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Very interesting post, but I have a few questions. You keep counting the Pony as "part of your gas supply". I think in this case, it is not considered like that really. It is considered more as an emergency supply which allows you to get back to the surface safely. Let me back up a little. The reason I have considered getting a pony is because I do end up doing a lot of solo diving, mostly because of Rule #1. I rarely go below 90fsw, but it does happen. I am a little concerned that if I should experience a complete failure of my air supply at that depth and on an exhale, I might have a problem. Also, I like to make a 15 foot 3 min stop on the way up. The dives I do are often from tanks that the boat supplies, and I am never very far from the boat. My safe haven really is the surface, in case of any problem, but I don't want to have to shoot up to it like a bat out of hell from 110 feet with no stop. In this case do you think a Pony is an adequate solution? >A pony bottle does not allow you to get into that part of your supply >unwittingly so that it actually functions much like the old J valve by >warning you of low gas supplies. Useful if you tend to run out of gas >by surprise, in which case you should certainly not be diving solo or >deep. If you have a partner and are following Rule #1 why do you >need a pony bottle when he is functioning as your spare air bearer ? >The pony bottle and the isolation manifolded twins cover the >catastrophic loss of gas by burst disc or O'ring failure where the Y or H >valve does not. But the odds of this failure become greater in the pony >than the primary tank by the time one would need it for a safe ascent. >A pony bottle can be handed off to another diver in an emergency >making management of the situation easier and safer in many cases. >It also allows a diver responsible for a group to provide gas to an out >of air diver and still retain the ability to manage the group. > >A pony bottle is easy to take on a trip, but a Y valve is even easier - >just put it on the tank you'll be using for the week. (I bought a >complete isolated manifold and bands to make twins out of 80's or >63's wherever I go). > The reason the "spare air" is scoffed at is because it fails to do this - >you are still having to run for the surface though you have a better >chance of making it if you happened to exhale just before you lost >your gas or are choking / coughing due to aspired water. Paul Braunbehrens mailto:Bakalite@ba*.co* http://www.daw-mac.com Mailing list for digital audio on the mac -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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