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

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

Hi Everyone,

Had a great time today and got to enjoy the light again. Wasn't able to do an even 100fsw with it but did get as far as 97fsw...
I filmed a little and the video is processing right now as I type this. The light worked just fine again. I got home and washed it in fresh water and after drying it I opened it to check if there was any water or humidity inside and it is completely dry. So far so good!

I'll post the video in a little bit...

Peter

---------- Post added April 19th, 2015 at 01:37 AM ----------

[video=youtube;S4MGyU3Ky6g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4MGyU3Ky6g&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

[spoolin01]

The labeling on the switch looks like there should be several brightness levels when twisted counter-clockwise, but I only get two positions, and can't really tell much difference between them. The SOS position does flash the light when rotated clockwise...

I picked up an identical looking light from this eBay link:

5000LM 3*CREE XM-L T6 LED Diving Flashlight Torch Lamp Superbright Waterproof US

There seem to be 4 brightness levels, and 4 SOS sequences. You cycle through the 4 brightness levels by twisting left, then slightly back and left again, and so on. The SOSs are to the right.

A quick inspection seems to show a decently made light. The front lens seals by sitting against a silicone o-ring that sits in an annular groove just below the head's rim. That flat face seal seems a little sketchy to me, but for sure I'd check to make sure the ring that holds the lens down is screwed down well. The reflector is solid but just sits on the underlying emitter board. Though it seems fairly massive, it's not thermally connected to the torch body.

When I picked the reflector out with my fingernail, a thin broken o-ring fell out, that is a little less than the circumference of the base of the reflector, about the right size to fit around the perimeter of the three emitters. Maybe it's intended to stand the reflector off from the emitter board, but I didn't see where it came from. Does anyone else have that in their light?

Those front o-rings do seem odd, since the inside one clearly presents a lesser diameter to its mating surface than the one in front of it. I think I'll do some fresh water pressure tests w/o battery, before taking it diving.

 

[oldschoolto]

I don't have the battery yet... But I was thinking that about the switching of the on -off ring to get the other light settings.... Anyone try it ?

Jim..

 

[spoolin01]

I played with the switch a bit more. You can cycle through the 4 levels of brightness (and pause at any level) by moving the switch fully between the off and left-on positions four times (or just partially back to the off position, as well), if you make the on-off-on sequence each time in fairly quick succession. If you pause 1-2 seconds or more at the off position any time, it will default to the highest brightness on the next switch on.

I compared this light to a UK SL4 with a XP-G R5 P40 aftermarket drop-in module. The beam from this one is not nearly such a spot as that XP-G module, though the total field diameter appears similar. Up close the center spot is brighter than the XP-G, and perhaps as much as 3x as large (so, less of a spot). There appear to be three relatively distinct annular zones where the brightness falls off in steps, but no dark spots or asymmetry. For night use or perhaps even for video, I think this one might work well.

I checked current by taking the rear cap off and inserting an ammeter in series with the battery neg terminal. The 3x XM-L T6 read about 4.0A at the highest brightness, so maybe 1.3A per emitter, assuming they are in simple parallel arrangement. The XP-G R5 module drew 1.0A. Looking at the brightness vs current tables at this site, my subjective take on relative overall brightness seems in keeping with the numbers there. Even taking the Cree lumen numbers at face value, that would mean perhaps 1200-1300 lumen overall for this torch. I should say, what I don't know about LEDs and driver circuitry could fill a book, so I don't know how solid this reasoning is.

 

[oldschoolto]

Just got the batteries... This is one bright light... The switch works fine switching through the different modes... Only trouble... One stays on a little bit just a glow of the LED's... The other light just barely touching the switch and it's on.. Wrote to the seller and see what he will do... but even with the switch trouble it's a nice light... Just put the light on low power and dive....

Jim...

 

[redacted]

Yes, I realize that the 18650 is 8mm smaller diameter than the 26650 battery, but I didn't have any 26650's on hand and wanted to try the light. Since both are 65mm in length, I created a spacer to fill ~4mm around the battery and presumed that would center the 18650 enough. Apparently, that's insufficient, and was likely the reason for the testing failure..

.

You can buy an adapter to install a 18650 in a 26650 light but a piece of 3/4ths inch PVC pipe does the centering job quite nicely. I believe the advantage of the 18650 is there is much more demand for that size so they tend to be readily available with newest battery technologies at pretty good prices.

 

[BRT]

What run times are you getting?

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

Just got the batteries... This is one bright light... The switch works fine switching through the different modes... Only trouble... One stays on a little bit just a glow of the LED's... The other light just barely touching the switch and it's on.. Wrote to the seller and see what he will do... but even with the switch trouble it's a nice light... Just put the light on low power and dive....

Jim...

Hi Jim...

I also contacted the ebay seller. My light only has the 3 switch modes ON-OFF-SOS
When I put it on ON it is I think at it's brightest level and yes it is nice and very bright. SOS also works good. But since it is mentioned there are 8 switch modes and since I mentioned the light here I now feel "responsible" to contact the buyer and see what's up.

Still I am happy with the light since it is bright and I personally don't need the 8 switch modes. As long as the ON gives me a nice strong light I am good to go!


So I contacted the ebay seller and sent him a link to a small clip I posted on youtube and he told me he was contacting the manufacturer... Still waiting.


Does your flashlight only put out low light? If so I would exchange it and at least get one that is nice and bright. Again... even with the 3 switch modes and mine being very bright I am happy with it and thinking of ordering another one. Did you see the video of my dive with it this past weekend? I posted it on this thread above.


Here is my dorky video for the ebay seller: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cYNr-Solxw

---------- Post added April 23rd, 2015 at 10:55 PM ----------

What run times are you getting?

Hi BRT,

I did 2 dives with it last Saturday a 40 and a 30 minutes. After that I used it when I got home to unload the gear from my car to the garage for another 20 minutes or so and I have been using it around the house to close my chickens at night... I know I have done at least a little over 90 minutes on it. Still going... I am using the bigger battery.

---------- Post added April 23rd, 2015 at 11:08 PM ----------

Well... I just bought another one. My son also needs one! I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Peter

 

[marcushall]

You can buy an adapter to install a 18650 in a 26650 light but a piece of 3/4ths inch PVC pipe does the centering job quite nicely. I believe the advantage of the 18650 is there is much more demand for that size so they tend to be readily available with newest battery technologies at pretty good prices.

Yea, I figured that there were adapters available, but it would probably take about as long as getting the 26650 batteries themselves. That's what I ultimately wanted to be using, because of the extra capacity, but since I had the 18650s in hand, I wanted to come up with a quick way to test the flashlight. My paper roll solution did work eventually, just with being careful when putting things together. Cute trick with the 3/4" PVC though, I'll have to remember that!

Just got the 26650 batteries in yesterday, and they seem to work great in the light. After reading here on how to get to them, I am also able to get to 3 more brightness levels and 3 more flashing cadences. It's slightly awkward cycling to off then back to on, but that does move to the next setting. I do have two detents in the on and flash position, and they seem to not make any difference. I'll have to play with it a little bit more...

Quite happy with it, especially for the low price! Unfortunately, still no dive testing yet (but last week's snow is starting to seriously melt..) Soon.. Probably pressure chamber testing before diving, though..

 

[kelemvor]

I'd expect closer to 3k lumens from that light. It's got three Cree XM-L2 LED's. According to Cree, that LED only puts out 1198 lumens max and 1052 at 10w power. I just ordered one too.