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Listed below are some common questions we get through your e-mails. If you have a question, please send a note to Tom Carroll. It may end up on this list!
Fogging Lenses in Light heads QUESTION: The lenses on my NiteRider Dive light fog up with condensation when I am in the water. Later it disappears. Is this because the lights are assembled in humid conditions? ANSWER: The fogging you refer to is an
inherent condition of the light. You won't be able to get rid of
it by drying the light. The hi-wattage of the lights causes the
temperature to be over the boiling point and any moisture contained
in the plastic parts is boiled out and it condenses on the lenses.
I have tried assembling the lights in a Nitrogen filled box and
still could not get rid of the moisture. Plastic absorbs a certain
amount of moisture from the atmosphere. Even if you dry the plastic
it reabsorbs the moisture. Battery Life and Charge Cycles
ANSWER: The battery life on a NR4000 is approximately 500 to 800 charge cycles. The shelf life is about 3 to 5 years whether you use it or not. We replace worn Nicad battery packs for $150. shipped! QUESTION: What is typical "life" for the NiMH BW3000 or BW5000 battery? How many charging cycles are possible in battery lifetime? ANSWER: The battery life on a BW3000 or BW 5000 is approximately 200 to 300 charge cycles. The shelf life is about 2 to 2.5 years whether you use it or not. Again, $150.00 is the replacement fee, shipped. The MicroBrute Charger QUESTION: What kind of charger comes with the BlackWater 3000 and how long does the battery last and how much does it cost to replace? Do I need to drain the battery to condition it before charging. ANSWER: The new charger that comes with the Blackwater 3000 is a 2.5-hour International Smart Charger that allows charging anywhere in the world from 100 volts to 240 volts AC. It is a true smart charger that senses when the battery is fully charged and then switches into a maintenance or trickle mode. Also included is a Cigarette Lighter Adapter so you can also charge in your car or a boat on 12 volts DC. You do not have to drain your battery to condition it before charging. The battery lasts for 300 hours or about 2 years. HID Upgrades QUESTION: I am a search & rescue diver and I own a Blackwater 3000 lighting system with the plug-n-forget charger. I am interested in upgrading the bulbs on my current system to HID bulbs and was wondering if this was possible. I have the standard 12W and 20W bulbs on there and would like to put in two 10W HID bulbs--do you think this would work? What would be my estimated burn times with a single and double 10W HID bulbs? What about the burn times with HID and standard bulbs? Also, what are the procedures for changing out these bulbs? I would also like to upgrade to a MicroBrute charger and would like to know the benefits it has over the original smart charger. What kind of features does this new charger have (i.e.--overcharge protection, time of full charge, etc.) ANSWER: You can't get much better than the BW 3000 for the kind of work you are doing. Sorry the HID lamps won't fit into your housing. A single 10watt HID would get 4 hours burn time on your battery pack and we could retro fit an HID head into your Battery Pack for $350.00, yes they are expensive. We are not going to make a dual head HID Lighthead. I would stick with what you have if I were you. If you need longer burn times you could use our 8 watt lamp and get 5.7 hours burn time with the BW 3000 battery. We also offer an Electronic Dimmer that allows you to adjust the light level and thereby conserve energy when you don't need the full brightness. The new 5-hour International MicroBrute Smart Charger is a true smart charger and charges your battery in 5 hours or less depending on how much charge you have in the battery when you start charging. The Charger can be used anywhere in the world from 100 volts to 240 volts AC and if you buy our Cigarette Lighter Adapter you can also charge in your car or a boat on 12 volts DC. The Microbrute Charger for BW3000 is Sku # 6207 and costs $84.95 The Cigarette Lighter Adapter is Sku # 6205 and costs $9.95 Search and Rescue Lighting QUESTION: I have been very pleased with the NiteRider systems that I use on my mountain bike and have been equally pleased with the alkaline dive light I have been using for marine engineering inspections. At this time I am in need of a lighting systems that can double for use with our surf rescue team and the dive team. Your 6v rechargeable systems or the alkaline systems seem to have the needed functionality. We need to provide for the lighting needs of our jet ski for night operations and as well as for the dive team. For some reason our clients like to be rescued at night as well as during the day! Do you have a pricing program for municipal dive/rescue teams? Do you have specific recommendations for the system that would best suit our needs? Thanks for any help that you can offer. ANSWER: The very best Dive light for a variety of Rescue or recovery operations is the NiteRider Blackwater 3000. This light can be used in or out of the water, has dual beams of 12watt (3 hours) and 20 watts(2 hours) or 32watts (1:10 min.) with both beams on. We also have an Electronic Dimmer that allows you to conserve power when you don't full power. The Light head can be mounted on a Kayak helmet or cliff rescue helmet with our accessory Hard Shell Helmet Mount (sku # 4128) $19.95ea. The newest light we offer for SAR is the SwiftWater series of lights, the SW800 features a very small battery for easy transport in and out of the water and has the new revolutionary RED/WHITE LED module for long duration burn times. Check it out under our 6 volt line. This incredibly powerful hands free lighting system is perfect for cliff rescues or river rescue via jet ski or boat etc. or perfectly suited for diving in rivers or ocean with low visibility and currents. It comes with our Soft Hand Mount which allows the light to be used mounted on the top of your hand but allows the compete use of your hand for grasping. The hand mount is preferably in murky, particle rich water where reflection off the particulate can be troublesome with a head mounted light. Swift Water Rescue QUESTION: What do you recommend for Swift Water Rescue? ANSWER: For Swift Water Rescue the Helmet mount is highly recommended because the light is aiming where ever you look and you have your hands free. The small size of the battery pack 6in. x 4in. x 1.6 in. and light weight 2.3 lbs/ or 1/2lbs negative in water makes this system a pleasure to use. You don't even notice the battery and lighthead, just the powerful light beam. The Pro Diver another Dual Beam Dive Light that is a lower cost alternative to the BW 3000 but is a very high quality light that uses alkaline batteries or rechargeables. Alkaline batteries vs. Rechargeable Batteries QUESTION: What about the Alkaline batteries? ANSWER: Our Pro Diver and Sport Diver systems use Alkaline batteries. Some Rescue Teams prefer using Alkalines for the practicality of not having to charge and knowing that you just put fresh batteries in. The initial price is cheaper, but you wind up paying more in the long run for throw away alkalines when you compare hours of life for dollars spent. It relates to pay $89.95 now for rechargeables that last the equivalent to $2000 worth of alkalines. Using Surface Supplied Power via a Cable QUESTION: Three years ago, I purchased a dual 35 watt (NiteRider) light from to install on my superlite 27 dive helmet. Unfortunately, my umbilical being 250 feet long causes a voltage drop, causing a weak beam. No one was able to inform me if you sell a transformer to compensate for surface supply for the NiteRider light . I would enjoy having dual 35 watts of white light for a change.... ANSWER: We do not make an adjustable power supply for umbilical surface supplied power, although they are available. For you to use 2 X 35 watts on an umbilical from the surface and have a bright white light on your Superlite Helmet is not an easy thing to accomplish. It depends on the Wire Gauge of the cable you are using and how long it is. The cable is like a resistor so it cuts down the voltage and amperage the longer and thinner the cable is. If you used two 12volt car batteries (or one 24 volt Marine Battery) wired together in parallel to give you 24 volts at the surface and then you hooked up 300 feet of 16 gauge 2 conductor cable you would have a bright light at the end. Just be sure you don't turn off one of the lamps because the other will blow up because then you will have too much voltage. You would have to have both lamps on before you hooked it up to the battery or you would blow the lamps turning the switch on from one to both bulbs (I'm assuming you have our dual beam headlamp with the four position switch. I can give you other calculations for different cable lengths and wire gauges but this set up would be the easiest. Please refer to our Umbilical chart. The NR4000 and Digital NR 4000 QUESTION: What is the difference between the NR4000 and the Digital NR4000? ANSWER: Both of these systems are now obsolete. The NR 4000 had an On/off switch where the Digital NR4000 has a Magnetic switch that controled a microprocessor allowing the light to have 8 different light levels thereby conserving power. The Digital version also has a SOS mode, Locater Beacon Mode and a LED fuel gauge to let you know where your battery level is at. The NR4000 with Dimmer Switch was a popular option that also allowed you to conserve on power until you needed it. The new, low wattage HID technology is responsible for the replacement of the larger NR4000 battery for the smaller NiMN battery. Out of the Water - Land Use QUESTION: I compete in Eco Challenge Races. Can I operate my NiteRider Sport Diver out of the water? ANSWER: All of our lights can be operated out of the water with the exception of light heads with 25 or more watts. In the case of our dual beams, we advise using only one of the two bulbs. You may use both bulbs for short duration (i.e. one minute) but be sure to monitor the heat of the light head. The Sport Diver comes with a 10 watt bulb and will not produce enough heat to cause damage. See Sport_Bike. Wet Connectors and Corrosion QUESTION: The wet connectors seem to get a little corrosion of the contacts over time. Do you know of a product to improve the contact and also reduce corrosion? It still works fine so just enquiring. Is it safe to clean contacts with mild vinegar? ANSWER: Yes, it is okay to clean the contacts with vinegar, hot vinegar is best or ammonia or baking soda or one of the various jewelry cleaning products BUT the important thing is that the cleaning substance leaves the connector "dry". The connectors are made of copper with a gold plating. Gold is the least reactive metal with salt water or oxygen so corrosion or oxidization (rust) is prevented naturally, but there can be a build up of salts and chemicals from the salt water that can leave the surface with "gold tarnish". The tarnish can be cleaned with various jewelry cleaners like "Never Dull" or the hot vinegar, ammonia or baking soda. NEVER use a cleaner that can scratch or remove the gold plating. You should NEVER use WD-40 or silicon grease or a gel or any other substance that leaves an oily residue because this will loosen the pull-apart strength of the connectors. For on going care, the Wet Connectors should be rinsed and dried after use. The pins are made of copper with a nickel plating then a thin gold plating over the nickel. The Nickel plating provides a hard substrate and prevents the copper from migrating into the gold. It is important that you care for the pins as they are an important part of the electrical system. So the best way to care for these expensive connectors is by rinsing them in clean water and drying. Also clean off any tarnish with a cleaning solution for metal such as Never Dull and a soft cloth. http://gometaldetecting.com/cleaning-finds.html http://www.brushwellman.com/alloy/tech_lit/January02.pdf http://www.terrific-scientific.co.uk/Topics/Corrosion/Explain/Corrosion-6.htm
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