Quote from: 12_Gauge_Chimp on May 15, 2025, 01:56:56 PMWell, my Perrini flashlight is kaput.

Did a field strip on it and the little board with the wires leading to the bulb came off it. So the light is toast.

I did manage to salvage a couple bits from it, though. Namely the lanyard and the little adapter bit for AAA batteries.

I guess this'll teach me to buy flashlights from the thrift store. If I do that again, I'll be a bit more thorough on my research of the brand.

Dude, haven't I gifted you a flashlight or two over the years? If not, there will be a few coming with me to Texas that won't be going back to Virginia.

Quote from: NT2C on May 15, 2025, 05:56:24 PM

Quote from: 12_Gauge_Chimp on May 15, 2025, 01:56:56 PMWell, my Perrini flashlight is kaput.

Did a field strip on it and the little board with the wires leading to the bulb came off it. So the light is toast.

I did manage to salvage a couple bits from it, though. Namely the lanyard and the little adapter bit for AAA batteries.

I guess this'll teach me to buy flashlights from the thrift store. If I do that again, I'll be a bit more thorough on my research of the brand.

Dude, haven't I gifted you a flashlight or two over the years? If not, there will be a few coming with me to Texas that won't be going back to Virginia.

Yeah. You gifted me a couple small OLights and a Sofirn lantern awhile back.

This was just a 2 dollar thrift store find  I picked up awhile back. I guess the last time I used it, the wire may have totally loosened up and I just didn't notice it before today.

Quote from: 12_Gauge_Chimp on May 15, 2025, 06:46:47 PM

Quote from: NT2C on May 15, 2025, 05:56:24 PM

Quote from: 12_Gauge_Chimp on May 15, 2025, 01:56:56 PMWell, my Perrini flashlight is kaput.

Did a field strip on it and the little board with the wires leading to the bulb came off it. So the light is toast.

I did manage to salvage a couple bits from it, though. Namely the lanyard and the little adapter bit for AAA batteries.

I guess this'll teach me to buy flashlights from the thrift store. If I do that again, I'll be a bit more thorough on my research of the brand.

Dude, haven't I gifted you a flashlight or two over the years? If not, there will be a few coming with me to Texas that won't be going back to Virginia.

Yeah. You gifted me a couple small OLights and a Sofirn lantern awhile back.

This was just a 2 dollar thrift store find  I picked up awhile back. I guess the last time I used it, the wire may have totally loosened up and I just didn't notice it before today.

Oh, I need to step up my game... I am almost swimming in flashlights here.  One or two really good EDC types will have to live in Texas from now on.

Sofirn has a deal on the SR20 Mini on Amazon.  The price has been reduced from $42.99 to $33.99, but there's an additional 50% off code (AUUC3IS4) via this link:  https://www.amazon.com/promocode/A38Y7RQK8VNE6J 

I don't have one of these, so I can't speak to how good it is/isn't, but I went ahead and ordered one.  The light has both white and red modes, but per the reviews that I've found, there's no way to start it in red, you have to go to white light first and then switch to red.  Onboard charging, comes with 18350 battery, and is supposed to have pretty good CRI (Color Rendering Index) which should help to show things in their true color (when using the white light, obviously).  It's a little bitty thing, but still puts out 1200 lumen.  Figured it was worth trying out, given the price was only $16.99 after the discounts.

Quote from: EBuff75 on September 23, 2025, 11:05:25 PMSofirn has a deal on the SR20 Mini on Amazon.  The price has been reduced from $42.99 to $33.99, but there's an additional 50% off code (AUUC3IS4) via this link:  https://www.amazon.com/promocode/A38Y7RQK8VNE6J 

I don't have one of these, so I can't speak to how good it is/isn't, but I went ahead and ordered one.  The light has both white and red modes, but per the reviews that I've found, there's no way to start it in red, you have to go to white light first and then switch to red.  Onboard charging, comes with 18350 battery, and is supposed to have pretty good CRI (Color Rendering Index) which should help to show things in their true color (when using the white light, obviously).  It's a little bitty thing, but still puts out 1200 lumen.  Figured it was worth trying out, given the price was only $16.99 after the discounts.

I do have one of these (thought I reviewed it on here?) and I have to agree, being unable to start it in red mode made it a no-go for me.

Well my trusty Coast PX20 may be on its last legs.

I went to use it last night and I'm guessing something got bumped when I accidentally dropped it awhile back and it didn't want to turn on. I got it working again this morning, but it may be time to retire it now.

So it looks like I'll be replacing it with a newer version soon. I'm not surprised the light is having issues since it's a good 9 or so years old. It was NOS from a local store that went out of business years ago and sat on the shelves for who knows how long before that.

Coast still makes it from what I've found, so all I have to do is order one or find one local (local hardware stores should have them. If not, Amazon or MidwayUSA.).

@12_Gauge_Chimp I got one of these Stanley rechargeables 10-15 years ago as a gift and I think the battery life is really short now. I use it working on my cars mostly. But lately it doesn't seem to run very long, recharges really fast, and the other day cut out after less than a minute but when I got it to come back on it stayed on 'til i got bored watching the light and just shut it off. I've dropped it a lot over the years.

I can't figure out how to open it to change the battery.



Maybe look at lights that have a drop test rating. 

Quote from: MacWa77ace on October 09, 2025, 02:42:19 PM@12_Gauge_Chimp I got one of these Stanley rechargeables 10-15 years ago as a gift and I think the battery life is really short now. I use it working on my cars mostly. But lately it doesn't seem to run very long, recharges really fast, and the other day cut out after less than a minute but when I got it to come back on it stayed on 'til i got bored watching the light and just shut it off. I've dropped it a lot over the years.

I can't figure out how to open it to change the battery.



Maybe look at lights that have a drop test rating. 

I didn't even drop it from high up, maybe a couple feet.

The light has an issue with the connection deal in the battery holder (the factory batteries leaked in the package and I guess they corroded the connector.), but it still functions.

If I could replace the battery thing, the rest of the light would be fine. It's just that one piece that's the problem and as far as I know, Coast doesn't sell that part by itself.

If the corrosion in the battery carrier is sort of hidden / hard to access, you might try using vinegar to get down in there.  Just make sure to clean it out thoroughly (since that can cause additional corrosion) with something like rubbing alcohol or maybe some WD-40.  I had to do a cleanup like that on my pistol safe last year and posted about it in the chat.  

For scrubbing / scraping out corrosion, an old toothbrush, Q-tips, and those cheap Harbor Freight picks work great!

Quote from: EBuff75 on October 09, 2025, 11:26:59 PMIf the corrosion in the battery carrier is sort of hidden / hard to access, you might try using vinegar to get down in there.  Just make sure to clean it out thoroughly (since that can cause additional corrosion) with something like rubbing alcohol or maybe some WD-40.  I had to do a cleanup like that on my pistol safe last year and posted about it in the chat. 

For scrubbing / scraping out corrosion, an old toothbrush, Q-tips, and those cheap Harbor Freight picks work great!

The corrosion has long been cleaned off, but the damage was done to a little connection bit in the battery compartment thing. If that little tab is in the right spot, everything works fine. But if it's not, the light doesn't work.

Quote from: EBuff75 on October 09, 2025, 11:26:59 PMFor scrubbing / scraping out corrosion, an old toothbrush, Q-tips, and those cheap Harbor Freight picks work great!

Pencil erasers work well also. You can get down into spaces and just twisting them in circles works like a mini grinder. I use those on contacts a lot, and then use compressed air or other to get the eraser bits cleaned up after.



Vinegar is a light acid, so will take rust and corrosion off. You can soak stuff in it too but yes, you have to stop the reaction when you're  done, with water, alcohol etc.

0000 brass or steel wool is great for taking off rust etc and not harming any underlying finish. Use with oil or WD40 or other lube.

I think I mentioned in the main chat that I had recently purchased a telescoping camping lantern that turned out to have a very disappointing battery life.  I reached out to the company via Amazon and they responded fairly quickly, apologizing for my disappointment and giving a nonsense answer about charging losses and such, but offering a 50% refund to compensate me.  I had purchased this one because it advertised double the battery of similar lights and the testing basically showed that it had the same battery, not double.  Since the light works just fine otherwise, I accepted the discount, which now makes it about 30% cheaper than competitors with the "smaller" batteries.  I'll write up a full review sometime.

Well, my trusty Coast PX20 has given up the ghost. The battery compartment holder finally failed completely today and now I get to look for a new one to replace it.

The main body of the light is still in working order, it's just the battery holder that's toast. And as far as I know, Coast doesn't just sell that piece, so I'll have to replace the whole light instead of just that piece.

Which was to be expected at some point since the light is a good 7 or 8 years old and was working with a busted part. So I guess that goes to show Coast makes some pretty good stuff if it can still operate despite a busted piece.

Quote from: 12_Gauge_Chimp on Yesterday at 04:42:07 PMWell, my trusty Coast PX20 has given up the ghost. The battery compartment holder finally failed completely today and now I get to look for a new one to replace it.

The main body of the light is still in working order, it's just the battery holder that's toast. And as far as I know, Coast doesn't just sell that piece, so I'll have to replace the whole light instead of just that piece.

Which was to be expected at some point since the light is a good 7 or 8 years old and was working with a busted part. So I guess that goes to show Coast makes some pretty good stuff if it can still operate despite a busted piece.

Gee, if only you could hope to get one in your Christmas stocking...
 

Quote from: NT2C on Yesterday at 05:04:50 PM

Quote from: 12_Gauge_Chimp on Yesterday at 04:42:07 PMWell, my trusty Coast PX20 has given up the ghost. The battery compartment holder finally failed completely today and now I get to look for a new one to replace it.

The main body of the light is still in working order, it's just the battery holder that's toast. And as far as I know, Coast doesn't just sell that piece, so I'll have to replace the whole light instead of just that piece.

Which was to be expected at some point since the light is a good 7 or 8 years old and was working with a busted part. So I guess that goes to show Coast makes some pretty good stuff if it can still operate despite a busted piece.

Gee, if only you could hope to get one in your Christmas stocking...
 

That'd be nice.