DIVING LIGHTHOUSE: BEWARE OF THE BOMB ...

Without batteries, farewell lights, photos and videos underwater! Essential but also potentially dangerous, our batteries? Pierre Bertois, Manager of the Family Society Bersub located in Rhône-Alpes has been using it for decades to power the brand's lamps. He was kind enough to enlighten us with his insights on the matter.

Battery evolution.

- Increasingly rare, lead acid batteries : too heavy, bulky, but robust;

- From around 1990 to 2000, nickel and cadmium batteries : with heavy metals;
- From 1998 to 2012, nickel metal battery, NIMH : without heavy metals;
- Today the lithium battery are at the forefront of technological progress: lighter and less bulky. A diving light can now only measure 20cm for less than 1 kilo. But they are very sensitive and classified as "dangerous".

Design

The design is done in-house using CAD software, with a series of back and forth from the Company's engineers to the Workshops. Once the product has been validated internally, it is submitted to independent organizations for approval, such as Véritas for example. It can still take from a few weeks to several months. The cost is high, in the order of several tens of thousands of euros, so that the products cannot be constantly renewed. But they evolve over the course of approvals which must be repeated regularly, depending on the quantities produced. At Bersub:
- For products manufactured in quantity, every two years;
- For more modest artisanal productions, approximately every three years.

The production

Once the design work has been finalized and validated, the Bersub Company has the parts machined with regional subcontractors for the most part, the injection of plastic and the manufacture of electronic cards, then takes care of the assembly. final internally, in its workshops.

Technological advances with multiplied standards

The standards to be respected have indeed multiplied with technological advances. They aim to grant the “European conformity” label, known as CE, which attests to the product's conformity with fundamental obligations in terms of safety, hygiene and environmental protection. A third-party control body can also attest to this.
To name just a few of these standards, products must:
- Follow all European directives related to low voltage electrical safety, which vary according to the type of device;
- It should be noted in passing that the chargers, which connect to the 220v, are themselves subject to high voltage directives;
- Follow all directives concerning the intrinsic safety of products, their potential dangerousness, such as excessive temperature rises or salient angles which could be sharp;
- Respect the photo-biological risks concerning LEDs, which can damage children's eyesight, for example;
- Respect electromagnetic compatibility - the product must not disturb the surrounding devices;
- Lithium batteries must also meet UN38 standards, which deal with their intrinsic safety and air transport.

Approval & placing on the market

Approval can therefore be done in two ways:
- Or by independent bodies, which provide, after tests, their reports and certificates of conformity beyond all suspicion, which obviously has a cost, high for a small structure of eight people like Bersub, but which constitutes the only real guarantee of safety for the consumer;
- Or by the manufacturers themselves, who produce simple self-declarations of conformity not accompanied by any certificate or any third-party control. This is common for many products made in Asia, but also for some others, made in the European community.
- Note that no certificate of conformity is also required for batteries below a certain power, except lithium batteries, since they are classified as “dangerous material”.
- In reality there is no obligation to provide the test report and official certification by a third party to the dealer. The guarantee of product safety is thus seriously compromised since it is no longer based on good faith. It is the door open to abuse.

Fraud

In the end, the Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Control can intervene.
But does its lack of human resources allow it to be fully effective?
Thus, they often only intervene after accidents.

In the event of an accident

- The product is first consigned. It will be destroyed if, after investigation and series of tests, it is found to be a real danger;
- The outlaw manufacturer is responsible, liable to fines and justiciable.
If he has it manufactured abroad, he remains responsible for his logo.
But if you lost a hand or your computer fell into
failure during a night dive… will that console you?

ENERGY EMMAGASINEE = DANGER

Shouldn't approval by series of reliable tests carried out by independent laboratories be made compulsory for all batteries?

Tips for maximum life of your lithium batteries

Comparable to our muscles, a battery must be used regularly, according to these rules:
- Use them around 20 ° C. Heavy loss of autonomy in cold or hot weather;
- Do not leave them on a 24 hour charger. This is neither necessary nor advised;
- Store them in a temperate place;
- Store them at half load. Completely empty, they could no longer be
recharged. Full, they would lose their storage capacity.

At the start of the school year, on Saturday September 14, you will find our survey “DO THEY HAVE THE CE STANDARD?” in order to allow you to finally make informed purchases 😉