Are all HID's the basically the same?

[GDI]

Perrone and Ben made some good points here.

I was asked in a PM why I liked the Salvo 21 w and opted not to have a 35 w. Well the cost for the 35 is a bit higher. But I target the light for its burn time and brightness. The 21 w i have are getting me up to 7 hrs. I find the Salvo lights to be rugged and dependable. I do have some DR lights (10 w) and they did me fine. As for back ups I have Salvo and pelican again I find the burn time and durability as well as warranty support to be a factor in selecting lights ( manufacturer) and light models. As already said there are many choices and different costs. Review what will work for you and is within your budget. Consider also warranty, burn times, durability and ruggedness

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

Gotcha.

You could always buy another/the appropriate (if buying new) battery too. Then you'd have full intensity on all 3 dives. Either way, there's a ton of choices, which is always good.

Good point... I just prefer not to open the light in the field. It increases the chances of getting a leak by getting some sand on the o-ring. (And, since my old light was almost 5 years old, I just kinda wanted a new light.)

The 35W runs for almost exactly 4 hours. (I've tested it already.) So I can get a full day of diving on one charge and recharge overnight. Then I have the 18W as a back up, or for a second day of diving, if I can't get a recharge for some reason - like camping at Ginnie.

The biggest mistake I made was selling my 10W after I upgraded to 18W. This time I'm going to keep the 18W as a spare.

 

[TSandM]

I have the Salvo 21W with the 4.5 ah battery (it comes with two). That way, I can use the first battery, which has a burn time of a little over 2 hours, and leave the second one for the next dive (for caves -- for open water, I get two dives off one battery). The used battery can be hooked up to the charter and, via an inverter, to the car battery, so if I need a third dive on a fresh one, I've got it. This approach has worked very well for me.

 

[willardj]

I have the Salvo 21W with the 4.5 ah battery (it comes with two). That way, I can use the first battery, which has a burn time of a little over 2 hours, and leave the second one for the next dive (for caves -- for open water, I get two dives off one battery). The used battery can be hooked up to the charter and, via an inverter, to the car battery, so if I need a third dive on a fresh one, I've got it. This approach has worked very well for me.

You should be able to get 2 dives in Fl. per batt. at the Intro level. Most Intro/basic dives are about an hour or less.

 

[kuster500]

Good point... I just prefer not to open the light in the field. It increases the chances of getting a leak by getting some sand on the o-ring.

That's one of the great things about the SOLUS light through case charging, so you don't need to open it in the field. I was told the burn time for the 50% is around 5+ hours, about 2.5 hours at 100%. I can't see myself doing more than a 4 hour dive Talk to Edd at Cave Adventurers if you are interested...

 

[OneBrightGator]

Good point... I just prefer not to open the light in the field. It increases the chances of getting a leak by getting some sand on the o-ring.

I can appreciate that, I don't like opening mine in the back of my truck where a little water is the only issue. You might look into selling your 18w and getting a Salvo 10w handheld, they are SWEET and easy to carry on a dive as a backup primary.

 

[OneBrightGator]

You should be able to get 2 dives in Fl. per batt. at the Intro level. Most Intro/basic dives are about an hour or less.

You wouldn't plan to exit on the last breath, don't plan to exit on the last electron, either. Plan your burntime like you plan your gas.

 

[piikki]

I have the Salvo 21W with the 4.5 ah battery (it comes with two). That way, I can use the first battery, which has a burn time of a little over 2 hours, and leave the second one for the next dive (for caves -- for open water, I get two dives off one battery). The used battery can be hooked up to the charter and, via an inverter, to the car battery, so if I need a third dive on a fresh one, I've got it. This approach has worked very well for me.

Excuse my HID ignorance... but if you have this setup for two divers traveling in one car in the boonies, can you set up the charging so that you can charge two batts simultaneously for an extra dive? (Without any extensive Frankerigging)

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

I have the Salvo 21W with the 4.5 ah battery (it comes with two). That way, I can use the first battery, which has a burn time of a little over 2 hours, and leave the second one for the next dive (for caves -- for open water, I get two dives off one battery). The used battery can be hooked up to the charter and, via an inverter, to the car battery, so if I need a third dive on a fresh one, I've got it. This approach has worked very well for me.

2 hours isn't enough runtime for me. At minimum, it would leave me having to do something with the light after every dive. That's unacceptable to me. I would go with lower wattage before I go that route. That's just me though...

BTW... I've noticed that without the vehicle running, most of my electronics don't charge fully from an inverter due to the lower voltage. How's that work for you?

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

That's one of the great things about the SOLUS light through case charging, so you don't need to open it in the field. I was told the burn time for the 50% is around 5+ hours, about 2.5 hours at 100%. I can't see myself doing more than a 4 hour dive Talk to Edd at Cave Adventurers if you are interested...

That is a cool feature... one every light should have, but it's a done deal for me already.