Yesterday I drove 250 miles from Spokane to Seattle to dive my new light with my betters (Ok, it wasn't all about the light, but the light was a good excuse). My new light is the Salvo 25w HID canister light. I'd made exactly five dives on it.
The diving starts today, but I decided to make an easy dive last night to get things dialed in.
Everything went great during the dive. The light is awesome. The dive site (Mukilteo T docs) was so crowded that I had to wait in line at the end of the dive to exit. As I was floating there waiting my turn, I loosened the buckle that holds the can in place and slid the can forward so I could reach the switch to turn off the light. I'm guessing that this is when I accidentally open one of the clamps on the light.
I exited the water, went to my car and took off my rig. That's when I noticed my HID bulb flickering, even though the switch was on off. I saw that the can was open on one side.
I opened up the can, unplugged the battery pack and dried off the inside and outside of the lid. The bulb stopped flickering. I took out the battery pack, dried it off and drained the water out of the can. Everything looked OK, so I plugged the battery back in and turned on the light. It worked perfect! What a relief! I guessed everything was going to be OK.
I packed up my gear and put the disassembled light parts on the passenger seat on a towel.
As I was driving back to the motel, I heard a hissing sound coming from the battery. I picked it up - wow, it was hot! Green battery acid goo started bubbling out all over my hand.
By the time I got back to the room, the thing was hissing and steaming and sputtering and leaking baby-puke green and brown liquid all over the place.
I put it in the bathtub, and even three hours later when I went to bed, it was still hot.
This morning, it is cold and dead. :frown:
Two things:
In the future, I will put a ring of bike tire tube around the clips the keep the lid sealed so I can't accidentally unclip it (expensive lesson).
Secondly, does anyone know where a guy can buy a new battery in the Puget Sound area on labor day?
The good news is, my dive buddy today has an extra 10w he will loan me for today's dives.
The diving starts today, but I decided to make an easy dive last night to get things dialed in.
Everything went great during the dive. The light is awesome. The dive site (Mukilteo T docs) was so crowded that I had to wait in line at the end of the dive to exit. As I was floating there waiting my turn, I loosened the buckle that holds the can in place and slid the can forward so I could reach the switch to turn off the light. I'm guessing that this is when I accidentally open one of the clamps on the light.
I exited the water, went to my car and took off my rig. That's when I noticed my HID bulb flickering, even though the switch was on off. I saw that the can was open on one side.
I opened up the can, unplugged the battery pack and dried off the inside and outside of the lid. The bulb stopped flickering. I took out the battery pack, dried it off and drained the water out of the can. Everything looked OK, so I plugged the battery back in and turned on the light. It worked perfect! What a relief! I guessed everything was going to be OK.
I packed up my gear and put the disassembled light parts on the passenger seat on a towel.
As I was driving back to the motel, I heard a hissing sound coming from the battery. I picked it up - wow, it was hot! Green battery acid goo started bubbling out all over my hand.
By the time I got back to the room, the thing was hissing and steaming and sputtering and leaking baby-puke green and brown liquid all over the place.
I put it in the bathtub, and even three hours later when I went to bed, it was still hot.
This morning, it is cold and dead. :frown:
Two things:
In the future, I will put a ring of bike tire tube around the clips the keep the lid sealed so I can't accidentally unclip it (expensive lesson).
Secondly, does anyone know where a guy can buy a new battery in the Puget Sound area on labor day?
The good news is, my dive buddy today has an extra 10w he will loan me for today's dives.
