If you are thinking of becoming a PSD someday you need to get introduced to KISS. All the extra stuff you are planning on adding to possibly save your life may eventually take it.

A few things you can count on with PSD are ZERO vis like you can not imagine. Being in a cave or a mine way underground without any kind of light is a bit like it. While your down there try negotiating a mine field in a monster fishing reel back lash. All that, while the group above gets ride of their bodily functions on you. Now that is a good day searching.

Remember, you can only carry so much stuff before it becomes a hazard itself.

Gary D.

 

[paintsnow]

haha good post gary
but i believe a pony is standard for most psd teams?
please correct me if im wrong

 

[sparkyjames]

I am a big fan of the K I S S There is nothing more scary to me then when I see a diver with half the inventory of the LDS cliped to his side

I would ask your self a couple key questions here
will I actuly use this and how will I use it

If you can still convince your self you should hang your pony upside down then by all means go for it

but I think you will reget that in the long run

like Gary D said Keep It Simple Stupid
( I hope You can take this in the good humor I ment it )

What I always do with a peice of new gear
is I clip it off where I want it then I try a few times to remove and then replace it with out looking at it if I cant do this I move or remove it
but thats just me

Good luck

Sparky

 

[Gary D.]

haha good post gary
but i believe a pony is standard for most psd teams?
please correct me if im wrong

Most PSD teams?

I think I would be safe saying that most PSD teams are not trained through a PSD origination. Instead they are trained, if they are trained at all, by an LDS or the one I hear a lot, a Navy Diver or SEAL.

Just because they are this or that doesn’t mean they know anything about PSD work and shouldn’t be coming up with their own super duper programs.

There is a place for a pony but not with all teams. There is a place for a long hose but again not with all teams. The same goes for FF, surface supplied air, wireless coms, hard wire coms and the list goes on.

It looks like you’re from a warm area. What a team does down there could very easily cost them their life up here. It doesn’t mean they did or are doing anything wrong it’s just that it requires totally different styles of diving.

The same goes for a Vegas team going to say, Georgia. Their styles are going to be quite different. So in your area most teams might use pony’s but we don’t in this area of the country. They could cause more problems they are strapped on to prevent.

Good gas management is a better option. Even in zero vis you should know yourself good enough to never let your air to even get low.

Gary D.

 

[tc]

Well said Gary, a drill I encourage our folks to use to help them with gas management is to guess to reading on their gauge before actually looking at it. After a while you get good enough that when you check the gauge it's just to confirm what you already know. Good habit to develop for zero vis working dives.

Tom