My LSH-S not waterproof

im currently on vacation. the first day of vacation (yesterday) i took my LSH-S to the pool, max. depth 9 ft. i swam for about 30 minutes and left the light on the bottom for a total of 2 minutes.
Upon existing, i noticed the light had water on the bulb, water under the lexan and a fog. the optics also have a white coating that i do not think was not there before (covering about half the reflector). when i unscrewed the the body i poured out a pool about the size of quarter and water remained on the threads and battery.

then when it dried it out and put it back together it was very dim (AAA dim). a little fiddling and it went to full brightness but flickered and cycled on-off. this might be a problem with the kroll but im not sure.

im sure that peter will take care of me but i must say that im immensely disappointed. and to top it all off, my AAA required turning on-off twice several times each time i turned it on (did not take it swimming).

i will call Arc first thing monday but wanted to make everyone aware of my experience and to be careful with their own LS.
ill be out of touch until the 15th so if i dont respond thats why.

Re: LSH-S not waterproof

Sorry to hear you had a unit leak! The depth of 9 feet should not be a problem for this light. I am surprised it leaked for you.

I haven't seen the unit yet but the report of water in the battery compartment suggests a loose Kroll switch. All it takes for the boot to leak is for the switch to not be snuggly tightened. I recommend you check this connection every once in a while and especially after servicing the light. We have consistently tested units past 100 feet of depth when the boots are nice and snug.

This has been posted before.

Since it is difficult to determine if this is the fault of the light or the operator, I will replace the light under warranty.

Peter Gransee

Re: LSH-S not waterproof

Since it is difficult to determine if this is the fault of the light or the operator, I will replace the light under warranty.

Peter Gransee

That's what I call service... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif

Re: LSH-S not waterproof

Question for the original poster -

Did you ever test out the light in a sink or bathtub? Or was this an issue of the depth (9ft)?

Re: LSH-S not waterproof

Shrap,

The lights are rated waterproof to 50 feet.

Re: LSH-S not waterproof

i'm guessing it might the kroll not being sufficiently tightened. i usually screw mine all the way down until it refuses to budge any more.

btw how is the lens on the arc LS sealed? is an O-ring used or is it just epoxied?

Re: LSH-S not waterproof

No doubt, another demonstration of great customer service! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Re: LSH-S not waterproof

the boot was tight, i checked it immediately before swimming and the day before when i installed a new battery. i cant imagine what caused the leak but it was not user error on the part of a loose kroll anyway.
BTW, the light has completely ceased working. it will not light up without shaking and warming up and even then it will flicker. i am sans my primary light for the remainder of my vacation. glad i brought my G2 as a backup.

shrap, i had previously immersed the light with no problems.

ill report what peter and i figure out.

Re: LSH-S not waterproof

my LS1rev2 leakes from the business end, and PG has immediately offered to replace it (although I did not do it because I live overseas).
great CS.
bernhard

Re: LSH-S not waterproof

@Bernhard - What did you do with your LS1 to cause the leakage ? I was wondering because my LS1 rev.2 2nd seems to be quite watertight, but I have only done short 'in the sink' tests so far... After all, the old housing had no water resistance rating.

Chris

Re: LSH-S not waterproof

My first thought was the switch boot as well. My second thought is do you clean & lube the O-ring at each battery change? I wipe the threads clean because pocket lint can get in the gap and build up on top of the O-ring, and when you unscrew to replace battery it can get rolled all over the ring and it's groove. Doesnt take much of a gap to let that pesky water in!
Carefully check the O-ring for any nicks or cuts and replace it ASAP if any are found. Even a bit of abrasion can let water in.

Re: LSH-S not waterproof

ChrisA: I did not do anything special except putting it 10 cm under water for about 10 seconds. The leakage occured at the lens/business end. It had to dry for 6 days and works fine again on my keychain.My second LS1rev2 is watertight though.
bernhard

Re: LSH-S not waterproof

i talked to merri monday. she said it was unusual for a light to leak from both the body and head. she said send it in for replacement. she also speculated, not having seen the light, that the clorine might have caused the circuit board to corrode, thus causing the inoperability. 6 days of drying it it still does not work. she did not know the cause of the white substance on the reflector.
back to Arc tomorrow.

Re: LSH-S not waterproof

Substance on the reflector may be chemicals from the water, or perhaps reacted w/ the reflective coating.

Re: LSH-S not waterproof

If it is a motel/hotel pool it is likely LOADED with chlorine and other strong stuff.........

Re: LSH-S not waterproof

I suspect the Kroll boot too. Man those Krolls are trouble. I'm glad the LS4 won't use them.

I just can't think of any metal lights as being lights to take in a pool. I'm glad to hear of the LS's waterproofness since it make me feel ok about accidental splashes or dunks. If I want to take it in a pool on purpose, I'd rather use a dive light (e.g. Underwater Kinetics). My three current travel lights are an Arc AAA, Arc LS, and UKE 2L, partly because the UKE is so waterproof (two O-rings and can supposedly withstand 500+ feet of water).

Anyway, kudos to Peter for taking care of the problem so readily.

Re: LSH-S not waterproof

I took two LSH-Ps in a friend's pool tonight. It was one of those cool salt water pools with pebbletech, waterfall and a waterslide. Whew!

I checked both boots before I entered the pool and neither light leaked.

Peter