Battery for a DiveRite HID

[1MyWay]

Is it possible to use a lead acid battery in a Wreck Can instead of the gell cell or NIHM. I have found a 12v 2.6amp battery that will fit in the can and at a much cheaper price that the previous two. Could there be any damage to the light or will the "burn time" be the only thing affected.

 

[simbrooks]

I might not be 100% correct on this and this is from memory of talking with my instructor prior to purchasing a DR HID - but i think there were issues with using lead acid batteries with HID's in that if you ever let the battery deep discharge - ie essentially suck it dry a NiMH will recover, but the lead acid wont achieve the same capacity on recharge. I dont think you'll damage the light head, but you might not get much recharge life out of the battery pack (i dont even know the burn time of the 12v 2.6amp pack you have) and also the actual burn time to weight (read size) is better with the NiMH compared to the gel which is also better than the lead acid (hence the reason you see huge cans with lead acid batteries for the same burn time). I will try to get some links if i get some time to back up my vague memory:
DRE on HID's w/gel or NiMH - might be wrong on the deep discharge thing according to a quick scan of this article.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Is it possible to use a lead acid battery in a Wreck Can instead of the gell cell or NIHM. I have found a 12v 2.6amp battery that will fit in the can and at a much cheaper price that the previous two. Could there be any damage to the light or will the "burn time" be the only thing affected.

I think the curve on a lead acid battery is much more "straight-line" than the others, which tend to hold their voltage longer and then die quickly. And since an HID (unlike a filament bulb that just gets dimmer with lower voltage) is a "threshhold" bulb (it either strikes or it doesn't) you'll run out of burn time much earlier than you run out of battery.
I don't think that'll hurt it, but I honestly don't know...
Rick

 

[jonnythan]

lead acid = gel cell.. so go ahead and use the cheaper battery.

AFAIK, there is no damage to the bulb/ballast if you let the battery run out, but I know my 10 watt HID cuts out around 9.5 volts, and you will dramatically affect the life of a regular lead acid battery by running it down that far.

 

[1MyWay]

Thanks for the info. I will try it and see what time of run time I actually get.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Thanks for the info. I will try it and see what time of run time I actually get.

Why not just call Dive-Rite and ask them?

 

[jonnythan]

Why not just call Dive-Rite and ask them?

Because they're hardly an unbiased source

Any 12V battery will run the light just fine.. if the guy found a 12V battery that fits and has the amp-hours he wants, go for it. They're just batteries.

 

[Web Monkey]

Is it possible to use a lead acid battery in a Wreck Can instead of the gell cell or NIHM. I have found a 12v 2.6amp battery that will fit in the can and at a much cheaper price that the previous two. Could there be any damage to the light or will the "burn time" be the only thing affected.

A Gel Cell is a lead-acid battery. It uses a gelled electrolyte so it doesn't leak out when you turn it upside down.

The NiMH battery has a higher energy density than the Gel Cell (watts/Lb and cu/in), a better discharge curve and will give you a longer burn time.

This is more of a factor in halogen lights that are less efficient than HID. If you're using an HID light, it may not be a factor for you.

If you still get more than time out of a set of batteries than you need for the dive(s), it's big enough.

If the battery fits, try it and see if you like it. You have nothing to lose.

Also, be sure to check the charger, since lead acid and NiMH batteries use different chargers. Make sure you've got the correct charger for the type of battery you decide to use.

Terry

 

[1MyWay]

I searched the Dive Rite sites on the internet and did not like the price. I searched locally and found the same battery for a fraction of the cost. That was the reason for my concern. I guess I was suspicious of the cost difference and the fact I did not want to damage the light. However, light works and to date I only have $300 in it. But, the post are correct I will have to move to a NIHM battery eventually.

 

[JDostal]

I've built several of my own batteries for my diverite Wreck1 canister w/ 10w HID bulb. DiveRite uses PowerSonic brand lead acid batteries.

Two of these batteries:
http://www.ragebattery.com/power-sonic/ps-1223.html

make up the 4 hour battery.

And these

http://www.ragebattery.com/power-sonic/ps-1220.html

Are the smaller battery.

They are easy to build and SOOO much cheaper than buying the OEM part.