Arc AAA - Waterproof to 50 feet?

The Arc AAA is advertized to be waterproof to 50 ft. How? I understand there is no lens in this flashlight. Is there an O ring around the LED? How do they keep the water out with no lens?

James

The LED and it's associated electronics are "potted" in an epoxy inside the head of the light. Water cannot get to anything critical. (And actually the front of the LED itself is a lens that helps focus the beam.)

Actually, a couple of Arc AAA's were taken to 340 feet with no leaks. There's a thread (actually several) about this in the Arc forum. Do a search for them, they're interesting. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Oh! Welcome to CPF! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

i think the epoxy that protects the electronics also seals the head.

There is a small O-ring INSIDE the head, and the whole electronic part is completely sealed in epoxy---not like the thermo-epoxy used in Infinity series, Arc used epoxy that will burn before soften /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The only real limit on depth is fear of implosion of the human holding the light. Fear not - the parts that need to stay dry won't get wet.

inside the head? i always thought the only o-ring on an arc AAA was the one above the threads. makes me even more confident though /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

didn't someone do a calculation that the arc head would only leak somewhere around 2000feet?

furthermore, even if water gets in the body, it works. aragorn changed his battery 9ft underwater (though he hack one hell of a time getting it open again! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif )

the only depth limitation to the arc, is you

If there wasn't the chance a fish would mistake it for food, maybe someone could drop it down to the bottom on a fishing line, somewhere it's REALLY deep. And drop it progressively deeper until it failed. Even though no one will be using it deeper than, say, 400 feet, it's reassuring to know that it is over protected and will never fail from water damage during even the most extreme conditions humans are likely to face in the water. It really only has to survive as deep as its owner does. After that, it's a moot point. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

Peter, thanks for over engineering the AAA. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif It gives me great confidence to know my ARC is so durable.

about the arc AAA having its battery changed underwater, is that really possible? i know for a fact that the last time i washed my arc AAA the head could not be tightened any further once the O-ring sealed against the battery tube since water cannot be compressed like air can, unless of course the O-ring was removed.

Unless water is very pure it conducts electricity somewhat. So changing the battery underwater (say in a river) would get the case full of partly conductive water that would drain the battery after a while. Doesn't sound like a great idea.

FWIW, many dive lights have two identical bulbs that you can switch between (you use just one at a time), so if a bulb pops during a dive you turn a knob and rotate in the spare without having to open the light.

[ QUOTE ]
paulr said:
Unless water is very pure it conducts electricity somewhat. So changing the battery underwater (say in a river) would get the case full of partly conductive water that would drain the battery after a while. Doesn't sound like a great idea.

[/ QUOTE ]
A) Nobody in his right might would actually change the battery underwater (Trevor has many special talents though)
B) See above.

I know mine is waterproof in the Heavy Duty cycle of my washing machine. I reached in to move jeans from the washer to the dryer, heard a clunk, and found my 2002 CPF Edition Arc AAA that usually is always around my neck. I went into a brief panic, and turned it on-- it worked just fine. I then opened it up and it was bone dry inside. Nice.

Last night I went swimming with my girlfriend and her best friend, we had great fun throwing it in the deep end and retrieving it.

Said girlfriend's best friend asked: "Is that a Mag light?" I tried not to laugh TOO derisively. I explained the differences to her, as well as corrected some misinformation she had (she thought the Mag light was made of titanium, and was surprised that it was actually aluminum.) They both thought aluminum was "wimpy", but then I invited them to closely examine the Arc AAA, and note that it was not a wimpy material at all. I told them the main things that made the Mag wimpy was their fragile filament bulb and the 'moisture resistance' (try using a Mag Solitaire as a pool toy.) I don't know if they noticed, but we had the light on for well over an hour and there was no dimming, and definitely no change in the output color.

Mine go through the wash pretty regularly. And I too, often use mine as pool toys. Great fun in the hot tub for ... uh... hand checks.