pony and 12L or single 15L?

[diverj]

hi
i am a newly signed off ocean diver and will hopefully start training for sports diver and dive to deeper depths (hopefully to see some great stuff)
i am not bad on air but still feel that a single 12 will not b sufficient.
should i purchase a 15l or buy a 3l pony and regs?

[Nick Argue]

hi
i am a newly signed off ocean diver and will hopefully start training for sports diver and dive to deeper depths (hopefully to see some great stuff)
i am not bad on air but still feel that a single 12 will not b sufficient.
should i purchase a 15l or buy a 3l pony and regs?

It's actually two seperate issues, as the pony is for bale out/emergency use only, not to give you the same capacity as diving with a 15. Wait until you've done the ST5 lecture Air Planning and System and then make a decision.

Good luck with the training!

HTH

Nick

[diverj]

thanks nick
Wait until you've done the ST5 lecture Air Planning and System and then make a decision.
ill take this into account
jamie

[Matt-75]

The 15L gives you more air, where as the 3L pony gives you a completely independent air source to get you back to the surface in one piece.

So the breakdown is:

15L - Primary air runs out due to some circumstance, pray your buddy is really good at OOA drills, and isnt to far away. Of course if you are 6m to 10m down its not majorly complicated, you can do an emergency ascent and do some oxygen therapy depending on how long you were down for, but its best avoided.

12L + 3L Pony - Primary air runs out due to some circumstance, pray your buddy is really good at OOA drills or simply grab your reg on your pony, switch to it, breathe, relax, grab your buddy and go topside at a leisurely rate that doesnt cause you any probs.

You should never need the pony under normal circumstances, but its better to be safe than sorry.

But like everyone else says, wait for ST5, chances are you wont be doing anything to strenuous diving wise until then, and the chances are your instructors will be tagging along with your buddy pairs until you get to SD anyway.

[MarkA]

As others have said
The pony is for bale out only

The lecture on air requirments will not give any more info on what you need as it only gives you the principle behind calculating air requirements. It uses a model of 25litres which is fine but does not fit everyone. If you find you require more air and will feel more comfortable with a 15l go for it. As the price between a 15l and a 12l is minimal why not have a 15l with a pony then you have both options covered (extra air and redundancy)

[Josepherely]

Problem is that a "pony" won't get you far, so yes it is independt, no it doesn't have much air. If you have any deco even worse or get complications on an ascent :mad: Deeper = twins
Joe

[Gordon]

Way I would do it:

Get a 12.
See how you get on (you will breathe less as you dive more).
If its good, think about another 12 for the second dive of the day.
If you still need more air, look at a 15 and keep the 12 for the second dive.
Do a few dives, then look at a pony.
If you start doing stuff deeper than 30/35m regularly - twins.

Gordon

[tezrez]

neither buy twin sevens manifolded


hi
i am a newly signed off ocean diver and will hopefully start training for sports diver and dive to deeper depths (hopefully to see some great stuff)
i am not bad on air but still feel that a single 12 will not b sufficient.
should i purchase a 15l or buy a 3l pony and regs?

[AndyDavis]

Two things are likely to happen with your air consumption over the coming years. Firstly, your air consumption will decrease at any set depth as you become more relaxed in the water with experience. Secondly, as you gain more experience, you are likely to wish to venture on deeper dives, where you will use more air.......

So, you have 3 choices. Firstly, buy a 12 litre cylinder, which will suit you now but may not be sufficient for deeper dives at a later date. Secondly, buy a 15 litre cylinder that may be too much now, but will allow you to dive to an intermediate depth later on. Thirdly, get a twinset (2x10 or 2x12) to allow LOADS of air and the option of progressing into deep & decompression diving in due course.

Either way, the pony is not used in your gas calculations. It is for back-up purposes only. It should never be a top-up of your main cylinder, as you should still finish with the proper reserve in your main tank. It's use comes when you have a free-flow or other malfuntion that leaves you without gas from your main supply.

One possible option for you would be to opt for a 12l and pony. As your diving evolves, you could always buy a second 12l tank and use both tanks to form a twinset. Then you wouldn't need a pony as a redundant air source, but could happily put it to a new use as a rich mix (nitrox 40) deco cylinder.