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

[shine]

"1365 lumen", estimated to be 24 watts. if 35 watts, will 3000+ lumen.

[recDNA]

"1365 lumen", estimated to be 24 watts. if 35 watts, will 3000+ lumen.

Please forgive me but this is a VERY long thread. Has anyone ever measured the actual lux and lumen output of the Stanley HID?

My Walmart has them (or at least they did the last time I was there) but can somebody give a practical use I may have for one? Every flashlight I own (and I own TOO many) does have practical use although I have far too many to back up EACH practical use.

Anyway, I know the Stanley HID projects further and brighter than my TK40 but what can I do with this that I can't do with my TK40? (other than light up clouds). I live in the country but I am surrounded by trees and I work in a lab so I can't use it in any work capacity....but for some reason I still want one...I'm just afraid I'll never even turn it on!

[Mjolnir]

I have no practical use for one, but I have it nonetheless. You can also use it while plugged in to a car or the wall, which makes it somewhat unique.

[StarHalo]

Please forgive me but this is a VERY long thread. Has anyone ever measured the actual lux and lumen output of the Stanley HID?

It's 120,000-ish lux.

what can I do with this that I can't do with my TK40? (other than light up clouds)

- Light up objects half a mile away
- Project a ~160 degree spillbeam that's wider than your field of vision
- Create a beam that's plainly visible to everyone around you, regardless of conditions
- Etc.

can somebody give a practical use I may have for one?

Nope, sorry, big gun lights aren't about practicality. I can't give you a practical use for a Ferrari, either..

[Mjolnir]

You forgot "Scaring neighbors"
In all honesty, this really isn't anything more than a "wow" light. It isn't durable enough for anything that would actually require an HID, such as SAR, military use, or caving. However, it is about the cheapest fully functional HID flashlight that can be bought anywhere, which could be reason enough to buy it (around here at least...).

[recDNA]

Well...it's more practical than a Deft and I want one of those too. I just wish they made it look like the Titanium Innovations HID. I don't like the gun handle but I LOVE the price. If I buy one I'll post about it. Still unsure.

[Mjolnir]

You could always wait for a used N30 spotlight to come up; those seem to go for about $100, and have NiMH batteries, as well as a handle on top.

Also, if you search "HID spotlight" on Ebay, you will find multiple HID spotlights with top handles that might be more to your liking for around the same price as the Stanley. They also have larger batteries and reflectors, which can also be an advantage.

[mrwhite1]

I just picked mine up and am in the process of charging it up. When I unplug it, it seems like after a few seconds once it reaches its peak brightness, it then dims. I moved the dimmer switch on the back of it, but haven't noticed any change by moving it back and forth? Is this normal? Do you have to release the trigger and reapply it to see a difference in the dimmer, or can you leave it on, and switch it to brighten or dim it?

[Mjolnir]

Once again, the initial brightness is only temporary, and is meant to speed up the start up time. The level that it dims back down to is the actual 35 watt output level.

The two modes are different, but they are both so bright that it is very hard for the human eye to notice. According to info in the original thread, it takes 15 seconds to truly switch from low to high, and almost a minute to switch back down to low.

[Apollo Cree]

It starts at the initial brightness, then dims a bit. As the bulb warms up, the brightness slowly increases. I think the final brightness is close to the initial brightness, but don't have a way to test it.

HID lights tend to start dim until the bulb gets up to full operating temperature. Stanley briefly boosts the drive current at the start to try and counteract this.

In addition to being slow, the high/low change is not a big difference in brightness to the human eye.

[nodoubt]

You forgot "Scaring neighbors"
In all honesty, this really isn't anything more than a "wow" light. It isn't durable enough for anything that would actually require an HID, such as SAR, military use, or caving. However, it is about the cheapest fully functional HID flashlight that can be bought anywhere, which could be reason enough to buy it (around here at least...).

whats not durable about the light??
ive got one thats been rained on, dropped,knoked around and still works fine....
please explain......

[jcw122]

whats not durable about the light??
ive got one thats been rained on, dropped,knoked around and still works fine....
please explain......

People see/feel plastic and they get scared. Obviously it's not "military-grade" and isn't for critical applications, but I'm also pretty confident in its toughness.

[mrwhite1]

Do you notice there is a small pie shaped sliver of black on the hotspot of the beam?

[StarHalo]

Do you notice there is a small pie shaped sliver of black on the hotspot of the beam?

Yup, that's the shadow from the return wire. You can use it as a handy feature - if your line of sight is aligned with the beam, you can look down the shadow "trench" and better see if you're getting a reflection from a distant object.

[BillD104]

OK, so after reading the 30 odd pages of posts about this light I had to go get one. Picked mine up on sale @ Lowe's for around $50.00. First thing I notice is I have no Hi/Lo switch on the back. Upon charging and using it for the first time... all I can say is WOW. My beam seems focused and incredibly bright even after the initial burst mode tapers off. I will try some run times after I cycle the SLA a few times. Anyone else notice that their light is serialized? Under the bottom edge of the back cap is a serial number.

[Mjolnir]

whats not durable about the light??
ive got one thats been rained on, dropped,knoked around and still works fine....
please explain......

It is by no means water proof; I would barely call it water resistant because of its two piece design with no o-rings. It is a neat light for everyday illuminating, but if I wanted an HID that I could not have fail on me (which would be necessary for search and rescue, caving, law enforcement or military use), I would get a more rugged light with more of a weather seal.

[BillD104]

Yup, that's the shadow from the return wire. You can use it as a handy feature - if your line of sight is aligned with the beam, you can look down the shadow "trench" and better see if you're getting a reflection from a distant object.

That actually works quite well, I tried it last night!

[shaltac]

Well this is my first post after lurking here for a bit. I've had my good ole standby 4D cell maglight forever. Bought it because it was the brightest thing since sliced bread at the time. I then tried the "Million Candle" cig lighter genre - went back to the mag light - no cord. Bumped into the Coast Lenser at lowes a couple of years back, and almost simultaniously found your site (some guys setting stuff on fire with a flashlight on the interwebs guided me in). I've been lurking and saw an earlier post on the Stanley. I said "got to have one" and have been watching the local stores closely. Today was my day! Wally world in 716 and 585 area codes seem to have gotten shipments. I use my lights to illuminate the barn and other out buildings when my Dogs go nuts. The little lenser (and 2 90lb dogs) have scared off a couple of curious george types so far. This light is awesome. It lights the entire barn up, and I can also see all the way down my 600ft driveway with it. For me it perfect. Barking dogs, a bright light, and the sound of a Mossberg 500 slide racking. "Guests" tend to take notice, and not return.

Thanks CPF
Rusty

[mesa232323]

Its been quiet a while since I have been on cpf. I don't want to read all 30 pages of posts. I have 2 stanley h.i.d's one has a broken balast. I want to upgrade the broken one. Any ideas? Not sure what some of the other people have done with theirs.

[Bright+]

My local Walmart had two production lots (stamped into cardboard insert). I noticed the newer 2010 had a black sticker over the Energy Star sticker. Something must have changed, or had the certification revoked since original production.

The included AC adapter says 12v 500mA. This is not a normal AC adapter. It is a very special current limiting switching power supply. It has an open circuit voltage of 18v or so. The adapter limits charging current to 500mA then the on-board circuit on the light itself simply isolate the charger once battery reaches a set voltage.

If you lose this adapter, I don't think you'll find a suitable replacement. A 12v regulated AC adapter will not charge the battery. You'll need something that can provide about 15v to the battery.

An unregulated 12v adapter with a higher open circuit voltage will charge, but have no means of limiting current, so it might push too much current raising the battery voltage too high prematurely terminating the charging process. The adapter might fry itself too.

[kramer5150]

My local Walmart had two production lots (stamped into cardboard insert). I noticed the newer 2010 had a black sticker over the Energy Star sticker. Something must have changed, or had the certification revoked since original production.

The included AC adapter says 12v 500mA. This is not a normal AC adapter. It is a very special current limiting switching power supply. It has an open circuit voltage of 18v or so. The adapter limits charging current to 500mA then the on-board circuit on the light itself simply isolate the charger once battery reaches a set voltage.

If you lose this adapter, I don't think you'll find a suitable replacement. A 12v regulated AC adapter will not charge the battery. You'll need something that can provide about 15v to the battery.

An unregulated 12v adapter with a higher open circuit voltage will charge, but have no means of limiting current, so it might push too much current raising the battery voltage too high prematurely terminating the charging process. The adapter might fry itself too.

There was one time I accidentally plugged a "generic" 12V 500mah wall wart power supply into my stanley. It didn't do anything different from what I recall. It just topped off the cell and the LED turned green. I didn't even realize I had inter-mixed my spotlight chargers. I since have tagged the stanley charger plug as a visual indicator.

[recDNA]

Has anyone ever measured the lux @ 1 m that the Stanley HID puts out? I'd like to compare it with LED's with similar lumen output.

[StarHalo]

Has anyone ever measured the lux @ 1 m that the Stanley HID puts out? I'd like to compare it with LED's with similar lumen output.

The number would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 125,000 lux.

[recDNA]

The number would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 125,000 lux.

That does it. Heading to Home Depot next week!

[Hellbore]

Hey guys - Sorry for the dumb question, but I can't seem to find my manual!

I have the Stanley HID, I bought it yesterday and charged it up and it worked great. I used it last night for a while.

I charged it again last night, and now it won't turn on. The light was red while charging, and I think it was blinking, then by morning the light had changed to green, which I think means the charge is done.

The light won't turn on now, when I pull the trigger, I just get the red light on solid. The red light goes off when I release the trigger.

Earlier, when I would pull the trigger, I was getting the red light flashing quickly, then changing to a solid green light. Green light turns off when I release the trigger. After messing with it for a while, it changed to solid red light now.

I tried hooking it up with the car cigarette lighter cable, and with the car cable hooked up, I still just get a solid red light when pulling the trigger.

Any ideas? I can't seem to find my manual Is it broken?

[CarpentryHero]

Still waiting for them to show up here in Edmonton. The only HID I seen in any store was the Bushnell, which has no range and rated 170 lumens. Square beam and no range. FML

[StarHalo]

Still waiting for them to show up here in Edmonton. The only HID I seen in any store was the Bushnell, which has no range and rated 170 lumens. Square beam and no range. FML

That's the Bushnell HD, an LED flashlight. Even the low-wattage HIDs start at ~1000 lumens.

[ANDREAS FERRARI]

Still waiting for them to show up here in Edmonton.

These lights have been on the market for 18 months but I have never heard of them being sold in Canada.

[Hellbore]

Update: Diagnosed the problem with my HID, apparently the ballast is bad already, after about 5 minutes of use!

Going back to Walmart to exchange... I hope I just got a lemon and the next one will be better!

[Hellbore]

Well I got a new Stanley HID from Walmart, and this one seems brighter than the first one!

I wonder if the ballast was defective on the first one from the start...

Has anyone else had the ballast fail on their Stanley light?