Flooded Inon Z 330

[Ardy]

Just before covid I bought an Inon Z330 because of all the good reports I read. I have always used SnS but I went ahead. On about the 10th dive I put new batteries in and screwed it down, the O'ring pimched onto the cover and leaked, was told it would be OK so I washed the battery compartment out, dried it and it wouldn't work. Threw it out after a few weeks when it went bang! when I turned it on.
Back to SnS YS2J and no issue and if I flood the battery no issue.

 

[scubaozy]

Just before covid I bought an Inon Z330 because of all the good reports I read. I have always used SnS but I went ahead. On about the 10th dive I put new batteries in and screwed it down, the O'ring pimched onto the cover and leaked, was told it would be OK so I washed the battery compartment out, dried it and it wouldn't work. Threw it out after a few weeks when it went bang! when I turned it on.
Back to SnS YS2J and no issue and if I flood the battery no issue.

This sounds like a user error, very different than OPs problem. Battery cover is transparent where you are suppose to see that it is sealing correctly. Battery compartment is indeed separate but I have never heard in any written statement from manufacturer that it is water tight. Your other mistake was to wash it. It might survive short exposure to small amount of water but it is not given. You should have cleaned it with a q-tip dipped in alcohol.
I am using inons like 2 decades and they are bulletproof. New design might have some bugs, so we will see whether these are just isolated cases or some design problems. As soon as I saw the new design with protruding dome, I thought it is way fragile to travel with. I am relatively rough on my equipment so I would prefer the older flat design because I want to be able to throw the strobes into my gear bag and not to worry about transport.

 

[Ardy]

This sounds like a user error, very different than OPs problem. Battery cover is transparent where you are suppose to see that it is sealing correctly. Battery compartment is indeed separate but I have never heard in any written statement from manufacturer that it is water tight. Your other mistake was to wash it. It might survive short exposure to small amount of water but it is not given. You should have cleaned it with a q-tip dipped in alcohol.
I am using inons like 2 decades and they are bulletproof. New design might have some bugs, so we will see whether these are just isolated cases or some design problems. As soon as I saw the new design with protruding dome, I thought it is way fragile to travel with. I am relatively rough on my equipment so I would prefer the older flat design because I want to be able to throw the strobes into my gear bag and not to worry about transport.

So you are saying INON is bulletproof providing you check the o'ring in the semi transparent lid.
I get it, nothing like a marketing dept solution to poor design. It must be very hard to design a strobe where the battery dept is waterproof....Tell SnS they must be geniuses.

 

[scubaozy]

So you are saying INON is bulletproof providing you check the o'ring in the semi transparent lid.
I get it, nothing like a marketing dept solution to poor design. It must be very hard to design a strobe where the battery dept is waterproof....Tell SnS they must be geniuses.

Well it is in the manual how to use it. If I can do it, you should be able to do it as well.
If you ask me, S&S battery compartment design apart from the cap, is not much different than inon. There needs to be some physical contacts from the battery bay to the strobe it self. If your batteries are cooked enough, it will also cook the seals of the contacts. Neither of the brands even mention that their battery compartments are flood proof in their marketing material.
All strobes flood if you are not careful. Inon design is very honest and straightforward. In S&S, you cannot even see/inspect the o-ring once you close the cap.
I understand and sympathize with your loss but maybe it is time to move on?

 

[MrChen]

Just before covid I bought an Inon Z330 because of all the good reports I read. I have always used SnS but I went ahead. On about the 10th dive I put new batteries in and screwed it down, the O'ring pimched onto the cover and leaked, was told it would be OK so I washed the battery compartment out, dried it and it wouldn't work. Threw it out after a few weeks when it went bang! when I turned it on.
Back to SnS YS2J and no issue and if I flood the battery no issue.

One of my old YS-90's flooded the battery compartment due to a pinched o-ring. This can happen on any strobe. It was hard to see on the S&S, but when weird stuff started coming out of it, I could see the pinched o-ring. Fortunately for me, my strobe didn't fail.

My two S&S YS-01 Solis strobes failed a week apart, 10 months old, one while on vacation, no flooding.

When I was strobeless, @Scuba_Jenny let me borrow one of her YS-01 strobes and on the 2nd dive with it, started acting wonky and stopped working mid dive. I later noticed moisture inside the lens. I ended up taking it apart, found where the moisture caused a short, cleaned it up, put it back together, and it was good as new. Last time I saw her with her camera, she was still using it.

Last year was not a good year for me and strobes...

 

[David Haas]

I've seen both Sea and Sea and Inon strobes over 10-20+ years out in the field. Both work when the battery compartment is closed up correctly.

The biggest mistake I've seen is greasing the o-rings.

Both brands use a colored silicone one and need the proper lube.

The Sea and Sea battery door being opaque you can't see it slide into position. The black battery door is "keyed" only going in one way due to a little raised tip that goes into a molded hole down in the battery compartment.

I've seen people try and force the door in (NOT GOOD !!!) and finally realize they need to rotate it 90 - 180 degrees and then it'll drop in correctly. Being a colored o-ring I don't know how anyone could miss it if dry and popping out Maybe rushing assembly or ????

The Inon clear door I think has an advantage but without a shiny slippery coating on the outside edge as you screw the door in it can twist or roll I have also seen people rush and start to cross thread the cap. If your YELLOW o-ring has a enough lube (shiny, NOT gloppy) you should be able to either press in slightly making sure the threads are aligned and then thread it on.

I currently own two Inon S220 and have used the previous S2000 and Z330 units over a decade.

Too little silicone grease and you'll feel resistance from dry spots, if so STOP......Unscrew and re-grease the outer edge so the cap threads on easily. The Inon manual even states to put some o-ring grease inside the clear cap lip the o-ring seats against.

When it bottoms out STOP.....It doesn't have to be tight. You can SEE the o-ring is sealed which I like on the Inon brand strobes.

Just a few more insights seeing lots of gear out in the field over many, many trips

David Haas

 

[MrChen]

When you pinch the S&S o-ring, you can see it if you look at it from the right angle. It only happened to me once and I became super diligent about carefully putting it in.

Thanks for the Inon tip. I've only had my Inon Z330 for about 6 months. I like being able to see the o-ring through the cap.

 

[Ardy]

I have been using SnS for about 25 years and never pinched an o'ring. Someone above mentioned re Inon 'don't grease them' which is what I did.
I did flood one a SnS in the Maldives in 2010 as I didn't close it properly and watched it come off on ascent, washed it, dried it and used it for another 3 years before buying a set of 100a's.

 

[Ardy]

Well it is in the manual how to use it. If I can do it, you should be able to do it as well.
If you ask me, S&S battery compartment design apart from the cap, is not much different than inon. There needs to be some physical contacts from the battery bay to the strobe it self. If your batteries are cooked enough, it will also cook the seals of the contacts. Neither of the brands even mention that their battery compartments are flood proof in their marketing material.
All strobes flood if you are not careful. Inon design is very honest and straightforward. In S&S, you cannot even see/inspect the o-ring once you close the cap.
I understand and sympathize with your loss but maybe it is time to move on?

No thanks and NO!

 

[WS007]

I once borrowed a spare Z330 to a friend who used it for approx. 2 weeks. He is a very careful guy and greased the yellow O-ring upon every accu exchange with regular silicone grease. When I got the flash back, the O-ring was so swollen, that I had to discard it (fortunately there was no leak)...

Using the grease delivered with the flash, or the universal Nauticam grease, does not do harm to the yellow O-ring...


Wolfgang