Flooded HID

[puddlediver]

Just got back from a weeks liveaboard in Scotland. What happened whilst I was away.............damned hid canister flooded.

I've tried the head on car battery charger and that works ok. I've taken a reading off the batteries. One 5 stack is showing ok. The other 4 stack is showing ok too - but less than the 5 obviously. The one other battery which the red wire blew off is completely dead.

Any clues? Do I just put a new battery on to the 4 stack, rewire and carry on regardless or is it a new battery pack I need.

The batteries are NiMH 4500 1.2V.

Cheers

Lyv

Oh yes, and I lost my air gun too, it popped off the hose unexpectedly. Ah well, you win some.........

[Rob Dobson]

Depending upon the extent of the flooding and the design of the canister lid then the robotic chord and the ballast may ultimately need replacing even though they still work today.

[Simon A]

having re-built a salvo that someone left flooded with salt water for 2 weeks, my advice is to do one of the following:-
a proper job:-
rinse everything but the battery in fresh water. Any wiring that has gone green should be cut back beyond the green bit, if the switch is corroded then replace it. Then replace the whole pack, all cells even if still working will be degraded.

To get it working for now :-
rinse in fresh water, air dry completely, replace entire battery, then use. Any part that is damaged will go eventually but worst case you'll have got an extra X months out of it whilst saving up.

With excelent advice from Barry at Salvo and Phil at Diving Nik Naks, I did a proper job on the one I rebuilt (cost £200 for new battery, switch and umbilical cable), but that was because the insurance wrote it off to the tune of £700, then when asked could we keep the flooded torch said "yes"
HTH
Simon A

[Jules]

Lyv

My honest opinion having seen the brown gunky fluid that was dripping out of the batteries is that they are dead. I think that Ian's idea about completely replacing the battery packs is the most sensible course of action.

Jules

[Jezza]

Originally Posted by Jules

Lyv

My honest opinion having seen the brown gunky fluid that was dripping out of the batteries is that they are dead. I think that Ian's idea about completely replacing the battery packs is the most sensible course of action.

Jules

I agree NiMH batteries hate water