Inon Z240 Battery Compartment... Watertight?

[sunnyboy010101 12]

Asking anyone who knows the technical details of the Inon Z240 strobe...

 

Is the battery compartment watertight when the primary (watertight) cap is not on? I had an incident today diving salt water (ocean) where the cap became dislodged and the battery compartment flooded.

 

While the batteries were of course destroyed, I flushed the battery compartment many times with fresh water, then soaked the strobe in fresh water and finally dried it completely.

 

There seems to be no corrosion on the gold contacts inside the battery compartment, nor on the inner cap that holds the battery contact.

 

Once fully dry I tested it and the strobe to be water-free and working fine, but I was still wondering if the technical specs for the Z240 indicate a sealed battery compartment. Sure seems like it to me.

 

Thanks.

[okuma 64]

No, it is not!

Flooded a 240 when the battery cap incurred a fine hair line crack at the base of the internal inside thread.

Even if it is now operational for you, as any salt water dries, it will leave crystalline residue that will cause electrical shorts.

[ChrigelKarrer 52]

I also flooded one Z-240 as i was in hurry and the o-ring got pinched and dislodged while srewing on the cap.
To avoid that, lubrificate the yellow o-ring when you feel that he is sticky while screwing on the cap, use just minimum amount of grease and check seating every time you use the strobe!

 

I noticed the error under water when bubbles came out of the battery compartment, so when i came up, everything was black and corroded and i could not recover the strobe.
However , as far i remeber, there was no water inside the strobe, just the battery compartment was totally corroded.

If yours is working, then keep using it!

Chris

[markdrayton 12]

Yes, me too. A thread from the Strobe neoprene jacket caught in the O-ring. Salt water rapidly entered the Strobe body itself from the battery compartment. It is not fully sealed. Maybe gas pressure from the short-circuited battery cells is what does it?

Mark

[Magrone 9]

From what I understand the battery compartment is sealed from the rest of the strobe. But the pressure from flooding the compartment can cause a crack in the compartment resulting in exposure to the rest of the strobe. So I guess it depends on the severity of the flood and how long the batteries are stewing in salt water. I flooded a strobe and it was fine after cleaning it with vinegar.

[ChrisRoss 150]

it is designed to be sealed and I believe the black plastic you can see on the opposite end of the battery compartment is meant to be a pressure relief to prevent excess pressure from gases generated by the batteries when the compartment floods to be vented.

 

In theory the strobe can survive a battery compartment flood. In practice sometimes the pressure gets too high and pushes into the main part of the strobe destroying it or the vent may be damaged. However if you have washed all the salt and the strobe works keep using it. I would guess that it depends on how good the seal around the cables taking power into the main strobe is. If it survives the pressure you should be fine.

[synthetic 4]

I have flooded my Z220 battery compartment twice over the years and they were fine once I threw out the batteries and cleaned out the compartment. The inner contacts are gold, I wish the outer ones were also.

 

I found that the main cause was the O-ring getting pinched when screwing it down. Now I not only lube the O-ring, but I run a finger around the inside of the cap where it contacts. Since I started doing that a few years ago I haven't had a problem.

[bvanant 189]

Unlike Jeff, my flooded Z240 pushed water everywhere into the strobe. Not sure why, but this version was not sealed.

Bill

[Magrone 9]

Lubing the o ring on a regular basis is important not only to prevent pinches when screwing them down, but to prevent the o-ring from breaking from the twisting pressure. I heard a pop when I was underwater one time and noticed the strobe stopped firing and then the red light went out. When I got out I saw that the o-ring had burst and the battery compartment was flooded. However, I rinsed the compartment with fresh water and went over the contacts with vinegar and the strobe recovered just fine.

[marcw 8]

Lubing the o ring on a regular basis is important not only to prevent pinches when screwing them down, but to prevent the o-ring from breaking from the twisting pressure. I heard a pop when I was underwater one time and noticed the strobe stopped firing and then the red light went out. When I got out I saw that the o-ring had burst and the battery compartment was flooded. However, I rinsed the compartment with fresh water and went over the contacts with vinegar and the strobe recovered just fine.

what do you mean the o-ring burst?

[Magrone 9]

The o-ring had been severed from the twisting pressure... Im assuming thats the pop that I heard, because the strobe itself was fine.

[bryan.nazareno 0]

my brand new inon 240 type 4 recently flooded on the second day of use in a liveaboard. not sure why and how not both were purchased new and o rings greased pn the first day of the liveaboard.

 

Inon rep says the flooded one can not be repaired. so now.lookimg for another z40

 

 

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[bryan.nazareno 0]

Unlike Jeff, my flooded Z240 pushed water everywhere into the strobe. Not sure why, but this version was not sealed.

Bill

same situation but mine likely worse as it was just my 5th dove with the set and they were both new.

 

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[ChrisRoss 150]

The o-ring had been severed from the twisting pressure... Im assuming thats the pop that I heard, because the strobe itself was fine.

With the INON O-rings you don't want to follow the only enough lube to make the o-ring shiny that is the normal recommendation for housing and port O-rings. You need enough so the cap screws on easily and agree that taking a dab of grease and running your finger round the cap helps a lot.

 

Again the battery housing is designed to be floodable, but it may or may not work. Maybe the pressure built up when the batteries get wet varies with type and state of charge or maybe the seal where the conductors go into the main compartment may fail sometimes. There is also a vent built into the compartment to prevent excess pressure build up which may not operate as designed. This explains why some people survive floods and others don't.

[bryan.nazareno 0]

appreciate the information. I know better now.

 

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[Marsh 9]

In a lapse of memory, I was testing rig buoyancy in a pool and left the battery cover off. Water never got into the strobe, and after drying out, it worked fine for years and is still going strong. As others said, the battery compartment is sealed.