Bail-out , dual pony options

fltekdiver

Hi,

I'm was wondering, what are the options for bail-out, B/C , drysuit, on a Dolphin ?

I'm diving mostley 60' reefs here in Florida, and usalley carry a 13cf tank, slung under my arm, for bail-out.

I then use the other 13cf on the right side of my Dolphin, in the bag, and I connected my B/C , and drysuit hose to that one.

I do have a Air2 on my inflator , so I can bail off my primary gas as well, considering the tank mix, and MOD.

So I would really like to run just my alum 27cf tank, and one 13cf tank, the 27cf tank having the Air2 also.

Then I would like to run the B/C off of the main breathing tank also?

I would like to run my drysuit off the one 13cf tank, and also use it for bail out. That would elimate one 13cf tank.

Problem is, would I have enough gas to do a 1 hour dive, on a 60' reef, with a tank mix of 50% on a 60 orfice? 60 orfice is 5.8 LPM, Im not sure if I would drain the tank down using it for B/C inflation also? Also I do use the 50 orifce and 40 orfice, so that needs to be taken into consideration.

Or, do I keep my current configuration, which is 27cf tank for breathing gas, and Air2. One 14cf tank for B/C and Drysuit only. One 13cf tank for bail-out only. I'm trying to elimate the two 13cf tanks, and goto one, but I want to make sure I always have enough bail out, and enough B/C inflation.

I all ready made a mistake, and did 4 dives on the 13cf for B/C, and ran outta air for my B/C on the 4th dive , and had to shoot a lift bag, so now I carry a extra 13cf tank, and after 2 dives, I switch out for a fresh one for the next 2 dives that day.

what is everyone doing...... ?

Happy Holidays also !

firemandiver

Do a search for my other posts and you'll find several pages of info about dual ponies. I had the same concerns, and enlisted the help of the Rebreather World community for ideas and suggestions. My angle was a little different than yours, but the same basic principals should apply. You could take a setup similar to mine, 26 cf of air, and you should have plenty of air for dry suit inflation and bail out. If you're working, using lift bags and such, from a safety point of view you may want to consider a sepatare sling tank for the bags. Even a medium lift bag can drain your air supply quickly.Hope this helps, and if I can help out pm me. Thanks. FD.

escott

Firemans right, lots of good ideas on this forum for twin 13s. If you are going to do 4 dives a day, I would worry about a single 13, as I think you said you found out. I manually inflate my BC before entering and then end up using about 200psi each 45 min dive. So 2 dives is my limit on 1 13cf. tank. At 60 ft I feel comfortable about getting to the surface.
I dont think you would loose too much out of the standard tank feeding your inflator/air2, but you would have to pay strict attention to your mod since a bailout on the air2 would mean a 77ft mod. using a 50% mix at 1.6po2 limit. Alot of the east coast Fl. reef & wreck dives have at least 1 dive in the 70ft range so It might be limiting. As far as time goes though a standard 4l tank with a 60% orifice or 5.7lm is 133 min with a 500psi reserve. Dont forget the air you use on the prebreathe and +/- bag check .
Where in Fl do you do most of your diving? Used to live in Tampa.

Scott

fltekdiver

Hey Scott,

Thank you both for your replys.

I deceided to add a extra bag on the otherside, and for balance, and to have a deciated bail out, mount the other 13cf tank , so I'll have one 13cf for B/C and Drysuit, and the other strickley used for bail out if needed.

I mostley dive in West Palm, and the upper Keys.

I have a DSLR camera set up, with dual strobes, 8" dome port, so I got away from diving the wrecks, and sold my 3 sets of doubles etc, to buy the camera set up and Rebreather.

Now I mostley go where i can get the best shots, Christmas eve I was at Ginnie springs, and this weekend, Sat I plan on diving where ever i can get on a boat, probley WPB, with Pura Vida Divers

Are you on a Dolphin, and do you dive localley also?

I'm in Melbourne, so where ever the friends are heading to dive, i usalley end up.

We also have a 26' travel trailer, we pull around to dive outta.

You can see some of my UW pics, etc here:

Flickr: Photos from fltekdiver

If your ever looking for a dive buddy, let me know, it would be cool to dive with somone else on the same profiles, using the Dolphin

escott

Sounds like a plan,
The forum is the best place to pick up new ideas. Was doing the Springs in the Williston area Fri. before Christmas. Probably passed each other. Will PM you.
Scott

Freef

Rather than dual pony I use a 7L 232 bar tank sideslung for deco/bailout and drysuit. The wing is fed from the 3L in the sock at the side of the shell.

__________________
David.

Currently owner of two differently sized ankles.

tamorgen

I only use the 13 cu ft tank for BC/Drysuit inflation. There is no way I would trust that to get me to the surface from 130 ft, so I usually sling a 40 w/air for bailout/deco purposes, sometimes another 40 with O2 or 80% if I plan on going into deco. I'm considering getting rid of the bag and putting a hard mount so I could put a 19 cu ft on instead.

WD8CDH

Personaly, I would probably just hard mount a couple of 19s.

Rod Abbotson

Here I am with a 63 on the Dolphin and another 63 for bail out - plenty of gas for suit inffation etc although Im in a wetsuit here! being ali tanks they are nicely balanced.



Now this is the way to go for some deep air dives one 63 on the dolphin EANx30 on the 32 nozzle, 63 air for bail out and an EANx 50 for deco.

We took this to 200 ft with no problems! Not without an oxygauge though!