New Dive Rite 24W canister flooded....options?

[TinoD'Voe]

I've had a bad run of luck with dive rite. First I had a 21w that I purchased 2 years ago and the canister flooded, I sent it in, they said they had no more parts so I had to upgrade to a 24w. I paid for the upgrade and used the light maybe a total of 8 dives. Due to various reasons I was not able to dive for almost a year, I finally went for a dive 2 days ago for the first time and on the first dive it worked great, didnt touch the thing, left it on my harness and on the second dive went in, tried to switch it on and nothing. Turns out the canister flooded again

I called dive rite and its out of warranty so they want me to send it in to see what they can do. I can't justify paying hundreds of dollars right now for another light rebuild. So i'm stuck.

This is the model which the ballast is in the head luckily, so the only damage as far as I know is the battery and the parts on the lid.

I remember seeing somewhere a long time ago a link to making the equivalent battery yourself, if its a viable option I might get the thing repaired and save the money on the new battery, otherwise if anyone wants this thing or whats left of it make me an offer.

like i said, the bulb has less than 10 dives on it, head is in perfect condition other than some scuffs. i can send pictures if you like, there is also a pelican case that I have with it that is in mint condition with all the parts laid out to fit in it perfectly.

hopefully its not a total loss, either way i'll be happy if i can save this thing or just let it go.

 

[Dive Rite]

Hey Tino D'Voe,

Sorry to read your post. We certainly don't want any of our customers to have problems with a product.

I looked back in our records and we show that you purchased your light around Dec 2005. In March 2006 you sent it to us and we gave you a new bulb and new cord -- both were free of charge--. In June of 2006 we upgraded your light from a 21W to a 24W. This was also free of charge and included a new battery, plus a new canister and light cord. In addition, we gave you a Delrin back up light for free ($100 value).

To-date, we don't show that you've had any out of pocket expenses, however if you sent your light in through a dive shop in addition to these two above instances, we would need to know the dive shop name to research the records and see if there were any changes on our part.

I hope you'll follow through with the RMA we gave you yesterday. Certainly, we'd like a chance to evaluate your light.

Best regards,
Kathleen

 

[letterboy]

dang . . . talk a bout service

I like it . . .

 

[Rainer]

Kathleen, that looks like some pretty excellent service.

 

[TinoD'Voe]

hi kathleen, that delrin backup was not a free light, it was a replacement because I had one sent in under warranty cause it also was flooded!!

I apologize if i'm wrong but I remember a very frustrating conversation with someone in your staff about having to pay the difference for the upgrade to a 24w light since the parts were no longer available, even though the 21W was still under warranty.

I'll try to see what was charged to my credit card back then, if i'm wrong about paying anything I apologize for my error.

either way i'm not trying to get a free light here, i'm fully aware that this has been well out of warranty. I'd like to know if there's any options for building my own battery cause i can't afford the cost for $250+ for a battery plus all the rest of the parts.

My other option is to sell off what is left and take a loss, i'm hoping someone can use the light head/ballast portion which i'm sure is worth a bit of money.

However I know for certain without any doubt that delrin was not a free backup that your company was so generous to offer, that was a warranty repair that i sent in cause of flooding. It was even the same delrin body that i received back.

 

[simcoediver]

Tino, send the light back using the RMA they gave you, they want to look at your light.
Dont forget to keep us updated on what Diverite says.

 

[TinoD'Voe]

I'd like to send this thing in but that costs me another chunk of money for shipping and insurance just to find out that i have to pay another huge cost to have items replaced.

I've had a total of less than 20 dives on my $1500 foolish investment. I've sent it in the first time when it was a 21w with 3 dives cause it was striking intermittently. It came back with the new bulb and cord then flooded within 5 dives. Shipped it again, did the upgrade and again flooded under 10 dives.

I've probably spent close to $150 on shipping already regardless of whether or not they replaced the under warranty upgrade for free. I honestly can't afford to do this again and end up with a 30 day warranty just so i can find out in 2 months that its flooded.

I'm sure diverite is a great company and cares about their customers but I can't say I've had a positive experience with their products. I'm puzzled by their claims that they threw in free items when they didn't along with the claim i received a new wreck canister that i never did either. Its the same canister, the backup light was something i paid for from a store and had to send in as well because if failed.

what would others do in my situation?

 

[letterboy]

foolish investment . . . not to be a dick here but is it diverites fault that the light flooded?

Did a dive rite technician seal the can lid before your dives?

WARRANTY REPAIR POLICY

In order to receive warranty consideration a product must be returned to the authorized Dive Rite dealer from which the product was purchased OR directly to Dive Rite Headquarters. NOTE: DIVE RITE AND ITS AUTHORIZED DEALERS ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO PAY SHIPPING ON WARRANTY CLAIMS. Dive Rite will only accept returned equipment that has been issued a Return Authorization Number from the Dive Rite Service Department. To request a Return Authorization Number, call Dive Rite Service at 1-386-752-1087 and provide the following information:

Quick question for both Kathryn and Tino, Katherine insinuated that she/someone at DR had spoken to you yesterday, yet Tino doesn't sound like he has spoken to anyone at DR yet. . .

 

[TinoD'Voe]

foolish investment . . . not to be a dick here but is it diverites fault that the light flooded?

Did a dive rite technician seal the can lid before your dives?



Quick question for both Kathryn and Tino, Katherine insinuated that she/someone at DR had spoken to you yesterday, yet Tino doesn't sound like he has spoken to anyone at DR yet. . .

yes, we spoke yesterday. I have an RA #, but what I understood from our conversation, my only option will be to send the light in and to see what the costs will be to replace the parts that were damaged. I cant see this being anything under a $400 repair with shipping costs. and i'll only get 30 days warranty.

And yeah, you do sound like a dick. Should i stay silent? just pay over and over again whatever it costs to repair their light every 10 dives and just hand over my credit card each time with a smile?? How is spending $1500 for something that has failed 3 times in 20 dives a good investment?? read what i've explained already, not every time i sent it in can be simply blamed on user error.

And i never claimed anyone's fault in this. I've stated the facts, judge for yourself. all I know is that i've done everything i can possibly imagine to keep this item in the top condition, storing it in a dry, clean pelican case when not in use, cleaning the o-ring and lid/canister every single time before closing it up....

If you can please read the original story, i didn't come on here blaming anyone, i just wanted to know what I can do to replace the battery or to sell what's left, nothing accusatory. No one needs to become defensive and protect diverite. Like i said, i'm sure their great, but for whatever reason, my experience has been a costly, unpleasant one.

 

[eliminator]

Lights are funny things. So many points of failure, no matter how careful you are. I had my brand new DR700 in the water this weekend and I said a short prayer to myself when I fliped the switch.

Hopefully it's just the battery and you can get your light back in the water and put 1000 dives on it.

Maybe you can test the seal of the canister in your tub, just to see if you get a good seal before you go any further or even test the light head with a friend's or stores battery.