Vintage Dive Light

[Gilldiver]

I saw one gut do a LED conversion of a bug light. He put 5 LED's into it with a custom battery pack. I think he was gettign a 5 hour burn time.

 

[AfterDark]

I saw one gut do a LED conversion of a bug light. He put 5 LED's into it with a custom battery pack. I think he was gettign a 5 hour burn time.

Seems kind low for LED?

 

[gcbryan]

Seems kind low for LED?

Depends on which led's he put in.

 

[Nemrod]

I agree about the power drain, the switch on mine lasted between 15 - 20 years.and was fixed by Darrel Allen for free when it did break. I'm pretty sure the case would contain a battery explosion, but why try it? I will be getting a LED model I figure with lithium batteries it'll be good for a long time between battery changes.

You can drop a pound or two from your belt when use a D/A Dive Brite.

It is not a battery explosion, it is ignition of hydrogen gas and no, the case would not contain it, lol.

The magnetic switch was great on mine for four decades and was still working as intermittently reliable as it was intermittently reliable from day one, not the most reliable light.

If I ever needed a light to depend upon, which I did, the Bug Light would not be the one I reached for.

N

 

[gcbryan]

Is this it? I found this pic on a vintage gear site

That's it. Thanks.

 

[gcbryan]

I recently traded my Bug Light to another vintage diver. They are a great vintage piece but they suck down 10 D cells like they are going out of business with the high brightness bulb and with the endurance bulb the light is less than what I can get from a tiny Cree pocket light. In fact, the LED is brighter than even the "bright" bulb. The Bug Light filled my entire dive bag, it was heavy, the magnetic reed switch is semi reliable, the battery tray is flimsy, changing cells required removing that huge Plexi front plate and screws, PITA. They are a really cool vintage conversation piece but since I am a practical diver I found myself trading it for some cool new, and very usable, gray hoses and mouthpieces for my Voits.

If you convert such lights to rechargeable and then charge them through a port, without ventilation, you have a bomb! That is why that type of charging port went away. The old Ikelite Super Light, a much better light, you had a quick release front lens that allowed charging with the lens off and batteries in place to allow ventilation and prevent a "hydrogen' explosion. The old Tekna scooter, suffers the same issue, you charge it through a port, they have been known to explode if care is not taken.

I have sold all of my vintage lights, save for one, and replaced them with itsy bitsy LED lights that are brighter and burn longer.

N

Interesting, regarding the recharging port issues. Good to know why they went away.

Currently, the Darkbuster uses an in body charging system. I've seen pictures of the port (o-ring with removable screw) but I haven't been able to find out more about it than that. That's a 21/24 W HID light with a lithium-ion battery (I think).

 

[Nemrod]

Interesting, regarding the recharging port issues. Good to know why they went away.

Currently, the Darkbuster uses an in body charging system. I've seen pictures of the port (o-ring with removable screw) but I haven't been able to find out more about it than that. That's a 21/24 W HID light with a lithium-ion battery (I think).

I am not up to date on modern batteries but I would be careful if modifying a light to charge batteries inside a closed container without doing some research on the specific battery chemistry, from an industrial battery handling page:

"Note: Nickel-Cadmium, Nickel-Metal Hydride, and Lead-Acid Batteries can all liberate Hydrogen Gas if overcharged. This lighter than air gas is extremely flammable."

Just be careful, if they can release hydrogen if overcharged then they can release hydrogen if discharged at high rates or shorted.

My favorite light today is the DiveRite LED500/800. Bright, uses cheap batteries, burns forever, small. No need for a charger.

N

 

[gcbryan]

I am not up to date on modern batteries but I would be careful if modifying a light to charge batteries inside a closed container without doing some research on the specific battery chemistry, from an industrial battery handling page:

"Note: Nickel-Cadmium, Nickel-Metal Hydride, and Lead-Acid Batteries can all liberate Hydrogen Gas if overcharged. This lighter than air gas is extremely flammable."

Just be careful, if they can release hydrogen if overcharged then they can release hydrogen if discharged at high rates or shorted.

My favorite light today is the DiveRite LED500/800. Bright, uses cheap batteries, burns forever, small. No need for a charger.

N

No worries. I'm not planning on modifying anything. I'm just learning a little more about what is possible.

I use a Light Cannon at the moment and will shortly also have a led with similar output that is much smaller and is powered by 2 lithium batteries (or one rechargeable lithium).

I've had a small backup UK light flood before and afterward while in the parking lot had the head pop up several feet into the air while unscrewing it to inspect the flooding damage. Salt water and batteries...not a good thing!

 

[Cave Diver]

I recently traded my Bug Light to another vintage diver. They are a great vintage piece but they suck down 10 D cells like they are going out of business with the high brightness bulb and with the endurance bulb the light is less than what I can get from a tiny Cree pocket light. In fact, the LED is brighter than even the "bright" bulb. The Bug Light filled my entire dive bag, it was heavy, the magnetic reed switch is semi reliable, the battery tray is flimsy, changing cells required removing that huge Plexi front plate and screws, PITA. They are a really cool vintage conversation piece but since I am a practical diver I found myself trading it for some cool new, and very usable, gray hoses and mouthpieces for my Voits.

If you convert such lights to rechargeable and then charge them through a port, without ventilation, you have a bomb! That is why that type of charging port went away. The old Ikelite Super Light, a much better light, you had a quick release front lens that allowed charging with the lens off and batteries in place to allow ventilation and prevent a "hydrogen' explosion. The old Tekna scooter, suffers the same issue, you charge it through a port, they have been known to explode if care is not taken.

I have sold all of my vintage lights, save for one, and replaced them with itsy bitsy LED lights that are brighter and burn longer.

N

Just curious, any of you vintage guys ever try retrofitting LED's into some of these old lights so you can have the best of both worlds, or is that kind of modification considered "blasphemy" in the vintage world?

Edit-- Never mind, I see this mentioned a few posts down.

 

[Nemrod]

Just curious, any of you vintage guys ever try retrofitting LED's into some of these old lights so you can have the best of both worlds, or is that kind of modification considered "blasphemy" in the vintage world?

Edit-- Never mind, I see this mentioned a few posts down.

Yes, several people have done that. I installed a Cree in a Mod X but here is the thing, it is still a huge, heavy, hard to carry light. The Bug Light could easily be modified to handle three cree type emitters for 500 to 800 lumen range. The light would certainly be vintage looking and have a very long burn time.

The thing is I have two Intova wide angle lights that are about the size of a Mini Mag light and as I said, they put out around 130 lumens give or take and are nearly as powerful as the huge Bug Light. It would be a fun project but hardly practical.

:: INTOVA ::

Deal Extreme has all sorts of emitters, reflectors and every thing to make the conversion:

DealExtreme: $6.90 3*Cree Reflector - Smooth Aluminium (18mm x 50mm)

N