Stanley H.I.D. and 1365 lumen spotlights (Part 2)

[Mach1]

Essentially, because cameras aren't eyeballs. I can assure you that in real life, the 4300K are brighter, as the numbers indicate.

For me, at least, this did come at a cost in warm-up time, and the beam looks weirder (more color shifts and jumps) as it warms up. (Others have reported no warm-up increase, so this is probably just the particular variety of cheap bulbs I bought.) In my second HID (a POB), although I've got a second 4300K, I haven't changed it in yet for that reason. I'm thinking of a 5 or 6 kK replacement now.

I hate to ask the obvious, but if pictures do not represent the brightness of the bulb, what's the point of all these comparative beam shots?

 

[richardcpf]

I was under the impression that the stanley HID didn't dim because of a voltage drop. Since the light needs thousands of volts to run, then the ballast will have to raise the voltage several orders of magnitude either way. I don't think that a slight voltage drop from a partially charged battery makes a difference. Was I wrong?
I have not noticed any dimming as the battery gets low, but this light is so bright that I probably wouldn't notice it anyway.

The battery was almost dead when I took it out of the clamshell, so it dimmed after few minutes of use and gave me the impression that it increased the brightness when connecting it to the car.

Now that it is half charged, the brightness difference is barely noticeable (maybe just a flicker) but with it connected to the car socket it would ramp up faster. It will provide instant lumens and ramp up for 4 seconds, after few more seconds it will switch to a lower mode.

I will center the hid bulb and take a new beamshot once it is fully charged.

 

[Mjolnir]

I tried to center my bulb as well, but there really isn't any way to angle the bulb differently, because of how it fits into the reflector. The best I could do was rotate it so the return wire shadow was facing up, which soothes my obsessive compulsivenessivity. The reflector isn't really perfect, and it has a few little dimpled areas on it (does anyone else have these?), so it won't look perfect either way.

The light definitely ramps up faster if it has already been on, so that might have had something to do with it. I also noticed that the light sort of "rotates" its brightness while it is turned on. It dims very slightly, then goes back to full brightness, then dims again. It is barely even noticeable, especially outside.

Mach1, beamshots can show relative brightness, but only if they are taken with identical camera settings. I would think that it would be better to take 2 separate beamshots with the same settings instead of only one to reduce any "interference" from either light. Different aperature, ISO, and shutter settings can also sometimes affect the color, which may make it appear different. Keep in mind that the two bulbs have peaks in different wavelength ranges, so it will be more difficult to tell conclusively which is brighter. Also, these lights are so bright either way that a difference in brightness could be somewhat difficult to notice.

 

[richardcpf]

I also noticed that the light sort of "rotates" its brightness while it is turned on.

Yeah that is one cool effect. Looks like the spot is "filling up".

By the way do you feel the 3 leds very dim? My guess is about 25 lumens. I'm going to replace the center led with a P4 at about 1 watt, and the other two as beacon or standby leds if possible.

 

[StarHalo]

By the way do you feel the 3 leds very dim?

They're "about right" when walking down an unlit street at night, though they do definitely get much dimmer as the battery drains. Near the end of the usable battery life, they don't come on at all.

I carry my EDC with me (as always) in the event that I've run the battery down too far.

 

[Mjolnir]

Yeah that is one cool effect. Looks like the spot is "filling up".

By the way do you feel the 3 leds very dim? My guess is about 25 lumens. I'm going to replace the center led with a P4 at about 1 watt, and the other two as beacon or standby leds if possible.

Actually, I was trying to describe the slight fluctuations of the brightness of the light while on, not the startup. Perhaps "rotate" wasn't the right word.

Now that you mention it though, the "filling in " of the hotspot on startup is pretty neat. Do all HIDs do this? Is it caused by the salts or something?
Also, sometimes a section of the hotspot has a reddish tint, which I assume is from the salts as well.

I sort of like how the LEDs dim, which functions as a sort of secondary battery indicator (but it gives you a better idea of how much battery is left than the normal indicator does). The LEDs are not all that useful for illumination IMO, at least not compared to any decent LED light.

 

[crisg]

hi everybody, sorry for my intervention here,in this topic but I don't know where to post regarding this !
I would like to buy this light,it would be a great help for me,boating,fishing and all this kind of "boaring" stuff and no chance to get this ,only from amazon and they don't ship overseas...
Is anybody available and kind to buy this beauty for me and to ship it to an us adress that I will provide?
From walmart,amazon,doesn't matter...(10bucks,2xre...)!
I can pay via ppal cc!
If there's a man who want to help an addicted fisherman,please pm !
I learned a lot from this forum, 2 years of almost everyday reading.....and I really want to have one!
kudos everybody who gives world more lumens!!!

 

[richardcpf]

Stanley HID vs Eagletac M2XC4 Cool Turbo.

My stanley came with an UGLY turquoise tint which makes people skin look like dead when shinning on them. Already ordered a 4300K bulb to replace it.

 

[erlon]

Please, Someone knows any place that sells this Spotlight and ships to other countries ?

 

[Mjolnir]

The stanley definitely has a strange tint, but I don't really find it worth it to replace it. It is insanely bright, and I don't really care about the color temperature.
My car has 4300K HID headlights (which I just discovered the other day), which definitely seem warmer than the stanley. However, I really think that it is fine as is.
Mostly, I am too lazy to open up the light and figure out how to replace the bulb.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I have been looking for a HID, and following these forums. I like the features and bang for buck of the Stanley. All the Walmart's in my area were out, so I waited. Finally, Amazon got them back in stock, and I just received mine today.

Initial impressions. Slightly heavier than I expected. Partially charged when I got it, but I drained it and then fully charged it. I am glad the fast start is variable, depending upon how long it has been since you last pressed trigger. I like the trigger lock, works for locking off or on. The LEDs will not work when HID is on, but you can leave them on, and then a quick trigger press will switch from LED to HID. My unit buzzes a loud high pitch when in fast start, but not afterwards. In general, I am happy, but I wish the reflector had some orange peel and the the beam had a bit less throw.

Anyone know where I can get different reflectors or diffusers?

The low and high power switch is pretty much useless, so I will probably hotwire it to always be on high, and I may use the switch to force it to always be in fast start mode, though I realize this mode could only be maintained for seconds, not minutes.

 

[BVH]

The hi-low switch is very useful for getting an additional 5-7 minutes of runtime with no perceptible decrease in light (to the human eye, anyway). Percentage-wise, that is very significant. I agree, it's useless for varing light output.

 

[ninjaboigt]

Really really really really stupid question...Surefire claims their HIDs are " never to be replaced or have any filaments to break or burn out"

Is this true for all hids? specificly the stanley one? im very very intrested in the stanley hid, but i want to know if i will ever have to replace the bulb.

and with the batt pack, how many recharges can we get off of it? till i need to get a new one?

 

[Mjolnir]

Obviously surefire isn't correct, since everything will need to be replaced eventually, even LEDs. HIDs will last way longer than incandescent bulbs will. I believe that their lifespans are on the order of a few thousand hours, but I don't know the exact numbers. I doubt you will have to replace the bulb in the near future, and it shouldn't be too hard to do.
I'm not sure how long the battery will last, but I'm sure there are replacement batteries that can be bought. By the time the battery does die, there will probably be better chemistries that you could retrofit it with for way more runtime.

 

[Patriot]

Really really really really stupid question...Surefire claims their HIDs are " never to be replaced or have any filaments to break or burn out"

Is this true for all hids? specificly the stanley one? im very very intrested in the stanley hid, but i want to know if i will ever have to replace the bulb.

and with the batt pack, how many recharges can we get off of it? till i need to get a new one?

The literature states, "And because HIDs have no filament to burn out or break, they can endure the vibration, shock and recoil found in combat conditions and typically never need replacing"



It's true there is no filament to burn out or break. I underlined "typically" because it is a conditional statement. Most people will never have to replace a HID bulb when used in a spot light or other hand held type of portable HID lighting. They are exceptions but we're talking about averages here and I think Surefire was doing the same.

 

[ninjaboigt]

Thanks alot Mjolnir and Patriot!

Just when i thought i dont need any more flashlight, Stanley comes out with this cheap HID!

=D this will be my first HID i purchase..thanks for the information again!

 

[Patriot]

You're welcome....and regarding the battery life span, SLA's are typically good for 3-5 years in my own experience.

 

[ninjaboigt]

Whoa thats crazy, Are they good under extreme temps? the way lithium or NiMH are?

 

[nhoj_yelbom]

picked one up today before finding this thread, nice light. i have a diy hid spotlight ive had for over a year and this one has a better beam and onboard power! two walmarts in pensacola are loaded with these

 

[Tanker]

Picked up one of these a few weeks ago and I'm already having a couple of problems. First of all, right from the getgo the light would turn on very bright and then after a second or two it would dim slightly. Second, it now flashes slightly and then the red light comes on (it was fully charged), if you try to charge it goes right to green but still only gives you a short flash when the trigger is pulled. Anybody else having problems? Just an FYI, the company that Stanley licences their name to "make" these is Baccus Global in Florida.