Stupid Question...? How is a Dive Light made?

[scoufr]

I'll explain the reason for the question (maybe that will help from being flooded with posters agreeing on the 'stupid' aspect of the question):

I've seen a number of DIY videos about making your own dive torches by filling air-spaces with oil to manage pressure issues etc. And, if course I'm conscious that the price difference between a powerful LED torch for 'dry use' and one for 'dive' use can be quite a few hundred $$...

Hence, my question: what's the difference between a hi-qual dry torch and dive torch? Is it that the dive torch is oil-filled? Is it material resistance? Other forms of mechanically compensating for air pressure?

Grateful to have some insights shared by the community knowledge!

 

[CurtSchu]

Filling a dry light with oil is poor compensation for bad design. There are just too many commercial LED dive lights ranging from $50 up there is no reason to DIY anymore. Even high end cave lights are better commercial. From China to High Springs Florida the choice of lights is huge.

 

[scubadiver888]

Dive lights tend to be designed for the pressures of underwater. I have never seen one which is filled with oil. All the dive lights I have used are made of a rigid plastic or aluminum housing. Essentially, if I apply pressure to the housing it will not collapse. No need to remove the air inside the light. I construct it so it will not collapse under pressure. The light might only be rated to 200 feet and it is still good for recreational scuba diving. Making it good to 330 feet or 100 meters sounds good. So you'll see a lot designed for those depths.

You will want to turn the light on and off underwater. This means that the light switch has to work when the light is under pressure. You will see a lot of the less expensive lights designed so you twist it tight and the light comes on. No worry about water pressure pushing the on/off button if there is no on/off button. Or they will use a switch rather than a button.

Finally, you want to use o-rings which keep the light water tight. Dive lights will often have two or three o-rings but the reality is that one o-ring will keep the water out. You want extra o-rings as a safety feature; in case you get dirty in the o-ring or you nick the o-ring, having a second o-ring will prevent the light from flooding.

 

[lucca brassi]

you can see modern torch here in 3D...... it is more video-light than personal light but it have most parts good but not perfect designed

viel viel licht

oil filling is just super stupidity ;-)

 

[scoufr]

Thanks guys,

And yes the idea of oil-filling sounded a bit too much hassle, but I did trigger my curiosity on what's the distinction. I suppose it's like always: quality costs. That said, the difference is so huge on the price. After all, I suppose a 1000Lm scatterbeam is... a 1000Lm scatterbeam. So got curious as to why some are $100 and others are $1000. Then again, I suppose both a beetle and a ferrari will get you to the store to buy a carton of milk.

Much appreciated,
R

 

[scubastingray]

The difference is very often quality, but that can't explain the entire difference. The range you talk of is actually probably closer to $15-$1000.

You end up paying for the name more often than any manufacturer would like to admit. The $1000 lights you speak of tend to be the more traditional big name dive light companies, and they are living in the past IMO. This tech is so cheap it is damn near impossible to justify the premium.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Why go through the trouble of oil filling when you can do the same with distilled water.

As for how they are made, mfg has been stamping out plastic lights for extremely cheap, so preventing it from flooding is not that big a deal. But those are the days of cheap lights with cheap bulbs that could be replaced if it got wet. With complicated electronics that absolutely has to stay dry, they sealing mechanism gets more robust, thus that aspect's cost up tremendously.

 

[mathauck0814]

The price on high end lights is often attributable to the battery technology used as well. The best price I can find for my battery is about ~$200. That's just the cost of the battery to say nothing of the cost of the delrin, aluminum, lens, cable, etc. I'm betting in my ~$1200 light there's about $350 in materials & manufacturing and probably that again in R&D with a little profit thrown on top for the manufacturer (and probably ~$500 for the dealer).

Pulling numbers out of my arse (except for the battery one, because I've had to buy one recently when my light flooded).

 

[scubastingray]

Don't confusing selling price with cost to produce.

 

[dreamdive]

I put up this link that explains the difference between Lux vs Lumen, in case you wanted to know.

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