Mother of all scuba lights

[jtivat]

Yes, this has been tested by a UK Salvo dealer who threw a Li-ion battery pack into a bucket of water. Nothing happened except obviously it didn't work any more. A diver in (I believe) Singapore had a Salvo Li-ion battery explode inside the canister and burn his hand but I don't recall what the cause of the failure was..

Ya I have a buddy that didn't screw his Sartek can light in all the way. It was a 10watt with Li Ion battery the light stayed on to about 100'. At the time we did not know what caused the light failure so we continued the dive, this was a wreck dive so he was not able to go inside the wreck but could still do the dive without light. The wreck was the Florida in Presque Isle MI. this wreck is 200' so not only was the pack exposed to water but some serious pressure as well. Nothing happened to the pack except it had to be sent to Sartek for repair. This was done free of charge by the way.

 

[steve6690]

Yes, this has been tested by a UK Salvo dealer who threw a Li-ion battery pack into a bucket of water. Nothing happened except obviously it didn't work any more. A diver in (I believe) Singapore had a Salvo Li-ion battery explode inside the canister and burn his hand but I don't recall what the cause of the failure was..

Found the link : http://www.direxplorers.com/general-diving-forum/5879-salvo-li-ion-battery-explosion.html#post60938

 

[clint357]

Hey I've got a deal for you. I am making some lights right now that I think would be awesome for diving. I made one dive light for a guy I know with a single P7 and a 2.5 hr burn time. I'll post pics later, but I'm working on a triple P7 dive light right now if you're interested.

 

[clint357]

I am not familiar with this incident, but if it burned his hand, it sounds as if it might have been while it was out of the water, rather than during use. Problems with Li-Ion cells occur when a cell has been over-discharged, and is then recharged at too fast a rate. This is most common when the cells are configured in series (or series-parallel, such as 3s2p etc) and after several cycles they go out of balance. One cell is discharged way below the others during use, never catches up on subsequent charges, and eventually it reverse charges in use, then overheats and blows during the next charge. This can be prevented by properly balance-charging the cells, or charging them individually every 5 cycles or so.

It's a detailed subject which is definitely worth reading up on if you use Li-Ion cells - you'll find a lot more info about this in the Batteries section. Properly used and looked after, Li-Ion cells are actually extremely safe.

I have been using smart chargers and Li-Ion cells with built-in pcb's so they will take care of themselves. I also seal my batteries in an aluminum box that is filled with a thermally conductive epoxy. This makes the battery box a solid unit, so when the battery dies, the whole box is trash but there is almost infinite protection against water damage to the battery.

 

[crestgel]

clint357, got the pics yet?

 

[wquiles]

I hope members here (and the moderator) find this acceptable, but since the thread is about the mother of all scuba lights, and since I just finished a special 3x MC-E diving light for Javier (Barbolight), I though I would simply post a link to the build (post #1 - LOTs of pictures - no 56K modems please), and the night beamshots (post #2):

build:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/232273

beamshots:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2960583&postcount=2


The light was designed for relatively short runs, not as the primary light (as the runtimes would be approximately 20-30min), but it is giving out close to 2300-2500 lumens, and as you can see by the beamshots, this thing is very bright, and has a fairly wide beam with some decent trow.


I also have done a single P7 version on the same diving-proof host:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/222258

and another version with a single MC-E:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/222258


Will

 

[DM51]

Thanks Will, those links are very welcome and useful here.

 

[Barbarin]

I still have some "Bombproof hosts". If it is interest, I would be happy to give them a second chance in life.

Maybe shortening their bodies it would be possible to make some great light heads for umbilical concepts... I'm sure Will could help you.

Javier