Cool flashlight story of the day

[kaichu dento]

I hope Carrot finds this one and adds it to his flashlight story thread. Liked both your starting story and the one about the 1/4 mile conveyor belts!

 

[KingGlamis]

I hope Carrot finds this one and adds it to his flashlight story thread. Liked both your starting story and the one about the 1/4 mile conveyor belts!

Thanks. Just got home from a 15 hour day working two different jobs. Got to use my lights plenty today, which is always a good thing.

One other note about the conveyor belt job. We had about 6 guys on our crew, and as I mentioned we were required to carry a flashlight. The company provided an industrial-type 2D light that really wasn't any brighter than a Mini Mag. Only one guy carried the company-issued light. All the rest of us had Mini Mags. In fact most of us carried two Mini Mags each day because we used them so much that the batteries would often go dead. Eventually I started carrying two Mini Mags AND a spare set of batteries. We really did use our lights a lot on that job.

I remember several times talking with my co-workers we wished there was a pocket-sized light that was brighter than a Mini Mag. But this was long before the internet and back then most stores had a pitiful selection of lights other than Mags. If such a light did exist back then we sure didn't know about it.

 

[kaichu dento]

I remember several times talking with my co-workers we wished there was a pocket-sized light that was brighter than a Mini Mag.

That would be super cool if such a light existed! :nana:

Keep up with the stories! :thumbsup:

 

[surfinsmiley]

Very cool!:twothumbs
Light up my life!

 

[GarageBoy]

Cars, forklifts, heavy equipment, semi trucks, no matter what the project I've ran into or worked with technicians that didn't even own a flashlight. :shakehead I've got a friend at work right now with a brand new 6P he bought after using my E2, but once the batteries ran down he quit using it. He doesn't want to spend the money on two new batteries "that won't last a week", to quote him. I just don't get it.

Well yeah, that's why you LED it

 

[KD5XB]

I was in the Air Force, and the tool rooms had Streamlight Stingers for people to use while inspecting dark areas of the jet, but most guys used a MiniMag. A PERSONALLY OWNED MiniMag.

I lost mine once, didn't even know it was missing, when a QA inspector asked me if the one he just found in the jet was mine. That would have been pretty bad, except I had my spare to show him and "prove" I hadn't been using an unapproved tool on the jet!

There have been quite a few instances in the past few months where somebody was working on the truck I now drive, using THEIR MiniMag or SnapOn thing, or whatever, and not being able to see very well. Until I pull out my personal light and shine it over their shoulder! Last time I did this the guy exclaimed ":the sun came out!" I got a pretty good chuckle out of that one.

 

[exodus125]

What happened this morning was cool and I wanted to share. I have an ad on Craigslist saying I do mobile auto repair. I get a call this morning at 6:15 from a guy saying his Ford Escort is leaking fuel and he asked if I could come over right away and see if I can fix it so he can make it to work. I say sure and load my tool boxes into my truck and head over there.

Get there, open the hood, pull out my Fenix PD30, click low... nah, medium is better. It took about 30 seconds of looking with my flashlight to find the problem. The lower fitting had come off the fuel filter. Looking at it I see that it is a plastic fitting with a plastic retaining clip that just pushes in.

So.... drum roll please...

I've been a mechanic all my life but this was the first time I have fixed someone's car using ONLY a flashlight. I was able to get the fitting and clip back on with my fingers, so no OTHER tools other than my PD30 were needed. And with the location of the fitting there's no way you could have seen it without a flashlight.

Yes friends, flashlights are tools too.

The guy was stoked and I was just laughing as I drove away thinking "I brought a few thousand dollars worth of tools with me and one flashlight saved the day."

Just thought I would share.

I Am not a mechanic, but do work on cars from time to time for friends. I used to carry around a 6D mag. You can never have too much light. Now I carry a Fenix L2D. What a difference in size and light output. Add a diffuser tip to it and you don't need anything else as far as emergency lighting is concerned.

I recently bought an L1D to use as an EDC, the L2D is too big to carry in a pocket 24/7. An LOD would have been better though.

 

[Spence]

I'm a retired LAPD Detective and my history and story go back 37 years. The state of the art flashlight was called "Kel Lite" and they were big D cell aluminum lights, bigger than Mag Lites and heavier. I had a 5 cell and one night I came upon a roof top burglar who had gone through an air vent into the attic of a clothing store. I didn't take my baton with me since I was carrying this big metal pipe with a huge head and light coming from it. I crawled down into this attic and confronted the burglar in the maze of ceiling joists. Now, mind you, this was an old two stories tall building and it was a 20 foot drop through a flimsy, suspended ceiling to the shop's floor below. This burglar wouldn't do anything I said, because he was strung out on "Angel Dust", phencycledine, which was a large animal tranquilizer that gave a man super human strength. Instead of surrendering to arrest, he came at me through the tangle of joists and I had the fight of my life to keep from falling. He produced a pry bar which he had used to break through the roof vent. After taking a number of hits from it I struck back with my trusty Kel Lite and put more than one monkey bump on his mellon faster than he could rub them. He lost his grip and balance and fell through the ceiling and onto a dress rack and floor. It took me awile to get out of the attic and down to the shop waiting for the owner to show up with keys. I didn't have to worry about the burglar because he had a broken leg, some other injuries and was just lying among the scattered dresses waiting for me and the paramedics.
Kel Lites were very big with cops and emergency workers back then, but they eventually were replaced by Mag Lites and Streamlights in popularity, and ceased production. Boy, do I wish we had some of these current lights back then, however, I doubt if I would have won that little battle that night with a 2 CR123 SF 6P.
BTW: I love and collect favorite SureFires and Fenix.

 

[kaichu dento]

Great story Spence! I'd like to see more cop stories about their lights!

 

[KingGlamis]

Today I was diagnosing a guy's car and whipped out my Fenix PD30 to help see in a dark area of the engine compartment. After about 30 seconds the guys says "I have a better flashlight if you want to use it." :thinking: I chuckled inside thinking to myself "yeah right buddy" but you never know so I almost asked to see it when he further says, "Well, it's bigger than that light, not sure if it's brighter." I told him that my light was actually a very good light but thanks for the offer. Had it been dark out I might have schooled him on modern flashlights but demonstrations just don't work very well in the daylight.

 

[jslappa]

So, I live in a subdivision that has maybe about 60 houses in it. 2 streets, to be exact, shaped like the capital letter P. We have 9 cops that live here. 4 from the State Police, 3 from County, and 2 from K-Zoo PD. We even have a jailer, but she doesn't count! Hehehe.

I am out walking my two Basset Hounds through the neighborhood when a Chocolate Lab runs past us and straight into the vineyard behind our street. I'm like the Dog Whisperer, so my dogs sat down and behaved themselves, LOL. I see one of the officers and his wife on foot tracking their naughty little pooch. She's got a small palm-sized light in her hand and he is using a Mag Lite. Not sure how big, but it was longer and thicker than my 3 X C Rayovac Sportsman Extreme.

It truly was a pitiful site. His batteries must have been low because flood and spill were horrible. I had 2 of my Megalenniums with me that night. I wore a loose hoody and they fit great in the pockets. They came past us about 3 minutes after their dog and asked if we had seen their lab. I shook his hand and immediately told him his light was about to die. He said he know, and that his spare was in his locker at work. I pulled out my LED Zep MZXR-5 Megalennium and gave it to him. I showed him how to use the AW soft start switch and he was BLOWN AWAY! He takes it and says he'll return it as soon as he finds his dog. The wife and I pointed him in the direction of his lab and they were off.

I get a knock at my door and it's the cop to return my light. With him was one of his buddies from the neighborhood. They wanted to konw what the hell it was, how much it cost, how long the batteries lasted, and where they could get one. The officer I loaned it too thanked be and said he had no problem shining the light all the way to the end of the rows of grapevines. They knew that it was very similar to the M6, having been in the service, and went on and on about the different situations they could use that light. Specifically, one cop had just days earlier chased a guy in a stolen car. The guy bailed and ran through some Michigan woods. His light had decent throw, but spill was lacking. So, as he was running, the useable light was bouncing as he ran. He commented how my light would have made it exponentially easier to keep the guy in sight at night.

I told the guys about our "family" here.

 

[choaticwhisper]

So, I live in a subdivision that has maybe about 60 houses in it. 2 streets, to be exact, shaped like the capital letter P. We have 9 cops that live here. 4 from the State Police, 3 from County, and 2 from K-Zoo PD. We even have a jailer, but she doesn't count! Hehehe.

I am out walking my two Basset Hounds through the neighborhood when a Chocolate Lab runs past us and straight into the vineyard behind our street. I'm like the Dog Whisperer, so my dogs sat down and behaved themselves, LOL. I see one of the officers and his wife on foot tracking their naughty little pooch. She's got a small palm-sized light in her hand and he is using a Mag Lite. Not sure how big, but it was longer and thicker than my 3 X C Rayovac Sportsman Extreme.

It truly was a pitiful site. His batteries must have been low because flood and spill were horrible. I had 2 of my Megalenniums with me that night. I wore a loose hoody and they fit great in the pockets. They came past us about 3 minutes after their dog and asked if we had seen their lab. I shook his hand and immediately told him his light was about to die. He said he know, and that his spare was in his locker at work. I pulled out my LED Zep MZXR-5 Megalennium and gave it to him. I showed him how to use the AW soft start switch and he was BLOWN AWAY! He takes it and says he'll return it as soon as he finds his dog. The wife and I pointed him in the direction of his lab and they were off.

I get a knock at my door and it's the cop to return my light. With him was one of his buddies from the neighborhood. They wanted to konw what the hell it was, how much it cost, how long the batteries lasted, and where they could get one. The officer I loaned it too thanked be and said he had no problem shining the light all the way to the end of the rows of grapevines. They knew that it was very similar to the M6, having been in the service, and went on and on about the different situations they could use that light. Specifically, one cop had just days earlier chased a guy in a stolen car. The guy bailed and ran through some Michigan woods. His light had decent throw, but spill was lacking. So, as he was running, the useable light was bouncing as he ran. He commented how my light would have made it exponentially easier to keep the guy in sight at night.

I told the guys about our "family" here.

I never get a chance to really show off any of my lights, Thats a great story though.
I would have loved to see that look on his face.

 

[etc]

Interesting business model...

I used Gerber Infi to light the rear tags, when their bulb went out... drove 700 miles like that.

 

[Burgess]

to jslappa --


Very cool story. :thumbsup:


Thank you for sharing.

_

 

[Toohotruk]

Interesting business model...

I used Gerber Infi to light the rear tags, when their bulb went out... drove 700 miles like that.

You did shut it off in the daytime though, right?

 

[dmonay]

I work in an auto parts store and I tell my customers if you need to find something on your engine; a part, a leak, or a lost tool, wait until dark and then shine a flashlight around the engine compartment, this lets your eyes focus only on what you are illuminating which makes it easier to find what you are looking for. That is a trick I learned when I was a mechanic.
I used a AAA mini mag until I got tired of the expensive batteries and those little minimag bulbs. I switched to the AA mini mag and the light lasted a lot longer. Boy it would have been nice to have a modern day AA LED.

Btw I still see some mechanics using the old incan AA maglights. I can hardly believe it. Some people just havent heard of the benefits of using the modern led flashlights. Those tool truck guys could make a few etra bucks if they just set up a little demonstration in their trucks/

 

[KingGlamis]

So I was working on a car and a friend I don't see much comes by. He wants to see what I am working on, which was in a fairly dark area, so I hand him my Fenix PD30 on LOW. He looks and then hands the light back and says "Damn that thing is bright." I laugh and tell him it was on low. I put it on Turbo and hand it back to him and he says "Holy cow! That's incredible!"

People that don't know, just don't know... until you enlighten them.

 

[Burgess]

Just glad to hear yer' friend didn't look into the Bright End !


:eeksign:

_

 

[VF1Jskull1]

it's weird how the "un-enlightened" people would see low as very bright, when we cpf'ers think high isn't bright enough...

 

[KingGlamis]

Tonight, friends, is flashlight night. What's that you ask? The wife is out of town so I get the house to myself. That means all house lights off all the time. All activity will be done using a flashlight. I've done this before and it's sort of like a power outtage except the A/C still works and I can be on the computer. The living room is not totally dark due to the light from the computer monitor, but the rest of the house will be totally dark.

She's gone til Monday so I get two of these nights in a row.

A great time to play with all my different lights. Probably even introduce our new puppy to the joys of laser pointers (he's five months old).

It's not dark here yet but it will be soon enough.