Help with DIY Divelight

[marchand]

no, it isn't designed to, but the three 3W LEDs are brighter than a 10W HID, and they only cost $10 per LED. The reflectors on the LEDs also give them a 3º beam angle and LEDs last forever.

 

[inotec]

Let me know how this goes. The hole saw didn't work - although I may try it on another piece of glass. I'm waiting on o-rings. I might be interested in trying the LED version if this doesn't pan out.

 

[nwbrewer]

inotec,

You might try using a piece of Acrylic that you can just cut to 52mm, then cut the step with a router, that's what I did, worked well. My glass lens imploded at 80fsw. The acrylic will be fine with LED's. anything more than a 35watt halogen and you migth have issues with the heat. I was underwhlemed with the halogen performace anyhow.

I used a terralux LED (TLE-6EX) and the mag reflector. No leaks to 105fsw.

The light -

Good luck.

Jake

 

[coldsmoke]

It's not necessary to step down the glass. I just got a local glass shop to cut a circle the same size as the plastic lens. Do not use acrylic if you are using halogen. I didn't use tempered glass and the only problem that I have had is one time when the light flipped on out of the water for a while and the glass cracked next time it felt pressure. The light has been to about 120 ffw with no problems. You can get a perfect piece of tempered glass from Maglite Rechargeable Flashlight Replacement Glass Lens But I didn't because they used to have a minimum order of $15 and I didn't need 7 of them. Looks like it might be different now.

A great resource for the simple mag lite method can be found here:

Dive light

I didn't bore the opening out. You don't need to if you buy a bulb with no glass lens. Just be careful how tight you tighten the outer ring. Buy the Solux flavor bulb. You can find them on the internet. They are about $15 bucks each but they don't have a glass lens and they are much whiter than the hardware store variety.

It's a pretty easy project - don't get discouraged. It makes it all worth while when you are diving with guys that have spent thousands on their lights and you barely spent $100. Yours won't be quite as nice but it certainly a great way to get into a good starter dive light.

Right now I am refurbishing a 21 watt HID bulb and ballast combo. It has been giving me a little problems, but little by little I am making progress.

Good luck and feel free to ask any questions.

Hunter

 

[BabyDuck]

shoot a pm to curtschu on thedecostop.com. he was telling some of us last week about a yahoo group dedicated to diy hids and they'd be a great resource.

 

[bradsab]

I want to modify my MagLight D3 into a dive light. I've read the various threads here about using the Maglight as the head for a canister light, but I don't want a can. I plan to convert it to LED and change the switch. From what I understand, the switch is the weak link for flooding, and may not work properly due to the pressure against the boot. Leaving the switch in the "on" position, I would close the switch hole, and add a switch in the end cap. The ground spring will be insulated from the body, and the switch connecting the two.

Can anyone help me find a suitable switch? I would rather not have a toggle sticking out the end of the light to get bumped around. Actually, I've toyed with the idea of not having a switch at all. The circut between the end cap & body dosen't close until the cap is tighened against the body: the end of the body and the lip of the end cap are bare aluminum, and the anodizing insulates the cap until those surfaces mate. A very slight twist shuts the light off, and the o-ring is still well seated in the body. Any thoughts?

Sorry to hijack this thread, but we're dealing with the same parts.

 

[nwbrewer]

You know I've never tried that untwisting the end of a maglite thing before. If you want the light to have a constant on, that would work.

There's more to making it waterproof than just the switch though. The o-rings in the standard mag are good for a few feet, but much deeper than that and they will start to leak.

Replace the o-rings, use the EZ lighthead method to seal the head. Replace the O-ring between the head and body with one slightly bigger to get a good seal. (I think this will be your weak point, machining another groove and adding a 2nd O-ring would be better) Then replace the seal on the tailcap with a larger thickness O-ring.

You'll have to find a way to seal off the existing switch hole, maybe JB weld or some other water proof epoxy.

Assuming you don't mind losing the focusing ability of the maglite, a better method would be to cut the barrel just behind the switch, and turn your 3D into a 2D size, install a reed switch, and put the magnet in either a ring around the grip of the maglite or in a good man handle. For power, these would work pretty well I think....

$1.49 MELIA 3AA/1D 6AA/2D 9AA/3D Battery Tray

Good luck, update us on how the build goes.

Jake

 

[bradsab]

Replace the o-rings, use the EZ lighthead method to seal the head. Replace the O-ring between the head and body with one slightly bigger to get a good seal. (I think this will be your weak point, machining another groove and adding a 2nd O-ring would be better) Then replace the seal on the tailcap with a larger thickness O-ring.

Jake

Jake-
Any spec on the o-rings? I read somewhere to use 2mm dia for the tailcap, body/head & head/lens ring; 3mm on the lens.

What do you mean by "EZ lighthead method"? Is that where you put an o-ring between the lens and the head, rather than in the ring? The lip of the head is so thin there I can't see how an o-ring would seat properly.

I'm thinking about making this light dimmable. Would need a double-pole switch for that. I took the original switch out of the Maglight. The space available in there for a new switch is about 9/16" x 5/8" x 1 1/8" deep. If I can find a water-tight switch to fit in there, I would bond a switch plate over the existing hole. The only drawback is once that plate is bonded, I no longer have access to the switch.

I'm getting pretty pumped about this. If it all works the way I hope, I will definately post the results. Thanks for your help.

-Brad

 

[airsix]

I've had no problem running a 50w MR16 halogen in my maglite lighthead with a 1/4" stepped polycarbonate lens. You can get the 1/4" poly-carb sheet at Home Depot. During a 3 hour burn test in 70F water it did develop a very slight 'fish eye' in the very center, which I polished out and has not returned during 60-90 minute dives in cold water. For the o-ring I use the stock bezel o-ring, but I've removed it from the bezel and placed it under my stepped lens. I prepared the aluminum surface under the lens by sanding a flat on it for the o-ring to seal against. If you do this, use a very flat surface (like a granite tile or pane of glass) to sand on.

-Ben

DIY 35w HID (When the arc is struck you can actually hear the Tabernacle Choir)
DIY 50w halogen (kept around as a backup)

 

[bradsab]

I've had no problem running a 50w MR16 halogen in my maglite lighthead with a 1/4" stepped polycarbonate lens. You can get the 1/4" poly-carb sheet at Home Depot. During a 3 hour burn test in 70F water it did develop a very slight 'fish eye' in the very center, which I polished out and has not returned during 60-90 minute dives in cold water. For the o-ring I use the stock bezel o-ring, but I've removed it from the bezel and placed it under my stepped lens. I prepared the aluminum surface under the lens by sanding a flat on it for the o-ring to seal against. If you do this, use a very flat surface (like a granite tile or pane of glass) to sand on.

Thanks Ben-
How did you make the stepped lens? I'm assuming it needs to be fairly tight tolerances and have smooth surfaces for the o-ring.
-Brad