Sea Dragon Lights - Non Oem Or Generic Batteries

[TheChase]

Do non OEM or generic batteries exist for these things? I am really not enthusiastic or happy about having to pay $60 for a simple 3400mAh battery pack.

It looks like SeaLife made this proprietary - my guess is to make more money selling a battery pack that costs $2-3 to produce.

I guess my gripe is that you can buy quality 18650 or 26650 lithium-ion batteries for $10-$20 a piece with 3000-5000mAh capacities and they are compatible with other devices also, like your dive torch.

 

[fmerkel]

Unfortunately that is a consideration better made before you buy a light, or about anything electrical and rechargeable. Proprietary batteries, connections, chargers, fittings, etc. are all designed to keep you as a customer for particular products, generally 4x more expensive than they need to be. I make serious efforts to avoid that kind of snare, especially with hobby gear where it can get expensive.

 

[gr8jab]

I bought a spare battery for my 1200. I never needed it. On a 2-tank trip, one battery was plenty.

Even on a 4-tank day, with two morning dives, a twilight dive, and a night dive, I did not run the battery dry. I used it intermittently for the day dives (as much video as I wanted), more frequently for the twilight dive, and almost continuously for the night dive.

Also, sometimes there is extra circuitry built into battery packs, including features such as thermal sensors, charge level monitors, cell voltage monitors, and Kevorkian circuitry. I'm not saying this to justify the high prices, just to point out why CR123a compatible designs might not be appropriate in all applications.

 

[TheChase]

Oh yea - thats not an issue at all. The battery life lasts a pretty good time - I am just wondering if there is a generic battery pack out there on the market. I am curious if there is an unbranded (and it doesnt even matter if the mAh rating is inferior) I am just looking for some cheap spares. I am quite frequently unable to charge the battery and having a hand full of extras (that are not $60 each) would be nice.

 

[fmerkel]

It would be my guess that IF you can find them they will be inferior, possibly significantly. I have the tools to test the output of batteries and for lots of stuff like cell phones, and cameras. The original batteries are pretty expensive. Unfortunately the much cheaper (eBay, Amazon secondary) ones are seldom much better than 50% of the original and often have a MUCH shorter lifespan. They ain't a bargain though the cheap price makes them attractive. Anecdotal reviews are seldom worth much since the vast majority of people have no ability to quantify their impressions.

 

[SeaLife Cameras]

Do non OEM or generic batteries exist for these things? I am really not enthusiastic or happy about having to pay $60 for a simple 3400mAh battery pack.

It looks like SeaLife made this proprietary - my guess is to make more money selling a battery pack that costs $2-3 to produce.

I guess my gripe is that you can buy quality 18650 or 26650 lithium-ion batteries for $10-$20 a piece with 3000-5000mAh capacities and they are compatible with other devices also, like your dive torch.

Unfortunately, this battery costs much more than $2-$3 to produce. Keep in mind direct import lights that use multiple batteries lack the necessary circuitry to assure even and steady discharge over the lights burn time.The inner batteries used are a high quality Sanyo/Panasonic cell from Japan that get bundled into the pack with the protective circuit. We recommend to measure the batteries based on performance versus money spent, you'll see that this battery is an exceptional value.

 

[TheChase]

I agree about the performance factor - thats why I went ahead and purchased an additional OEM SeaLife battery.

Now, in addition to the OEM one, I also decided to purchase an aftermarket one to try out. Kodak makes a battery that is interchangeable with the SeaLife SL9831 battery - its called the KLIC-8000 (Amazon and eBay sell it for anywhere from $5 to $10 each). The mAh rating is about half of OEM SeaLife battery, but if a spare is all you need then it is a cheap fix. Also, the voltage of these is only 3.7v versus the SeaLife 7.4v - this isnt a huge issue, it just means that the amperage will have to draw twice as much out of the 3.7v versus the 7.4v battery making the battery last less time. The difference is something along the lines of Parallel vs Stacked batteries allowing for more voltage out of the OEM pack. These 3.7v batteries wont damage the lights, they will just not be AS bright as the OEM ones. But, they are approximately 1/3 of the energy capacity of the OEM ones.... so, for $5 are they a good back up - sure.... but I wouldn't expect more than a single dive out of them.

 

[gr8jab]

Have you tried it yet?

I'm curious how you determined it will work and not cause damage. Let's hope that Sealife has built in enough safety circuits to protect the light from such attempts. At what voltage do those circuits kick in?

I would never consider using this battery pack. Just because it is physically the same size doesn't mean it will work. The LED driver board likely has DC to DC converters and other voltage sensitive circuits. Sure, the OEM battery voltage will droop as it discharges under load, but I seriously doubt it would be allowed to drop to voltage levels that this Kodak battery will, under load.

Do you know if the OEM battery pack includes some active circuitry for measuring temperature, charge level (coulomb counting), excessive current, or other runaway safety issues? They often include a special circuit (nicknamed a Kevorkian) that blows a fuse, killing the battery. Does the Kodak battery have these circuits, and if not, what is the safety risk?

As far as your 'twice the current' comment. True. But remember that power lost to resistance (heat) is the SQUARE of current. You'll be heating the internal circuits and wires to 4x (two squared) what they would with the OEM battery.

Finally, how are you going to charge it? How does the Sealife charger work? I'm assuming it is a constant voltage design, with a current limiter, which might be OK if the Kodak battery can handle the current. However, if it is a constant current design, who knows how it might overcharge that lower voltage battery.

I'm not trying to toot my own horn or anything, and I'm not as familiar with battery and charger technology as I used to be. However, one of my degrees is Electrical Engineering. I was involved in consumer electronic's battery design for about 10 years (late 90's to early 2000's). I worked with the big guys at the time (Motorola, Samsung, and Panasonic), and even testified in front of the Consumer Products Safety Commission.

 

[Steve_C]

Related but different question. The batteries on my DC1200 camera almost never make it through 2 dives. Most of my photos are below 40 fsw so that flash is always on so that it can drive the strobe. A lot of waste of battery life to fire the camera flash just to fire the strobe flash. Is there any way to get more battery life in the camera. Different battery? Way to reduce intensity of the camera flash but still fire the strobe? I am jealous of some dive buddies who can get way more photos then I on the same dives. Like the DC 1200 but this issue is keeping me from upgrading in the future. (Changing batteries on a wet boat between dives is not a good option)

 

[SeaLife Cameras]

Please do not use that Kodak battery inside the Sea Dragon light. You could cause hazardous situation and/or permanently damage the light. Engineering is evaluating the potential problems and we'll post an update soon.

We developed the Sea Dragon battery with the best components to ensure optimal performance and safety. Generating profits on selling spare batteries was never a discussion topic when developing the Sea Dragon lights or this battery. Our decision was based purely on performance and safety. Not only does it use the highest energy density for it's size and weight, the battery also includes protective circuitry for obvious safety reason. It's an expensive battery but offers the best performance.