IP68 Toggle Necessary?

Hi there everyone, I'm building my first dive light, and will be using toggle switches- 3 of them to control three different banks of lights (flood, spot/focus light, and red night light) mainly for a camera mounted light. I am hoping to use mini-toggle switches with boots to save space, but do these really need to be IP68 rated? It seems that if the boot is the seal from the outside, I seal the threads to the inside of the light further with silicon or JB weld- there is no need for the back of the switch inside the light to be waterproof? (This of course assumes that that light never floods!) Does this logic hold? I ordered some of the small toggles and boots, and like them because the toggle squeezes into the boots with no air pocket at all, unlike some of the full size switches and toggles. Anyone see any issue here? Thanks for the help! Best, Peter

No

Entacmaea said:

do these really need to be IP68 rated?

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No - but I still used them - an extra couple of £ to potentially save a £££££ dive light!

No... IP68 switch just means that during a flood you can save the switch. The rest of the light will still be shot (depending on whether water creeps to the other side of the light through the cable and such). The cost of the switch is not worth it in my opinion. You can get a normal toggle for half price or less than the IP68 rated.

Do make sure you use the high quality boots. Don;t buy the cheap $1.98 ones from Ebay. They will break under pressure.

No ... if you have dry lid

350xfire said:

Do make sure you use the high quality boots. Don;t buy the cheap $1.98 ones from Ebay. They will break under pressure.

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What do you mean by quality boot, do you have any picture or link to give ?

Apem is a good brand.

DIWdiver said:

Apem is a good brand.

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Yeap!

Depends...

If your boot breaks for any reason (sharp coral or just plain old rubber perishing over time and use) water gets inside the boot and into the switch itself. Once this happens the time it takes you to finish the dive and surface becomes critical. You may not even realise your switch is leaking while lollygagging around down below. An IP67 will delay the water getting past and into everything else which means the rest of the torch is hopefully salvageable. Regardless of the quality of the switch however, any water getting inside that boot and you can kiss the switch goodbye, give it a few days and the contacts will be corroded.

You can minimize this by protecting the boot with a shroud and keeping it at low temperature when not in use. If you are familiar with spearguns you will know this. For the same reason speargun rubbers are stored in refrigerators during the off-season I'd recommend making sure your rubber boot (torch) is stored in a cool place away from direct sunlight.

While you say you will seal the threads of the switch-to-canister with glue, and that is good, the rubber boot should cover everything from the outside. If however water comes at the switch from the inside then the switch will be the least of your worries!

Here's an old 35W HID with toggle on top of an Otterbox9000. The protective shroud makes a convenient bath for the glue...which is Sikaflex polyeurathane. One of my few earlier torches that didn't end up flooding for one reason or another... It's been an expensive learning curve:mecry:

and here is important difference it is between RUBBER and SILICONE RUBBER.

Silicone rubber offers good resistance to extreme temperatures, being able to operate normally from −55 °C to +300 °C. At the extreme temperatures, the tensile strength, elongation, tear strength and compression set can be far superior to conventional rubbers although still low relative to other materials. Organic rubber has a carbon to carbon backbone which can leave them susceptible to ozone, UV, heat and other ageing factors that silicone rubber can withstand well. This makes it one of the elastomers of choice in many extreme environments.
Compared to organic rubbers, however, silicone rubber has a very low tensile strength.[1]​ For this reason, care is needed in designing products to withstand even low imposed loads. The material is also very sensitive to fatigue from cyclic loading. Silicone rubber is a highly inert material and does not react with most chemicals. Due to its inertness, it is used in many medical applications and in medical implants.

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Frome same reason Waterproof new neckseals and wristseals from silicone for drysuit becomes hit.

lucca brassi said:

and here is important difference it is between RUBBER and SILICONE RUBBER.

Frome same reason Waterproof new neckseals and wristseals from silicone for drysuit becomes hit.

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If you mean 'becomes hit' = 'tear', then I agree. Silicone tears much more easily than other rubbers. I love silicone, but not everywhere.

Thanks all- I plan to use the mini-toggles with a silicon-rubber boot and toggle protector collar, and also seal the inside of the switch by placing a small section of plastic tube over the inside assembly JB welded to the housing, to form a collar. After wires are soldered in place, I will flood the collar with silicon past the contacts. So, even if the boot fails for some reason, and penetrates the switch, it won't get inside the light. The switch will be dead, but that is ok. With the small movement of the mini-toggle, as opposed to the larger toggles, and relatively low frequency of use (a couple movements per dive), I think the boot will hold up. Best, Peter