Diving with a light - Newbie questions

[divebomb]

Hey, I just bought a bunch of equipment from a dive master who is quitting for health reasons. One of the items was a UK1200 dive light. I have several questions...

1) Is this a pretty good light for diving?
2) I want to replace the O-Ring but it's an older model. Does anyone know if the O-Rings for any of the new UK models will fit it?
3) This honker weighs 4 pounds with batteries. Should I take 4 pounds out of my weight belt to compensate?
4) When diving with the light, where am I supposed to put it? Cinched around my wrist? Carabinered onto my BC? Other?

Thanks for all the help!

Beck

 

[Gator Diver]

Sorry cant help you with questions 1 & 2
but

3) You now have 4 pounds thta you did not
have before so you should remove some weight

4) My LDS says the best place for a light
is in your gear box.....actually he reccommends
clipping it to a Dring unless night diving then
obviously keeping it in your hand

 

[rab]

divebomb once bubbled...
Hey, I just bought a bunch of equipment from a dive master who is quitting for health reasons. One of the items was a UK1200 dive light. I have several questions...

1) Is this a pretty good light for diving?

I don't know, but my UK C-8 seems pretty good.

2) I want to replace the O-Ring but it's an older model. Does anyone know if the O-Rings for any of the new UK models will fit it?

Sounds like a question for your LDS or for UK

3) This honker weighs 4 pounds with batteries. Should I take 4 pounds out of my weight belt to compensate?

Weight alone means NOTHING. It's the light's buoyancy that you need to know. If it floats, you might need more weight. Chances are that it sinks, but possibly not enough to remove ditchable weight.

4) When diving with the light, where am I supposed to put it? Cinched around my wrist? Carabinered onto my BC? Other?

On a wrist lanyard would be a good choice. You don't want to lose it if it slips or is kicked by a stray fin. If it is still usable when clipped to your BC, then that could work, too -- you might have to try a few configurations (possibly on a single dive) to see what works best for you.

Thanks for all the help!

Beck

You're welcome,

-Rob

 

[Big-t-2538]

divebomb once bubbled...
Carabinered onto my BC? Other?

Drop all thoughts of using a carabiner for anything right now.

I don't want to sound like an ass, but all they are is trouble waiting to happen....if you would like a story, PM me...but I am opposed to "death clips" at all costs.

O.K...back to the light...UK is a pretty popular brand, and someone out there sells an o-ring for it I'm sure...cheak parts stores if the LDS doesn't have something...I am sure UK can help you, but if you're cheap like me...you have to hunt around a little. Are you even sure the o-ring needs to be replaced....old is not necessarily bad

Rab hit the bouyncy thing pretty mugh head on...toss the thing in the bathub and see if it sinks....if so, you might be able to remove a pound...you'll also want to keep good track of it while diving if it's a sinker.

 

[SubMariner]

Hey, I just bought a bunch of equipment from a dive master who is quitting for health reasons. One of the items was a UK1200 dive light. I have several questions...

1) Is this a pretty good light for diving?

Yup. We have one that is about 10 years old & still going strong.

2) I want to replace the O-Ring but it's an older model. Does anyone know if the O-Rings for any of the new UK models will fit it?

I suggest contacting UK directly. Here's their website: http://www.kinetics-cases-lights.com/

3) This honker weighs 4 pounds with batteries. Should I take 4 pounds out of my weight belt to compensate?

No. They wind up being basically neutral u/w. Don't forget there is AIR SPACE in there that will compensate for the weight of the hardware.

4) When diving with the light, where am I supposed to put it? Cinched around my wrist? Carabinered onto my BC? Other?

We go with good quality wrist lanyards. The good ones are long enough not to get in the way when you aren't using the light, but short enough to know where they are all the time.

 

[Charlie99]

Big-t-2538 once bubbled...
Rab hit the bouyncy thing pretty mugh head on...toss the thing in the bathub and see if it sinks....if so, you might be able to remove a pound...you'll also want to keep good track of it while diving if it's a sinker.

Does it really make sense to remove weight for an item that might be ditched, either accidently or on purpose?

(It doesn't really matter much in this case, since it will most likely be within 1 pound, but it's the philosophy that I question).

 

[Dive_Girl PNW]

Big-t-2538 once bubbled...
Drop all thoughts of using a carabiner for anything right now.

...but I am opposed to "death clips" at all costs.

Maybe I missed something in your post. I read where you wouldn't recommend clips, but I missed what you WOULD recommend to do with the light. I know I would be interested in reading about working alternatives to clips.

 

[Charlie99]

Dive_Girl PNW once bubbled...
Maybe I missed something in your post. I read where you wouldn't recommend clips, but I missed what you WOULD recommend to do with the light. I know I would be interested in reading about working alternatives to clips.

I don't think he is against all types of clips, just the carabiner type clips -- sometimes referred to by wreck or cave divers as "suicide clips". Clips that can automatically/accidently clip onto a line can be an entanglement hazard.

A boltsnap that you have to manually open to get clipped onto something is an equally effective alternative that doesn't have the unecessary risk of snagging onto something unintentionally.

 

[fugu]

Is a boltsnap one of double ended dog lease looking clips?

I use a caribiner for my small dive light myself, and never really considered the risk. Hmmmm.

I would have to agree with the comment that ditching weight for an item you could lose, forget, decide not to take, pass off to another diver seems silly. Unless of course you like uncontroled accents at the end of your dive when the gas weighs less.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

cheers,
Clay