HID Canister Lights

[Randy43068]

a couple of really nice cans (HID) are for sale over on Zendiving if you care to go look.

Or PM WB416 here for more info.

 

[nereas]

I'm going to take any X-mass money and b-day money and get my next big piece of diving gear.

I'm looking at a canister light for my primary.

I'm currently not considering the LED lights yet. They may have the burn time and the Kelvin, but they are still lacking in the Lumens department.

I'd prefer to get one with Li-Ion batteries, but I guess the question is, is it worth the money to pony up for a 21w or 24w HID light?

The 21's and 24's are 2 to 2.5 times the lumen of the 10w HID, but are there significant advantages to this?

I dive the wrecks off of the Mid-Atlantic, NC, my local quarries which are all typically low vis and dark.

I look forward to your feedback!

Thanks,

Chris

Take a look at the Sartek 10s and 21s in LIon. I have the 21 and it works great. Night becomes high noon with them.

Sartek Industries, Inc. Online Catalog

 

[nereas]

I know you said you don't want to wait until the LED technology has become the standard,but I don't think that is far away. I think LED will do to HID,what HID did to halogen. ...

Not so far, however. And so far, LED is a poor substitute for HID.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I carry an LED back up light as my third light as the burn times are phenomenal - but brightness is not so great.

I agree that a 10 watt light is great for mid atlantic wreck diving, but probably under powered for a cave. And the light envy comment is well stated - I dove this weekend with a buddy with a 35 watt light and it was kinda like mine was not even on.

I also spoke with another diver who recently did the Oriskany. With 40-50 ft of viz on the hanger deck she indicted it just swallowed what ever light their 10 watt lights put out. It just is not enough light for a REALLY large space.

 

[TSandM]

It really comes down to the conditions in which you dive, and the use you have for the light.

The new Salvo fixed-focus 10W HID is a very nice light at a reasonable price. The brightness is almost comparable to my 21W, although the "spill" of light is not as much. The battery life is far longer.

I think the Salvo variable-focus 21W HID light is just about perfect. You can blur it out for night diving, focus it for punching though murk, and three of them in a cave makes it almost like diving in the daytime The battery life is long enough to be very useful, and Salvo uses the Brightstar (less fragile) bulb in all their HIDs. Not to mention that Salvo's customer service ROCKS.

 

[RonzoTheGreat]

going back to the msrp ... you shouldnt be paying a dollar over $600 for the dive rite 10w .... which really means (as someone else said) it makes it somewhat more affordable to buy it, dive it, than use it as a backup. but if you go the pre-owned route, a DR10W should be about $300 and the resale value is equal.
best of luck

 

[jimdiverman]

I think the Salvo variable-focus 21W HID light is just about perfect. You can blur it out for night diving, focus it for punching though murk, and three of them in a cave makes it almost like diving in the daytime The battery life is long enough to be very useful, and Salvo uses the Brightstar (less fragile) bulb in all their HIDs. Not to mention that Salvo's customer service ROCKS.

That is the light I am leaning toward right now. The price I got from Salvo though for the 10.4A version of the 21W is over $1300. I am going to wait a bit to see if that price drops at all.

 

[TSandM]

I doubt it will drop. But the light is worth it.

 

[sunnyboy]

It really comes down to the conditions in which you dive, and the use you have for the light.

The new Salvo fixed-focus 10W HID is a very nice light at a reasonable price. The brightness is almost comparable to my 21W, although the "spill" of light is not as much. The battery life is far longer.

I think the Salvo variable-focus 21W HID light is just about perfect. You can blur it out for night diving, focus it for punching though murk, and three of them in a cave makes it almost like diving in the daytime The battery life is long enough to be very useful, and Salvo uses the Brightstar (less fragile) bulb in all their HIDs. Not to mention that Salvo's customer service ROCKS.

I sure agree with you on the Salvo 21W HID variable focus. Just bought a used one as part of my ongoing "need a light" saga.

Have the Halcyon 18W HID (9Ah battery). Very nice light. FRAGILE as heck bulbs. Lost one in under a week due to a very small bump of the light head (not a drop, but I bumped it into a wall while carrying it). Very pricey bulbs as well. Then one of the canister clips released underwater (still can't figure out how exactly) and flooded the canister. Battery is toast, and a call to H basically got me told "you are SOL - we don't make that style anymore". I've refurbished the switch and will eventually get a new battery pack built, but not right now.

Then I bought a Greenforce for a very good price. Got the 10W HID (non focus) 13degree (a little too wide for my taste) and Flexi II battery. Also got a used Tri-LED 15/45 head. The 10W is just not bright enough for my taste (spoiled with the 18W Halcyon). The Tri-LED is very bright - actually a lot better than the HID, but to be expected... 15W vs. 10W. Unfortunately, the Flexi II is bad (40 min burn time on the HID instead of the stated 4hrs). Waiting for a replacement...

So I bought a used Salvo 21W while I was waiting (I can always sell what I don't want to keep, right?) ;-)

The Salvo has the 13.5Ah canister. WOW! Super bright, has the nice long reflector, and SUPER BRIGHT. So far it's been 3.5 hours on my burn test out of a potential 6 hours. THAT should be plenty of burn time for my RB!

-S