Water Trouble, Eagletac D25LC2 + Eagletac 3400mAh Li-Ion

Hello everyone,

Recently ive bought my first proper EDC light, a nice Eagletac D25LC2 with 2 3400 Li-Ion's.
Here is the story:
two days ago we had some trouble with the plumbing in our appartment, there was water in our kitchen and I went to check it out.
So i used my flashy light to check up on the problem, and in the process it has been lying in about 1cm of water.
Today a plumber came, and i tried to use my light again, the head was slightly unscrewed but it still went into high power mode.
So i unscrewed the top, and found this:

Rust on the contacts and water inside the battery tube.
This should be covered by warranty right? And i guess it is unsafe to use the battery again?

I would love to hear your opinion and help me out with this problem.

Greetings, dragonhaertt

Your light was partially submerged and slightly unscrewed, and you feel EagleTac should be responsible for it?

It is supposed to be slightly unscrewed to access the lower level power modes... Maybe you should give some helpful advice instead of acting like I'm stupid.

ledmitter_nli said:

Your light was partially submerged and slightly unscrewed, and you feel EagleTac should be responsible for it?

Click to expand...

It is a twisty is it not? it is designed to be "slightly unscrewed". It is also IPX-8 so working on plumbing should not have caused something like this. Sounds like warranty to me.

It's a clicky, but the power modes are still accessed by the twist head. Indeed was only unscrewed far enough to have a low power mode. Do you think I should ask for a full replacement? Or would asking for a new O-Ring and battery be enough? I don't really feel safe with a non-waterproof light which has Li-Ion in there.

Is there a visible problem with the o ring? If not I don't think the problem will be solved with a new o ring and battery. an IPX-8 light should not have done that from just working on a plumbing problem.

Last year I bought a cheap "diving flashlight" for use in our pool. It leaked the first time we used it! I let it dry on the patio roof for about a week and the light still worked. I threw it in a drawer and forgot all about it. About a week ago I coated the o-ring (it only has 1) with o-ring lubricant I bought at a pool supply store (for use on pool equipment). The light is now 100% waterproof. Try some really thick silicone on the o-ring. Flashlights can take a long time to dry out.... I'd leave it in the sun for about a week first.... You might get your modes back!

I would definitely get rid of the battery. I definitely think this would be a warranty issue since the light was used as it was designed. Thick lubricant such as grease definitely helps on the threads with improving your chances of not getting water into the light.


I think there's also a very important lesson to be learned here. It's important to test your gears capabilities before you get into a particular scenario. All my gear that is critical to me I double check myself and don't listen to the hype from the manufacturers.

If they say something is rated waterproof for half an hour I will definitely test that before I get caught in a situation with water. When they say a particular light has 8 hours of runtime at a certain level I will test that before taking that light caving. I wonder how many other people test their gear before they actually get into a situation that tests the gear. Just food for thought.

Yea that sucks...but not the end of the world. I agree with the others that lube on the "O" ring/s is the best defense against future water problems. I would probably just clean it up as best I could...maybe ask for a new "O" ring...but just lubing the original one might be all thats needed. As far as the battery...myself...dry it and see how things go...but charge it outside in a shady safe place...just incase...BOOM...lol...I doubt it though...but be safe the first few recharge times.

That said, I think you would be fully in the right if you sent it back and requested replacements...just a hassle. Make sure you call your dealer first if you decide on this course of action...get a RMA # before you do...

Thanks for the advice guys, I got some ball bearing grease, and ill ask for a replacement of the battery. I don't think a replacement of the light itself is needed, ill try testing it a bit tomorrow, with my other battery. And ill try some waterproofing tests when it is all greased up.
God, I love these forums
If only i had a bit more money so i could become a proper flashoholic

Whoa...slow down there! Many "O" rings don`t do well when a petroleum based lube is used...they actually swell up...for now maybe a vegetable based one. You need to order some Nyogel or some other "O" ring lube.

Here is one http://goinggear.com/flashlights/accessories/nitecore-silicon-grease.html

Here is another http://goinggear.com/flashlights/ac...flashlight-lubrication-armytek-packaging.html

The problem with twisty UI and water is that they are not rated with the head unscrewed, only tight.



If the O-ring is not adequately compressed, water gets past it.

If using a light with this as a feature, be aware of the loss in water resistance with it unscrewed. That includes lights that you unscrew the other end to "lock out" as well, not just the heads.

I have some silicon oil aswell, and some chain grease, ill read up on the grease and lube thread tomorrow. Now it is sleepy time.

Has anyone else had any issues with water getting in the D25LC2? I just ordered one and notice 99% of the levels I'd use are only available when the head is loose which worries me.

TEEJ said:

The problem with twisty UI and water is that they are not rated with the head unscrewed, only tight.
If the O-ring is not adequately compressed, water gets past it. If using a light with this as a feature, be aware of the loss in water resistance with it unscrewed. That includes lights that you unscrew the other end to "lock out" as well, not just the heads.

Click to expand...

Well that's a major issue if true for all manufacturers. So the assumption is that "twisty" (mode changing or other) lights can only be used immersed (under warranty) if completely tightened, and thereby limited to "tightened mode" functionality (e.g. turbo/strobe)?

I am fairly sure I have seen Self Built state that even IPX ratings aren't exactly what you expect. As soon as you switch the light on or off there is no guarantee it will maintain the water resistance. Basically you can have an IPX-8 rated light and it will maintain that rating whilst fully immersed in water - as soon at you hit the switch that light DOES NOT have to maintain the IP rating..

With that said, I would also be inclined to believe that the light is NOT an IPX-8 light while the head is loose.
Don't blame the manufacturer for your lack of understanding. If the IP rating is so essential or you actually intend to operate the light in wet conditions, it is solely your responsibility to know what you can and can't do. I guess you can argue misleading product description on the manufacturer/dealers behalf but obviously that information is available if you had looked..

Hey again, I thought this thread died a long time ago, but let me tell you what has happened.
I have contacted the dealer and received a new battery and o-ring.
Of course I had to test the waterproofing and I immersed the light with (more then I usually do) unscrewed top and no water came in even after multiple hours, and turning on/off.
In conclusion: the o ring was probably damaged which caused the problem. The IPX rating is maintained in unscrewed position and turning on/off underwater.
I do not know why i got so much hate for this thread, usually this community is very nice and I didn't expect so many people saying "This is your own fault, don't blame the manufacturer"
The light comes with a IPX rating and you should be able to expect it to work (Including ALL functions) under the tested conditions.

yes of course the o-ring still seals even if the head is in the "loose" position i.e. a quarter turn from "tight". to insist otherwise just shows you don't know what you're talking about