Newbie with basic questions.....

Had no idea there were addicts in this field until recently when I bought a G2. I have a few marine questions, as I fish regularly in salt water. 1. Is there any way to safely store a light (in a drybox) with the batteries in place for any period of time without the risk of corrosion? What is the longest you would store a light with batteries intact? 2. I'm having a problem trying to relate candlepower to lumens. What I'm really looking for is a compact light that will come close to the smaller halogen spotlights in output. I have two spotlights on the boat, one rechargeable and one 12V plug in, but I've burned both out on occasion and would like to have something as a backup (for my backup, I guess). The smaller spots have 500K candlepower. Any small light come even close to this? This light would be used to view channel markers.....
3. I've not seen many discussions about Inova LED lights. Any comments about their utility?
4. About how long can you expect the bulbs to last in a G2? I realize it depends on how much you use it, therefore this isn't a real intelligent question, but for example in comparison to a standard inexpensive flashlight.
thanks....Rick

1) Lithium batteries [as used in the G2] have a very long shelf life [10+ years], you should not need to worry about them like you do alkalines.

2) Lumens is the total light that a source outputs in all directions, candlepower is the measure of output on a specific surface area. It is extremely difficult to convert one to the other [it is not a simple multiplier].

3) Inova lights are well built and sturdy, although the usefulness of the X1 is disputed. The X5 produces a modest but usefull flood, you might want to see what they come out with in the near future.

4) Don't know.

Does that mean that even left in the light they won't corrode?

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davidra said:
Does that mean that even left in the light they won't corrode?

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Yes [within reason]. I've had alkalines start to corrode in a year ... lithiums should go several years without concern. The G2 is not prone to corrosion either, so you've made a good choice for a marine light.

Lithium batts are safe to leave in the light... provided that it doesn't come into contact with water!! If it does get wet, then dry them out first before using again.

As for something that could be bright enough, you might want to look into the Pelican or UKE series of lights... they have some lights that firefighters use and I think should be fairly powerful (Big Ed, Sabrelight, Sunlight, etc). I forgot about Princeton Tec as well... These are all dive rated lights, so no worries about water leakage, and bulbs should be fairly cheap to replace as well, compared to the G2.

Oh, by the way... Welcome to CPF! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

i'm not sure of any compact lights that come close to a spotlight's 500,000 candlepower..

i don't think you'd need something that bright either tho, due to the ability of some lights to throw a beam a really long distance.

there is a pretty nice Mag Charger fix that will give you one brightass light, but i'm not sure of runtime. if you do a search on this site you can find s'more information about it.

I've wondered about the meaning of 10-year shelf life, too. It seems like it would certainly mean the batteries won't turn to acid mush in 10 years, but what about Ahr? Does it mean that at the end of ten years, the batteries are dead flat or 50 percent or still like new?

I've always interpreted the 10 year shelf life to be the period of time in which the battery will still perform at its peak and be fully functional. I'm interested in any answers to this question /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif

I think I read somewhere on cpf that the 'bulb' in the g2, the average p60 lamp assembly lasts in the vicinity of 15 - 30 hours, give or take a lot /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

You said you were using a drybox... that's the best way to do it. You may even go a step further and seal your G2 in a ziplock bag. If this light is going to be your backup, then storing it in such a way should be fine and the lithiums will give you the shelf life you need. That's not to say you shouldn't still test the light atleast once a year when you test the other equipment in your boat.

If you use the light in the boat, after you get back to land you might want to take it apart just to make sure it's dry on the inside before you toss it back in your drybox.

Also as far as LED's go, I think you would be better served by something with a xenon bulb. You are going to have much more throw with that than you would an LED and that's what you need to see those channel markers.

I'd say you are on the right track. The only way I see you could improve is by having more than one backup... Maybe buy a couple G2's. You didn't say what color G2 you have. I would think the yellow would be a great high visibility color to have on a boat.

Also one last thing, you may want to carry some spare batteries too in your drybox, being how the runtime of the G2 is only an hour. I don't know many people that spend less than an hour out on the water if they have a boat. And if you are in an emergency situation and down to your backups, having the extra runtime is cheap insurance!

Welcome to the CPF BTW /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

--Jason

Hello Rick,

Welcome to CPF.

First off let me remind you that everything corrodes in the salt water environment. The best you can do is to try to slow that process down.

I prepare my lights by spraying them (inside and out) with a silicon spray, then wiping them dry. This includes the batteries. You can get a silicon cloth used to wipe guns down that works well on the outside. I should also state that my "water" lights are all plastic. The silicon makes them a little slippery to handle without gloves, but seems to keep the lights fresh.

I would suggest that you check out dive lights. They are supposed to be sealed and waterproof and usually live up to that. I would just keep the light handy and would not worry about a dry box for the light.

UnderWater Kinetics has a HID light that would rival your spot lights called the Light Cannon 100. They also have a variety of 4, 6 and 8 C cell lights as well as 4 and 8 D cell lights. They even have some new LED lights listed although I have not heard any reviews on them.

For more information visit UK web page

I carry the UK SL4 in my kayak and it does a good job. The SL6 is brighter (and bigger) if you need more throw. These two lights have a very narrow spot beam without much spill. I find that beam useful if you kind of know where the channel marker is. A flood light is better if you are looking to light up the whole area.

Princeton Tec also offers a good selection of dive lights. The Surge puts out a lot of light and runs on 8 AA batteries. PT has had some reliability problems in the past, but I think they have things worked out now. Do a search on this light and you will have hours of reading, comments, and reviews. PT also has 4 and 8 C cell lights for more power.

For more information visit PT web page

Both of these companies offer lifetime warranties and have good customer service.

I have just started carrying a metal light in my kayak to see how well it hold up. The Hyper Lux V is a 3 x 123 lithium cell 5 watt LED light. It is waterproof to 100 feet with the standard tail cap. We will see how well the finish holds up. I have just started carrying this light and it is too early to report any progress. LED lights are good for close in work, but they have a problem with throw. My Hyper Lux V is only good to about 40 yards. I use it to verify channel markers, not to locate them.

Good luck

Tom

Thanks for the great response from all. Tom, in Florida among my fisherman friends we all use the same product for corrosion: Corrosion X. Unlike some of the gunky corrosion stoppers, this material feels very much like silicone, but is far and away the best product of it's kind, and I've been saltwater fishing for 50 years. I coat everything with it;you might pick some up to try with your metal light. One of the main reasons I wanted to go with a lithium powered light was just to decrease the chance of between use corrosion....

http://www.marinestore.com/corrosionx.html?cart=314567585826877

Josey-

It's my understanding that the 10 year shelf life means they will still retain 90% of their original power capacity after ten years.

GregR

Hello Rick,

Thanks for the link. I will look into it.

Tom