Questions about buying a primary light

[nadwidny]

I typically get 4+ hours burn on 21W and 7-8 hours on 13W.

I'm not sure I can understand how you get burn times like that on an 8.8ah battery. I have an 18 on a 6ah lead acid and I can get 90 minutes. I have a 13ah lead acid and last time I checked I was getting around 4 hours. I run my 24W video lights on 4.5ah NiMH and I get an hour. Because of the discharge profiles I can understand why the lead acid may not compare but unless Lithium is substantially different than NiMH then something doesn't make sense to me.

 

[masterof0]

I'm not sure I can understand how you get burn times like that on an 8.8ah battery. I have an 18 on a 6ah lead acid and I can get 90 minutes. I have a 13ah lead acid and last time I checked I was getting around 4 hours. I run my 24W video lights on 4.5ah NiMH and I get an hour. Because of the discharge profiles I can understand why the lead acid may not compare but unless Lithium is substantially different than NiMH then something doesn't make sense to me.

I don't know enough of the details to really be able to answer your question, but I know when I run the smaller canister with a single 4.4 ah LiON battery, I get 2 hours at 21W. When I run the larger canister with 2x4.4ah batteries I get 4 hours at 21W. When I cut it down the intensity of the light, I don't get quite double, but I get close. If I put the 10W head on, I get over double the run time. I just cycled through my batteries last weekend and those were the times I got.

This is definitely an area where I know very little and would like to learn more. I am sure a lot of it comes down to the type of cells that are being used. Wish I could be of more help.

 

[nadwidny]

I don't know enough of the details to really be able to answer your question, but I know when I run the smaller canister with a single 4.4 ah LiON battery, I get 2 hours at 21W. When I run the larger canister with 2x4.4ah batteries I get 4 hours at 21W. When I cut it down the intensity of the light, I don't get quite double, but I get close. If I put the 10W head on, I get over double the run time. I just cycled through my batteries last weekend and those were the times I got.

This is definitely an area where I know very little and would like to learn more. I am sure a lot of it comes down to the type of cells that are being used. Wish I could be of more help.

I'm not sure if Tobin monitors this forum but if he does I'm sure he could provide some insight.

 

[HenrikBP]

Kahty, I'd be very interested in your light findings. Please post reports of your various tests if you don't mind.

Henrik

 

[Gombessa]

4 hours on 9ah is just about right. A full 13.5ah battery is good for just over 6 hours. Also, the efficiency of the 21w ballasts is claimed to be higher than the 18w so the light output and power draw are supposed to be the same between the two. Figure about 2amps per hour, give or take.

 

[Anti-Hero]

I get right around 3hrs, typically a few min more on a 4.5Ah, NiMH, with my 15W HID.

 

[kathydee]

Sure have. Get 2+ at 21 and 4+ at 13.

The light that you are referencing is the exact light we will be diving, so you will get to see size, brightness, etc. The rating (burn time) that you are getting on this light is based on 21W burn. If you cut it back to the 13W setting when you do not need the brightness of the 21W, you will increase your burn time. If you run it at 13W the whole time, you will get 4 hours burn time, so that may make a difference to you...or not. But I did want to put that out there.

Chris,

Does this make sense? So basically what you are saying is that I could purchase this light for $800 and have a HID focusable 13/21W light that is perfect for local rec diving. (2 dives @ 21W or 4 hours @ 13W). And it has a very small light can:

Dimensions: 2.3" D x 6.9" L
Buoyancy: -.1 lbs.

Then later, when/if I end up doing more aggressive diving I can add wetmate connectors for $50 and upgrade by buying another interchangeable battery/canister (a battery with double bottom time is $440 more) Sartek Industries, Inc. CBP Series Underwater Batteries and Accessories

So for the initial investment of $800, this light will serve my local needs now, and is easily upgraded when/if I need more.

Very excited to see it on Sunday. Interested to see how large the light head/ballast combo is.

Does anyone else own this light? Is the switch considered acceptable as part of a DIR gear config - I've read the DIR equipment config conventions and can't find anything against it.

Thanks.

 

[nadwidny]

Chris,

Does this make sense? So basically what you are saying is that I could purchase this light for $800 and have a HID focusable 13/21W light that is perfect for local rec diving. (2 dives @ 21W or 4 hours @ 13W). And it has a very small light can:

Dimensions: 2.3" D x 6.9" L
Buoyancy: -.1 lbs.

Then later, when/if I end up doing more aggressive diving I can add wetmate connectors for $50 and upgrade by buying another interchangeable battery/canister (a battery with double bottom time is $440 more) Sartek Industries, Inc. CBP Series Underwater Batteries and Accessories

So for the initial investment of $800, this light will serve my local needs now, and is easily upgraded when/if I need more.

Very excited to see it on Sunday. Interested to see how large the light head/ballast combo is.

Does anyone else own this light? Is the switch considered acceptable as part of a DIR gear config - I've read the DIR equipment config conventions and can't find anything against it.

Thanks.

There are restrictions re:Lithium Ion batteries and air travel that you may want to check into.

 

[kathydee]

There are restrictions re:Lithium Ion batteries and air travel that you may want to check into.

Thanks,

Checked it out, according to these regulations Safe Travel

and the calculations of an Electrical Engineer friend, both this battery & the one with double bottom time, meet airtravel regulations for carry on luggage but can not be checked.

 

[divad]

I work on a dive boat here in NJ and see lots of people with this light [DiveRite H1000 Slimline]. Folks seem to love them.
.

I have one and love it. I have dropped the light head a couple of times from waist level to pavement and the bulb still works fine. It seems to have a shock retarding bulb fitting that is isolated from, and moves independently of, the ballast/bulb holder. If you do break a bulb, they're easily replaced at a lot of LDSs for less than $100.00 ($45.00 mail order). I can't imagine flooding it except by forgetting the O-ring. The NiMH battery packs can be made for not much money by owner and are simpler than lithium battery packs. I was thinking I wanted a salvo 21 watt Lithium Ion light but noticed that the cost of replacing the bulb and batteries was more than the $500.00 I paid for a new DR HD1000 on sale. There's also the hassle of having to mail the light off for a simple bulb replacement as opposed to just going to a LDS, buying a bulb, and putting it in.