Hollis LED3 flooded

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F

fbk

Contributor
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Location
Western Australia
# of dives
I'm a Fish!
Well I did probably only the 4th or 5th dive with this torch today, and a few mins into the dive noticed it was really dim. Looked in the lens and it was full of water :shocked2:

I remember reading reviews when buying it, someone said the exact same thing happened to them. The rear cap needs to be unscrewed to turn it on, but only half a turn, any more and it floods. Which they claimed as poor design, I though "user error" as plenty of other torches (like my UK eLed3) work the same way and I've never flooded them. It just seems like this torch really is prone to flooding if the rear cap is unscrewed more than a tiny bit. I was super concious of not unscrewing it too far too.

I can't even pull it apart to empty the water out of the lens, took the batteries out and threw it in a bucket of fresh water but thats as far as I got. Are these things salvagable? How does the lens unit come out? I'm really annoyed as I loved the nice tight beam and compact shape too.
 
Interesting - as I have 2 of them! eek!

If you are UK based, Oceanic UK provide a lifetime warranty on all Oceanic/Hollis/Aeris products - so might be a valid warranty claim.

Yes the design is a bit weird, open to turn on, I haven't had mine flood yet but good to know 'only half a turn'...

I would think the front would unscrew to get to the LED/reflector part?
 
I tried to unscrew the front part but I couldn't get it to budge, I imagine it needs tools or at least a vice. Also regarding the unscrewing to turn on, the UK lights are the opposite (screw IN to turn on, unscrew to turn off which is a warning that further unscrewing will cause flooding). With the Hollis there is just no warning that the cap has been uscrewed too far - the light stays on and the margin for error from off-on-flooded is pretty small. One full turn to turn on, but no more than one and a half or flooding will occur, according to the manual.

Anyway I have contacted the retailer who has asked me to return it to the manufacturer via him so hopefully I'll get it replaced. If not I can't say I'm excited about buying another one.. love the beam and the size of the torch but the switch design leaves a lot to be desired.
 
I had my LED Mini 3 flood on me.

It worked fine on a night dive, turned it off, all ok...
Then the next day, after a couple of dives (30m) with it clipped onto my harness, i went to do another night dive, and i could hardly un-screw the end cap as it was flooded.
It was a right mess in there... It Killed 3 of the lovely Eneloop rechargeables too of course...
I tried taking it all apart, unscrewing the bulb plug and then spring contact in the end cap... dried everything... So it worked for a bit, then it became really unreliable, dim or not working... Then i gave up on it and handed it off to a mate to play with if he wanted to....

It was a lovely light tho.

:-(
 
Well, I joined the club.... flooded one Saturday. Since it was fresh water, I'm hoping for a miracle. It is sitting in a tub of rice right now with the tail cap off. Yep, its seriously a POS in terms of the on/of operation. Why the hell would you make something work completely the opposite of every one else? :confused:Shame as it is a nice size and throws a nice bit of light.

I like some of Hollis' stuff (in particular my F-1's), but this item is really disappointing....
 
rhwestfall:
Well, I joined the club.... flooded one Saturday. Since it was fresh water, I'm hoping for a miracle. It is sitting in a tub of rice right now with the tail cap off. Yep, its seriously a POS in terms of the on/of operation. Why the hell would you make something work completely the opposite of every one else? :confused:Shame as it is a nice size and throws a nice bit of light.

I like some of Hollis' stuff (in particular my F-1's), but this item is really disappointing....
Click to expand...

Hi Bob,

Design criteria from the standpoint of a backup light was to ensure the cap position is indeed "off" in fully closed and locked position, at which point is the least possible to flood. To activate "on" requires a half turn counter clockwise. This design is different to avoid failure, however it is possible if rotated further than a full turn or beyond.

Please contact our service department at 888-383-DIVE so we can get this resolved for you.

Thanks,
 
I'll check with them. I also know that this light takes 3/4 of a full turn to turn it on - thinking that may be an issue that let to the failure as it is close to revealing the o-rings.

Hollis Gear Nick:
Hi Bob,

Design criteria from the standpoint of a backup light was to ensure the cap position is indeed "off" in fully closed and locked position, at which point is the least possible to flood. To activate "on" requires a half turn counter clockwise. This design is different to avoid failure, however it is possible if rotated further than a full turn or beyond.

Please contact our service department at 888-383-DIVE so we can get this resolved for you.

Thanks,
Click to expand...
 
Hadn't been on here for a while but interesting to see I am not the only one with the same problem!

Nick while I can see the "off is sealed" argument, in practice, like several users are saying, the margin for error from off-on-flooded is just too small IMHO. It would have been fine with the o-rings further back so that it took a few extra turns to expose them and flood the light.

I am happy to report though that I had mine replaced free of charge. I love Hollis gear, I've got tons of it, I look like an advertisement lol. This light was a disappointment though, I sold my replacement for a Hollis canister light instead.
 
fbk:
I am happy to report though that I had mine replaced free of charge. I love Hollis gear, I've got tons of it, I look like an advertisement lol. This light was a disappointment though, I sold my replacement for a Hollis canister light instead.
Click to expand...

Update:

Hollis treated my quite well too in my recent situation. I too appreciate their gear, and they have impressed me with their standing behind it. The light has some limitations that I will need to adopt in its use, and perhaps they may take some of our concerns to heart in future product development. Other products bearing their label are quite to my liking. Again, thanks!
 
Hi,

I would like to find out whether all you who flooded the lights repeated the incident after you have fixed the light or not? I mean, was it a once-in-a-lifetime mistake to flood it, or it happened again to you?
 
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