Dive light from E-Bay -- Great buy!!!

[Bigd2722]

My experience with several of these types of lights is that they last long enough to get a positive rating on Ebay but don't have any real longevity. If you can view the money as disposable at that price it may work for you. I won't buy these lights on Ebay anymore

 

[spoolin01]

What do you think of the beam quality? Is it narrow or wide? The LEDs on yours look slightly deeper set in a less-flared head than the one the OP linked.

 

[oldschoolto]

Most of the lights on the market are made in CHINA...

Jim..

 

[spoolin01]

Most of the lights on the market are made in CHINA...

Jim..

Along with most of the rest of consumer electronics, and an awful lot of anything else mass-manufactured. Good news for afficionados of all stripes!

 

[marcushall]

Did you get it on ebay from the link I posted? Mine is working properly! What battery are you using? 26650 or 18650? The 18650 battery doesn't work well on it.
If you got it on e-bay you are covered, get an exchange...

Yes, from e-bay from that link.

I have been using an 18650 battery with a spacer (a roll of paper, nothing official) to center the battery. I did discover that if I tighten the head end after loosening the tail, then tighten the tail it is working "reliably". That is, I get a solid constant light from the flashlight, but I've got to play with it enough to build some confidence. I will be ordering a pair of 26650 batteries and see if they seem more reliable. At this point, I think I'll keep the light, since it does seem to be working after all. I'll find some electrical conductive anti-oxidation compound to smear on the threads and see if I can ensure a reliable connection.

The labeling on the switch looks like there should be several brightness levels when twisted counter-clockwise, but I only get two positions, and can't really tell much difference between them. The SOS position does flash the light when rotated clockwise...

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

Yes, from e-bay from that link.

I have been using an 18650 battery with a spacer (a roll of paper, nothing official) to center the battery. I did discover that if I tighten the head end after loosening the tail, then tighten the tail it is working "reliably". That is, I get a solid constant light from the flashlight, but I've got to play with it enough to build some confidence. I will be ordering a pair of 26650 batteries and see if they seem more reliable. At this point, I think I'll keep the light, since it does seem to be working after all. I'll find some electrical conductive anti-oxidation compound to smear on the threads and see if I can ensure a reliable connection.

The labeling on the switch looks like there should be several brightness levels when twisted counter-clockwise, but I only get two positions, and can't really tell much difference between them. The SOS position does flash the light when rotated clockwise...

LISTEN TO ME!!! As I mentioned before... The 18650 battery doesn't work properly on the flashlight! It's too thin and when you tighten it slips to the side and doesn't make contact on the positive (+) side. I had the same problem you are having. The battery is to thin and won't sit properly on the contacts. I too had that problem of having to untwist it to make it work. If you look closely at the flashlight logo it says 26650. That is the battery you need to use and not the 18650. Get the right battery and please do not dive with it semi open and with the wrong battery or else it might fail and ruin a perfectly good light.

Also... I noticed the same labeling on the switch... Ignore it! The battery only has/works on OFF in the middle ON to the left and SOS to the right. It's all you need and what you get for $26 which is still a very good for the money.

I dove mine a few times with no problems and it is now 7:58AM and I am getting ready to go out and do a 100 foot dive with it... But I wanted to drop you a quick note. So... wait for the correct battery or go to radioshack and get one and you should be fine.

I'll post back on tonight after my dive and let you know if it survived 100fsw!


Let me know how you do.

 

[oldschoolto]

Features:
Waterproof up to 60 meters submerged designed specifically for divers.
Using one CREE XM-L T6 LED chip, brightness can reach 5000 lumen.
8 switch modes: rotate switch to the left (4 modes) or right (4 modes).
The solid aluminum alloy shell can avoid damage when it drops off the ground.
Anti-abrasive, skid-proof, shock-proof and waterproof design.
It can be widely used for diving, biking, camping, backpacking, hunting, fishing, emergencies and home repair, etc.

I Saw the same thing on the the site... 8 light switch modes... but only two seem to be on the light...

Jim...

And wanted to add... It's a $54.00 dollar light that's marked down on sale for $24 dollars... It really is a nice light, The more I look at it..

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

Well... I honestly didn't even notice that when i bought it. I only paid attention to the lumens and price and that it had the sos function. So far i am happy with it and $26 for me it was well worth the price! You still cant find a light like that with the same lumens at a lds for anywhere near that price.

I will update my post to reflect the functions tonight after diving... I will also try to post a video of todays dive with it.

Peter


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[oldschoolto]

Found this place on the net, Ordered batteries and a charger... They check every lot to insure they are well made batteries... Liion Wholesale Batteries | Li-ion battery distributor

Jim...

 

[marcushall]

LISTEN TO ME!!! As I mentioned before... The 18650 battery doesn't work properly on the flashlight! It's too thin and when you tighten it slips to the side and doesn't make contact on the positive (+) side. I had the same problem you are having. The battery is to thin and won't sit properly on the contacts. I too had that problem of having to untwist it to make it work. If you look closely at the flashlight logo it says 26650. That is the battery you need to use and not the 18650. Get the right battery and please do not dive with it semi open and with the wrong battery or else it might fail and ruin a perfectly good light.

Yes, I realize that the 18650 is 8mm smaller diameter than the 26650 battery, but I didn't have any 26650's on hand and wanted to try the light. Since both are 65mm in length, I created a spacer to fill ~4mm around the battery and presumed that would center the 18650 enough. Apparently, that's insufficient, and was likely the reason for the testing failure..

I certainly would never even toss the light in a sink with the head-end as loose as it was... (Well, maybe if there wasn't any water in the sink it would be OK..)

Also... I noticed the same labeling on the switch... Ignore it! The battery only has/works on OFF in the middle ON to the left and SOS to the right. It's all you need and what you get for $26 which is still a very good for the money.

I dove mine a few times with no problems and it is now 7:58AM and I am getting ready to go out and do a 100 foot dive with it... But I wanted to drop you a quick note. So... wait for the correct battery or go to radioshack and get one and you should be fine.

I'll post back on tonight after my dive and let you know if it survived 100fsw!


Let me know how you do.

Thanks.. Yes, I'd like to know if it's fine after 100ft.

I am a little concerned about the o-rings installed.. I measured the rear o-rings at 2mm x 24mm, and on the front I had one 2mm x 22mm and one 1.3mm x 24mm. The groves that the o-ring sits in are 28mm OD in the rear and 27mm OD in the front. The 2mm cross section seems to be correct, but I don't know about the amount of stretch to fit around the gaps. I'm pretty sure that the 1.3mm o-ring is not the correct size. I guess I can believe 24mm o-ring over a 28mm barrel, and 22 mm over 27mm, but that seems like a lot of stretch.. I gather that it's somewhat common for these to be assembled with whatever o-rings that were close at hand and not necessarily the design spec'd size.