Hey all i've been looking for a cheap light for my car but i'm not sure what to get. I've seen lights like the Inova Bolt 2AA (I actually have 1 but for my other car) and the Energizer 1xAAA inspection light but i feel like there's more options out there. Here are my criterion: Prefer 1xAA or 2xAA with clicky switch, relatively up to date LED, under $30, preferably available in a store. I wouldn't mind a 2xAAA light either i guess.
Looking for a car light :O
- Thread starter Cman219
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mcnair55
Flashlight Enthusiast
There is so many available at around that price range and this question is often asked and you will always get the same answers.This one I find perfectly fit for purpose,build and quality good and I just run mine on eneloop or Lithium,will come well within your budget.
DM51
Flashaholic
Here's a similar thread, which may give you more ideas: What is the cheapest reliable CR123A flashlight to leave in the car forever ?
Bear in mind that Lithium non-rechargeable batteries are the most reliable to use in extreme heat/cold conditions, and they also have the longest shelf-life (>10 years).
Bear in mind that Lithium non-rechargeable batteries are the most reliable to use in extreme heat/cold conditions, and they also have the longest shelf-life (>10 years).
RedForest UK
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2009
- Messages
- 1,365
If however you wish to stick with AA's, then rechargeable eneloops hold their charge for a long time and handle the heat pretty well. Also lithium primaries are available in the AA format as 'energizer advanced/ultimate lithiums' so you could go either way.
Also I would check out shiningbeam.com, I expecially recommend his Romisen RC-29w and the Romisen RC-G2w, both great lights for the price! :thumbsup:
Also I would check out shiningbeam.com, I expecially recommend his Romisen RC-29w and the Romisen RC-G2w, both great lights for the price! :thumbsup:
march.brown
Flashlight Enthusiast
Before you decide on any battery type , have a look at the temperatures I recorded today after my car had been in the sun for a couple of hours ... I double and treble checked the figures ... This was in the UK where we don't get ultra-high temperatures.
Today , I did some measurements of the temperatures inside the car with a temperature in the shade of 69.8F (21C).
The car was left in the sun with all the windows closed for just over two hours with the sun shining on the black dashboard top.
The temperatures were taken with an infrared thermometer which I know is accurate to within a couple of degrees at 100C.
The dashboard top measured 149.0F (65C).
A glasses case in the top of the glove-box measured 124.5F (51.4C).
A torch (Trustfire F20) in the bottom of the glove-box measured 111.5F (44.2C)
Bear in mind that the outside air temperature in the shade was only 69.8F (21C) ... The interior heats up way beyond what I thought I would measure.
On a hot day , say in the eighties , who knows what the temperatures would be.
As it is , the bottom of the glove-box is already near the maximum temperature quoted for Lithium cells ... I might have to put a storage bin under one of the front seats to keep a torch in , unless someone has a better hiding place that would be cooler ... It would be preferable to have the torches ready to hand rather than being kept in with the spare wheel under the boot floor.
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mcnair55
Flashlight Enthusiast
Crikey you have scared the heck out of me with those readings,my car has close to 50 aerosol samples and probably a 100 or so butane gas lighters which are for customer freebies.I hope the boot readings are lower.
march.brown
Flashlight Enthusiast
Boot temperature depends on the body colour of the car ... White would be the coolest colour but a darker colour (worst of all Black) would be like an oven ... I remember as kids we used to cook fried eggs on a dark coloured stone left out in the sun ... A dark boot lid would heat up the car boot just like an oven ... A black tar-macadam path with a piece of grease-proof paper over it also worked well with eggs on a sunny day ... And my Dad thought that the hot weather was affecting the production of eggs by our hens.Crikey you have scared the heck out of me with those readings,my car has close to 50 aerosol samples and probably a 100 or so butane gas lighters which are for customer freebies.I hope the boot readings are lower.
I was only really interested in the glove compartment as that is where one torch is always left ... The black dashboard is really getting hot through the windscreen as the car is like a greenhouse ... I'm hoping to check the temperature under the front seat soon to see if that's a better place to keep a torch ... I keep the other torch in the drivers door pocket and if the drivers door is facing the sun , that would get hot too.
If you want a simple way of testing your temperature in the boot , put a max-min garden thermometer in on top of your goods ... Just make sure it goes up to a high enough reading ... I guess a few thick layers of blankets would help to protect the goods from the heat that is radiated from the inside of the boot lid and retained in the boot ... My car is a hatchback , so I haven't got an enclosed boot ... My spare wheel is in a well under the boot-floor and this might be the best place to keep a spare torch and batteries ... There is a lot of glass so that would allow the sun to heat the boot-floor up too.
It is almost looking as though we should rely on EDC torches instead ... I have iTP A3s on my two keyrings plus the iTP A2 as EDC but I still like to carry two torches in the car (fitted with Lithium batteries) and also some spare cells.
Short of putting the torch inside a small stainless "Thermos" flask , I don't know what we can do.
In an emergency , it would look a bit strange opening a "Thermos" flask and pouring out a torch !
.
Yea my car is black with a beige interior =\. Good thing i have heat reflective tinted windows though. But i've kept a set of AA/AAA batteries in my other car for a year now without any leakage problems, and they're just regular duracell alkalines.
march.brown
Flashlight Enthusiast
Latest temperature figures when the outside temperature in the shade was 71.2F ... This temperature is the air temperature in deep shade behind a wall and under trees.Before you decide on any battery type , have a look at the temperatures I recorded today after my car had been in the sun for a couple of hours ... I double and treble checked the figures ... This was in the UK where we don't get ultra-high temperatures.
Keeping batteries in the car. (Posted earlier today , still waiting for any responses).
Today , I did some measurements of the temperatures inside the car with a temperature in the shade of 69.8F (21C).
The car was left in the sun with all the windows closed for just over two hours with the sun shining on the black dashboard top.
The temperatures were taken with an infrared thermometer which I know is accurate to within a couple of degrees at 100C.
The dashboard top measured 149.0F (65C).
A glasses case in the top of the glove-box measured 124.5F (51.4C).
A torch (Trustfire F20) in the bottom of the glove-box measured 111.5F (44.2C)
Bear in mind that the outside air temperature in the shade was only 69.8F (21C) ... The interior heats up way beyond what I thought I would measure.
On a hot day , say in the eighties , who knows what the temperatures would be.
As it is , the bottom of the glove-box is already near the maximum temperature quoted for Lithium cells ... I might have to put a storage bin under one of the front seats to keep a torch in , unless someone has a better hiding place that would be cooler ... It would be preferable to have the torches ready to hand rather than being kept in with the spare wheel under the boot floor.
.
The car was left facing the sun for about three hours.
Top of the Dashboard .................... 158.0F
Inside the top of the glovebox ........ 127.5F
Inside the bottom of the glovebox ... 115.5F
Under the passenger seat ............... 101.5F
Temperature of the spare wheel ....... 86.5F
(spare is under the boot floor)
Headlining above the driver ............. 134.5F
Door pocket torch ........................... 94.0F
Surface of cloth seat ...................... 138.0F
Looks like the door pocket is OK though the sun may not have been on it long ... Under the boot floor in the spare wheel compartment is the coolest at only 86.5F ... Probably the best place to keep a torch and all the spare batteries.
Bear in mind that the shade temperature was only 71.2F here in the UK ... I wouldn't like to guess what these temperatures would be on a hot day.
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