Flashlight

[The Real Bev]

A while back a friend and I went through Lehman Cave in Nevada. One of
the people had a wonderful TruTorch flashlight ($56.00) which I
immediately coveted. There are a lot of clones on Amazon and ebay, but
I don't want to buy anything on either place (or alibaba) that I might
want to return. I finally bought one of the $20 as-seen-on-tv
Bell&Howells (same price everywhere) from Dick's across the street.

I'm happy. Bright as shit and seems nicely made. Nuisance to have to
cycle through modes rather than have a simple on/off switch, but you
can't have everything.

Puts the free Harbor Freight flashlights, heretofore much admired, to shame.

--
Cheers, Bev
"As a mortician I always tie the shoelaces of the dead together.
If there actually is a zombie apocalypse it will be hilarious."

[Dennis]

On Tue, 23 May 2017 09:43:03 -0700, The Real Bev
<bashl...@gmail.com> wrote:

>A while back a friend and I went through Lehman Cave in Nevada. One of
>the people had a wonderful TruTorch flashlight ($56.00) which I
>immediately coveted. There are a lot of clones on Amazon and ebay, but
>I don't want to buy anything on either place (or alibaba) that I might
>want to return. I finally bought one of the $20 as-seen-on-tv
>Bell&Howells (same price everywhere) from Dick's across the street.
>
>I'm happy. Bright as shit and seems nicely made. Nuisance to have to
>cycle through modes rather than have a simple on/off switch, but you
>can't have everything.
>
>Puts the free Harbor Freight flashlights, heretofore much admired, to shame.

What type/number of batteries does it require?

Anyone else notice that alkaline batteries have been getting crappier?
When I was a kid, batteries regularly leaked if left in devices. I had
many ruined toys, radios, flashlights, etc. Then for a while, 20 years
or so, they seemed to get better and I rarely had anything destroyed
by a leaking battery. Now it seems like they leak regularly again.
Maybe because production moved to China/Viet Nam/Maylasia/etc ?

Dennis (evil)
--
My output is down, my income is up, I take a short position on the long bond and
my revenue stream has its own cash flow. -George Carlin

[The Real Bev]

On 05/23/2017 10:02 AM, Dennis wrote:
> On Tue, 23 May 2017 09:43:03 -0700, The Real Bev
> <bashl...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>A while back a friend and I went through Lehman Cave in Nevada. One of
>>the people had a wonderful TruTorch flashlight ($56.00) which I
>>immediately coveted. There are a lot of clones on Amazon and ebay, but
>>I don't want to buy anything on either place (or alibaba) that I might
>>want to return. I finally bought one of the $20 as-seen-on-tv
>>Bell&Howells (same price everywhere) from Dick's across the street.
>>
>>I'm happy. Bright as shit and seems nicely made. Nuisance to have to
>>cycle through modes rather than have a simple on/off switch, but you
>>can't have everything.
>>
>>Puts the free Harbor Freight flashlights, heretofore much admired, to shame.
>
> What type/number of batteries does it require?

3 AAA, not included. They go into one of the Harbor-Freight-like triple
adapters. Some of the clones come with a Li-ion rechargeable, sleeve to
make it fit and a charger, as well as one of the triple-AAA HF adapters.
Can't remember the number, but it should be easy to find.

> Anyone else notice that alkaline batteries have been getting crappier?
> When I was a kid, batteries regularly leaked if left in devices. I had
> many ruined toys, radios, flashlights, etc. Then for a while, 20 years
> or so, they seemed to get better and I rarely had anything destroyed
> by a leaking battery. Now it seems like they leak regularly again.
> Maybe because production moved to China/Viet Nam/Maylasia/etc ?

I bought a block of Maxells maybe 10 years ago, all of which leaked
before they were put in anything. The previous batch of Kirklands
(maybe the ones that expired in 2016) had quite a few leakers, a few of
which leaked still in the package. I bought Duracells at Costco when
they had them on sale but haven't opened that package yet.

Maybe 20 years ago a friend gave me a really nifty little single-AA LED
flashlight. I carried it around for a long time and then left it in an
unused purse. Just found it again. The endcap is now welded to the
body, presumably by the battery. Even putting it in a vise and trying
to open it with channellocks was ineffective. I feel really bad about
it because it was really nice.


--
Cheers, Bev
I'd rather trust the guys in the lab coats who aren't demanding
that I get up early on Sundays to apologize for being human.
-- Captain Splendid

[Michael Black]

On Tue, 23 May 2017, Dennis wrote:


> Anyone else notice that alkaline batteries have been getting crappier?
> When I was a kid, batteries regularly leaked if left in devices. I had
> many ruined toys, radios, flashlights, etc. Then for a while, 20 years
> or so, they seemed to get better and I rarely had anything destroyed
> by a leaking battery. Now it seems like they leak regularly again.
> Maybe because production moved to China/Viet Nam/Maylasia/etc ?
>

I have noticed something, but not sure if it's the batteries or just that
I make more use of batteries now, so there's more chance of damage.

But yes, those old carbon zinc batteries as fifty years ago were awful. I
think anytime we had a flashlight left with batteries in, they'd be
leaking when we needed the flashlight. A really icky mess.

So maybe it was switching to Alkaline at some point that made things
better, I don't know. But I too remember a period when all was well, and
yes, I was using batteries in things other than flashlights.

And while I haven't damaged anything in recent years, I have opened thing
sup to change batteries only to see some sort of whiskers forming on the
batteries, they haven't leaked out to damage things, but the batteries
have something on them.

But as I say, I now have a lot more things that run off batteries, so
maybe it's just that I make more use of batteries. I do have a good
selection of nimh batteries, but sometimes one needs alkaline.

Wait, that's one thing to consider. I haven't seen a bad battery in a
remote, they just eventually need replacing because they are used up. So
maybe it's useage rather than the batteries.

Michael

[Michael Black]

On Tue, 23 May 2017, The Real Bev wrote:

> A while back a friend and I went through Lehman Cave in Nevada. One of the
> people had a wonderful TruTorch flashlight ($56.00) which I immediately
> coveted. There are a lot of clones on Amazon and ebay, but I don't want to
> buy anything on either place (or alibaba) that I might want to return. I
> finally bought one of the $20 as-seen-on-tv Bell&Howells (same price
> everywhere) from Dick's across the street.
>
> I'm happy. Bright as shit and seems nicely made. Nuisance to have to cycle
> through modes rather than have a simple on/off switch, but you can't have
> everything.
>
> Puts the free Harbor Freight flashlights, heretofore much admired, to shame.
>

I was given a nice LED 'troublelight", it can be used as a flashlight, but
also has LEDs oriented more as a lantern, with a clamp for holding in
place, and a hoop at the top for hanging on something. But it uses "chip"
type LEDs, no epoxy coating on them, and I think I read they were Cree. I
forget the company that made it, but it's not low end either.

It's nice, bright and handy, but something draws current all the time. I
kept batteries in it for a few months after I got it about four years ago,
but if I waited long enough between use, the batteries would be dead. Not
useful. One has to unscrew something to get to the batteries, so it's not
easy to take them out when not in use.

There is a tiny red led that flashes when it's "off", that sort of thing
is supposed to be low current, but I don't know. So either that small red
LED is draining the batteries (three either AAA or AA, I forget) or
something else isn't remaining off when the switch is off.

A lot of the cheap LED flashlights just use regular white LEDs, and often
just run them off the batteries. I've taken some apart, and some haven't
even been soldered together, just the leads mashed in somewhere, the
pressure when it's altogether keeping things going, which means an
accasional whack is needed for full brightness. I also notice some of
those cheap LED flashlights, now with quite a few LEDs, often have one or
two not working, I assume bad solder or bad mechanical connection.

I did buy an LED troublight that was more like the cheap LED flashlights
in that it just had more white LEDs, and a nicad battery, and that stopped
working relatively soon after. I got it cheap, I assume it's the sort of
thing you get in the US at Harbor Freight, but it wasn't a great purchase
after all. I started to open it up, but something stalled, maybe I was
missing a screw somewhere. Either I can resurrect it, maybe a bad
conneciton, or the battery bad, or just reuse the LEDs.

Michael

[Fake ID]

In article <08q8ictihfdphl507...@4ax.com>,

Dennis <dg...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>Anyone else notice that alkaline batteries have been getting crappier?
>When I was a kid, batteries regularly leaked if left in devices. I had
>many ruined toys, radios, flashlights, etc. Then for a while, 20 years
>or so, they seemed to get better and I rarely had anything destroyed
>by a leaking battery. Now it seems like they leak regularly again.
>Maybe because production moved to China/Viet Nam/Maylasia/etc ?

I've had more things ruined by Kirkland batteries than I can remember.
Lights, radios, clocks.

My favorite "flashlight" also has battery problems. It's a 1.5 million candlepower spotlight that uses some unicorn of a 12V rechargeable SLA battery. The original battery didn't last long, but the "manufacturer" had already gone out of business and taken over by DeWalt. For a bit more than the original cost of the light I got a replacement battery, which also didn't last long. But when it worked...bright and well-focused--pull the trigger and light up all the critters. It was like a handheld car headlight.

m

[analogdial]

Dennis wrote:


>
> Anyone else notice that alkaline batteries have been getting crappier?
> When I was a kid, batteries regularly leaked if left in devices. I had
> many ruined toys, radios, flashlights, etc. Then for a while, 20 years
> or so, they seemed to get better and I rarely had anything destroyed
> by a leaking battery. Now it seems like they leak regularly again.
> Maybe because production moved to China/Viet Nam/Maylasia/etc ?
>
> Dennis (evil)

I have alot of battery operated devices and I used to trust only
American made alkaline batteries. In my expirence, they are getting
crappier. The Duracalls have been the worst, the Ray-O-Vacs some what
better and the Energizers better yet, but still so-so. D cells would
be the most likely to leak, followed by AA cells. C cells and AAA
cells seemed fairly safe.

The worst part is, they would be leaking yet still seem to have lots of
power.

I figured the inexpensive (with coupon) Harbor Freight Chinese
made alkaline batteries couldn't be any worse, so I started buying
those. Haven't had a leaker in about 3 years. They've all come to a
normal, dead battery end of life.

I don't quite feel like coming to a generalized conclusion, yet. It
could be production run issues and I just got lucky. But I wish I could
say the American made batteries were unquestionably better.

[BigDog811]

Haven't had that problem myself. But I don't have that many battery operated devices...phones, tablets, and remotes excepted. Just a few flashlights strategically placed around the house, and a weather station. I change those during my biannual smoke/CO alarm backup battery change even if they seem to be good. I only buy brand name cells at a military commissary I shop at. It has high product turnover, therefore very fresh stock on the shelves. I think some of the those problems have less to do with where they're made than discount stores selling brand name stuff that's "new old stock" they pick up for cheap from suppliers that have had it in a warehouse too long. Don't use store brand batteries so I have no experience with them.

[Bob F]

On 5/23/2017 10:02 AM, Dennis wrote:
> On Tue, 23 May 2017 09:43:03 -0700, The Real Bev
> <bashl...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> A while back a friend and I went through Lehman Cave in Nevada. One of
>> the people had a wonderful TruTorch flashlight ($56.00) which I
>> immediately coveted. There are a lot of clones on Amazon and ebay, but
>> I don't want to buy anything on either place (or alibaba) that I might
>> want to return. I finally bought one of the $20 as-seen-on-tv
>> Bell&Howells (same price everywhere) from Dick's across the street.
>>
>> I'm happy. Bright as shit and seems nicely made. Nuisance to have to
>> cycle through modes rather than have a simple on/off switch, but you
>> can't have everything.
>>
>> Puts the free Harbor Freight flashlights, heretofore much admired, to shame.
>
> What type/number of batteries does it require?
>
> Anyone else notice that alkaline batteries have been getting crappier?
> When I was a kid, batteries regularly leaked if left in devices. I had
> many ruined toys, radios, flashlights, etc. Then for a while, 20 years
> or so, they seemed to get better and I rarely had anything destroyed
> by a leaking battery. Now it seems like they leak regularly again.
> Maybe because production moved to China/Viet Nam/Maylasia/etc ?
>
> Dennis (evil)
>

I wonder if the current battery failure problems may result from the
modern practice of buying large blocks of batteries at Costco in one
purchase instead of a package of 4 when we need them. So they sit around
for years until we finally put them to use. No surprise they don't last
long.

[The Real Bev]

On 05/27/2017 11:23 AM, Bob F wrote:

> I wonder if the current battery failure problems may result from the
> modern practice of buying large blocks of batteries at Costco in one
> purchase instead of a package of 4 when we need them. So they sit around
> for years until we finally put them to use. No surprise they don't last
> long.

If they supposedly expire ("best if used by...") in 2025 I don't see why
it matters where they sit.

--
Cheers, Bev
Brian (Talking to crowd): You need to be independent minded.
Crowd: We are! We are!
Person in crowd: I'm not! -- Monty Python

[Vic Smith]

On Sat, 27 May 2017 11:23:07 -0700, Bob F <bobn...@gmail.com> wrote:


>
>I wonder if the current battery failure problems may result from the
>modern practice of buying large blocks of batteries at Costco in one
>purchase instead of a package of 4 when we need them. So they sit around
>for years until we finally put them to use. No surprise they don't last
>long.

I've been using the same Eneloop and Sony rechargeables for about 7
years. I have only AA and AAA Mini-Mags. I refuse to buy anything
using C or D or non-LED flashlights.
Went to Sony when a basement flood took out my Eneloop chargers.
IMO they last longer on a charge and have better chargers, which also
charge my older Eneloops.
The LED Mini-Mags are good, but not perfect. They will roll off a
work surface, so I put a tab tie loop in the lanyard hole.
The on/off/focus is clumsy to use one-handed. But I like them.

[analogdial]

Bob F wrote:


>
> I wonder if the current battery failure problems may result from the
> modern practice of buying large blocks of batteries at Costco in one
> purchase instead of a package of 4 when we need them. So they sit around
> for years until we finally put them to use. No surprise they don't last
> long.

If my batteries failed after their expiration date, I wouldn't think
there was anything remarkable about that.

It could be that some distributors have extreme temperature variations
where they store the batteries and some don't.

[janp...@example.com]

On Tue, 23 May 2017 15:45:17 -0400, Michael Black <et...@ncf.ca> wrote:

>There is a tiny red led that flashes when it's "off", that sort of thing
>is supposed to be low current, but I don't know. So either that small red
>LED is draining the batteries (three either AAA or AA, I forget) or
>something else isn't remaining off when the switch is off.
>

If that red Led is flashing all the time, its draining the batteries.
Even if it takes a few months, it is still drawing current. That is a
very stupid design. What is the point of having a flashing red LED when
the thing is turned off. When I turn something off, I want it ALL THE
WAY OFF. Otherwise it's killing my batteries or running up my home
electric bill.

If I owned that thing, I'd open it and clip the wire to that red LED.

[The Real Bev]

On 07/01/2017 05:01 AM, Derald wrote:

> Vic Smith <thismaila...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>>The LED Mini-Mags are good, but not perfect. They will roll off a
>>work surface, so I put a tab tie loop in the lanyard hole.
>>The on/off/focus is clumsy to use one-handed. But I like them.

> Wow; you know it's been raining for days and keeping me out of the
> veggie garden, if I'm reading month-old newsgroup posts.
> When the LED mini maglite first appeared in stores here, DW&I each
> grabbed one, although I do not care for LED flashlights—the light
> produced is the "wrong" color but that's a separate issue. My LED light
> was the standard mark I, mod 2 "zoom" light and hers one of those fancy
> jobs with different light levels, flashing beam, SOS, whatever. Those
> "features" turned out to be more nuisance that benefit.

Yes, but the light itself at whatever zoom level needed is really
slick. The first one I saw (TruTorch) belonged to a woman who used it
to illuminate the Lehman Cave in Nevada and I was struck with instant
envy, although not $56 worth. There are lots of Chinese flashlights
that look exactly the same, but I wanted something with easy return
capability. I eventually found the $20 Bell&Howell as-seen-on-TV model
at Dick's sporting goods right across the street. 45-day
no-questions-asked return policy. Factory lifetime guarantee. I guess
B&H has been around long enough for that to not be a total joke,
although I didn't read the details.

Anyway, I love it. I want to go to another cave now!

> At any rate,
> after just a few months of use, on lenses and reflectors, both of the
> lamps began accumulating a film of very fine grey dust that I took to
> be some sort of dry lubricant; carbon or moly, maybe, that reduced light
> output more than a little—bummer. Any effort at cleaning was only
> temporary and the deposits returned after only a day's use. Both
> flashlights were divided between the local co-generating landfill and
> the local aluminum recycler and we're back to using two incandescent
> minimags that have been in service since 1986 or thereabouts. Good
> luck.

--
Cheers, Bev
"My life outside of USENET is so full of love and kindness that I have
to come here to find the venom and bile that I crave." --R. Damiani

[Vic Smith]

On Sat, 01 Jul 2017 08:01:50 -0400, Derald <der...@invalid.net> wrote:

>Vic Smith <thismaila...@comcast.net> wrote:
>

>>The LED Mini-Mags are good, but not perfect. They will roll off a
>>work surface, so I put a tab tie loop in the lanyard hole.
>>The on/off/focus is clumsy to use one-handed. But I like them.

> Wow; you know it's been raining for days and keeping me out of the
>veggie garden, if I'm reading month-old newsgroup posts.
> When the LED mini maglite first appeared in stores here, DW&I each
>grabbed one, although I do not care for LED flashlights—the light
>produced is the "wrong" color but that's a separate issue. My LED light
>was the standard mark I, mod 2 "zoom" light and hers one of those fancy
>jobs with different light levels, flashing beam, SOS, whatever. Those

>"features" turned out to be more nuisance that benefit. At any rate,

>after just a few months of use, on lenses and reflectors, both of the
>lamps began accumulating a film of very fine grey dust that I took to
>be some sort of dry lubricant; carbon or moly, maybe, that reduced light
>output more than a little—bummer. Any effort at cleaning was only
>temporary and the deposits returned after only a day's use. Both
>flashlights were divided between the local co-generating landfill and
>the local aluminum recycler and we're back to using two incandescent
>minimags that have been in service since 1986 or thereabouts. Good
>luck.

Mine were bought in 2012,13,14 and are still crystal clear. Maybe it
was the batteries you used. Mine are all standard, no flashing mode.
Amazon shows I bought 6, but damn, I only see 3 here. One of the
missing AA ones pissed me off by flickering, but that's apparently a
contact problem that can be fixed by a light sanding of the end cap.
I'll try that if it ever shows up.
Just ordered a second AAA Mag Lite, as it's easy to clip on a shirt
pocket and throws all the light I need.
I'll only buy the silver finish now, as they don't hide themselves.

[The Real Bev]

On 07/02/2017 04:52 AM, Derald wrote:
> The Real Bev <bashl...@gmail.com> wrote:
>

> I've never seen a "tactical" flashlight in reality but from the
> adverts I see on late night teevee, I surmise them to be flashlight
> equivalents of the GM Hummer. What is "tactical" about a flashlight?

Imagine being attacked by someone and smushing the bright end of the
flashlight into his eye. That part is sort of serrated to facilitate
this action. It also has a strobe (3rd or maybe 4th position, I guess
if you needed this function you'd remember) which confuses your enemy.
I guess.

> If "tactical" means "well lighted head bashing", then, nothing surpasses
> a 3 or 5 D cell Minimag. Unyielding aluminum supported by the mass of 3
> or 5 D cells is just about as sociable as a flashlight can be....

This is small. I don't think you could bash somebody on the head with
it, although it might substitute for a roll of pennies in your fist. I
think the eye-smushing/confusing functions are what they mean. There's
also an automatic SOS thing, so you can eye-smush while calling for
help. Cool!

>>Anyway, I love it. I want to go to another cave now!
>

> If I ever were in a cave, wouldn't need a light because I'd have
> lost consciousness losing a fight.

Lehman is an entertainment cave with nice paved floors, lights, guides,
etc. Just like Carlsbad, but smaller. I just wanted to see some stuff
better. The idea of REAL caves where you have to squeeze through tiny
openings and trail a rope behind is unpleasant.

> I do spend quite a bit of time
> outdoors at night and for that prefer a head lamp. When my inherited
> acetylene lamp finally died, I judged new models of them to contain too
> much plastic for me to trust to contain a small fire on my forehead and
> so moved over to those inexpensive, essentially disposable, LED lights
> that are ubiquitous at bigbox checkouts. No good for spotting, because
> they're LED, but all right for just doo-dah-ing around outside at night.

I have some of the Harbor Freight yellow headlights, which are too
heavy. I also have some Petzl LED headlights, which are kind of nice.
I don't need either, I just like having them around.

--
Cheers, Bev
"Go back to sleep, citizen. Your government has
everything under control." -Bill Hicks

[Vic Smith]

On Sun, 02 Jul 2017 07:52:29 -0400, Derald <der...@invalid.net> wrote:


> BTW, an accessory is available that provides six flat surfaces to
>prevent the rolling problem. I habitually carry the light in a hip
>pocket, often-as-not accompanied by pruning shears, and find the added
>bulk uncomfortable; want it?

Thanks, but no. It's not a big issue, especially with the AAA. The
pocket clip keeps it from rolling more than an inch or two.

> Oh, and minimag repair parts, except for switches, are available
>from third parties. I get them from an online outfit doing business as
>Zbattery.com. This is not necessarily an endorsement but I have had
>good performance from (genuine) minimag repair parts and (aftermarket)
>LG cell phone batteries purchased from them.

I'll keep that site in mind for new Mag Lites, but I probably won't
repair a flashlight. Haven't had to repair one yet. The only one I
wished for a new end cap when it broke was a light like this
https://tinyurl.com/y7gvc7ca
Same end cap. A son gave it to me and I used it for about 6 years.
But I never replaced it, since its hard to hold sideways in my mouth.
They do throw an impressive amount of light though.
I just gave my son my old D cell Mag Lites, all working. He won't buy
D cells either, but might unload the flashlights on eBay. Or he can
trash them, like I was going to do.

[The Real Bev]

> Thanks for the info. Are the lights in the
> unavoidable-because-HF-pays mailbox stuffer? Putting HF on the list for
> the next 'possum run to check them out.

Every once in a while they have them free with any purchase. I just
looked at mine. Two AA batteries. The light is OK (dark spot in
middle) but the elastic has worn out :-( The elastic on the Petzl is
still fine.

--
Cheers, Bev
"I never understood why anyone would go to the trouble to write a novel
when you can just go out and buy one for a few bucks." -- lpogoda