Dive light from E-Bay -- Great buy!!!

[cool_hardware52]

Tobin, I do agree but looking at the O rings that come on some of the lights there is sometimes no consistency between the o rings and even within each o ring there are diameter differences as you go along the circumference that are visible even to the human eye.

Craig, I'm not suggesting you leave the original oring in place, just be careful selecting a replacement. As a machinist I know Orings usually work quite well, if the groove is designed properly, is within tolerance, has good surface finish, and is free of burrs. Unfortunately low cost, high volume machining typical of sub $20 products often muffs a couple of those.

Tobin

 

[Omisson]

As has been said- checking the seals is a good idea. The lights are usually overrated in output and they often don't know the beam angle. What are all the "modes" power? Flash? Wide and near angles?

But for the price you can experiment....

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

Is it more of a flood light or has a pretty tight hotspot underwater?

The eBay listing had only above water shots of the light.

Well... I only took it in the pool... so I'll have to let you know. But the hotspot is strong and reaches pretty far.

---------- Post added April 4th, 2015 at 01:10 PM ----------

I will take it for a dive soon and if it crashes I get my money back! But I went over it and to me it looks like it is well built... double orings on all parts and magnetic switch.
Worth the try.

 

[jimbeeler]

I also just purchased a similar offering using the same logic as Fiddler. 5000 Lumen 3X CREE XM L2 LED Scuba Diving Flashlight Torch Waterproof Light | eBay I paid $22.50. I haven't even picked up batteries for it yet, but will soon. I am still very skeptical that it will deliver anywhere close to the rated light output or that it will actually prove to be waterproof - but $22.50 - I've gambled larger sums on less rewards.

Good point about salt water in the battery case, Craig.

I have one of these... I love the slide switch... Works well. Two drawbacks: 1. The output is very usable but not what advertised. 2. It will drain the batteries if you leave them in the light with it turned off. I suspect, the switch doesn't turn it completely off and there's a slight drain. I just unscrew the cap until I go in the water.

Jim

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

UPDATE 04/09/2015

Took the torch for a dive down to 70 feet today! So far so good. Nice strong hotspot and tight enough for me (IMHO).
Got home and washed it in fresh water and opened it to check and it was nice and dry on the inside.

So far well worth the $26 all day!

Peter

 

[oldschoolto]

I ordered two of them... Now, What battery should I get for the highest output ? Any name brand I should be looking for... Would like to get the most bang for the bucks.. Hate to buy a crappy battery that will not charge after a few times...

And the light is well made , The only thing is the threads were a little rough and they cleaned up nice with a buffing wheel... Can't wait to dive it...

Jim...

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

Hi Jim,

I went to radioshack and got two DE 26650 batteries. (deworld.com)
They say you can use 2 types of batteries... 26650 or 18650. Stay away from the 18650! They do not fit well.

The 26650 batteries fit perfect and give you a lot more mAh

RadioShack also has a universal charger for them.

I don't know if these where the best quality batteries I could get, I read some good things about the company and their products and the price was right for my budget.
I dove and charged them a few times already and I have had no problem with them draining to fast yet. They seem to last a good time.

Keep us posted on your torch... So far I got no complaints about mine and I too am happy with their quality so far.

Peter

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

Here is the light after a few dives and with the extras I added to it. Bungee, etc...

 

[marcushall]

Well, I took a chance with this, and the light that I received seems to have a problem. It actually does work pretty well, but only when the head-end is just barely threaded onto the body. If I tighten it all the way down (or even half the way down), it won't work. It looks like the spring in the head end is flexing a joint on the circuit board or something. When I hook it up to my bench power supply, I can only get it to flicker a bit.

Working to send it back / exchange it currently. The seller's reply "Ask your friends how to work it"..

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

Did you get it on ebay from the link I posted? Mine is working properly! What battery are you using? 26650 or 18650? The 18650 battery doesn't work well on it.
If you got it on e-bay you are covered, get an exchange...