14 replies to this topic

[whitey]

My DS-50 flooded, I believe through the battery door on the rear of strobe.
My understanding was that this is a sealed compartment, and a flood was a relatively minor affair.

Well, the whole strobe seems to have filled up with H20 and NaCl, and bits of other nasty chemicals from the batteries reacting with the salt water.

There's no obvious way to actually get the water/sludge out of the strobe.

Does anyone have any bright ideas? I'm guessing this strobe won't be lighting my photographic adventures again in the future.

[Giles]

a hammer might help get the water out.

i had heard with these strobes if the flood and the batteries leak then the seal into the strobe from the battery compartment is likely to get distroyed by the battery acid.

I got lucky with soemthing similar, I dont believe I flooded mine but I left my old rechargeable batteries in for too long and one of them blew up, all I had to do was clean the inside of the battery compartment, a q-tip and some white vinegar.

My understanding when they are sealed like this it is a factory job to open up, but i dont think you can break it much more esp if it was salt water and it's been in there a while ... i'd call it a loss and have a play

[whitey]

a hammer might help get the water out.

O.K., if you think that's the best method.

I was going to drill two little holes in the front, and then plug them with "Shoe Goo" or similar when the acid sludge had all drained out.


P.S. Maybe I should put it on Ebay?

[Peter Schulz]

The strobe is history as the electronics are toast in addition to all the other problems.

My guess is that the flood is covered by Ikelite's warrantee since the whole unit flooded.

My advice, put it in a zip lock bag as is, then package it and send it to Ikelite with a note describing what happened ... no RMA required.

[tshepherd]

Had something similar happen with a DS-125. Email Ikelite and send the strobe back for repair.

[Jolly]

oh no, I just remember ....
http://www.wetpixel....c&p=33422#33422

Julian

[davephdv]

Just send it in to Ikelite. About 10 years ago I had an old style Ike remote TTL slave sensor flood after about 3 years of hard use. About the day I expected to get a repair estimate from them a brand new TTl slave sensor showed up in my mail box. No charge. Can't say they won't charge you. I did have to pay to have a strobe fixed once. But at least they were quick and a lot cheaper than the Sea and Sea and Nikon strobes I've have to send in for repair.

[whitey]

Jolly, LOL! I can't believe you remembered that comment! It and the thread I was referring to were the first things that went through my mind when I started seeing bubbles coming from the strobe.

You've obviously got to watch what you write around wetpixel, people will bring it up years later to haunt you. you've all been warned!

Dave, normally I'd send it back to Ikelite or email Ike who as you know is generally very helpful when it comes to advice on his products. However, given the thread above I'm not game to admit that my DS-50 flooded!

It's sort of sitting around full of sludge which I figured can't be good for it. As I'm currently in Pannawonica (what, you've never heard of it?), it'd be a good while til it reached Ike HQ in seppo-land. So I thought I'd check with you folk to see if there was any good suggestions.

It's a sad reflection on Wetpixelers that the best idea you've come up with is Giles' idea of bashing it with a hammer. He wants to operate on my nose, you know, so perhaps I can send him the the strobe initially to see how his technical skills are.

I still think my idea of drilling a couple of holes to let the water out and then selling it is the best bet. Perhaps selling it on digitaldiver's classifieds section?

[Jolly]

Well, I don't know/think you did not handle the battery cap thing wrong, but somehow I just remembered that thread and the locked one as well

BTW Rob, Ike has mentioned in that locked thread that only people who are to stupid to handle this simple battery thing would flood the strobe and this would never happen under normal circumstances. And you have been aware of this so it can not be your fault and you should expect a new one. Or better put some money on top when you ship the flooded DS-50 to Ikelite and get a DS-125 right away

Julian

[Kelpfish]

Ike is known to replace free of charge a strobe if the problem was other than user. The battery compartment is sealed from the main strobe, thus it is generally a manufacturer flaw....unless you got nosey and poked and prodded where you shouldn't Even if the warranty is up, he should fix it without too much complianing....he is simply honest and sticks by his work ethic and quality. Shoot him and email...you should be fine.

Joe

[Gazzer]

oh no, I just remember ....
http://www.wetpixel....c&p=33422#33422

Julian

[whitey]

OK, thanks for the advice.

Thought I better give you an update, as I'm sure you were all really worried about how my DS-50 was getting on.

I did what Giles suggested and belted the strobe with a hammer a bit, but it didn't really seem to help.

I've given it a bit of time to dry out by itself, and it seems to have worked pretty well. Admittedly there's a tiny bit of rust inside, but I think it's mainly cosmetic.



This strobe has been listed as 'for sale' in my signature since I made the original post, but it's not selling as quickly as I hoped it would. So I'm going to discount it by a further 5%.

Hope to hear from any of you prospective buyers soon,

Kind regards,

Whitey

Edited by whitey, 18 April 2008 - 11:26 PM.

[johan_paz]

/deleted

Edited by johan_paz, 24 May 2009 - 03:52 AM.

[whitey]

Just ordered a 5D Mk3 and some new L glass from B&H yesterday. i really need to sell this strobe to help pay for the new gear. Plus I can't work out how to attach it to the Ewa-Marine anyway (gaffer tape works fine on the boat, but once in the water it's just not cool).

So lets make it a 10% discount off the original price. Sale has been slower than I hoped...but that's my final offer.

[Deco Rico]

So lets make it a 10% discount off the original price. Sale has been slower than I hoped...but that's my final offer.

Hmmmmm... after 7 years trying to sell it I can't see anyone falling for it Hey is that mold??

Might I suggest the best use for it:-
- Cut that sucker in half with a dremel (or an Irish screwdriver, if you prefer)
- Have a look at how it's all put together
- Post pics of what you find so I can get mine apart (WITHOUT using a dremel!) and finally fix the leaky b*stard.