My Zebra can't swim...

This was a classic desert moment: very long day at work, nice warm commute home (down to 105 F) dinner and a couple of malts put away... time for a swim! It was well after dark and I was wearing the Zebralight H30. This is not my normal swim-light, but I was only going for a quick dip. Besides I was working on my third drink, so the offices of logic and restraint were already closed. At first I was happy that the nice uniform flood beam worked great under water. Then things got rather goofy. You know what the Z-light does when you hold down the button, cycling through the 3 stages at just under 1 second intervals? Well, it does the same thing when it floods, except you don't have to hold down the button. Damn, another light that can't take 4ft of depth for 30 seconds.

Don't get me wrong, I really like the Zebra. It is one of the most useful lights that I own. I hope that it still is when it dries out inside.

But here is the frustrating part: with all of the LED lights that I have laying around, the only one that can go into the pool reliably time after time is a first gen Inova X5. I keep trying to upgrade, but everything from the Inova gen-2 onward has leaked. Obviously I haven't tried everything, but some well respected names have failed me in the water (including Surefire and Streamlight). It is not the o-rings, but the rubber switch cover that seems to be the problem. This is where the simple 2-cylinder concept of the original Innova proves its worth. It even starts out clamped down, so you can't turn it on in the wrong direction under water and flood the case.

So I am still searching. Dive lights are too ponderous for casual use. Ideally it should be wearable, either as a headlamp, or on a neck cord. Flood pattern preferred, but not the annoying >180 degree pattern of the H50. Suggestions?

gerG

edit: fixed some crummy spelling

I've had good success with the Fenix L2D. Make sure the tailcap ring is tight and the light should be watertight to a few meters - just don't twist the head underwater.

Couldn´t figure it out exactly by reading ... was there really water inside your H30 ??? Or was the switch activated by the water pressure maybe ???

I guess to improve water resistance you should try some lube on every o-ring and as well on all equivalent parts in the switch/tailcap. This nyogel lube stuff works fine at least for me ... but I don´t go swimming with my lights .

I checked my H30 after reading your post. I unscrewed the retaining ring from my H30 and took the rubber cap off ... it was bone dry beneath, so I added some lube there and at the tailcap o-ring. It should be now a bit more waterproof, but due to lack of a pool I can´t test it ...

rantanplan said:

due to lack of a pool I can´t test it ...

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Shower time! :kiss:

hah.. just kidding.

gerG,
I'm surprised to hear that the H30 leaked through the button.. I don't own one, but I've seen one and it looks pretty well tightened down..

I think your zebra will be fine when it dries out...I hope at least.

I had the exact same problem.

The way it is built, you need to really thighten the screws around the switch and even so, I'm not sure how deep it can resist. Mine was just tested in a bucket of water and it started to act as if the switch was always on.

IMHO, this light is more designed to be water-resistant than waterproof.

I would think the light would have problems with moisture affecting the die encapsulant.

Their website claims this:


Waterproof




Meets IP68 in accordance with IEC 60529

• Dust-tight
• Protected against continuous immersion (1meter, >30 minutes)

looks like you went a foot too deep, LOL


FWIW, I'm finding most of my lights these days that claim a fancy rating still spring leaks. My MM seems to do better than some of my pricier lights so if I get dunked on accident with a light or four on me I expect to have to dry them out after. They have always worked when properly dried tho

I think if you want to have a light that can be turned off and on underwater you need one designed for that. Even if the the light is independently certified as water proof to x meters, that does not mean it can be turned on and off under water.

Eternalight ErgoMarine is good for well over a hundred foot depth and is floody. Not new tech as it uses 4 only 5mm LED's but has a great 3 button MCU controlled UI and floats in water with Lithium primaries.

My zebra is dead (sniff). He led a short but useful life.

The water intrusion was through the screws. There was some water in the switch area, but most went into the driver compartment underneath. I figured this out when I put a small tube against one of the threaded holes, blew in some dry gas, and water shot out the other 2 holes. I am really quite shocked that they used thru-holes instead of blind holes (holes that do not break through the back surface, making them a dead end). Straight threads will always form a leakage conduit if there is a pressure differential. They can be temporarily sealed with grease or sealant, but it is not a reliable configuration. Most designers will use blind holes for fasteners on any device where gas or liquid intrusion is a concern.

I would not be worried about rain or splashes because there is no pressure differential to drive the leak...unless there is a temperature change. As the light heats up gasses will escape out the retaining screw threads. As it cools down, the opposite happens and it will pull gasses (or liquids) back in.


gerG

gerG said:

I am really quite shocked that they used thru-holes instead of blind holes (holes that do not break through the back surface, making them a dead end). Straight threads will always form a leakage conduit if there is a pressure differential. They can be temporarily sealed with grease or sealant, but it is not a reliable configuration. Most designers will use blind holes for fasteners on any device where gas or liquid intrusion is a concern

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But tapping blind holes is a three-step process. Through holes only require one step. (I'm sure you know this)

LukeA said:

But tapping blind holes is a three-step process. Through holes only require one step. (I'm sure you know this)

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S'truth!

You don't suppose that the manufacturing guys got together with the accounting guys and beat up the design guy, do you? I can't imagine that would ever happen

A fair compromise/fix would be to seal the hole with a drop of epoxy on the back side after drilling.

gerG

Oops, the plot thickens.

I was mistaken. The holes are blind drilled/tapped into the body. However, there is a disc that is trapped between the body and the button cover. Still an intrusion path, but more complicated than my initial description. Now I am really curious what is under there.


gerG

Next time just place the light in a water tight zip-lock bag and it should help.

FWIW I don't think it is all that important for a headlamp to be water proof. Water resistant, yes.

LED-holic said:

Next time just place the light in a water tight zip-lock bag and it should help.

FWIW I don't think it is all that important for a headlamp to be water proof. Water resistant, yes.

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I agree but if they call it waterproof then it should be. If they state 3' deep for 30minutes then it should take a 30 sec dunk in the pool IMO. I put my lights in bags when I go rafting or canoing (mainly for spare cells) but if they say it's XXXXX then it should be XXXXX, whatever that may be. Especially with a good quality torch.

superflytnt said:

I agree but if they call it waterproof then it should be. If they state 3' deep for 30minutes then it should take a 30 sec dunk in the pool IMO. I put my lights in bags when I go rafting or canoing (mainly for spare cells) but if they say it's XXXXX then it should be XXXXX, whatever that may be. Especially with a good quality torch.

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I agree. But I'm always skeptical of waterproof ratings from any electronic devices, no matter how well rated... I always will add my own additional water proofing, like a ziploc bag, etc...

You can never trust something unless it's been torture tested under water and proven to be invulnerable to leakage.

LED-holic said:

I agree. But I'm always skeptical of waterproof ratings from any electronic devices, no matter how well rated... I always will add my own additional water proofing, like a ziploc bag, etc...

You can never trust something unless it's been torture tested under water and proven to be invulnerable to leakage.

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100% agree. I use the stat's, runtimes etc. that are posted here on CPF as a starting off point for research but I do all of that over again myself when I get a new torch. I don't trust many people other than myself when it comes to that kind of thing.... Not to mention that there are individual differences between units which is why I'd be calling zebralight for a replacement if I were the OP>

I had a very wise cave diving instructor once tell me "...anything you take under water can and will flood at some point in time".

As for the plastic bag, not very practical for a headlamp. Of course I could just put a bag over my head...

gerG

pics

I've always wondered whats on the inside of the zebralight.

I own a H50, not a H30:candle:

gerG said:

I had a very wise cave diving instructor once tell me "...anything you take under water can and will flood at some point in time".

As for the plastic bag, not very practical for a headlamp. Of course I could just put a bag over my head...

gerG

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Well, that would help keep it dry. :laughing: