Air and cylinders and such.

[Martyn Ward]

Apologies(as always)if this has been covered before, but as I'm a thick tw*t, what do you expect?

I currently dive with either a single 12 or 15 and pony on a Glide 2000 bcd, diving anywhere from 5m to poss. 35m max, shore or rib's, ocassional hard boat, reefs, wrecks, whatever, just love getting wet.  

I foresee my diving becoming longer rather than deeper and have been giving a lot of thought to the amount of gas I'm carrying. I'm hoping to do a Nitrox course when I can get round to it.

I'm aware of the limitations of a 3 litre pony for deeper stuff, and would be happier with more capacity but not sure how.

I don't want to go down the twinset route because:
1. I can't justify the expense bearing in mind it wouldn't be used for most of the time,(twin 10's/12's in 5m anyone?)
2. If rib diving with no access to fills between dives....
3. Can't afford it, (self explanatry that one!)
4. Not flexible enough for my variety of sites.

I've been wondering about sticking with the singles and poss. buying a 232bar 7 litre which I could then use as either more(independent)gas for deeper stuff or as a "big pony", (?) for the longer stuff. This would then give me virtually the same capacity as twin 12's and 10's, and also retain the flexibility of singles on their own.

Does anyone dive this kind of rig and what are the options for mounting a 7? Can it be front slung as opposed to side slung?

Thanks all in advance.

[Dominic]

Somebody (I forget who) on either here or Dnet uses indy 7s - three of them. Takes two on the first dive, then takes the third with the most-full of the first two on the second dive.

Any use..?

[sch]

I have dived with a side slung 7 on a couple of times, along with a 10 or 12l, mainly when I've been teaching on a deepish site and I've not wanted to worry about a student gets a bit low on gas.

Never had any problems with it, and no noticeable difference to trim or balance.

[narked at 90]

my buddy uses 15lt and then i sold him a 5lt which is a realy nice size 7lt are good but are long,my buddy uses  the 5 as a pony and runs bc of main tank and dry suit off the 5lt which give you complete redundence of you bouyance as well as plenty of gas and he has no problems with balance and trim(he seems happy)
best regards narked aT 90

[JohnD]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Dominic @ Mar. 24 2004,20:58)]Somebody (I forget who) on either here or Dnet uses indy 7s - three of them. Takes two on the first dive, then takes the third with the most-full of the first two on the second dive.

Any use..?

<font color='#F52887'>I have started doing just that. I leave the SS bands on my wing and have a large plastic knob so that I can loosen them and take out the cylinders without removing the bands from the wing. I also use those same 7s for sideslungs that is why I use them independant. i have manifolded 12s for deeper stuff. dont front sling cylinders, i hate the idea of getting them off in a hurry, it is OK if you mount them with a rope harness or webbing because you can cut the rope in an emegency but do not front sling with all-metal connectors and clips.

[JohnD]

<font color='#F52887'>photo 1 of above setup.

[JohnD]

<font color='#F52887'>and 2......

[Narked@50]

I pretty much dive what you do now and have exactly the same opinions of the twin argument. I'm not after more gas, but if I were, what about 300bar versions of what you have?, you may even be able to swap with someone. All you would need &quot;extra&quot; would be the din fitting.

James &nbsp;

[Digger]

<font color='#000080'>I think a 5 would do you nicely. I've used my 6s as ponies before, and they're fine with singles, but it seems a bit big for a dive on a single 12 with a pony! If you've got 15s and 18s, or your SAC is high or prone to going skyward in stressful situations (mine used to be, but has come down considerably with time) then a slightly bigger tank could be a reasonable option.

As James suggested, you could get a 300 bar 3l, which would give youa &nbsp;bit more, but side and front mounting them can cause balance problems (John Gulliver tried this and didn't like it). I would suggest side over front mounts, keeps the chest area nice and clear, especially if you're teaching. I try and avoid sidemounts with newish students as it can cause confusion.

[bang-on]

<font color='#0000FF'>martyn,
if you own the 15ltr and the 10ltr then you could possibly use the 15 ltr on your bc and front sling the 10 ltr,if fitted tight into your waist area it is v.comfortable.
if you breath the 10 ltr down to 50'ish (bar) and then switch to the backmounted 15ltr for the ascent,then for your second dive bin the 10ltr and clip the 3 ltr to your 15ltr as your doing at present.
just a thought
cheers
barrie