My Homebuilt Dive Light (Pimped Up)

teomannaskali

Here are some pictures of a dive light i built recently.

It has Lead acid batteries about 6Ah at 12V and a 50W halogen 13 degree beam.


There is also an array of blue leds inside the cannister. There are to pimp it up a bit and so that buddies can easily notice.

The housing is made of 2 delrin caps that have 2 barrel type orings and one compression oring each. And the main part of the housign consists of a plexiglass tube 90-100mm(R) and 250mm length.

The swithcing on and off happens with a magnetic swithch taht i made (modified). Pictures of that maybe later.

The pictures are bit crappy as it was a mobile phone and no flash, some at night. The light is not complete as there will be some other bits to secure it somewhere. (Not me in the pictures)

Hope you like it. The whole project cost about 150Usd plus 15 hours of my life. And this is just an initial project if it doesnt work too well. LIon and LED lighting are considered.

Teoman

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eXile

Teo, that looks really good. Why not try what I have been playing round with and run the halogen light at 14 or more volts. It may use a lot more power but the light is far whiter and penetrates the water better.

Regards,
Paul

divingtoors

Hi

I used a 12V 34W halogen light, which I ran at 18V. (3 x 6V 4.0AH batteries connected in series)

Heat was not a problem as I only used it under water.
The light was as bright as a 10W HID (for at least 40min) but then faded quickly..

So for a "normal" wreck dive, it was plenty.
The PITA was the recharging every night....

Your light looks really good

Regards

Johan

__________________
"..Recreational scuba training has developed the denial of risk into an art form...."
( Larry "Harris" Taylor, Ph.D.)

"The closer you are to danger, the further you are from harm" - Pippin Took (Hobbit)

USSMEG

I've got a light I've finished and will be showing soon.

I do love the LED's, but I think it would have been better to set them up as a LED battery indicator, like the Mako's use. I should patent it as used in a dive light ROFL.


Later Paul

teomannaskali

I am currently using Lead acid. I will look at the form factors of available batteries if i can fit 3x6V cells inside. But at 50W the thing will be drained pretty quickly.

The caps i machined fit rather tightly (fear of leaks). So what I do is i remove the bulb and charge the light from bulb socket. Seems to work nicely for now. But i know that there can be H2 buildup in the cannister. So i should vent it every couple of dives.


The switch is interesting for me. The way the dive light works is this, you have a magnet attached via rubber band to the cannister. When you remove this the light switches on. And burns untill dead, or you put back the magnet. This way there is no way that the switch craps out underwater or causes any leaks. THe mechanism consists of a limit switch with a magnet soldered on.

While charging the LED's are lit.

Battery indicator is a great idea. however there are no electronics inside, it is dead simple.

ill post underwater pictures when i get to go in the water.

Teoman

teomannaskali

What did you guys fabricate for the switch?

Teoman

Packhorse

Check out Osrams IRC and Philips masterline ES series halogens. They are very efficent (for halogens). 35w is the same as a standard 50w.
I much preffer a narrow spot like 8 deg. It gives you so much more penetration.

I think you will find that your SLA's will not last long. They dont like being drained flat. So they may be rated at 6amp hour but you can really only use 2/3rds of that.
I use a magnet and reed switch that operates a relay for my light. Very reliable and simple.
It has a 5amp hour Nicad pack with a 35w bulb and it gives me enough for 2 or even 3 dives. But that is only using the light when needed.
My current project is a 10w HID with a 12v 4.5 Ah NiMh battery pack.

__________________
There are no stupid questions, but there are a LOT of inquisitive idiots.

Tautaz

Hi


did you thought about Seoul P4 or P7 Led chips for your project instead of halogen. They are not as cheap as halogen but more stronger and less power draining. Light is a bit blue white. I made one with 3 P4 in a maglite head, eq to 10w HID in light effect.

BTW I'm looking for a cable gland in NPT thread (impossible to get easy in France) for a 10mm cable, if someone could help me

Cheers.




David

Mikel-Deko

Hi
I will put in contact with Tauchen - Cave, Nitrox, Rebreather Ausbildung, Tec Ausrüstung, Reisen
He has some cable glands and cable ...
Martin is a very helpfull man, send him a email and sure he will help you.
Best
Mikel

__________________
Mikel-Deko
Basque Country
www.olatu.net

"DIR is the nanny state for divers who cannot think on their own" Ron Micjan

divingtoors

Hi

I have tried LED, but without great sccess.
The [roblemis we cant get the really strong and bright LED's here in South Afica
Have yougot schematics on the building and soldering of the LED's?
Who are thesuppliers for the LED's?

Reards

Johan

__________________
"..Recreational scuba training has developed the denial of risk into an art form...."
( Larry "Harris" Taylor, Ph.D.)

"The closer you are to danger, the further you are from harm" - Pippin Took (Hobbit)