Sonny's DIY canister dive light

[Sonnylynnvick75]

So I'm drawing most of my information from this webpage:http://www.bnsengineering.com/Personal/articles/Homebuilt_Dive_Lights.pdf.

I have a maglite already cut ready to be worked on, a spare MR16 bulb lying around, 3"PVC which will be used for the canister. I picked up some 14 ga. Sjoow wire from the Ace hardware down the street. I won't be putting a switch on the top of my canister at the moment because I want to minimize my holes drilled in. Instead of the battery shown on his page, I'll be using this battery : Turnigy 1000mAh 3S 20C Lipo Pack

should power a 3 watt mr16 bulb for approximately 4 hours. and at only $15 you can't beat it. Will post pics tomorrow with progress

 

[Sonnylynnvick75]

This is the Battery I will be using, 12 volt LIPO 3s 1300 Mah battery. Can be bought off Amazon with prime shipping for $14.90

I will have this low voltage alarm connected in as well to warn me when the voltage becomes so low that the battery can actualy swell and explode.


From what I can tell,
Running a bulb that pulls 3 watts, 3/12=0.25 or 250 Mah. using a 1300 Mah battery results in 5 hours of continuous use.

 

[lucca brassi]

Maglite is not diving light for submersible conversion. ( you can not proper fix front glass ). Much better you pick up some small backup light (like 1k Shorty Dive Light - Dive Right in Scuba for instance )

 

[Sonnylynnvick75]

Maglite is not diving light for submersible conversion. ( you can not proper fix front glass ). Much better you pick up some small backup light (like 1k Shorty Dive Light - Dive Right in Scuba for instance )

I bought .125 inch polycarbonate and turned it on a lathe to the exact diameter for a replacement lense

 

[Sonnylynnvick75]

Well, I got the light head finished, now just have to get the Canister finished up and do some testing. Here is the light head complete with bulb, cable gland, .125 polycarbonate lense, and modified mag lite body.

two simple bullet connectors make a great wire attachment to the 20 watt phillips 12 volt flood light mr16 bulb

1/8 inch polysarbonate sheets can be found at the local home depot for around $5 and make great lense replacements

Here is the cable gland tightened and jb welded into the back of the light head.

 

[lucca brassi]

Halogen bulb + polycarbonate +maglite is definitive NO GO ( it is just matter of time - sorry I like be friendly !)

on one side you have heat and on the other side cold water (learning curve )

 

[Sonnylynnvick75]

Halogen bulb + polycarbonate +maglite is definitive NO GO ( it is just matter of time - sorry I like be friendly !)

on one side you have heat and on the other side cold water (learning curve )

Sorry, I guess I left out this sentence: I will be using the poly carbonate lense as a mockup lense while my .125" glass lens is being cut.

 

[Tbar]

I bought .125 inch polycarbonate and turned it on a lathe to the exact diameter for a replacement lense

1/8 inch polysarbonate sheets can be found at the local home depot for around $5 and make great lense replacements

Sorry, I guess I left out this sentence: I will be using the poly carbonate lense as a mockup lense while my .125" glass lens is being cut.

Sure seems to be very misleading set of posts. It appears very clear and stated twice "polycarbonate" "replacement lense".

I am with just buying a small dive torch that can have only the battery conversion. Many cheap options.

 

[Sonnylynnvick75]

Sure seems to be very misleading set of posts. It appears very clear and stated twice "polycarbonate" "replacement lense".

I am with just buying a small dive torch that can have only the battery conversion. Many cheap options.

A polycarbonate replacement lense so that I can test it without a bulb in it to see if the lighthead is waterproof. I'm having Hubuch glass company of Chattanooga, Tn. cut a tempered glass lense the same size as the bezel. I've been writing these posts in a hurry on the side and have skipped over some details aor weren't clear on all of my points. I apologize you see this as misleading. I understand that there are tons of good alternatives and cheap dive lights out there but you don't get the satisfaction of building your own which is why I am doing this

 

[Sonnylynnvick75]

Okay, I'm working on this project once again. It fell to the wayside as I've been busy with a million other things. So here is the update:

Light head is almost finished, I ordered a 2.125" Dia. by.125" thick glass lense from the local glass shop, I actually ordered 2 for $2 each.

I ordered LED bulbs (4 pack from amazon for 2.99)
I'm picking up the materials for the canister tonight.
I ordered a set of self closing latches (5.23 from amazon)
and a Magnetic reed switch (4.29 from amazon)

I hope to have the light head water tight tonight and tested overnight.
Canister building will start tomorrow.