Hi,

I have made a small LED light consisting of 2 AAA batteries, a switch,
resistor and an LED.

Does anyone know what will happen if this is frequently splashed or even
submerged in salt water?

I know that salt water is conductive. I presume that when submerged current
will short circuit. What will the affects of this be?
Will it drain my battery, does anyone know how quick this will happen? Will
it be like a direct short?
Will I damage the LED?
Will I get corrosion? Could I put a sacrificial anode in my system to direct
the corrosion to a particular point?


The light is to be used as a blacklight for a compass on my sea Kayak. So
when it is rough it is likely that there will be a lot of water frequently
splashing the deck. And if I capsize The whole thing will be submerged.

I have been unable to think of a way to waterproof the light. I considered
encapsulating the whole thing in a ball of silicone, this presents problems
when I need to change the battery. I have tried in vain to get a waterproof
battery holder. There is limited space under my compass, just enough for a
double AAA battery pack placing the battery pack in a film canister will not
work. I need to find out if the problems I will experience will out
waterproofing will outweigh the hassle of re encapsulating the whole thing
in a ball of silicone every time I need to change the battery.

Any suggestions will be welcome.

Sean

 

Originally posted by Beans@Dec 4 2005, 03:46 AM
Hi,

I have made a small LED light consisting of 2 AAA batteries, a switch,
resistor and an LED.

Does anyone know what will happen if this is frequently splashed or even
submerged in salt water?

I know that salt water is conductive. I presume that when submerged current
will short circuit. What will the affects of this be?
Will it drain my battery, does anyone know how quick this will happen? Will
it be like a direct short?
Will I damage the LED?
Will I get corrosion? Could I put a sacrificial anode in my system to direct
the corrosion to a particular point?
The light is to be used as a blacklight for a compass on my sea Kayak. So
when it is rough it is likely that there will be a lot of water frequently
splashing the deck. And if I capsize The whole thing will be submerged.

I have been unable to think of a way to waterproof the light. I considered
encapsulating the whole thing in a ball of silicone, this presents problems
when I need to change the battery. I have tried in vain to get a waterproof
battery holder. There is limited space under my compass, just enough for a
double AAA battery pack placing the battery pack in a film canister will not
work. I need to find out if the problems I will experience will out
waterproofing will outweigh the hassle of re encapsulating the whole thing
in a ball of silicone every time I need to change the battery.

Any suggestions will be welcome.

Sean

[post=12176]Quoted post[/post]​

I think there will be some problems:
1. Salted water will short the battery current and shorten the battery's life
2. There will be corrossion on battery, resistor, and LED's lead.
I think the sacrificial method wil be diffificult because there are many parts to be protected, and each part cannot be electrically connected. I think the onlyway is waterproofing your stuff.

 

I think there will be some problems:
1. Salted water will short the battery current and shorten the battery's life
2. There will be corrossion on battery, resistor, and LED's lead.
I think the sacrificial method wil be diffificult because there are many parts to be protected, and each part cannot be electrically connected. I think the onlyway is waterproofing your stuff.

 

what about to use some container like from pills or something, drill a hole in to the cap for the LED and stick there also the battery holder?
When you open the can all things will be attached to the lid and the second part will be like a cover.

 

put the whole thing in a clear glass container with cap of course , sea water is very corrusive imagine sodium chloride thats acid