My first flooded piece of equipment.

[SeaYoda]

Today was one of those days that are just too good to be true - and it was. The weather was great, the dives were great, and I finally got my inflator fixed. I had taken my Sunpak strobe on two dives and about 2/3 of the way through the second dive it would not charge so I guessed I had shot the life out of the batteries. When I got home and was opening the battery hatch (a very weak design) water came out. I rinsed the thing in fresh water and am letting it dry. There's still a little hope but not much considering how inexpensive this strobe is. I'll let you know how things turn out.

 

[fairybasslet]

I guess you get what you pay for. Still it's a bummer. I'm puzzled as to why it would flood during the second dive if it had been fine during the first. Did you open it between dives?

 

[AndyT]

Try putting in some alcohol as well - it should help to expell all of the water out of any cracks and difficult to reach places . Worked for my S&S 90 (two floods) and it's still working 100%. Hopefully the battery compartment is completely sealed from the rest of the strobe .

 

[Tortuga Roja]

So sorry to hear that. At least you weren't on a vacation in some far away place. Andy's alcohol suggestion is a good one. Good luck!

 

[Diver Dennis]

Sorry to hear about your *shudder* flood Yoda. I picked up another body today, just in case...

 

[Brewone0to]

Yeah, a bath in "denatured alcohol" will do the trick
that stuff evaporates faster than laquer thinner but wont eat your plastics or the protective coating on the internal boards.
It should be available at a pharmacy or most hobby shops,and even some craft stores.
Hope it works out for you.

 

[AndyT]

What type of batteries were you using ? I have heard that occasionaly you get faulty Nimh batteries and they release gas which escapes through the battery compartment seal , thus letting a little water in .........

At least that's what I'm putting my floods down to . Could never have been my fault now , could it !!!

 

[SeaYoda]

Thanks for the alcohol tip!

The design of the battery door is very poor on the Sunpak. I closed it and made sure it was the way it was supposed to be. There is a loose O ring that could easily have slipped into the wrong place even though it looked OK. The flood may have been a slow leak through the two dives because I didn't change anything between dives.

 

[Larry C]

Another good cleaner is electric contact cleaner. Available at auto supply stores. It's non corrosive, quick evaporating and designed for use on electronics. I had a house plant that dripped a pint of water into my VCR once and I opened it up, sprayed it all over, and it worked fine again till my kid stuck a lollipop in the film slot. You could have bumped the little flap during your dive and moved one of the two tiny holes over a bit perhaps.

 

[SeaYoda]

How is yours doing for you?