Inon Flashes - Flood Warning

[Hatul]

I'm not familiar with the S&S system but I have a Z240 strobe and before that Ikelite Af35. The Ikelite system is the worst for sealing the battery compartment.

Unlike the Inon where the fat O ring is wedged around the side piston style, the Ikelite battery door has a thin O ring on the inside of the plastic door. The sealing is caused by the pressing of the screw plus the water pressure pushing the door closed. The one screw sits in the middle of the plastic door. Any imbalance in the forces on the door or slight bending of the plastic and the thing floods. I had two floods before finally giving up on the AF35.

 

[Ardy]

I'm not familiar with the S&S system but I have a Z240 strobe and before that Ikelite Af35. The Ikelite system is the worst for sealing the battery compartment.

Unlike the Inon where the fat O ring is wedged around the side piston style, the Ikelite battery door has a thin O ring on the inside of the plastic door. The sealing is caused by the pressing of the screw plus the water pressure pushing the door closed. The one screw sits in the middle of the plastic door. Any imbalance in the forces on the door or slight bending of the plastic and the thing floods. I had two floods before finally giving up on the AF35.

We need more info like this to enlighten others about their potential purchases or how to minimise problems with what they own. Well done!

---------- Post added February 25th, 2015 at 07:01 PM ----------

Hi Boletus: I did read your original post. All I can say is that I disagree with you. I have never moved from my statement that this flood was my fault, but I did say I do not think the Inon engineering is as good as the SnS in the cap only. The Inon Z-240 is a great flash.

My reason in posting this was to save others from potential floods and not to bag Inon or sell SnS. They are both excellent strobes.

I thank you for your pointing out your issues with the SnS BUT If you have nothing to add about how to avoid issues then we two are done...

 

[KeithG]

I agree with boletus1973 observation about 1 finger operation, but then disagree with their (his, her, it) conclusions.

My S&S strobes require at least 2 hand operation to close or open the battery door. 1 hand to hold the strobe in a firm position, and at least 2 fingers of the other hand to push in and then turn the closure counter clock wise. The S&S closure turns and then "clicks" into place when closing. It takes significant force to "unclick" it in order to open it. Pushing it in reduces the force required to close / open it.

That is why I assumed boletus1973 was using sticks to beat the cr*p out of his strobes...

Maybe this "click" feature degrades over time due to mechanical wear? And it becomes easy to open?

Unlike screw on designs, the oring can not be too tight or too lose. It always has the same compression. No room for operator error (like my early dive lights).

I use ball arm's and have learned to make them extremely loose so that the arms do not support the strobes above water. I adjust them so that they are easy to move and will stay in place underwater. Above water I fold the floppy strobes over the top of the camera (left strobe folds to right side, right strobe folds to left side) and carry the rig by the 2 arms that now cross on top of the housing. I "do the fold" before and at the end of each dive. The dive crew gets my folded rig and has been able to carry it by the 2 crossed arms. I freak sometimes when I see them dragging someone else's rig by a strobe. Reminds me of Deadliest Catch crab scenes where a creature is shown dangling by 1 arm.

The only strobe adjustment I perform underwater is the power setting. It is best adjusted by grasping the knob with 2 fingers and twisting, but it is also possible to use 1 finger to "roll against" the knob. I normally roll the knob using a single finger without visually looking at the strobe. Quick, easy & accurate underwater as you can feel the indents clicking off as the knob turns.

Cheers...