Looking for advice on canister batteries

[joshk]

Well I guess you could toss whatever you want in your checked baggage and hope for the best if that's the road you want to go down.

I put lights, regs, and hardware in a carry on.

 

[DWMoore]

I'd second UWLD. Great lights. But if you are diving in low vis situations then you might want to stick with HID with adjustable spot.

I have a NiMh batteries for a Halcyon HID 21w that is over 5 years old and still going with 75%+ burn time. Lithium Ion batteries are more energy dense of course and that is why everyone is going to them. (scooters, lights) I've upgraded a few Gavin scooters to LiFePO4 batteries and they ran flawlessly for a few years before I sold them (I did have to upgrade the brush board to solder-less). Still had plenty of juice. A buddy of mine is still using his LiFePO4 pack with no problems. If you take care of them (and they are of good quality) then they should last many years. (store inside, store at 50% capacity) I haven't had batteries (Li, NiMh) go bad after only 3 years.

 

[Redshift]

To the OP, looking at the other lights on the market, the possible problems in having them shipped or repaired and comparing quality, I think you'll be well served with Northern Light Scuba | Diving gears and lights

A question that arises from what has been mentioned about flying with these batteries. Do the x-ray scanners distinguish the composition of the batteries? Because the ones I have seen are either sealed inside the cannister or in a sleeve and don't say what kind of batteries they are.

 

[halocline]

My LM canister is stamped UN38.3 compliant, I haven't had a problem flying with it.

 

[OMANDIVER]

Greetings,

I'm not 100% sure this is the right place to ask, but couldn't really think of a better one either. I suppose the target audience of this forum have canister lights that are in heavy use. I'm about to get myself a serious canister light and am currently mapping my options. As I mostly dive in cold water, this canister battery could be used for a heating vest as well. Now, there are some used canister lights on the market, but considering the battery is by far the most expensive component in the system, I'm a little worried about the life expectancy of the battery itself. The used canister lights seem to come in two basic categories:

1. The light has hardly been used (say max 10 hours per year), battery kept at high charge and never let to completely drain.
2. The light has been used regularly (say at least 30 hours per year), battery perhaps drained fully a couple of times during use.

The available setups seem to use Li-ion batteries (for example Light Monkey). A quick search on them gives a rather grim impression; capacity decay of 10-15%/year is quoted in a couple of places, with expected shelf life of only 3 years? Surely this can't be right.

Can anyone give an estimate on how long these batteries should last, from personal experience or otherwise? Basically, how often do you need to replace the batteries in your canister light setups? I think it would be a good thing to know before investing in a setup that may need a 700-1000€ battery replacement periodically. Should I even consider a 3-5 year old used battery, even if it has only seen light use?

Thanks in advance!

What kind of diving do you need the light for? I see cold water, down to what temperature?

 

[high/baric]

Sorry for the late reply. The NLS lights have been recommended by a few and are of course high on my list. The idea is for the light to be for year round diving, including ice diving. However, I'll have to postpone this project until next season and think this thread has run its course for now, unless someone wishes to continue discussing this as a general topic (which they are of course free to do). Thanks again for all the replies!