Adding pony

[sleaford_diver]

Just a quick question if I add a pony cylinder etc to my 15l tank will I be able to remove any weight from my weight belt or would I need to add some. How much does a 3l pony weight etc

Cheers
Andy

[Paul Evans]

Take 1 KG off for a steel 3l, well thats what I did

[MATTBIN]

Absolutely not!!!! Despite the previous answer.
Lets assume you are correctly weighted at present i.e. you can hold a stop at 3/5/6m (your choice) with minimal gas in your tank, say 30bar, suddenly you lose the 30bar, your main tank is now bouyant, hopefully you will have added a little so you dont rise in the water. Now you start to use your pony and that slowly but surely becomes bouyant too, you wont be able to hold your stop.
In fact you will need to ADD a little to your belt so you counteract the pony's bouyancy IF/WHEN you need to use it.
But to be totally sure do a proper weight check with an empty main tank (say 10/15bar) and breathe down the pony, in shallow water obviously, have a mate nearby with a spare rig, just in case. Do this as a second dive not at the end of the main dive, so if you do pop to the surface it wont be a catastrophe.

Matt

[MartyC]

Yep, what George says, DOH, sorry what MATTBIN says, get rid of the bl##dy avatar will you

[aclivity]

Originally Posted by MATTBIN

Absolutely not!!!! Despite the previous answer.
Lets assume you are correctly weighted at present i.e. you can hold a stop at 3/5/6m (your choice) with minimal gas in your tank, say 30bar, suddenly you lose the 30bar, your main tank is now bouyant, hopefully you will have added a little so you dont rise in the water. Now you start to use your pony and that slowly but surely becomes bouyant too, you wont be able to hold your stop.
In fact you will need to ADD a little to your belt so you counteract the pony's bouyancy IF/WHEN you need to use it.

Matt

echo Matt's comment, also bear in mind that you MAY wish to hand the pony and regs off to a buddy in some situations; you would not want to become underweighted.

[Paul Evans]

Technically Matt is correct however try it with a 3l steel in fresh water with 40bar in it, reg attached and a metal clamp. I did. It sunk

However

If you have taken the 15l to 30 bar on the bottem you are in trouble. PERIOD.

The 3 litre should get you out BEFORE it goes boyant, if you are useing a pony to extend your dive time you are fooling yourself, get a twinset.

Or a breather

[sleaford_diver]

Im not sure if am going to get said pony cylinder. I just wanted it for emergencies on ascents or if buddy needs a bit of air on ascent, not as you said to extend dive times.
Thanks for the help everyone

[MATTBIN]

Originally Posted by sleaford_diver

Im not sure if am going to get said pony cylinder. I just wanted it for emergencies on ascents or if buddy needs a bit of air on ascent, not as you said to extend dive times.
Thanks for the help everyone

That could open a can of worms, personally I always dive with a "get out of jail" second supply. I wouldnt do a dive without a twinset or pony.

Paul - we agree on when/why a pony is being used, but it could be during the stop/ascent when the main goes bang and you may need all the gas the pony can deliver as your sac goes a tad high. And as the op said he may want to give it to his buddy if he drops weight off the belt he could well be underweighted because of that.
Having said that if it works for you and you have tested it then fine.

Matt

[chrisch]

Twin 7s. Its the way forward baby.....

Chris

[DIVE BUDDHA]

i would if anything keep the same weight but maybe shift a little weight to the oposite side to your pony should u feel it pulling u to one side !

unless ur pony bracket allows u to get your pony up against ur back plate on your bcd in which case it wont matter

keep the same weight for definate

best wishes and safe diving leigh