Storing can light: can open or clamped closed?

[Rick Inman]

I don't know what you're "supposed" to do, but what I do is set the lid on the canister with the clasps loose while I'm charging the battery (I made a little tube-stand that the canister sits in, and a hook above it in the wall that the goodman handle hangs on, so the lid rests nicely on top and the whole thing is secure). Then when I'm about to go diving, I put in the battery, clasp it closed and test the light, so when I get to the dive site I'm ready to go.

I rarely go 5 days between dives, so we're not talking long term storage here. The light is a Salvo 21w.

 

[timle]

After every dive I pop the lid and check for leaks. Then I put the battery on the charger. I take the reflector and goodman handle off the bulb and ballast slug to clean out any debris (duckweed from orange grove). The reflector, bulb slug, and canister sit on a piece of foam on a shelf in my office. After the battery is charged it joins everything else. x2 for everything my light and my wife's light. These are salvo 10 watt 4.5 amp lights. No idea whats best, this is simply what I do.

 

[ekewaka]

The reason some people say to store the light with the lid open is that sometimes the batteries off-gas, and the canister can explode if it is sealed. It is probably best to just leave the batteries out.

 

[PfcAJ]

I was told to store it with the lid off, but the latches in the closed position. Reason being that if and when you drop the cannister, the latches are less likely to break/bend and it protects the sealing face of the can.

 

[Matt S.]

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

(Didn't get to break in my new Salvo last weekend, buddy/wife wasn't feeling well, the wait is killing me!)

 

[meekal]

another good reason for storing ANY type of battery, camera case, etc. is you'll kill the O-RING if it's under constant compression.

 

[all4scuba05]

Its recommended to store the oring in its original shape. In other words if your camera housing has a rectangular oring, don't twist it into a figure8 and store it that way.

 

[Dive-aholic]

I store mine with the o-ring in the canister and lid clamped. This keeps the o-ring from being stressed and allows any off-gassing that may occur with the batteries to be released. I also store the batteries disconnected from the lid/light. BTW, this is what I was told is recommended by the manufacturer.

I'll be storing my battery discharged in the vegetable bin of the fridge. Keeping it cold slows the aging process of the battery. Not sure if this works as well with the NiMH, but for the lithium's it's the way to go. At the shop, we store all the can's open and batteries out.

I use NiMH batteries and have read that they should be kept fully charged in between use to lengthen battery life. I'm not sure if it's different for lithium batteries or not, and don't have any lithium batteries so I never checked into it.

 

[theatis]

Unlike NIMH batteries, Li-Ion should ideally be stored half-full. The actual recommendation is usually 40% but i see no way of knowing that my canister battery is at 40% exactly. They should not be stored fully charged because they corrode faster.

PerroneFord, you are right that it should be kept in the fridge (but not in the freezer). However, it should never be completely discharged. Doing so could permanently damage it. Another difference is that a lithium battery can be topped up with no memory issue at all, so there is never any need to "deep cycle". It can also never be "overcharged" which is another plus.

So my regimen is: dive with it until it's more or less half full, store the battery in the fridge as such, top up to dive, repeat.

As to the original question, i keep my canister closed with the o-ring on but not really tight. Sarteks have screw-on lids so the o-ring doesn't have to be "squished" when stored, which is obviously different from a Salvo.

 

[in_cavediver]

I store our can lights with the lid off. Battery is either in the can or out charging. I have SLA in mine and I top it off every few weeks between use. My wife NiMH batteries get the same treatment. As for O-rings, I keep a spare of each to ensure I will never have a problem. I think I spent 2-3 dollars from Mcmaster Carr to get them.

I would NOT store the canisters sealed with the O-ring in place. It can cause the o-ring to take a set and makes charging/maintaining the batteries much more difficult. For storage, I got a plastic container for Wal-Mart and used some packing foam from work (came from laptop boxes) to custom make a fitted light case. I chuck the BT's, computers and backup lights in the same case for traveling (road not flying). Had zero problems since I did that.