Dorcy brand dive light. Anyone used them?

[mike_s]

Well, I'm tired of the cheaper plastic lights breaking. I'm about to return my 6th and 7th Princeton Tec light for warranty replacment.


I've got a DORCY brand 1watt 45 lumen (3 AAA battery) Tactical Light and really like it and was wondering if it was waterproof.


This one.

It's prob the brightest light I've got. Brighter than my 3D cell MAGLITE and only 1/4 the size.


So I was wondering what they made in Dive Lights and found this.

Dorcy International - Flashlights, LED Flashlights, Flashlight Batteries, Flashlight Bulbs

41-0467 | 180 Lumen Scuba Dive light

180 LUMEN LED SUBMERSIBLE LIGHT
Looking for the next best thing in LED design and technology? Well look no further. The Dorcy 180 Lumens LED Submersible Dive Light is the newest twist to the old flashlight. This 180 Lumen Dive Light is made of anodized aluminum construction, and is anti-corrosion proof via its hardened finish. The Dorcy Dive Light contains a K2 Super Flux LED that offers state of the art performance. This light provides up to 180 Lumens of light output and has a run time that exceeds (8) hours. This Dive Light is guaranteed to be submersible (IPX8) to a depth of up to 100 meters.
On land, the center spot concentrates 80% of the light output while using the remaining 20% to provide a bright area around the center spot to light up a wide viewing area.

Specifications

Dimensions 6.5" L X 1.5 W
Submersible (IPX8) to depth of 100 meters (328 Feet)
Uses Lumileds K2180 Super Flux LED
Wrist strap Lanyard
Hard anodized finish guaranteed not to corrode in any conditions
Twist on and off funtionality
Minimum 180 lumens with run-time up to 8 hours​

Cost is $64 to $79 depending on where you buy it.



Anyone have any opinions?

Thanks... -Mike

 

[mike_s]

anyone.... anyone???

 

[mike_s]

Well I just got one of these lights in from Dorcy Direct.




Dorcy International - Flashlights, LED Flashlights, Flashlight Batteries, Flashlight Bulbs


41-0467 | 180 Lumen Scuba Dive light

I almost couldn't wait for it to get dark so I could at least test it in the backyard....

put in 6 new AAA Energizer Max batteries and headed out with a couple other lights for comparison, shooting across the backyard.

I have to say it's 3 to 4 times brighter than any of my other lights....

I'm going to try to take some pics of it compared to other dive lights and post a more detailed report in the next week or so. Also hope to take it on a night dive soon and see how that does.



so... more to come later..... -Mike

 

[mike_s]

All,

Here is a crost post (cut/paste) from the discussion on ScubaToys forum we've been having about this light. I thought it might be usefull to post the info here also for more exposure to those who might have questions...

-mike

Sounds like it's similar to the Oxycheq Raider I that many of us have.

I thought it was similar to the Oxycheq Raider I also. but I think it's just a bit bigger and but a LOT brighter also. I emailed someone who might have the Raider I to compare it....


The Raider I puts out 80 Lumens of light. The Dorcy Light puts out 180 lumens of Light. So a BIG difference.

The major thing is that this is over twice the light output at about the same price as the Oxycheq light though... that's attractive.

It's got to be a little bigger because the Dorcy light uses 6 AAA's and the Raider I uses 3 AAA's.


that and if you look at the Raider I in the "Light sock" then you can use the hand size as a reference.

compared to this shot of the Dorcy light in a hand. Of course the hands could be slightly different sized, but good enough for a comparison.

The official difference in dimesions are

Dorcy Light Dimensions: 6.5" L X 1.5 W
Raider I Dimensions: 5.8" Length x 1.3" Wide​

So they are very close in size/dimensions. Only about 1" difference in length.

(Lengths From Dorcy International - Flashlights, LED Flashlights, Flashlight Batteries, Flashlight Bulbs and Torch-Raider1)

Does it have a double o-ring seal, or just 1? The documentation didn't mention it.

I'll check to see how many o-rings, but I think I might have remembered two. will check tonight.

It's rated for 100meters.

I think the next few years will really bring a ton of new brighter, more durable, and longer lasting lights based on the LED technology. I'm really looking forward to the new can light Oxycheq has hinted at in the Deco Stop forum.

I think you're right. We'll see improvement in lights (power), size(smaller), batteries(stronger, longer lasting), etc.

 

[mike_s]

Does it have a double o-ring seal, or just 1? The documentation didn't mention it.

I double checked tonight and it's got a double O-ring.

The O-rings are pretty tight. You have to apply a small amount of pressure when screwing on the light to get the threads started. (This appears to be a good thing as it indicates a tight seal on the o-rings).


Here's a pic of it and a second closer shot of the O-rings

Here's some other pics of it in case anyone is interested.


This is the "overall shot" including the Lanyard. Most of us will likely want to replace the Lanyard with their on snapbolt/clip system.

If you want to replace the lanyard with a snapbolt on nylon line, it appears easy to do. The end cap is taped with two holes that you could use to thread them through....

Top of the Light, both off and on. (on shot from the side as it was too much glare direct on).

The batteries (6 AAA) go into a battery cartridge that is circular and then drops into the light. Four go on one side and two on the other side.

Here's all the components together....

 

[HenrikBP]

Looks like a very nice light. Thanks for the pictures and description.

What does the beam look like; tightly focused or more spread out? How's the spill; even or "ringed", bright?

Thanks

Henrik

 

[mike_s]

Looks like a very nice light. Thanks for the pictures and description.

What does the beam look like; tightly focused or more spread out? How's the spill; even or "ringed", bright?

Thanks

Henrik

I read somewhere that the beam was 80% spot and 20% flood. In "backyard tests" the flood spreads out pretty big across my backyard.

I'm not really sure how the definition of spill fits, but maybe it's more "ringed" I think.


I'm going to try to take some pics of it's light pattern and also some other pics in the same spot for comparison of other lights. Hopefully I can get some of that done this weekend.

-Mike

 

[mike_s]

All.

I was tinkering with this light and a multi-meter the other night after Compudude asked a question about the battery configuration on the ST forum.

The light has two banks of batteries. Lets call them "Bank 1" and "Bank 2" for easy reference. (as shown on the below diagram)

Each bank has 3 AAA batteries in it and is 4.8 volts.

Then it appears that the two banks are wired in parallel to the connector that goes to bulb. (4.8 volts output from the parallel banks).


As shown on this diagram I made of previous pics

Also, you can run the light with just "one bank" of batteries (of 3 AAA's).

It has the same brightness of the LED, but the only difference is porportional reduced battery time as the light is only drawing off one bank as opposed to two banks.

Not sure why you'd want to do this on a dive if you had 6 new AAA's, unless you're a few batteries short at the dive site and still want to use it.



According to their specs at Dorcy International - Flashlights, LED Flashlights, Flashlight Batteries, Flashlight Bulbs

burn time with 6 AAA's is 8 hours. So I imagine that with only 3 AAA's you'd get 4 hours or perhaps a little less.


Just interesting tidbit is all.

-Mike

 

[mike_s]

Oh.. one more, thing the person I was asking questions to at Dorcy emailed me was a DISCOUNT CODE for use on their website.


It's for 20% off any light at Dorcy Direct (their online retail website), plus free shipping.

So for this light, with Free Shipping it should save anyone $20-$25 bucks or so (depending on what shipping costs would have been)


Put in the Discount Code of Scuba


The code is good until later this year.


The direct link for this light is 180 Lumen Submersible & Waterproof LED Scuba Dive Light


Hope that's helpful to anyone who was looking at buying one.


-Mike

 

[Diveral]

Hey everyone, I field tested Mike's light in Madison Quarry last Saturday. It was a daylight dive so I didn't try it in low light conditions so I don't know what the flood characteritics for the beam are. I tested it inside the Spacelab module and the F-4 Phantom in the quarry. I like this light. It is a very convenient size and has a very powerful beam for its size. Didn't have any problems lighting up the interior of the Spacelab module or the F-4 Phantom. It easily fit inside of my BC pocket.

As a spotlight it is very powerful and seems to have a tightly focused spot on it. The exterior metal case appears to be very rugged and durable. I found the light easy to hold and operate while wearing wetsuit gloves. I'll say it again, I like this light and it's going on my Christmas wish list. I see it as my back-up dive light or my every dive keep-it in the BC pocket just-in-case divelight. It seems to be rugged enough and useful enough to assume that role.

IMHO the lanyard that came with the light is unsuited for diving. It's one of those lightweight lanyards, identical to the ones found on our small digital camera, my daughter's MP3 player, or my wife's cell phone. I don't think it's rugged enough, big enough, or strong enough to depend on while diving. I don't think you can get a coldwater glove or a forearm encased in a 7mm suit through the thing. Also it's too lightweight for me to trust on any dive where I would depend on a light. Mike engineered a kitchen counter-top lanyard that would suit, but it was ugly.

If it had an adjustable reflector where you could transition from a spot to a flood light I would use it as my primary dive light. When I'm inside a wreck, cavern, or nightdiving I prefer a 40% spot to 60% flood ratio. I had a divelight with an adjustable reflector that would transition from floodlight to spotlight with a turn or two. That would be a very useful feature for this light. Also Dorcy should consider adding a strong durable metal ring or clip to attach an equally robust lanyard. With these two modifications I would use this light as my primary dive light and buy a second one for a back-up light.

AL