Stanley 5 Watt LED Spotlight

[IlluminatedOne]

I opened my light up and tooks some pics

[alpg88]

i did it, had to dremel off few pieces of plastic, and 6aa fit right in, on original pack, just like new one charging current 0.52 amp.
so far i,m charging till red led stops blinking.

[alpg88]

bad news, light is dead, but before it died i got some data.
charger shuts off completely after it beeps, as i put new batteries charge time didn't change(about 1-1.5hr), so i suspect, at charging current of .5 amp, it filled aa only to 1\3 capacity, on high it ran about 1 hour, output of the power brick was 12v .5 amp, i,m not sure if i used different brick with differen current, charging current would be the same as brick's out.
i accidentally touched circuit board, and right away considarable amout of smoke, after that light wouldn't turn on. so board is fried, emitter is fine, so i cut it off, might use it someday for a build.

[zapper]

Heck yeah! If that big grey thing is a hunk of aluminum, you're almost there already!

Get your favorite board from anywhere (like DX) and just cut out all the other electronics. Solder wires from trigger, battery pack, converter then LED! BAM!

You could even get a pot or rhehostat and put it in place of the up/down buttons!

[kramer5150]

bad news, light is dead, but before it died i got some data.
charger shuts off completely after it beeps, as i put new batteries charge time didn't change(about 1-1.5hr), so i suspect, at charging current of .5 amp, it filled aa only to 1\3 capacity, on high it ran about 1 hour, output of the power brick was 12v .5 amp, i,m not sure if i used different brick with differen current, charging current would be the same as brick's out.
i accidentally touched circuit board, and right away considarable amout of smoke, after that light wouldn't turn on. so board is fried, emitter is fine, so i cut it off, might use it someday for a build.

Its not a total loss...
Looks like you could gut the whole thing, except the trigger, LED housing and reflector optics. Drop in a pair of 18650s in parallel or an IMR26650. Get a ~1-1.4A driver board from either DX, KD or shiningbeam, and an XRE-Q5. You might have room to fabricate a better heatsink. You'll need a hobby charger though to charge the cell.

**edit**zapper beat me to it.

Is that big gray thing aluminum?

[alpg88]

it is metal, light one, not sure if it is aluminium, might be something else

[Apollo Cree]

it is metal, light one, not sure if it is aluminium, might be something else

Zinc is another possibility. Apparently, zinc castings are inexpensive and are used a lot.

[Certo]

Greetings:

I've not read them all, but have enjoyed many of the posts on this thread. I am not qualified to engage in the tech talk most of you know, nor have I done any comparisons. Here's my thing:

I started with the lap-dog Qbeam with the half-ton replaceable battery about 15 years ago. Living on wooded land and being a photographer, I've enjoyed many hours of night work, including macro (close-up) of insects. As the years passed and living out in the country, Wallyworld has been pretty much my smorgasbord of choice. The longer trip to Big Buck Sports seldom happens. That said, you know how Wallyworld buyers do. Any given product may be here today and forever dismissed tomorrow. Therefore, when I find something I especially like, I'm subject to buying a few extras.

The 5-watt Stanley of this thread came after 14 years of owning various brands and smaller sizes. After a week's use, back at Wallyworld, the shelf was devoid of the product. Over the next few days or so, I made trips to nearby (relatively small) cities and no Walmart carried the product. Now, a year later and the little Stanley going strong, I determined to go online to find it; thus my arrival here.

For me, this little angel has proven the prince of all I've owned, some 12-15 different spots. Whether shooting telephoto or macro, I'm outfitted with powerful flash that's reducible for macro. I hold the spotlight horizontally, like television shows picture Mexican gangsters with a handgun. Nestled between the body of the light and the back of my hand, rests the telephoto lens, pointed at the target of the spot. Focused and ready to click, I release the spot's trigger and zap the target with the flash.

There may be 30 reasons why many people would need something other than this light. But for me, it's the finest thing I've owned and had put out countless hours for more than a year... not remembering just when I purchased it. Even Sunpak's 622 Pro megalith flash head, won't reach what the little Stanley illuminates.

I realize I can cradle the camera lens in my wrist while holding a cylindrical lamp, but I seem to be more steady with the handled spot. Go figure.

Bang for the buck and small enough to pocket in my jeans, the 5-watt Stanley gets all five stars, uhm, thumbs up from me. (No stars in the emoticons collection.)



for your many commentaries and especially the images.

Certo

[jmnt089]

Would be really interested to see how my B/D l.e.d. spotlight compares to this one. I went with the B/D because it was not rechargeable, those lights just don't seem to be worth the energy. My B/D seems to be as good as, if not a bit better than my Vector 3m spotlight. I will get some beam shots Monday night after work.

My biggest light is the Vector 3m candle power, however, Black and Decker also has the same light. The only difference I can tell is that mine is silver with l.e.d.s and the B/D is the traditional orange and black. However, it is a bit misleading as 3m, when it is actually 2- 1.5m bulbs. And, when I run it on high power, it will only last for 30-45 minutes, which makes it almost useless.

This little B/D l.e.d. spotlight seems to match up nicely, if not beat the Vector. Plus, for a $20.00 price tag, my B/D l.e.d. spotlight seems like quite a bargain.

[woof]

Newbie with a newb question here. I just got one of these and already lost the manual. Should this battery be allowed to go totally dead before charging, or can it be recharged at any time. Is there a danger of over-charging? Basically, how do I handle recharge to keep the light happy? Thanks in advance!

[woof]

Newbie with a newb question here. I just got one of these and already lost the manual. Should this battery be allowed to go totally dead before charging, or can it be recharged at any time. Is there a danger of over-charging? Basically, how do I handle recharge to keep the light happy? Thanks in advance!

Am I asking this in the wrong section?

[DM51]

Welcome to CPF, woof

You asked in the correct place. I'm a little surprised you have not yet received a reply, but I hope someone will be along soon to help you.

I don't know the light myself, but as a rule you should not allow any battery to go dead before recharging it. Certainly in the short term, you will do less damage if you top it up whenever it gets to say 50%.

As to the manual, have you checked to see if you can download it online? Many manufacturers post their manuals online now.

[woof]

Welcome to CPF, woof

You asked in the correct place. I'm a little surprised you have not yet received a reply, but I hope someone will be along soon to help you.

I don't know the light myself, but as a rule you should not allow any battery to go dead before recharging it. Certainly in the short term, you will do less damage if you top it up whenever it gets to say 50%.

As to the manual, have you checked to see if you can download it online? Many manufacturers post their manuals online now.

Thanks. I have looked for the manual online and have not found it. But as I recall, it was very sketchy and not much help. I have googled recharging nimh batteries and found contradictory info - one that yes, you should let them go dead or even have a charger that fully discharges them befor recharging. But then another site will say no, recharge at anytime as long as you have a charger that won't allow an overcharge.

This is why I was looking for some input from someone who has this light. Still looking!

[DM51]

Bumping this thread... can no-one help with woof's question?

[baterija]

Woof, based on what I have gathered in the batteries subforum here from the experts:

- NiMh don't like being overdischarged and can suffer damage if they are. It's best not to run them all the way to dead.
- Ever so often a relatively full discharge can be beneficial. Call that a little before the light is dead.
- You won't really cause serious issues if you simply use them and recharge after a partial discharge.

[woof]

Woof, based on what I have gathered in the batteries subforum here from the experts:

- NiMh don't like being overdischarged and can suffer damage if they are. It's best not to run them all the way to dead.
- Ever so often a relatively full discharge can be beneficial. Call that a little before the light is dead.
- You won't really cause serious issues if you simply use them and recharge after a partial discharge.

Thanks much! Do you know if the charger that comes with this light shuts off before an overcharge level is reached? Or is it just on a timer which assumes how much charge they need? ps I didn't see a batteries subforum?

[IlluminatedOne]

When its charged it beeps to tell you its charged, it is not a timed charger inside as it if you wait until it beeps and unplug it and then wait a min and plug it back in the light will take a short time to beep again 1-3mins or so.

It definitely has a smart charger built in and i would guess it has a peak charger with a thermistor to shut it down if the pack gets too hot.

It also shuts it self down when the battery needs charging with a few beeps when your using it, so it wont let you drain the battery completely and then just recharge it.

So i would say you should not have to worry too much when charging it or when using it as it will tell you when it needs charging or when it is charged.

Although in the manual it states not to leave it charging for longer than 2hours and it said that to charge the light should take 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

It also mentions charging it after you use it each time.

Have fun with your light i really like mine.

[elumen8]

ps I didn't see a batteries subforum?

Hi woof, here's a link to the batteries sub-forum. Plenty of good info there.

BTW, how do you like the Stanley spotlight so far?

JB

[Apollo Cree]

The light appears to shut off automatically at some level of discharge. I'm not quite sure whether it's a "save the batteries" shutoff or a "circuit abruptly stops working due to low voltage" shutoff.

[woof]

Hi woof, here's a link to the batteries sub-forum. Plenty of good info there.

BTW, how do you like the Stanley spotlight so far?

JB

Thanks for all the answers. I bought this light for one purpose - I have 2 horses and like to check on them when they are in the pasture at night without going outside. On the default setting I can easily spot a dark brown horse against a dark brown treeline a hundred yards out from my kitchen window. Love it!

[elumen8]

Hi woof, here's a link to the batteries sub-forum. Plenty of good info there.

Edit: Ooops, my link didn't stick the first time. Here it is if you hadn't found it already. http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...isplay.php?f=9

Glad you like the light...I may have to pick one up myself.

JB

[Karl in NY]

OK, where is the current lowest price on these?
They seem to vary between $20 and $40, the lower prices being expired short-term sales.

The Amazon site is not very specific regarding features...does this ship with an AC charger?

I'm really more interested in a car charger, one that can be left permanently connected to the light without over-charging the battery and reducing its useful life expectancy.

Suggestions?

Thank you-

Karl

[Rusty Joe]

OK, where is the current lowest price on these?
They seem to vary between $20 and $40, the lower prices being expired short-term sales.

The Amazon site is not very specific regarding features...does this ship with an AC charger?

I'm really more interested in a car charger, one that can be left permanently connected to the light without over-charging the battery and reducing its useful life expectancy.

Suggestions?

Thank you-

Karl

I bought it and took it back. Just wasn't bright enough. Walmart had this one to me at $37. Ships with a wall charger only, I think. And you're not supposed to leave it plugged in. If you don't already have it, why not get the battery-less Q-beam 3 mil? That way, you just leave it plugged into the car.

[Karl in NY]

I was looking for a spotlight that would recharge in the car, but necessarily to use in the car itself, so a battery pack would be mandatory.

I was hoping for a "smart" charger (like what's available for lead-acid batteries) so I would not need to be diligent about charging it all the time.

[Robstorch]

I just got mine at Walmart tonight, nice light perfect size. It was dead in the pack but a 2 hour charge got it fixed. This is the one for $29 with the belt clip. I only have one brightness level which I think is low. Low is actually pretty darn bright. pushing the buttons on the back has no effect on brightness. No beeps except when it finishes charging. I see someone else mentioned this before. Looks like I need to return it.

UPDATE: Must have been operator error on my part. I was not holding the up or down buttons long enough! Once turned on, its pretty darn bright, and is changable from the buttons on the back.
It is not dark yet so I cant tell how bright it gets at its highest but it sure throws a nice laser like
spot a good distance.
I was going to return it to another walmart but they had another there for $29 so I got it to test with.
No idea why the ones in the blister packs are $39 without the belt clip and in the box they are $29 with
the belt clip!

[Tertullus]

I recently purchased the Stanley 5 Watt LED as a backup to my Big Gun. I am a boater and I have only one use for spotlights. When I am running at night, I use them to pick up the markers that mark the channel. What I do not want is a lot of spill light that reflects off the white deck of the boat and makes it harder to see things out on the water.

For my purposes the Stanley is truly excellent. It has a tightly focused narrow beam - exactly what I need. Last night I tried it for the first time, and it is no longer by backup. It is the new champion. The Big Gun puts out a LOT more light, but puts it (relatively speaking) all over the place. The Stanley puts it where I need it - on the reflector of the marker. It is also very lightweight and I can just turn it off and drop it and the wrist loop keeps it handy for the next marker. Any boaters out there should give this one a try.

[r1derbike]

Picked-up one of these. Seems an "OK" light, for the money ($39.00). Will give it to my wife for a walk-around after dark light.

It's light, small, and really bright (the housing...it's yellow).

If I found another on sale, I'd pick one up again. At 40 bucks, it's pushing the high limit of what it's worth.

Charles

[IlluminatedOne]

I have recently modded mine to take 6XAA rather than the AAA pack that's in there normally.
When i have a chance i will do some runtimes, but the pack i put in there was 1200mah to 1500mah so should get me nearly twice the capacity of the stock 700mah pack in there.
I will maybe upgrade the pack in the future to something like eneloop's but the AA's i had were already in a pack that fitted the light.

Charging did not seem to be a problem as the pack went in pretty much discharged and after a hour or two the pack was charged with a beep.

Its not too hard to put in 6XAA and seems like it was made to take them in the first place as the AA's fit in perfectly after cutting of a few bits of plastic.
Just used a dremel to remove the plastic, then took the shrink wrap off the original pack, de soldered the wires and took the temp sensor out of the pack.
Soldered the battery cable back onto the new pack and inserted the temp sensor, put it back together and it all worked fine.

What i would really like though is to be able to change the power output of the driver.
So i could set a much higher high and also set a lower low, but still be able to use the buttons to ramp it up and down.
It would be awesome to have a moonlight mode and also a really high mode.

Its a great little light though especially as the weather is getting colder nice to hold on to with gloves compared to my Quark AA2 which i find a little too small for my hands and even more so with gloves on.

[robert w]

I just bought one at walmart.My son had one in deer camp and i was impressed we were spotting deer a quarter mile or more.The battery life is amazing and when the charge indicator light comes on it will still work at full power for a long time.It charges in less than 2 hours.It shines a small super concentrated beam a long distance.

[Doxiedad]

Looking for a light to spot critters in the backyard @ about 50m

Would this be a Better choice over a 2d mag with cree xr-e?

Or another suggestion under $50 and available at a big box retailer.