Mag Lite water resistance...

Hello all -- I have a quick question again.

With the inclusion of rubber O-Rings in their flashlights, Mag Lite claims that they should retain some 'resistance' to water. Obviously a 6D Mag is no diving light, I'm just wondering if anyone knows how deep these lights can go and where is their limit? Thanks,

Luke K

i wouldn't submerse a mag on purpose. i did drop my mag in the lake at the boat ramp once, about 6in deep. fished it out about 15sec later, no problems. that same light also withstanded several minutes in down pouring rain. lube your o-rings and don't worry about it.

actually, my former mag has fared better than what i've seen of many sf's.

I've found gags to be rain resistant and to suffer no damage if flooded and dried out later.

It'll survive a quick dunk in the water, a good rain drench, and humid climates, but just don't leave it submerged for long... As much as the o-rings are there to prevent leakage, it's not "waterproof"... Mags of any size or configuation are no dive lights, nor do they pretend to be... I had a mag solitaire come out of a pant pocket in a washer machine full of water...
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

It's just a solitaire, no big loss. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Before my "advanced studies in flashlights", /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I was wearing/using a 3D mag all night to look for people in cars during a flood in waist to chest deep water. It never stopped working, but it did have some water in it by morning.

I can tell you from experience that my 4D mag...

a) got full of water from going to the bottom of an above-ground pool.

b) lost much of the reflectance coating off the reflector as a result.

I don't think they're meant to be submerged, at least, I will not submerge one again ;-)

The solitaire worked just fine after I resoaked it in clean water and completely dried it off, so it wasn't a loss...

Similar to FalconFX, I have had the Solitaire as a keychain light in the past /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif , and had it run through a few wash cycles. Interior got wet, but no permanent damage.

My 4D, on the other hand, was another story. I used to use it outside during rainstorms, and found that the switch seal area tended to leak pretty easily. When the rain got real heavy, the lens seal and bezel would also start to leak. When the reflector gets wet, the best idea from my experience was to air dry (touching the reflector will warp and discolor it), but discoloration will usually occur anyway.

My cheaper Lumilite polycarbonate 6 volt lanterns and 3D light had superior water resistance to my Maglites, IMHO.

This was, of course, prior to my obsession w/ higher end lights. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Wow -- very interesting to hear some of your past experiences. Would purchasing larger/better seals (O-rings) make any difference?

-- Luke

LukeK:

If you were referring to my post, I never tried at that time to refit w/ different O-rings, but did periodically lube the rings w/ silicone grease.

Now that I don't use my lights out in the rain as much, have actual waterproof lights (UK,Pelican,SL, etc), and don't use my Maglites as much as I used to, waterproofing is not as much of a problem for me.

Just thought I'd put in my 2 cents for current or potential Maglite users. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Edit:
Just saw LukeK's name on the top of this thread; my bad ... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

One prospect I've been meaning to try out, but have not found the materials yet or had the gumption to do it, was to add teflon tape to the 3 different threads of the flashlight and tape over the switch...

Of course, this would render your light almost un-changeable anymore, but...

Interesting thread,I've never had a problem using mags in the pouring rain (and I mean torrential downpours) however I still dont like to push it with the bigger Mags as there are so many places that are potential leakage points.
The only Mag that I have lots of confidence in is my AA./Opalec with a glass Flashlightlens installed. I've used this in the foulest weather and no water has ever got past the O ring seals!

As for submersion, I wouldn't even go there!

Doug

the mini-maglite is fine, but the solitaire tends to leak through the lens seal and tailcap. the bigger maglites are actually very water-resistant, with the weak point being the switch seal.

what i did to my 3D mag was remove the rubber cap, then wrap the area with some wide duct tape. i stick a small patch of tape under the portion which covers the switch so the adhesive doesn't gunk up the switch. i've taken this setup to about half a metre under water without any leaking /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

with a stock maglite, i wouldn't submerge it, but if i were to use it in a heavy downpour i would face the switch downwards. the mags i've had still demonstrate more consistant water-resistance than some of the surefires i've had though.

none of my mags or my surefire or any light that's water resistant leaked on me before. usually when i get a light i'll use diver's silicone grease on all of the o rings and seals. then i wash the flashlight in the sink with soap to clean up the grease stains and the light is still dry after that. If you properly set up and maintain the light, it's rare that it'll leak at all in a rainstorm.

I've had leakage around the switch, but nowhere else, on all my un/modded D-cell mags.

Couple years ago, I dropped my 6C into a hot tub (the light was on and the water was about 3 feet deep), it landed to the bottom. When I fished it out, to my big surprise, it was still working like nothing has happened! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

I should have mentioned that I've never had a problem with brief immersion: only when dunking the light into cold water in the sink to keep my 1-5w mods cool for runtime tests.

water cooled flash light /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Yep.
A 5w in a 2D body gets a bit warm when left running on the couch... and I was nervious about overheating, but didn't want to hold it to dissipate the heat, so....

Into the bathroom sink it goes! Worked fine, even with a few tablespoons of water inside the casing when I took it out half an hour later. Still bright, too.