Pony Bottle Setup

[junior]

I've been thinking about adding a pony bottle to my gear for some time now. Actually, I had an event during the spearboard open where I could have used one as I shot a grouper at 120' with only about 500psi remaining:rolleyes: Shoulda looked first.

Anyway, what do you guys that have pony setups prefer in terms of size, mounting etc. I know this stuff has been touched on before, but figured it might be nice to get a thread in this section that deals with this piece of safety equipment.

Also, what is the protocol for the using a pony? I figure if you use it for anything other than an emergency or maybe safety stop you are failing to use it wisely. By this I mean that using the pony to give yourself more bottom time to shoot that last grouper since your main tank is already empty is kinda missing the point;)

[bgbill]

I use the Halcyon argon bottle setup, it has 2 straps that go around the main tank, and they also go around the Stage/Pony bottle.

It holds an aluminum 40 nice and secure, it is also easy and quick to change between tanks.

It is not a good idea to use the pony bottle to extend your bottom time, if you need more bottom time get bigger tanks or get a set of doubles.

[Steel Shootin']

Another misconception is that traveling gas or deco gas is a pony. It's not. It may be in a pony bottle, but if you've got 80% in it you don't want to be hitting it at 100'.

I personally have a 13 and 19. I think for me the 13 would be fine in that 50 - 80 stuff, and 19 ok from there to 120.

[swathdiver]

After my helicopter ride Santa got me a 19 pony and a Scuba Duba to attach it, my new dive buddy. ScubaDuba is nice because it can mount to any tank, keeps things simple. Air only, don't use it as deco bottle.

[kitefisherman]

I usually dive alone. Despite what has happened to Carson, that is not going to change.

A few months ago, I started researching how I might do what I'm gonna do while minimizing the risks as much as possible. I read Robert Von Maier's "Solo Diving: the Art of Underwater Self-Sufficiency" (2nd Ed - Aquaquest Publications). I don't mean to oversimplify, but the bottom line (after reading the book and talking to instructors that taught solo diving as a certification course) was redundancy. There are 2 types of redundancy. The first is what I call second stage redundancy (if your second stage craps out, you can switch to your octo); that's fine unless the problem is in your first stage or you have run out of air (negligence or a defective submersible pressure gauge). The second type of redundancy is a completely independent source of air. While I dove with a Spare Air for over a year, I found myself diving at deeper depths and became reluctantly aware that 3 cft was probably not an adequate air source (one tech diver I know called it 8 breaths till death). Thereafter I began my quest for a more generous source of air.

Of course I turned to pony bottles. I now use a 13 cft pony for depths up to 100 feet and a 30 cft bottle for deeper depths (for me up to about 170 ft). I realize that even so I may be cutting it short as other respected, experienced divers such as Charlestondivin and MegalodonMan would suggest 19 and 40 cft respectively. I don't challenge their opinion in any way, but I am currently comfortable with my current configuration. Carrying an extra 10 cft won't kill you, but it is heavier and more bulky. More is always better in an emergency (when you're consuming air at an accelerated rate), but that's where I drew the line. On the other hand, I use my 13 cft pony even if I'm diving in 40 ft (a depth at which I could probably make a controlled out of air ascent).

Buying a pony bottle is easy. Finding a secure, unobtrusive, lightweight mounting system is not. Compounding the problem is the fact that most LDSs do not stock a variety of mounting systems for you to examine and try. Further compounding the problem is the fact that what may work well for a caver (a slung bottle across the waist or in front of you on one side) may not work for a spearfisherman struggling with large fish that may be attached to a lineshaft. I wanted my pony mounted on my back and out of my way.

My initial (although admittedly temporary solution) was the scuba duba mount. Personally, I found this system to be wholly inadequate with my 30 cft tank as the bottom of the tank was all over my back as I pivoted from side to side. The system worked better with the 13 cft bottle, but still there was a lot of play - something that I could live with on the occasional deep dive - but not something that I wanted to deal with on every dive as I intended to use my pony. The system may work better with other BCDs but it didn't work well with my single tank strap Seaquest Balance BCD.

The next choice was a highly touted single-pin system that required you to mount a connecting bracket with hose clamps not only on your pony but also on your primary tank. I believe that the system comes with brackets for 2 primary tanks (but you can buy more). That's great if you are only going to dive 2 tanks a day or are willing to outfit all of your tanks with a bracket or are willing to make the time to uninstall the bracket from a spent tank and reinstall it on a fresh tank between dives. None of these options was appealing when you are bringing 6-8 tanks (some of them may be borrowed) on an extended Middlegrounds outing. In fact, you may be inclined to say f*** it and dive without your pony if you are tired or in a hurry. Needless to say, I never bought that system.

I looked at the Dive Rite systems, but decided against them because I couldn't find one to look at before I bought it and their web site left me with concerns about how well they would work with a single strap BCD.

My new system is called a Quickdraw heavy duty pony bottle bracket and can be found at http://www.quickdrawbracket.com/item187085.ctlg I used this system for the first time at the Southern Open (Financial Advisor, Webers, Dangerous and BwanaR were there to see it). I can honestly say that I am thrilled with how solidly the pony is attached to my BCD. The mounting system is extremely practical when you are using multiple primary tanks because although the system is more or less permanently attached to your pony (it actually uninstalls with 2 screws), the pony bracket attaches with 1 pin (5 seconds - honest) to its mate on the strap of your BCD. You can change tanks in and out all day without having to touch a tool, attach anything to your primary tanks or any significant delay. The only downside that I can find is that you need one mounting system for your 13 and 19 cft tanks and another for your 30 and 40 cft tanks. The system is made out of lightweight aluminum (except for the pin).

When you first dive with a pony, you will notice that the pony adds additional weight on the side on which it is mounted. After being weighted more heavily on my right side, I solved the problem by putting more weight on the left side of my BCD than on the right to balance me out. This has completely solved that problem for me.

I hope that this helps save some of you that are considering pony bottles some of the grief that I experienced. I am not an instructor, a credentialed tech diver and am admittedly new at this. I certainly don't mean to step on the toes of anyone who might be personally happy with the systems that I have not chosen. I am sure that there are others here that are more experienced than I am, and I'd be interested to hear their opinions. I just suggest that you keep in mind the problems that I've experienced in evaluating proposed solutions. The bottom line is that if diving with a pony is a pain in the ass or inconvenient then there will be times that you won't use it and those might be the very times that you need it. I know many experienced divers and spearfishermen; however, I see very few that use a pony on most dives or dive in close contact with a buddy. I do see many pony bottles loaded on the boat and again unloaded without ever having touched the water. If that's the case, why bother?

[richhermes]

Nice pic of the bracket, John. I'm still unclear on how you hook this to your BCD. Do you have a pic of this pony mounted to your BCD?

[Steel Shootin']

Originally posted by kitefisherman
I usually dive alone. Despite what has happened to Carson, that is not going to change. Thanks for the detail and honesty. Frankly, I'd be lying if I said I would always be diving buddy style now. I won't be. I think it's great and I commend those who will only do buddy diving, but I know that most of my diving will be solo with the following exceptions:

1. Anything past 100' there will be a dive plan, with some means of underwater communication or proximity; and

2. Should ANYONE ever request that I buddy up with them, I will GLADLY do so and not think any less of them at all. I don't care if we're diving rock piles in 30'. I have no problem leap-frogging, etc. Just don't point your gun at me.

3. I will wear my pony a hell of a lot more, and I will force myself to get in the habit of wearing it past 50'.

4. I'll be quicker to buddy up in situations where I didn't before.

[greyface]

I've been diving with a 13cf pony for a year now. It's a good feeling to know you have some extra air in case of an emergency. Kite explained the system well, although I use the "X Bracket", made by REEF. I added a nylon strap to the bracket, to allow you to hang the pony from the main tank while tightening the tank strap. A third hand, if you will. An effortless, extremely secure system. Topped off with a ScubaPro MK 2+ / R 190 reg.

[kitefisherman]

Rich: Did you see these pages on the website: http://www.quickdrawbracket.com/news.ivnu and http://www.quickdrawbracket.com/aboutus.ivnu ? Normally, I'd shoot a quick pic and post it, but my digital camera is at the manufacturer undergoing a warranty repair so I have no way of doing it. Even so, I don't think that I could do much better than the pictures on the 2 links that I just posted.

Some other thoughts:

1. I generally fill my pony with air (even though I almost always dive on nitrox) so that I don't have any O2 toxicity issues if I have to use it at depth. If you are using your pony to extend your dive (and especially if you are using a larger pony), you will have to take this into account in evaluating your decompression status. My experience is that my 13 cft pony will give me about 5 minutes of extra bottom time in 90 feet. I am using my pony as a bail out bottle - not a deco bottle.

2. I'm not suggesting that anyone use their pony to extend their bottom time, but if you do then do it in a planned manner. Having a pony doesn't mean that you don't have to watch your air anymore. On the rare occasions that I have used my pony to extend my dive, I have always switched over to the pony while I still had 700-800 PSI left in my main tank. That way I knew that even if I used all of the air in my pony, I still had more than enough air in my main system for a safe ascent and full safety stop. PSI in a pony can be misleading. 1000 PSI in a 13 cft tank is nothing like 1000 PSI in a 120 cft tank. You will blow through that 1000 PSI in no time on such a small tank. If the only air that you have left is in your pony, you should be headed up.

3. I suggest that you do a mock ascent using your pony from depth. That way you can get a better idea of what your pony can and cannot do. An emergency is no time to find this out. Furthermore, the confidence gained in the mock ascent will probably calm you if you have to use the system in an emergency and will hopefully reduce the rate of your probable accelerated air consumption.

4. When I first started using my pony, I dove with the pony's valve turned on. I started noticing that brief episodes of the pony reg freeflowing at the surface when I entered the water were cumulatively putting about a 300 PSI dent in my pony pressure per dive. I have solved this problem by turning the valve on at the surface to pressurize the reg, checking that the pony reg is working (take a breath on it), and then turning it back off. The reg can't free flow if the valve is off so you won't lose your pony pressure that way. If you do this, you do, however, need to mount your pony in a manner that you can reach around and turn on the pony valve when you need to. For this reason, I mount my pony bottle upside down so that the valve handle is next to my right hip and easily accessible. Just make sure that your reg hose will still reach your mouth after the pony is mounted.

5. I know that I didn't mention the famous X bracket in my earlier discussion. That is only because I couldn't find one to evaluate in person prior to purchase. I have heard many good things about this system. Maybe someone can elaborate and post (or link to) some pictures of the system.

Again, I don't mean to sound like an expert on this stuff because I'm not. I am not suggesting that people use their pony to extend their dives, but I know that some people will. I just think that it is better to discuss how this might be more safely done than to have everyone have to figure it out for themselves and possibly experience another tragedy.

[Dangerous]

Having abandoned an older pony setup as it was a PIA, I did see KF's pony bracket in "action" last week-end and it was so practical. I've seen divers struggling with pony set ups for years and as KF observed, the majority of the time, the pony bottle gets loaded on the boat but never gets wet.

I am ordering a quickdraw bracket like KF's. It is so stable and secure, he can even attach the tank upside down - think about it. He attaches the tank after strapping in his primary, with minimal hassle and is ready to go. He can gear up almost as fast as I can without a pony & I am the first ready to go. (old habit from diving cattle boats)

If I recall correctly, KF was the only diver to use the pony on every dive, however, there were many pony tanks on the boat. This is the only time I have ever seen a diver in harmony with his pony bottle, although, I am sure there are divers that achieved this level of serenity, I have not been diving with them.

So for me, diving with larger primary and carrying a redundant air supply with a bracket like KF's, is the ticket.

Dang

[Chad Carney]

I agree with most of Kite's points and the Quickdraw bracket looks pretty sweet. (It should be at $120.)

The Scuba Duba comes in two sizes and I think Kite might have had the short one on his 30 pony, which explains why the bottom was out of control. Many shops are to blame for only stocking one size. Most users like this system when correctly sized.

Another simple way to attach a long pony, 19, 30 or 40, to the back of a double cam BC, (usually a back mount), is to use 2 cut down BC cam straps threaded through simple stainless steel weight stops. It possitions the pony between the wing and the primary tank, and only wobbles a little bit. Pretty cheap and very versatile. Nothing semi permanently attached to the pony. You can use the same 2 cams on multiple ponies and if you don't cut your cam bands too short, you can even use it on different size diameters.

One point for recreational nitrox divers: As long as you are diving recreationally, 130' or less, the use of a mix such as 36 or 40 in your pony can serve as your emergency gas supply and as a fairly decent deco bottle should you need it. (Likely the case since your ascent might well be faster than recommended.) The EAN mix in the pony would only be a little hot at first if you are bellied in at 130'. (Stay at 32 if that last statement bothers you.) It can be used after each dive as a scrubber if your consumption is not extreme, or at least at the end of the dive day. This is one of the reasons for the 40% limit to recreational EAN.

One thing about pony regulators, you won't have to turn off a regulator with a venturi control, just adjust the flow to the minus position. Dual adjustables are even better, detune the breathing resistance a tad also. Breathing on a dog at the end of a dive when you're tired sucks, even worse in an emergency.

Sherwood makes regulators that have a deliberate leak, called a positive pressure system. They don't effect a primary bottle much but can cause a low supply in a pony tank. (So can a leaky neck, face o-ring or safety disc.)

Solo training and certification is available through SDI. Robert Von Maier's book is the text.

Chad Carney, SDI Instructor Trainer 250

[richhermes]

Originally posted by kitefisherman
Rich: Did you see these pages on the website: http://www.quickdrawbracket.com/news.ivnu and http://www.quickdrawbracket.com/aboutus.ivnu ? Normally, I'd shoot a quick pic and post it, but my digital camera is at the manufacturer undergoing a warranty repair so I have no way of doing it. Even so, I don't think that I could do much better than the pictures on the 2 links that I just posted.

Ohhhh. I thought you hooked that pony to your BCD, but how it hooks to the tank is very cool. Is it easy adjusting it if you use a AL100?

http://web.inetba.com/precisionprototype/images/weblisa3.jpg

[Slay Ride]

Hey Kite great discussion. I would like to re-iterate what Kite was saying about having one and not using it because it's difficult. I have had a 40 cf for a while now with 48% O2. Even though I have the Zeagle dual band system ( which is pretty good) I found that the mere size of the 40 made it a much heavier and awkward that I felt the safety issues with the excess gear on top of the boat and getting back in the boat might be dangerous. I found that the 40 sat in the boat and was used for a little higher O2 breathing during surface intervals more than being in the water. And that's not what it was for. Now I've got a 19 and will be using it on every dive. I am as bad as everyone I've dove with, about going his own way. Your point about the simulated (mock) ascent is a great idea John! Will be doing that on my last dive this weekend, making sure I have 500-800 psi in my main tank. I've heard people having air or nitrox in the pony's. Anyone else have opinions on that.

[kitefisherman]

Originally posted by richhermes
Is it easy adjusting it if you use a AL100?



Rich: The part of the mount that fits on your strap stays there. Althogh it is easy to put on and take off, I just leave it on the strap. It does not affect your ability to adjust your tank strap in any way. Once the tank is mounted on the BC, slide the pony bracket into the strap bracket, drop in a pin and go. I know that the instruction on the site make it look like you attach the pony to the strap and then put the whole thing (BC with pony already mounted) on the primary tank -but that's just backward.

Chad: My Aqualung Titan LX reg still freeflowed even after adjusting the venturi. Maybe the impact of hitting the water on my giant stride entries put pressure on the purge or something. I don't know, but adjusting the venturi didn't solve my problem at the surface.

Les: I originally started with nitrox in the pony but gave up after I found myself topping off my pony every time I filled my tanks. Now that I've got the leakage problem solved, I will probably go back to nitrox - probably 32% in the 13 cft. May go to 25-26% in my 30 cft as one of the deeper wrecks that I dive here sits in about 170 ft.

[Chad Carney]

I have not looked at the Aqualung Titan LX, but just about all venturi adjustable regulators actually blow the purge button, diaphram and lever away from the breathing tube when in the minus postion, stopping flows caused by purge pressure.

The adjustable spring tension on the mechanism is stiffened by tightening a breathing resistance control. This can stop trickle leaks due to seat indenting.

A mouthpiece holder, ball or cup type that gives back pressure is another good idea. This keeps crud out too.

Chad

[Dangerous]

Chad,

The adjustable regulator would be the ultimate, but if you had a good serviceable non-adjustable reg, in your experience, would having it tuned down a little and using a scumball be a reasonable alternative.

[Doc]

I have a totally adequate system that costs less than five bucks and doesnt wobble at all. Go to a marine supply store and get some large stainless hoseclamps, use them to strap a lenghth of stainless steel to the side of the pony; now pass the tank cam straps through this bracket. The pony remains connected to the straps of the BC, so you wont ever forget it behind, and its there if you ever need it.

I use a thirty cube every dive (other than a shore dive), the only reason is because i only want one pony, and this is the most versatile size to have. Great for cleaning boat bottoms, shore dives or to check out new sites, and as a deco mix holder and or bail out bottle.

I usually use 50% o2 , if this is safe is debatable. I dive air mostly as I dont have $ to convert to NO2; so use the gas primarily as a washout gas/ deco gas to decr my N burden. I never use it to extend dives, its there for an emergency or until Im safely on the anchorline near the surface where it becomes washout.

The danger, and a potential subject of debate, is if I ever needed it deeper than 60 feet is it safe to use? I am willing to risk the slight risk of OX TOX (unlikely, given the fact that if I am ever using it deep unless I am in an emergency and will likely rapidly ascend to shallow water therefore I will breath this mix for less than two minutes while deeper than 60 feet.) for the benefit of begining immediate washout of my NO2; as in an emergency I may be ascending a faster than would be ideal ideal especially if I have a panicked or ill diver with me.

This would be VERY dangerous in an overhead environment over 60 feet, such as on a deep wreck; where you may face prolonged exposure to the gas. An alternate source of AIR should be carried; On deep wreck penetrations double tanks should be warn, and the pony can still serve as washout gas in deco.

[kitefisherman]

Doc: with a 50% mix you have a partial pressure of 1.6 at 72.6 feet. So you should be good to that depth.

[bgbill]

Here is the setup I use on my stage bottle or Pony Bottle.

It is a Halcyon strap setup, I think it was made for the argon bottles but works real well with an al40 or smaller.

Tackle Shack has the setup for less than $60.00.

[bgbill]

This is the same set up on a set of HP 120 doubles, it also works well with 8" tanks.

Notice the 6" high pressure hose, it is easier to read with a single tank, but you can still see it with doubles as well.

Both ways the only time you notice the 40 is on the boat, once you are in the water it isn't really noticable at all.

I have used many different ways to attach stage bottles and so far this one is the best for me.

[Big Pig]

I have a couple of budies who use the Dive Rite system with 30's and like them a lot.

One thing I didn't see in any of the posts: be careful which reg you put into your mouth when you roll into the water. I know this sounds like a no brainer but I did it. I have used a pony bottle on every dive for the last 5 years, and my old deco reg was the same color and shape as my primary. I put the deco reg in my mouth, put the primary in my BC holder, and over the side I went. I got to 170ft and hunted for about one minute before I started to have a hard time breathing. I promptly switched regs and realized what I had done. After this incident, my deco reg is marked different from my primary. Luckily I dive air in my pony bottle so O2 tox was not an issue.

[bgbill]

When I use a high 02 mix in the stage bottle I bag the second stage, that way you will not grab it and breath on it by mistake

[Doc]

I know of an experienced and respected divemaster in NY that DIED that way crewing in thirty five feet of water. He was tying in the hook; working pretty hard and when his pony was finished off so was he; never had time to find his primary reg.

My primary is silver and around my neck on a rudder strap. Always there if it falls. My pony reg is yellow and clipped across my chest with a gate clip; always. No confusion.

[swimndive]

As a part time cave diver I’d say I have a little more than a casual interest in dive safety. That said, I have yet to see any type of pony bottle setup that I would trust my life with. My solution has been to simply exercise discipline and avoid putting my self in a position where I would ever need one. I do 120’ for 20 on an 80 and get back in the boat with 1000psi. (enough gas remaining for my buddy and I to do another ascent and a 5-min safety stop from 120’). I think staying longer creates more problems than a pony can solve, so when I do plan to dive deep, or get into an overhead (decompression) environment, I use doubles and stages and proper gasses (volumes and mixes) to decrease the risks and increase the safety margins. BTW if you suck an 80 “dry” at 120’ you still have enough gas remaining to do a controlled and safe ascent. *

*Note: Your mileage may vary. Results obtained using professional drivers on a closed course.

[100days-a-year]

I use old steel 30s or al40s slung as a stage if I am going deeper.For long dives I wear doubles.If you absolutely have to wear it on your back please put it on the side and not piggybacked straight out.A really good chance of having Murphy either hit the valve rolling it off,snagging it on something,bumping it on ledges and in wrecks.I am not a big guy at 5'10 190 but I have no problems with it slung under my arm,even digging for lobster.The guage is on a 6" hose and right where I can see it.I use DIN valves for security and lower profile.A MK2 R380 SP works fine.When wearing doubles it becomes deco gas stage.You can maybe make it from 135' with a sucked dry 80 but you'll only do it once cause the headache you get from your ass puckering cuts off the flow of blood to your head,at least it did to me.Seafood ain't worth your life.

[ICEMAN]

My 13cf pony zipps upside down inside my ZEAGLE Ranger LTD
BC.The valve sticks 1 to 2" out of the bottom on my BC.The valve
is easy to reach and turn on.I use a small reg. with a very small
pressure gage .5" dia 1" long.The system zipps in to the BC
in less than 10 sec.I will make a point to use it a lot more.

[Screen Name]

Originally posted by 100days-a-year
You can maybe make it from 135' with a sucked dry 80 but you'll only do it once cause the headache you get from your ass puckering cuts off the flow of blood to your head,at least it did to me.Seafood ain't worth your life.

Not meaning to challenge you guys, but for those who may not be as experienced, you can make it back from 135' on a dry 80cf tank safely...........only under the absolute best of conditions. It better be the first dive of the day when you are not saturated. You better not have a big stringer of fish or other factors that may cause exertion. You better conserve air from the moment you feel resistance. Ya better be in good shape and well rested, and so on. And ya better hope you dont get shallow water blackout.

What I am saying, is that one of the biggest mistakes a scuba diver could make, in my opinion, is to start thinking you can get back to the boat after sucking your tanks dry. I learned the hard way.

I head for the surface when I hit 1000 lbs, just like they taught ya in class. Get a bigger tank if you want to dive longer, but dont push the limits.

[DanR]

Originally posted by 100days-a-year
You can maybe make it from 135' with a sucked dry 80 but you'll only do it once cause the headache you get from your ass puckering cuts off the flow of blood to your head,at least it did to me.Seafood ain't worth your life.

D$"M skippy! 19 years ago I sucked my 80 dry at ninety feet and besides pissing my wetsuit all the way up (and the divemaster bitching at me for the rest of the day) I was unhurt. Young and stupid, but very lucky. I still remember the feeling when I realized what had happened, just as if it was yesterday and it took about two weeks for my ass to unpucker. :eek:

[webers]

I use a 30 c f pony with adjustable reg. Brian at Action Aquatics set it up. After tinkering with the adjustment to get it right (hence Spearchucker's kind return of my lost pony) I have settled on a single strap cam and metal mounting bracket. Once the cam activates, it is on solid. It is very similar to Kitefisherman's but without the fancy pin release. I noticed that Kitfisherman has his pony upside down, mine is rightside up. I'm considering adding a second strap.

One thing of critical importance. Make sure you securely afix your pony reg somewhere it can't be pulled loose and away from you when you need it. Be particularly cautions of it getting stuck on coral or rock when you poke you body in somewhere to shoot a holed up grouper. That happend to me on the JRII. It resulted in my pony reg getting stuck behind my back between my main tank and the pony. Seeing my pony gauge read full but not having access to that air was maddening. I could not get to the reg or find out where it was stuck. I made the mistake of not immediately taking both tanks off. I used up the air in my bc trying to fix the gear. I then made another mistake of grabing my 2nd octo and oraly clearing it thinking that it was my pony reg. This was a mental error due to some panic setting it. Still I could not get that darn reg loose. I started to feel like I would black out, and that was my que to test my skills making an emergency ascent from 96 feet, bone dry on air. I chose not to drop my weights but rather kicked like a sob to the surface and tried to suck air out of a dry tank as it expanded to the ascent. It was a hell of a swim, but slower and a bit more controlled than if I dropped my weights I was diving a HP 80, so I only got a little bit of a breath from expansion somewhere between 30 and 60 feet. I did not find out exactly what went wrong (where the reg was stuck) until after I got to the surface.

I do not plan on ever having to do that again. There is a lot I could have done different in that situation. But, the few things I did to kept me from a more unpleasant result. I now have a clip sytem that holds the pony reg right under my chin. I can even get my mouth on it without using my hands if need be. I've taken the time during a recent dive to,several times in a row, practice getting off all my gear and reassembling it on the ocean floor.
As long as my pony is working, its coming with me.

I realy thought I was going to die that day--- all alone. I've been in other types of non-diving situations before where my survival was in serious doubt (motocycle accidents, etc.) . But, the prospect of death, all alone under the sea, with no body for my wife to bury, realy shook me up. My boat mates that day can attest to how freeaked I was.

I'm sure I'm not alone in having such an expierence that sheds insigint into Carson's last minutes. Each of us who have, know that it must have been a terrible way for Carson to go.

Kudos to all the guys who quickly got me on o2 and assured me that everything would be ok. In particular, thanks Seastakler for taking me back down for and wathchig me during my safety/deco stop, Shooter Dan and Jim for getting me on O2, and Dangerous for playing doc.

I'm not to proud to admit that I shed few tears of joy after I realized I wasn't going to be bent, and that I made it.



Webers

[Nsearch]

Thanks for sharing that Webers.

[100days-a-year]

Screen Name ,it was and I am and it was a few years ago.Most spearfishermen will suck a tank dry at least once.I don't want them to give up just cause they've been stupid ,I felt like it took 3 minutes to ascend because I was so focused on living.It is seriously irresponsible to put myself in that position and I don't anymore.Once is usually enought to scare some sense into you.I turn dives to 80' at 500 unless I have deco then it's ~1000.On deep dives it's 750-1000 that I expect to be at the rope or on my way up.

[markZ]

I have been following this thread, and the proposed solutions for attaching "pony bottles".

IMHO, one should look to the cave diving community for a solution. The cave community worked out most of the problems with dive gear configuration decades ago. Their standards are very high. They have to be; otherwise you end up deceased. Although there are certainly differences between fresh and salt water diving, good gear configuration tends to work well regardless. I have followed their (cavers) lead on many things over the years and I know its made me a better diver.

As far as the "pony bottle" is concerned, when I do carry one, its simply set up as a deco-stage bottle, and clipped off to my harness underneath the left arm. Bottle MOD (max operating depth) is clearly marked. I have used this config for years and its easy to implement, costs very little, and its easy to clip on/off. The location underneath the left arm is comfortable and the bottle does not get in the way. MOD marking leaves no room for error underwater should you need to share in an emergency situation. There are other advantages as well.

[Deep Six]

Ohhhh. I thought you hooked that pony to your BCD, but how it hooks to the tank is very cool. Is it easy adjusting it if you use a AL100?

http://web.inetba.com/precisionprototype/images/weblisa3.jpg


My personal set up is a 19cf mounted inverted to a Quickdraw bracket. The reg sits right where my hand reached naturally. I keep the valve open at all times. My thought is that if I need it in an emergency, turning on the valve is one more task I don't need loaded on. As of yet I haven't had a problem with my Aqualung reg freeflowing. The bracket is really simple and makes swapping tanks really easy. Pull the quick release pin and it comes right out.
To trim myself out I add 4 lbs extra on my left side. :thumps: for the Quickdraw bracket

[Guido4198]

This has been an excellent discussion thus far, and deserves to be read by anyone diving on SCUBA. I've been doing this stuff since John Kennedy was President. I've seen a lot of water, and a lot of errors. Most were survived. Some weren't. Of all the great suggestions posted here, perhaps the BEST...and most universally valid is that you occasionally conduct a "mock ascent" on your pony to establish it's utility, and create those "muscle memories" and instinctive responses that will kick in should a real out-of-air emergency occur.
My pony is a 13, mounted upside down, tucked up against the side of my main tank. The second stage of my pony regulator is colored differently from my primary, with a different mouthpiece so they are easy to tell apart. The pony reg. high pressure line runs up under my arm, with the second stage clipped to the front of my B.C.D. My pony is STRICTLY a rescue bottle. Use for dive-extension, or "one more try" @ an elusive Grouper is simply NOT AN OPTION. It's a fish for cryin' out loud...

[snokat]

Officially resurrected thread!!!
My 30 cu. pony was used on my first dive with it, had a catastrophic 2nd stage failure on ascent from a 115 ft. dive. Guess I was due, been certified since 1/1/70. I did go to my SS1 by instinct, but figured WTF let's give the new rig a try.
Now I feel naked without it, but I only do AIR in it.
I agree with having two different feeling regs/mouthpieces to distinquish the two, also put surgical tape on the hose, but I plan a different colored hose in time. Clips to my BCD, but dangles perfectly to my side as well.
30, because you never have enough gas, plus at 6'2" I can handle the imbalance.

[Calif_Diver]

When I use a high 02 mix in the stage bottle I bag the second stage, that way you will not grab it and breath on it by mistake

I use a fitted mouth piece on my main tank and color on pony bottle second stage. I know if the fitted mouth piece isnt in i got the wrong one.

[shcubasteve]

Ill add $.02...
-for a BOB-
I used to mount my 19cf inverted with a Pony-Tamer much the same as others in this thread. After some hassle/enlightenment from the tec instructor, ive been convinced to keep it upright, valve open with the same mix as my back gas, second stage strung on a necklace.
-for deco dives-
AL40 slung on the left side, reg pressurized,valve shut, properly marked in appropriate places

[Southern Cross]

For spearfishing, I like a 19cf. pony strapped upright to the main tank. Kind of a pain on the boat, but I barely know it is there in the water. Second stage connected to BC via bright green velcro release. Just rip it and stick it in your mouth. I dive with valve open, and air flowing. You dont want to have to open it in a distress situation.