Guys:
I recently got an email from SCUBA.com about the discontinuation of the OMS BCA-298 canister. If you guys have been following some of my builds, I started using those for battery canisters a year or so ago and they proved to be a great off-the-shelf alternative for those of us doing canister light builds. Now that they are discontinued, I am forced to come up with something so I can continue building my canister lights.
I have contacted a machine shop to do a production run of canisters for me. They will be made with the same materials as the OMS and will have some changes to make can light building easier. Here are the changes:
Here are the changes:
1. The inside hole in the caps will be 1.85". This will allow an 8-cell 18650 battery pack to sit in the cap, allowing for more space up top for the connector. I was actually doing this on my lathe to the OMS.
2. The caps will have 1/4" more thickness at the top. This will allow for the installation of the switch without any spacers. I used a switch nut to bring the switch down a bit so the switch boot would tighten down all the way. The extra thickness will give me enough "meat" to drill out a hole for installing magnets on the caps as well. I can then use Taskled hall effect latching switch in the heads. Just swipe the head over the cap an light comes on and off...
3. The inside hole of the caps will be 1/8" deeper so that the switch will fit in there flush.
4. As a result of the additional thickness and depth, the caps will be about 3/8" thicker which will make the canister 3/4" longer.
This is a good news bad news scenario. Soon, I will have a good option for can light builders. Unfortunately, I cannot sell these as cheap as the OMS, although still a great option. Selling price for these will be $80 unmodded. A full turn key canister will be $150. Price will depend on whether you want a magnet for a latching hall effect switch or a rubber boot and toggle switch. The magnets will decrese the price a bit and will be mounted inside the cap. A hole will be drilled inside the cap, magnets stacked in it and JB weld or some sort of "glue" will be used to retain the magnets in place.
Thanks
Hector
I recently got an email from SCUBA.com about the discontinuation of the OMS BCA-298 canister. If you guys have been following some of my builds, I started using those for battery canisters a year or so ago and they proved to be a great off-the-shelf alternative for those of us doing canister light builds. Now that they are discontinued, I am forced to come up with something so I can continue building my canister lights.
I have contacted a machine shop to do a production run of canisters for me. They will be made with the same materials as the OMS and will have some changes to make can light building easier. Here are the changes:
Here are the changes:
1. The inside hole in the caps will be 1.85". This will allow an 8-cell 18650 battery pack to sit in the cap, allowing for more space up top for the connector. I was actually doing this on my lathe to the OMS.
2. The caps will have 1/4" more thickness at the top. This will allow for the installation of the switch without any spacers. I used a switch nut to bring the switch down a bit so the switch boot would tighten down all the way. The extra thickness will give me enough "meat" to drill out a hole for installing magnets on the caps as well. I can then use Taskled hall effect latching switch in the heads. Just swipe the head over the cap an light comes on and off...
3. The inside hole of the caps will be 1/8" deeper so that the switch will fit in there flush.
4. As a result of the additional thickness and depth, the caps will be about 3/8" thicker which will make the canister 3/4" longer.
This is a good news bad news scenario. Soon, I will have a good option for can light builders. Unfortunately, I cannot sell these as cheap as the OMS, although still a great option. Selling price for these will be $80 unmodded. A full turn key canister will be $150. Price will depend on whether you want a magnet for a latching hall effect switch or a rubber boot and toggle switch. The magnets will decrese the price a bit and will be mounted inside the cap. A hole will be drilled inside the cap, magnets stacked in it and JB weld or some sort of "glue" will be used to retain the magnets in place.
Thanks
Hector
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