HID shock resistance

[Locoboy5150]

Since I accidentally drop tested some of my Fenix LED lights, that got me wondering about the durability of HID bulbs like what's in my Sunforce spotlight. Have any of you ever shock tested your HID flashlights or spotlights, either accidentally or on purpose? If so, what happened?

I've been really careful not to drop my spotlight but I've wondered about what would happen if I did.

 

[AnAppleSnail]

Since I accidentally drop tested some of my Fenix LED lights, that got me wondering about the durability of HID bulbs like what's in my Sunforce spotlight. Have any of you ever shock tested your HID flashlights or spotlights, either accidentally or on purpose? If so, what happened?

I've been really careful not to drop my spotlight but I've wondered about what would happen if I did.

Looks pretty good. They seem to survive anything but a good sharp shock. Some car tuners with really stiff shocks have killed crummy ones with potholes, other divers have dropped bulbs onto boat decks and broken them.

 

[BatteryCharger]

Well, this is what my X990 looks like after it hit the ground:

The lens was a pretty substantial peice of glass, however I continued using it many hours after the lens broke and I finally wore out my batteries. The bulb is still good...I need a new lens, reflector, and battery packs...but not a bulb. It's got enough hours on it that the reflector started getting some sort of white/grey buildup on it I think from heat, before the lens broke...

 

[AEHaas]

I have thrown HID lights to the ground to demo their durability. The light always goes out with a hard hit but you just turn it back on. I am not sure of the mechanism for this behavior.

No light is immune to a destructive force that shatters the glass or lens. If the light emitter is intact then it should still shine. The Polarion HID lights have been attached to 50 cal machine guns and tolerate this constant shock without going out.

Certainly HID lights are much more durable than incandescent lights with a filament.

aehaas

 

[kramer5150]

Surf the automotive tuner and motorcycle forums... you can probably find an answer there.
Personally I have not dropped mine yet.


FWIW.... the Surefire hellfighter uses an HID in the 35-55W range. So if everything around the HID bulb and ballast is well designed, well made, with quality materials it can be very durable.

 

[Patriot]

Usually bumps, bangs, and drops aren't even considered and issue with HID.

Although HID components have more mass and are thus slightly more susceptible to g-forces than LED's, they really take a lot of abuse. I had an N30 slide off my tile roof onto dirt once and it survived.

...and since the bulb might be considered the weakest link have a look at BVH's bulb replacement poll....

 

[HIDSGT]

I have thrown mine at suspects and its keeps on living. I would say it's 10x more durable then my Steamlight ever was. Mine has dents all over it. Its a Microfire 3500 so I cant speak for other ones tho. Never threw the Wold Eyes cause I just use that around the house sometimes.