Looks nice. Did you weld that yourself or have someone do it?
Scott
Scott
how to build your own (cheap) light canister...
- Thread starter ssdiver2003
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at a body shop I used to work for....
I put a test cap on it and put 100 lbs of air in it with a blow gun seems good and tight
I'm makin a slightly bigger can, found some 7ah SLA that are 3.9 in. high and 3.5 in wide 5.9 in long , gonna use 2 and make a 14 ah can 15 bux a piece. Still debatin what material to use...
awfully tempted to run off with a canister from the bank drive up teller
hey one other question how did you attach the latches? screws in pvc are scary lol.
I may investigate the HID thing still also, if so I'm gonna push the envelope over the commercial lights up to 24 watt.
the cost just still seems greater than the benefit, I really don't mind the bigger can so much.
I put a test cap on it and put 100 lbs of air in it with a blow gun seems good and tight
I'm makin a slightly bigger can, found some 7ah SLA that are 3.9 in. high and 3.5 in wide 5.9 in long , gonna use 2 and make a 14 ah can 15 bux a piece. Still debatin what material to use...
awfully tempted to run off with a canister from the bank drive up teller
hey one other question how did you attach the latches? screws in pvc are scary lol.
I may investigate the HID thing still also, if so I'm gonna push the envelope over the commercial lights up to 24 watt.
the cost just still seems greater than the benefit, I really don't mind the bigger can so much.
My original can was a dual battery version but proved to be way to much burn time for the bottom time I get, even diving with Nitrox and a 100cuft HP steel tank. My single 12 volt 7 amp lasts for well over an hour and is still burnin bright at the end of the second dive.
I used screws to attach the latches to the can. The tube walls arn't thick enough to install a screw long enough to be of any use so I had to increase the thichness by adding a doubler inside the tube on each side under the latch. (see the pictures) this served a dual purpose, 1. To increase the wall thickness so the latch mounting screws had something to bite into and 2. To act as an anti rotation devise so the battery carriage would not rotate during the dive. The carriage locks into the doublers preventing it from rotating and pulling on the wires. I carefully predrilled the holes for the screws, installed the latches then removed the latches, removed the small lip caused by installing the screws using a counter sink. After the canister was painted and ready to go I put a little bit of 5 minute epoxy glue on each screw as I installed it to make sure it wouldn't leak. I've flooded the light head several times (I'm still working on that problem) but I've never had a drop of water in the canister.
I used screws to attach the latches to the can. The tube walls arn't thick enough to install a screw long enough to be of any use so I had to increase the thichness by adding a doubler inside the tube on each side under the latch. (see the pictures) this served a dual purpose, 1. To increase the wall thickness so the latch mounting screws had something to bite into and 2. To act as an anti rotation devise so the battery carriage would not rotate during the dive. The carriage locks into the doublers preventing it from rotating and pulling on the wires. I carefully predrilled the holes for the screws, installed the latches then removed the latches, removed the small lip caused by installing the screws using a counter sink. After the canister was painted and ready to go I put a little bit of 5 minute epoxy glue on each screw as I installed it to make sure it wouldn't leak. I've flooded the light head several times (I'm still working on that problem) but I've never had a drop of water in the canister.
Another picture of the inside of the canister.
Here you can see the doublers and carriage setup ready to be assembled.
kramynot2000
Guest
SSDiver,
I'm building my canister with much guidance from PadiPro's files. However, because it is easiest for me, I decided to use endcaps for my 4" PVC pipe for the top and bottom. The bottom I cemented on using PVC cement. However, the top is held on using SS latches from McMaster.
The endcaps I got are caps that fit over the outside of the 4" cannister. These are held down with the latches. Did you use the same end caps? If so, for the top did you put in a large o-ring or rubber gasket or anything inside the cap to make a tight seal? I'm thinking of cutting a rubber ring to use as a seal, much like the rings you see on canning jars.
Tony
I'm building my canister with much guidance from PadiPro's files. However, because it is easiest for me, I decided to use endcaps for my 4" PVC pipe for the top and bottom. The bottom I cemented on using PVC cement. However, the top is held on using SS latches from McMaster.
The endcaps I got are caps that fit over the outside of the 4" cannister. These are held down with the latches. Did you use the same end caps? If so, for the top did you put in a large o-ring or rubber gasket or anything inside the cap to make a tight seal? I'm thinking of cutting a rubber ring to use as a seal, much like the rings you see on canning jars.
Tony
pcscuba
Contributor
Wow! Padipro has been working on his site since I finished my light. Looks good!
Narced-on-Land
Registered
I can't wait to build my own light from all the great info on here!!
Seasquatch
Guest
just got hooked on building my own light. I CANT WAIT!!!
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