Vintage Dive Light

[gcbryan]

I saw a vintage dive light a few years ago that someone had kept from the 60's or 70's...I'm not sure of the details.

I'm now wondering just exactly what it was (company/model/etc). It was rather large, more or less like a Coleman plastic floating 9V lantern or larger. I'm sure it was halogen. I remember it because in addition to having a magnetic switch it used rechargeable batteries of some kind and they were recharged without taking them out of the light.

There was a bulkhead of some sort in the tail end of the light where you could simply plug in a recharging cord.

I'd like to know more of the details if anyone knows what I'm talking about. I'm also wondering why more lights don't do this as it eliminates opening the light unless it's necessary to replace the rechargeable batteries.

I'm sure there are technical problems and I'd like to hear of those as well if anyone knows the details of those.

[ZKY]

Was it yellow?
It could have been a buglight.

[gcbryan]

Was it yellow?
It could have been a buglight.

Yes, it was yellow. I think it had a screwed on Plexiglas front.

[AfterDark]

That's a Darrel Allen Dive Bright. The only dive light I've ever owned. I'll post a pic when I get home.

[gcbryan]

That's a Darrel Allen Dive Bright. The only dive light I've ever owned. I'll post a pic when I get home.

Cool! Can you describe it as far as power supply, bulb type. Just curious to know a little more about it since I'm more into these things now than I was when I saw it.

Is yours rechargeable as well? If so how does that work?

Thanks.

[AfterDark]

It is powered by 10 D-cell batteries. The bulb type I don't know off hand. Mine has the outlet in the back but the battery carrier is not the rechargable type. Those are very rugged lights. Mine is aircraft aluminum with a 1' thick plexiglass face. Rated to 200' Field tested by me during the 80's to 140' at Castle Hill Newport, RI. Most of the yellow paint on mine is gone.:D

[AfterDark]

If I remember right when I bought it in the early 70's is was around $50.00! That would be about like paying $200.00 dollars today, maybe more.

[AfterDark]

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

[Nemrod]

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

[AfterDark]

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

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.:eyebrow:

[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.:eyebrow:

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

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. :rofl3:

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 :: (http://www.intova.net/novawide.html)

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) (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11922)

N

[gcbryan]

For what it's worth I think the reason recharging in the light (without taking the battery out) can be safely done in some designs is because the gases can vent through the charging port (again if properly designed).

[John C. Ratliff]

Just so everyone will know that it is a real problem, I had a hyrogen gas explosion on my Subsea Mark 150 strobe, which used a 510 volt, alkaline battery. They do happen, and so there must be some venting. If I had opened the case before turning it on, it would not have happened. Hydrogen gas has a very wide explosive range, as defined by the lower explosive limit (LEL) and the upper explosive limit (UEL); these are 4% to 74% in air (http://www.acialloys.com/msds/h.html), respectively. It doesn't take much to make an explosive mixture in air. In my case, it blew the case apart, tearing off one of the hinged clamps and breaking off the epoxy that held it. I needed a complete new housing (the electronics were not in the housing, it only covered everything). It was also quite startling.

SeaRat

[AfterDark]

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

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. :rofl3:

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

N

That's too bad you had a bad experience with yours. I used mine all the time, even camping. The switch would occasionally need to be cycled twice and the batteries had to be securely taped in. As time went on I put pennies between the batteries to improve the fit. Overhaul I was happy with mine. There's much better and lighter ones these days and this spring I'll be getting one, and a backup which I never had with the Dive Brite. The alunimin case on mine looks about 3/8" the plexiglass cover was custom made from 1" stock. That's pretty heavy construction though I'll admit to never seeing that type of explosion aside from the hydrogen bomb explosion At the Bikini Atolls. If its that big it's a good thing they went away:eyebrow: I'll take your word for it, thamks

[Nemrod]

That's too bad you had a bad experience with yours. I used mine all the time, even camping. The switch would occasionally need to be cycled twice and the batteries had to be securely taped in. As time went on I put pennies between the batteries to improve the fit. Overhaul I was happy with mine. There's much better and lighter ones these days and this spring I'll be getting one, and a backup which I never had with the Dive Brite. The alunimin case on mine looks about 3/8" the plexiglass cover was custom made from 1" stock. That's pretty heavy construction though I'll admit to never seeing that type of explosion aside from the hydrogen bomb explosion At the Bikini Atolls. If its that big it's a good thing they went away:eyebrow: I'll take your word for it, thamks

If there were an explosion, the Bug Light case would be shrapnel. :rofl3: This was only brought up due to the question about modifying lights to add a charge port. Alkaline batteries can off gas as well and they can also short and produce a great amount of heat, I shorted one of my Mod X lights once, it essentially melted rather than exploding though it was on the way to doing that also, in fact, my wife was really angry with me since this all happened on her coffee table.

I used to cave dive, I have this thing about lights. A few years ago, during a non cave dive cave dive, I had a triple light failure. If you need a light, you need it to work.

I do get nostalgic over my Bug Light, it's soft yellow glow cast across the sandy bottom, it's weight and size out of proportion to it's output, the cool emblem on the bottom, Light My World, that is why I sent mine to a good home where it can be appreciated.

N

[RickI]

Sorry to hear about the detonation and your Subsea. Those 510 V batteries were something else. That is one classic strobe. Are you considering replacing it? I still have a Subsea 150 but no longer use it.


Just so everyone will know that it is a real problem, I had a hyrogen gas explosion on my Subsea Mark 150 strobe, which used a 510 volt, alkaline battery. They do happen, and so there must be some venting. If I had opened the case before turning it on, it would not have happened. Hydrogen gas has a very wide explosive range, as defined by the lower explosive limit (LEL) and the upper explosive limit (UEL); these are 4% to 74% in air (http://www.acialloys.com/msds/h.html), respectively. It doesn't take much to make an explosive mixture in air. In my case, it blew the case apart, tearing off one of the hinged clamps and breaking off the epoxy that held it. I needed a complete new housing (the electronics were not in the housing, it only covered everything). It was also quite startling.

SeaRat

[Heavy water]

I have a Darrel Allen Dive Bright in the aluminum style as well as a Plastic
A few years back I bought the mag switches for them here in WV the guy toled me the Aluminum style was a copy of his. Does anybody know the real truth????