tempoffroad
Registered
Mine is rigged like freeclimb. I use two or three hose holders on the tank with octo sticking just above the second one. I dont want any clip or holder on my actual octo.
Pony Bottle Regulator Attachment
- Thread starter ShallowDiverDave
- Start date
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freeclimbmtb
Contributor
I feel the need to specify I snagged that picture from dir-diver.com lest someone get mad at me for not giving credit, its not my actual bottle, but it is the setup I am familiar with..
This is my current set up
Capt Doug
Contributor
OP
ShallowDiverDave
Contributor
Wow! Thanks for all the responses - awesome to see after a long day at work. I'm considering the options you have provided and will implement soon.
DaleC
Contributor
Glad you got your responses. Now I would like to question this remark:
I've heard that said before but don't know why one would want to do that. A pony bottle is not a stage or deco bottle (both of which are meant to be deployed in non emergency situations) and in a couple of technically oriented agencies, there isn't even a protocol for pony deployment as they are not recognized as a valid recreational alternative air source. Treating a pony as a stage or deco bottle (readiness wise) ignores the fact that they are used in different settings for different purposes (IMO).
Part of the accepted practice for a pony is to be able to donate to an OOA diver (otherwise do you tell all other divers in your vicinity not to go for the pony reg?). In that situation I am curious if you have thought through the deployment sequence or are just transplanting a technical treatment to an unrelated recreational procedure.
Do you hand off a dead reg and expect the OOA diver to wait while you charge the system or do you delay handing off the reg to first manipulate the valve. You can't use both hands if rigged DIR style so everything is done left handed while potentially confronting a stressed diver.
What if you bump the purge valve during the dive and now are handing off a flooded reg that a diver needs to purge after waiting for it to be turned on.
Turning it on and off before entering the water also introduces a great way to get sloppy and not check the breath ability of the reg. Do you deploy, breath and then stow and shutdown or just turn on and shutdown. How do you know how that reg breaths, that dive.
What benefit do you gain by using an alternative air source that requires an additional step, to breath from. Saying it prevents accidentally draining the pony isn't a valid reason as I have used a pony slung on the left since shortly after OW and know that freeflows like that don't occur unnoticed.
Just curious, as my philosophy during a recreational dive (where a pony is used) is that any reg showing should be immediately available to breath off of as that is what the majority of recreational divers expect. I look at it from their perspective, not mine. I really don't know which reg an OOA diver will take but introducing a dead reg into the mix just seems like an unnecessary complication on a recreational dive. I've been diving with a pony (or ID's) since the beginning and have never experienced a time when I wished I hadn't left them on. I also don't shutdown the non use tank when recreational sidemounting either - do you. If the answer is yes the same questions apply. If the answer is no what is the difference between the two?
I've heard that said before but don't know why one would want to do that. A pony bottle is not a stage or deco bottle (both of which are meant to be deployed in non emergency situations) and in a couple of technically oriented agencies, there isn't even a protocol for pony deployment as they are not recognized as a valid recreational alternative air source. Treating a pony as a stage or deco bottle (readiness wise) ignores the fact that they are used in different settings for different purposes (IMO).
Part of the accepted practice for a pony is to be able to donate to an OOA diver (otherwise do you tell all other divers in your vicinity not to go for the pony reg?). In that situation I am curious if you have thought through the deployment sequence or are just transplanting a technical treatment to an unrelated recreational procedure.
Do you hand off a dead reg and expect the OOA diver to wait while you charge the system or do you delay handing off the reg to first manipulate the valve. You can't use both hands if rigged DIR style so everything is done left handed while potentially confronting a stressed diver.
What if you bump the purge valve during the dive and now are handing off a flooded reg that a diver needs to purge after waiting for it to be turned on.
Turning it on and off before entering the water also introduces a great way to get sloppy and not check the breath ability of the reg. Do you deploy, breath and then stow and shutdown or just turn on and shutdown. How do you know how that reg breaths, that dive.
What benefit do you gain by using an alternative air source that requires an additional step, to breath from. Saying it prevents accidentally draining the pony isn't a valid reason as I have used a pony slung on the left since shortly after OW and know that freeflows like that don't occur unnoticed.
Just curious, as my philosophy during a recreational dive (where a pony is used) is that any reg showing should be immediately available to breath off of as that is what the majority of recreational divers expect. I look at it from their perspective, not mine. I really don't know which reg an OOA diver will take but introducing a dead reg into the mix just seems like an unnecessary complication on a recreational dive. I've been diving with a pony (or ID's) since the beginning and have never experienced a time when I wished I hadn't left them on. I also don't shutdown the non use tank when recreational sidemounting either - do you. If the answer is yes the same questions apply. If the answer is no what is the difference between the two?
Personally, I keep my slung pony on at all times for all the reasons that you mention other than what an OOA diver is going to do.
I don't see an OOA diver going for a bottle/reg basically in my arm pit. The pony bottle isn't there for an OOA unless that diver is me or unless I decide to hand it off after the initial OOA has been managed.
I don't see an OOA diver going for a bottle/reg basically in my arm pit. The pony bottle isn't there for an OOA unless that diver is me or unless I decide to hand it off after the initial OOA has been managed.
Bob DBF
Contributor
I have two major reasons for slinging my pony charged. The first is that when it is needed in an emergency, it can be deployed immediatly. The second is that I use a Sherwood dry bleed reg and would rather not get the internals wet.
There are a few reasons that I actually sling the pony, most of which makes my pony the only alternate air source, therefore it behooves me to have the rig ready to breathe off of as one would keep any alternate air source. In the other cases I am probably doing something interesting and carry it as Linus carries his blanket.
Bob
------------------------------------------
I may be old, but I'm not dead yet.
There are a few reasons that I actually sling the pony, most of which makes my pony the only alternate air source, therefore it behooves me to have the rig ready to breathe off of as one would keep any alternate air source. In the other cases I am probably doing something interesting and carry it as Linus carries his blanket.
Bob
------------------------------------------
I may be old, but I'm not dead yet.
The reasons I charge the system are (1) to check for leaks, and (2) to keep water from backing into the second stage inflator hose and the first stage as the pressure increases as I descend, should I or the current accidentally depress the purge valve.
The reason to shut it off is to prevent loss of all my backup gas should I get an unnoticed leak or freeflow, i.e. I shut it off because I want to make sure I have something to donate should the need arise.
As for having immediate gas for an OOA diver, I donate the reg that's in my mouth. I know it's working and I know exactly where it is. After doing that, I can take as much time as needed to turn on the pony's gas and deploy the pony reg, breathe off of it, and then hand the pony to the OOA diver all tested & ready.
Rick
DaleC
Contributor
I understand your POV, especially as I dive a longhose in a modern rec rig and plan to donate that but... when diving vintage with non self sufficient divers I sling a pony as an alternate air source they can use. Also, what about those divers who take the octo off of their backgas and use the pony reg as the octo? And again, forgetting my intentions for the pony, does every other rec diver I might encounter also believe the pony reg is not for breathing off of in an OOA. I'm saying you a lot but am not addressing you specifically, just speaking in a general sense.
Just close your eyes and run through the scenario of a stressed diver off your left shoulder trying to breath a dead reg while you attempt to turn on the valve with your left hand. Which hand do you fend them off with. What problem does it solve vs what problems does it create.
I just don't think telling someone to turn off their pony before hitting the water is good advice in the rec setting without being very specific about the circumstances and I know that whole shutdown thing comes from a tech perspective that views pony use as a trivial, unnecessary crutch not worthy of real analysis. As someone who only dives rec I believe in beginning with the end in mind - which for the vast majority is rec diving. Adopting hand me down tech instead of rec specific solutions in that case is sub optimal (IMO).
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