Questions about buying a primary light

[kathydee]

My 21W HID Salvo light just showed up! It's beautiful & it's hard to tell it's not brand new! So excited to dive it this weekend! But it didn't come with an owners manual.

Its my first primary light so I'm doing searches now to figure out weighting, rigging, maintaince, etc.

I know lots of you dive this light. Do you have any good basic tips on how to care for it make the battery/bulb last longer, keep it from flooding? I'm completely new to primary lights so any basics would be helpful .


Friends have told me:
Don't turn the light head on unless it's in cold water
Leave it on for at least one minute before turning it off
Replace the latches with Halcyon

Thanks!

 

[b1gcountry]

Couple tips I've picked up:

Buy a beer coolie for the lighthead, and it will help immensely when you drop it. Don't treat it with Kid Gloves, but don't put it in with your weight belt either.

Plug the Charger in the wall first. Wait for the red light, then plug in the battery.

Leave the canister lid attached to the canister when not in use. Scratches on the sealing surface leads to leaks. I usually take the battery out when not in use, remove the ORing, and put it inside the canister, then re-latch the lid. This protects the sealing surfaces, reduces strain and set on the ORing, and makes sure I don't loose the ORing.

You can turn it on on the surface without hurting the bulb, you just can't leave it on for an extended period.

Once you ignite the bulb, I always try to let the ballast heat up to full brightness before I turn it off. Basically I try not to turn it on less than 30 seconds after I've turned it off, and not turn it off less than 30 seconds after I've turned it on.

I store the battery pack in the freezer when it won't be in use for a week or more. Before diving, I take it out, and let it warm up before charging. It may or may not increase battery life, but it makes me happy.

Tom

 

[mikeguerrero]

Tom,

I have heard of others leaving the battery pack in the freezer, but with an extra precaution. The battery pack is placed in an extra duty freezer zip lock bag to keep moisture out yet keep the insides cold.

MG

 

[b1gcountry]

Tom,

I have heard of others leaving the battery pack in the freezer, but with an extra precaution. The battery pack is placed in an extra duty freezer zip lock bag to keep moisture out yet keep the insides cold.

MG

That's actually what I do too. It's also a good idea to leave it in the bag until it's back up to room temperature. That way the condensation will form on the bag, and not the battery.

Tom

 

[RJP]

I know lots of you dive this light. Do you have any good basic tips on how to care for it make the battery/bulb last longer, keep it from flooding? I'm completely new to primary lights so any basics would be helpful .

Add an additional loop of cave line to the rear end of the light head and a double ender to your right shoulder d-ring. This way you can clip it off in a "beam-pointing-down" position as necessary - eg to avoid blinding your partner in certain situations.

 

[Ben_ca]

Beer Coozy - Make sure it has a hole in the end. This way if the switch is in the "On" position you can tell before your HID becomes a torch :/

 

[b1gcountry]

Add an additional loop of cave line to the rear end of the light head and a double ender to your right shoulder d-ring. This way you can clip it off in a "beam-pointing-down" position as necessary - eg to avoid blinding your partner in certain situations.

...and when you clip it off using a double ender, clip one end into the cave line (or bungee if you prefer), and clip THE SAME END onto your D-Ring. It eliminates an extra 4" of dangle.

Tom

 

[RJP]

...and when you clip it off using a double ender, clip one end into the cave line (or bungee if you prefer), and clip THE SAME END onto your D-Ring. It eliminates an extra 4" of dangle.

Tom

Oh yeah, left that part out.

 

[nwbrewer]

Replace the latches with Halcyon

Why? They are the same except for the stamped H on the Halcyon ones.

 

[ae3753]

Why? They are the same except for the stamped H on the Halcyon ones.

They should be exactly the same. However, the Salvo ones have rusted on more than one occasion to more than one owner in our local area.

Instead of Halcyon, you can get them from Dive X-tras or Dive Rite. I'd use the latch until it shows signs of rust. You might have a "good" batch.