50W Hartenberger wreck maxi ?

[HDC]

Does anyone have any practical experience /opinion good or bad of this torch ?
Thanks

[dry suit diver]

It is customary around these parts to post an intro, maybe if you do then somebody will respond with an answer about the torch.

Personally i have no idea about these torches ,get a Salvo 21W.

[Getafix]

Don't worry HDC,someone who uses the stuff,and has more dives than post's will reply in a civil manner

I've got a Hartenberger Mini(the 20 or 25W version).I've had it 4 yrs or so,never had any problems,still on the first bulb.Its very well built and tough,the battery pack is getting a touch tired now,but i've only lost at most 5 mins of burn time.
I don't think they have a UK importer anymore,you'll need to go through their website.
I did look at the 50W version,but it is a bit of a beast,and the Mini does pretty well.I think they are a touch better than the Kowalski's(certainly the older Kowalski's,not sure about the more modern one's) as they don't use Nicads and don't get a memory(which i have seen in Kowalski's) they also had a longer burn time.The downside is that you need to break them open,but they have good seals and i have had no problem.The magnetic on/off is good,with a locking pin,and has been fine as well.

Alan

[Neil R]

Got mine about two years ago, direct import from Hartenberger in Germany. The buying and delivery side of things all went very smoothly. I also bought the battery pack clip holder, and use a cam-band to clamp it to the cylinder.

But I will admit I didn't do a lot of looking around first - I simply went on the recommendation of a respected diver friend who had also bought one - on the basis of the umbilical being the best quality he'd found. I also particurly like the magnetic (inductance?) switch - no chance of water ingress.

Not sure what I can say other than it works as advertised and I've had absoutely no problems. My mate's, however, developed a single duff cell in the pack, but they replaced that without quibble. I guess that could happen to any manufacturer. Looks like there's plenty of potential for a DIY cell change one day too, if/when they wear out and/or higher capacity stuff comes along.

The one arguable downside is the limited burn time - 1 hour from memory on full power. Even when making use of the lower power settings, I wasn't getting enough burn time for 2 'ideally lit' dives. But it was mainly bought for tekkie applications, and for the one dive a day I'm now aiming at this isn't a problem.