General Information Sheet
BIRNS Curie II: Underwater Inspection Light

General Information

The BIRNS Curie II is the world's most advanced and powerful general-purpose underwater inspection "drop" light. Proven by experience, the Curie was developed in the late 1980's and, apart from periodic upgrades, remains essentially unchanged from the original, superb style.

An important element of the BIRNS Curie is its stainless-steel electrical connector. This item is fully integral to the light housing (the two are made of a single block of Type 304 Stainless) and is indexed (keyed) such that it is impossible to mis-mate or damage the connectors.

The Curie connector does not depend on the "rubber-coated pin" method of sealing seen in competing units. Instead, it has redundant captivated o-ring seals in stainless steel grooves, to preclude any possibility of electrical "leakage". This is why the BIRNS Curie, like all BIRNS lights, will operate reliably on GFCI's (ground-fault circuit interrupters) without tripping.

 

Applications
The Curie is rugged, made of stainless steel and designed for use in areas with high levels of radiation and nuclear contamination, and is used for localized inspection, etc. It is supplied with a durable 120 volt 2,000-lamp, and has two different lens options. It is designed to be suspended by its cable for general-purpose "drop" light use, but can be mounted as well. It's an excellent light for general-purpose illumination, and is also very good for color or black and white filming and videotaping.

 

Features/Benefits

The BIRNS Curie provides:

 
  1. brilliant illumination
  2. small (3" OD) size
  3. 30-second tool-free relamping, and very easy maintenance
  4. Tungsten-halogen "white" light
  5. Instant "ON/OFF"
  6. Complete dimming capability (0-100%)
  7. Ballast-free operation
  8. Commercially-available lamps (operate well on AC or DC)
  9. Rugged, stainless steel "inside-containment" construction
  10. Integral stainless-steel connectors, indexed (keyed) for easy operation

 

What You'll Need

To operate the BIRNS Curie, you'll need the following items:

a) The Curie light itself (which includes your choice of lamp)
b) The Power Cable Assembly

 
 
The Power Cable Assembly is available in unbroken lengths up to 1,000 feet. We make the cables to your order, so you can get any cable length that you wish. Special configurations and/or cable jacket materials are also available.

Model 17E-011:

Power cable assembly; includes MSG-CP cable connector, Type 304 stainless steel connector engaging ring (coupling nut) and heavy-duty Hubbell plug installed, on 12AWG/3-conductor cable. Standard length is 100 feet; please specify your desired length.

 
Options
You can customize your new BIRNS Curie to make it ideal for your own requirements.
Options
 
a. Lens:
Two different lenses are available for different applications. Please see the lens table 'A' below for details.
 
b. Reflector:
Two different reflectors are available for different applications. Please see the reflector table 'B' below for details.

Lens Options Table 'A'
Note: unless specified otherwise, the default "standard" installed in the Curie is 35B-021.
 
Lens

Part No.
Material
Application
Standard

35B-021
Borosilicate glass
General purpose
Non-browning
35B-031
Fused silica (quartz) crystal
Impervious to radiation-induced coloration


Reflector Options Table 'B'
Changing the optional reflectors is very quick and simple, so it's easy to keep them on hand for different applications.
 
Reflector

Part No.
...... Application
Flat Reflector
54C-006
Eliminates glare and wasteful "overthrow"; redirects it downwards
Axial Reflector
54B-002
Changes 360o radial beam to medium-flood downward beam

 
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