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RLatulip@ao*.co* writes: > Thursday, Aug 22, 1996 03:03 PM > ------------------------------------------------- > How Ya Doin' jjackson@mh*.sb*.co* > > >I like the safety of knowing that I have the extra gas for a slow ascent and > >safety stop if my main system goes. I like the redundancy. I do most of my > >diving alone, so I don't have a buddy to rely on. At least not right there > >When I need him. I used to use the 13, but I found that didn't give me > enough > >margin for a slow ascent and a long stop if I was coming up from >100'. > Maybe > >I am just overly paranoid. > > >What do you suggest for redundancy/safety when diving without a buddy > nearby? > > >Jeff > > I have never felt the need to bring a pony when doing 130' or above open > water dives. What you are doing is carrying a redundant gas supply, you can > do this for peace of mind. The number one reason of gas loss in open water > diving is failure to monitor the SPG. This is not to say that you will not > have a regulator fail but then you could isolate the primary and octo by > using an H-valve on the tank. You say you found that the 13 did'nt give you > enough margin for the slow ascent??? Does this mean you have incorporated the > gas in the pony into your dive plan. If so then it is no longer an emergency > backup system and you are pushing bottom times because you figure you have > the gas. Just wondering! Well, I have on occassion been a baaaaad boy and relied on my pony bottle for my acent (breathing my main bottle down to 500 or less). I have worked hard on not allowing myself to do this as I do realize that I then no longer have a safe second. I like to take a full five-minute safety stop, and I have once or twice tried to do a slow ascent from ~100fsw on the pony and found it held *just* enough gas for the ascent and the stop. This led me to think that if something were to keep me in the water too long and I ended up with a ceiling, I wouldn't have enough gas to complete my deco. So I decided to get a 30cuft pony (actually, I haven't purchased it yet as I just sold the 13). I know that eventually my gas consumption rate and my knowledge of deco theory will improve and I won't need to get into all this siliness, but until I get more dives and more training under my belt, I like the added margin of safety. There has been very little response to this post, so I don't know if I am being ignored because I am just too naive (sp?) or whether nobody has any experience with this. I am interested in knowing how others deal with redundancy outside a cave or wreck. Jeff. -- +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | jjackson@se*.sb*.co* | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Anytime I see something screech across a room and latch onto someone's | | neck, and the guy screams and tries to get it off, I have to laugh, | | because what is that thing? --Jack Handey | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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