DIY Canister Light Testing

[MrSpock]

****** Cross post from candlepowerforums.com *********

I just finished my canister light project:

- 4 x Cree R2 in series
- Reflectors + optics
- Back 1000 mA driver
- DIY 14.8 V LI-Ion battery
- 3 inch Schedule 80 pipe canister
- Modded 3D Mag-light head

All works as exected on my desk. Now I need to depth test it. I'd like to get to my max depth plus 10-15% or 150 ft at least. Here are the ways I thought about:

- Go diving: eazy, but can't test on the max depth.
- Tide it a 150 ft rope and lower it from the boat: I don't have a boat.

Any other thoughts?

[SteveAD]

Build a DIY pressure pot. 150 fsw would be 67psig.

[MrSpock]

Build a DIY pressure pot. 150 fsw would be 67psig.

Wow! that sounds like a serious project... Do you have any examples or manuals?

[SteveAD]

pretty easy to make a crude low pressure one. take an appropriate size piece of pipe with threaded end caps. drill and tap holes for a pressure guage and compressed air hose. if you want to get fancy, you can add 2 petcocks, 1 for a water fill, and 1 for an air relief. Insert the device you want to test thru one endcap. fill the pipe with water. hook up to air hose to lp port on your reg (will give up to 150 psi). Never pressurize the container dry. If it fails full of water it will make a mess. if it fails pressurized dry it will make a boom.

[HEFFAY]

Is there somewhere you can buy the male end of an inflator hose with a threaded or barbed back? That would be pretty nice to be able to use your current regulator setup. Or any other source for adapting the LP port of a reg to something usable on the pressure pot side?

[SteveAD]

Is there somewhere you can buy the male end of an inflator hose with a threaded or barbed back? That would be pretty nice to be able to use your current regulator setup. Or any other source for adapting the LP port of a reg to something usable on the pressure pot side?

Yup. The nipple can be unscrewed out of most BC LPIs. You can probably pick one up cheap from your LDSs junk bin.

[HEFFAY]

Just found this too:

http://www.divegearexpress.com/regulators/adapters.shtml

[rescue15]

Hey Spock, The canister is schedule 120...

Steve

[Bad Identity]

Congratulate !!!
You have some photography lights?

Thanks much

[klemheist]

How about hanging it in the water from a jetty or bridge?

Mac

[MrSpock]

I thought about it, but the max dept I could find is 30-40 ft. I already tested it for 52 ft last weekend - no leaks. Still want to test for 150 ft before going into caves or wrecks.

[DIWdiver]

How about using a paint pressure pot? They're generally rated 80-125 psi, plenty for you. There's always a few of them on the auction sites.

I just modified a condemned alu 80 for just this purpose. It was a lot of work, and I have a lathe that can handle a part that big. Of course I wanted to test mine to 500'. Now I can probably test to 1000' or more if I replace the 300 psi hoses.

[MrSpock]

It's a good idea! I'll keep an eye on either a corni keg or a pressure pot on Craiglist.