The All Purpose Flashlight CHAT Thread

[slipkid42]

 
Because cracking open that beer is the one thing that'll ensure your survival in an emergency situation.

That just may save some lives, me cracking open that beer

[EBuff75]

I got a gift from Olight.  I guess it was a prize from their recent contest for the 250th, but I don't remember entering.  Anyway, it's a nice pen with a light at the tip, red and white lights on the clip (with adjustable brightness), and a green laser (with two brightness/power levels) on the top.

https://www.olight.com/store/open-3-multifunctional-pen-light

$80 pen for free, without even asking?  Yeah, I'll take that!

Beats the free pen that I received last week in a Doctors Without Borders charity appeal.  It's a combo pen, screwdriver, and light and essentially fails at all of them...    This is at least the 2nd of these that I've gotten from them.

I got one of those tactical/survival multitool pens as a gift. I rank them only slightly higher than those steel survival cards. You know the ones - one edge is a saw that doesn't actually saw, another edge is supposed to be a knife that doesn't cut anything except maybe yourself, a "screwdriver" in one corner, a hexagonal cutout that hopefully fits some random nut or bolt that for some reason your very life depends on. And my personal favorite: another cutout vaguely in the shape of a compass rose that indicates direction except nobody-knows-how-it's-supposed-to-work-because-lets-be-honest-it-doesn't-actually-do-anything.

The bottle opener probably works, I'll give it that. Because cracking open that beer is the one thing that'll ensure your survival in an emergency situation.

I actually got one of those survival cards as a gift last year.  You forgot the 3-inch ruler on one side of the card!

[majorhavoc]

I got a gift from Olight.  I guess it was a prize from their recent contest for the 250th, but I don't remember entering.  Anyway, it's a nice pen with a light at the tip, red and white lights on the clip (with adjustable brightness), and a green laser (with two brightness/power levels) on the top.

https://www.olight.com/store/open-3-multifunctional-pen-light

$80 pen for free, without even asking?  Yeah, I'll take that!

Beats the free pen that I received last week in a Doctors Without Borders charity appeal.  It's a combo pen, screwdriver, and light and essentially fails at all of them...    This is at least the 2nd of these that I've gotten from them.

I got one of those tactical/survival multitool pens as a gift. I rank them only slightly higher than those steel survival cards. You know the ones - one edge is a saw that doesn't actually saw, another edge is supposed to be a knife that doesn't cut anything except maybe yourself, a "screwdriver" in one corner, a hexagonal cutout that hopefully fits some random nut or bolt that for some reason your very life depends on. And my personal favorite: another cutout vaguely in the shape of a compass rose that indicates direction except nobody-knows-how-it's-supposed-to-work-because-lets-be-honest-it-doesn't-actually-do-anything.

The bottle opener probably works, I'll give it that. Because cracking open that beer is the one thing that'll ensure your survival in an emergency situation.

I actually got one of those survival cards as a gift last year.  You forgot the 3-inch ruler on one side of the card!

For all your life-or-death sub-3 inch measuring needs! Why, that not enough to measure even the short edge of my survival towel! 

[MacWa77ace]

For all your life-or-death sub-3 inch measuring needs! Why, that not enough to measure even the short edge of my survival towel! 

For some, its imperative to disprove those 2" rumors on the spot. 

[NT2C]

I got a gift from Olight.  I guess it was a prize from their recent contest for the 250th, but I don't remember entering.  Anyway, it's a nice pen with a light at the tip, red and white lights on the clip (with adjustable brightness), and a green laser (with two brightness/power levels) on the top.

https://www.olight.com/store/open-3-multifunctional-pen-light

$80 pen for free, without even asking?  Yeah, I'll take that!

Beats the free pen that I received last week in a Doctors Without Borders charity appeal.  It's a combo pen, screwdriver, and light and essentially fails at all of them...    This is at least the 2nd of these that I've gotten from them.

I got one of those tactical/survival multitool pens as a gift. I rank them only slightly higher than those steel survival cards. You know the ones - one edge is a saw that doesn't actually saw, another edge is supposed to be a knife that doesn't cut anything except maybe yourself, a "screwdriver" in one corner, a hexagonal cutout that hopefully fits some random nut or bolt that for some reason your very life depends on. And my personal favorite: another cutout vaguely in the shape of a compass rose that indicates direction except nobody-knows-how-it's-supposed-to-work-because-lets-be-honest-it-doesn't-actually-do-anything.

The bottle opener probably works, I'll give it that. Because cracking open that beer is the one thing that'll ensure your survival in an emergency situation.

I actually got one of those survival cards as a gift last year.  You forgot the 3-inch ruler on one side of the card!

Marked in tenths of an inch!

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

Did a battery check yesterday and I found I'm seriously low on CR123 batteries.

Low as in I've got maybe two extra ones, but that's it. So it looks like a battery order is in my future.

[majorhavoc]

Did a battery check yesterday and I found I'm seriously low on CR123 batteries.

Low as in I've got maybe two extra ones, but that's it. So it looks like a battery order is in my future.

EBL CR123A Battery 6 Pack $6.99

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

Did a battery check yesterday and I found I'm seriously low on CR123 batteries.

Low as in I've got maybe two extra ones, but that's it. So it looks like a battery order is in my future.

EBL CR123A Battery 6 Pack $6.99

Neat. That's a hell of a lot cheaper than the pack of SureFire batteries I was looking at on MidwayUSA.

A 12 pack of those is 30 bucks.

[EBuff75]

You made me curious, so I checked to see how many I've got.  I only have one light that really calls for them, as most of what I have use li-ion rechargeables, but some of my lights come with CR123A batteries when new.  Turns out that I've got over a dozen of them sitting around, new in their wrappers - a mix of Streamlight, Olight, Tenergy, and Energizer.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

I've got two still in the package and four that are either out of date or getting close to it.

So I'm close to out of spares, but thanks to MajorHavoc, I'll be ordering some from Amazon soon.

I was going to order some from MidwayUSA, but their prices went way up in the last couple months on the SureFire brand I usually use.

[EBuff75]

This week's Project Farm video was on flashlights!  I only own one of the lights reviewed (the Acebeam P17, which came in 3rd), but it's my bump-in-the-night light that lives on my bedside table.  Somewhat predictably, the pricier lights (Fenix, Olight, Acebeam) came out on-top (brightest, best batteries, etc.).  Not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, given the huge variation in size and battery types, but still some good stuff in there.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh0Cwunn8J8

[EBuff75]

Had something happen that I've never seen before - a flashlight running without the tailcap.

I'd pulled an old flashlight out of my truck that I'd forgotten about.  It's been in the door pocket, but I never use it and it was under some paper maps.  It's an old Rayovac Sportsman Indestructible flashlights that runs on C-cell batteries.  I clicked it and saw a brief flash, so I figured the batteries were dead.  Well, sorta.

When I got in the house, I realized that the light was still faintly on.  I clicked through the modes and it would actually go to high, low, but whenever it got to the 'off' setting, it would go back to this moonlight sort of glow.  I took off the end-cap and... it was still on!  

Turns out that if the batteries are leaking, the acid can provide enough of a pathway for electricity that there isn't a way to actually shut the light off!  And because the batteries have expanded, they don't want to come out.  

The flashlight is likely toast at this point, which means it's time to see if I can get it apart!  Only the base comes off, not the head, otherwise I could just drive them out with a dowel.  I drove a 4-inch wood screw into the bottom-most battery, which immediately blew open and bubbled out a bunch of gray goo.  (Yes, I was wearing eye protection and gloves).  But that was enough for me to pull the battery out.  

Next, I used some long cotton tip applicators soaked in vinegar to scrub around inside to get out as much of the corrosion as I could that was all around the next battery.  I alternated back and forth with those and a 6-inch straight pick to scrape everything until I could see the middle battery clearly.  

The 3rd battery apparently hasn't blown up, as I can hear it rattling a bit when I shake the light.  I have also been beating it on the concrete floor in the basement to see if I can shake it free that way.  I put some paper towel on the floor first so that I don't rip the base of the flashlight apart while I'm doing this and so far it's okay.  Eventually, the middle battery started to move, but I couldn't get it all the way out. Close enough to drive another bolt into it though!  Unfortunately, that also pushed it back into the flashlight again.  But with a hole in it, the gray ooze released (this one was much thicker, more like grout) and that pressure release shrank the walls in enough to pound it loose on the floor.  Scrape out the disintegrated battery wrapper and the 3rd one popped right out!

I cleaned up the inside as best I could.  Those packages of big cotton swabs from Harbor Freight were great for all this cleanup!  I did find some new C-cell batteries and put them in.  It still works, but I have a new problem.  There is something goofy with the threads on the end cap.  I don't see or feel (I checked by carefully running a hook pick all along the threads) any galling or cross-threading, but the cap won't go on all the way.  It stops about 3/16" short of fully-seated.  

I'm too tired to keep working on it now.  I'll go back tomorrow and see if fresh eyes can figure it out.

[MacWa77ace]

Turns out that if the batteries are leaking, the acid can provide enough of a pathway for electricity that there isn't a way to actually shut the light off!  And because the batteries have expanded, they don't want to come out. 

I had a maglight incandescent that still worked even though the batteries blew up and wedged themselves in the tube. I had to trash it. IIRC it was C cells.

It was my backup nightstand light. So once a week or so I'd check it by turning it on. Then I wanted to see what kind of batteries were in it and what a mess. But it still worked  It must have blown up a year or more before.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

I picked up a four D cell MagLite at a yard sale awhile back and it had the same issue with one of the batteries popping.

I got it functioning again after a deep clean and replacing the batteries with fresh ones.

Also replaced the incandescent bulb with an LED one with help from NT2C.

The light now lives next to my bookcase because I've been too lazy to put it in my truck like I had intended to. Not sure exactly how well it'd function after being left in a truck in the Texas heat, so it stays in my house for the time being.

[majorhavoc]

Had something happen that I've never seen before - a flashlight running without the tailcap.

I'd pulled an old flashlight out of my truck that I'd forgotten about.  It's been in the door pocket, but I never use it and it was under some paper maps.  It's an old Rayovac Sportsman Indestructible flashlights that runs on C-cell batteries.  I clicked it and saw a brief flash, so I figured the batteries were dead.  Well, sorta.

When I got in the house, I realized that the light was still faintly on.  I clicked through the modes and it would actually go to high, low, but whenever it got to the 'off' setting, it would go back to this moonlight sort of glow.  I took off the end-cap and... it was still on! 

Turns out that if the batteries are leaking, the acid can provide enough of a pathway for electricity that there isn't a way to actually shut the light off!  And because the batteries have expanded, they don't want to come out. 

The flashlight is likely toast at this point, which means it's time to see if I can get it apart!  Only the base comes off, not the head, otherwise I could just drive them out with a dowel.  I drove a 4-inch wood screw into the bottom-most battery, which immediately blew open and bubbled out a bunch of gray goo.  (Yes, I was wearing eye protection and gloves).  But that was enough for me to pull the battery out. 

Next, I used some long cotton tip applicators soaked in vinegar to scrub around inside to get out as much of the corrosion as I could that was all around the next battery.  I alternated back and forth with those and a 6-inch straight pick to scrape everything until I could see the middle battery clearly. 

The 3rd battery apparently hasn't blown up, as I can hear it rattling a bit when I shake the light.  I have also been beating it on the concrete floor in the basement to see if I can shake it free that way.  I put some paper towel on the floor first so that I don't rip the base of the flashlight apart while I'm doing this and so far it's okay.  Eventually, the middle battery started to move, but I couldn't get it all the way out. Close enough to drive another bolt into it though!  Unfortunately, that also pushed it back into the flashlight again.  But with a hole in it, the gray ooze released (this one was much thicker, more like grout) and that pressure release shrank the walls in enough to pound it loose on the floor.  Scrape out the disintegrated battery wrapper and the 3rd one popped right out!

I cleaned up the inside as best I could.  Those packages of big cotton swabs from Harbor Freight were great for all this cleanup!  I did find some new C-cell batteries and put them in.  It still works, but I have a new problem.  There is something goofy with the threads on the end cap.  I don't see or feel (I checked by carefully running a hook pick all along the threads) any galling or cross-threading, but the cap won't go on all the way.  It stops about 3/16" short of fully-seated. 

I'm too tired to keep working on it now.  I'll go back tomorrow and see if fresh eyes can figure it out.

Informative UFOZS'er is informative. 

[EBuff75]

I think the only two Maglites that I still have are my old 2D cell and a newer 3D LED (ML300LX).  I've got an LED conversion in the old 2D light, but it's a very old LED "bulb" and it's not much better than the original Halogen (although the batteries would probably last longer)!  I had a number of Solitaire and Mini Maglites over the years, but they've all died / been lost.  

Of course, the drawback with the LED versions is that the focusing capability is fairly poor.  The drop-in "bulb" only points forward, so adjusting the focus barely does anything.  On the LED light... it's basically the same, just much brighter!  

I did find another Rayovac 3C flashlight - this one was in my car.  It's an older Sportsman Extreme (model: SE4W3CA) and the batteries in this one were just fine.  The tint is really blue, probably 6500-7000K and it's a VERY focused beam.  Other than the green anodizing and rubber grip on the body, it looks like a skinny Maglite.  In fact, I got it to replace the Maglite in my car, as I wanted a brighter, longer-throwing light.  It's probably 15 years or more old now!  Of course, the 2D Maglite is probably 35 years old at this point, since I think I got it to carry in my car when I started driving, and that's been more than 35 years now... *sigh*