Mine exploration

[GhostMatador]

I need a headlamp for mine exploration. I do a lot of hiking, climbing, and recently started exploring old abandoned mines. The old timers used carbide lamps, some guys still like to because the flame color changes if you run into different gasses, but it's hard to find that nowadays. We use batteries and an air meter now.


-Don't try this at home kids, it's very dangerous


And because of that I need a dangerously powerful headlamp. It cant be too bright. I currently use a Black Diamond Storm and am looking to improve. (100 lumen, 4 aaa) I was thinking of just getting BD or Princeton tech's 200 lumen but thought I'd check with the flashaholics before the die hard climbers (I wouldnt ask you guys for climbing advice) Here's the deal:


-$200 budget (I'm flexible)
-Needs decent burn time (the BD Storm advertises 50hours on brightest)
-Waterproof is nice, but not essential, rugged and reliable is.
-I use the spot function on my headlamps, the BD storm advertises 70m spot, so brighter than that.
-I'm not so sure about cr123's or rechargeables, but I'm all ears
-I wish I had time to modify, but unless its a huge step up, I'll leave the modifying as a hobby I can pick up later
Purchasing in a store or online would be great


Let me know what you think!

 

[Alpinebully]

Id look at the Zebralight range. And seriously consider RCR123 or 18650 rechargeable batteries.

 

[emu124]

Maybe this is something for you:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?332747-Kavelight-P60-Headlamp

and :welcome:

 

[GhostMatador]

My phrase above was meant to mean I want the brightest headlamp. Too bright is not bright enough. (Just some clarification)
Kavelight looks good, I'll do a little more research.
Would you recommend zebra light over a spark? Looks like spark is quite a bit brighter

 

[AnAppleSnail]

My phrase above was meant to mean I want the brightest headlamp. Too bright is not bright enough. (Just some clarification)
Kavelight looks good, I'll do a little more research.
Would you recommend zebra light over a spark? Looks like spark is quite a bit brighter

Despite the power advantages, think very hard about using Li-Ions in any enclosed space. See This post: Intelligently using Lithium-based rechargeables underground on the CPF EDC/Adventure forum. Short version: If they go bad, they release huge volumes of toxic gases. This is a rare event, but it does happen. If you use Lithium-Ions, be aware and prepared to mitigate those risks.

These days, Even the humble NiMH gives you plenty of output. I believe that with the KaveLight you could use any appropriate-voltage battery pack. As always, one is none, two is one, and three is not enough spare lights.

 

[vtunderground]

I do a fair amount of abandoned mine exploring... I've used a Pt Eos (not bright enough), Surefire Saint (not bright enough, beam sucks), PT Corona (almost adequate) and a PT Apex modded with a reflector (great). I would recommend something from Spark or Zebralight with a reflector (not a flood model). Probably a model that takes an 18650 battery, but I don't know how long you usually spend underground so I don't know how much runtime you'd need. I'd use "AW" 18650s if that's the route you take.

Just curious, where are you located? What types of mines are you exploring?

 

[lightdelight]

A mine is generally an enclosed space. A headlamp will allow you to navigate through the space. My headlamp lets me walk and do things around me. My other torches let me see what's farther down the way. I don't like super bright lights on my head. They kill your ability to use the light.

 

[GhostMatador]

@lightdelight, that's a problem I would love to have. I've been strapping 3 lights to my helmet so I'll wait until I have one that's too bright to deal with that problem.
@im located in Utah, the last mines I did were Uranium mines in Moab, but I mostly enter hard rock gold and silver mines.

 

[yellow]

Zebra H600 is good for trail mountainbiking, so should be more than adequate - especially when You re used to the power carbides ...

carbides are hard to beat in 2 fiels:
NICE short area light - no other means of illumination comes even close
runtime, runtime, runtime - as long as You have water in the cave, no problem, no time factor


still: as long as its not days inside, give a H600w a try ...


PS: why is getting carbides difficult?
Some outdoor makers still offer them (Petzl Aceto+Ariane, ...), and from specalized mining equipment there also should be enough to be purchased
:thinking:

 

[Mooreshire]

I use all three of the headlamps mentioned in my signature (CustomDUO, Kavelight, & Zebralight) to explore abandoned mines from the gold rush era here in Washington State. A Zebralight will serve you very well. Someone already linked you to my article about Li-ions underground; read it and take physical and electrical protection into consideration and you should be quite safe running 18650s.

Have fun and be safe! I've found crumbling abandoned mines to be among the most dangerous places anyone can choose to explore. ;)

 

[Burgess]

to GhostMatador --

BTW, we would Love to see a few photos, if you could do so.

Good Luck to you, and stay safe.

 

[lampeDépêche]

I currently use a Black Diamond Storm and am looking to improve. (100 lumen, 4 aaa)

-Needs decent burn time (the BD Storm advertises 50hours on brightest)

Small point, but I seriously doubt that any light is going to give you 50 hours of 100 lumens from 4 AAA batteries.

My guess is that the BD Storm advertises 50 hours, but only for its lowest setting, not for its highest.

The ZL 600 is hard to beat for a compromise between flood and throw, and the 18650 gives it good run-times. Plus, the fact that it uses only a *single* Li-Ion cell means that many of the Li-ion horror stories will not occur. (It's when you put several in series that things can get tricky).

But you want at least three lights for redundancy anyhow, so might as well make one of them a dedicated thrower, which none of the ZL's are.

Incidentally--are you a ghost that kills bulls, or a non-ghost who kill ghost-bulls, or a ghost that kills ghost-bulls?

 

[joanne]

I'm way late to the party, but here's my .02 worth anyway.

I too am into mine exploring. I was reasonably happy with my Princeton Tec Apex Pro (until I got a custom light). My Apex had decent run time using the 5 mm leds (about 8 hours) before starting to run down. No big deal since I always carry a couple sets of spares when I head underground. My Streamlight hand held was also cr123 powered so it was a good combination. As I moved into multi-day trips, and longer durations underground (10 or more hours), the battery cost started to add up.

My friend in England put a lamp together for me that is powered by a 3x18650 battery pack, and features a spot lamp, flood lamp, and 2 emergency LEDs. Now I can throw some serious light and have it on for a long time. I purchased a Solarforce L2P with a 3 mode XML handheld to complement the headlamp. The final piece in the puzzle is an Accucel 6 charger so I can keep everything charged up on those multi-day trips.

There's also a caving thread going on right now that you might want to check out. Some pretty good suggestions over there.

Joanne