UV LED light recommendations?

[LED-holic]

I'm looking to acquire an UV LED flashlight, preferrably using AA or AAA batteries.

Are there any decent ones available these days?

Main purpose will be to hunt for scorpions, look for leaks, dirt, etc... Prefer not to spend too much money (ie more than $40 / $50) if possible since it will be a specialized light. Will consider more expensive models if there are compelling reasons to.

Thanks in advance.

 

[z96Cobra]

I bought mine from www.batteryjunction.com & you can even get the CPF discount to save a little money. I got the MiniMag "drop-in" by TerraLux. I also got a few of the UV fauxtons. From what I've read on here, the Inova UV lights are really nice, I know I love all of my "regular" Inova lights. Search for "violet" at the site and you should see all of their UV lights.

Roger

 

[Northern Lights]

I use a 12 led UV AAA light available from DX, KD and QCG.

It looks like this
http://www.qualitychinagoods.com/ultra-violet-torchfu12-p-344.html

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1300

I hunt scorpions, money identification and personal ID documents. It does it all plus is usefull in locating urine stains from the dogs. I have had a number of them purchased by individuals working for the TSA for ID checks and they use it over their very expensive flourescent UVs.

I paid under $5, they come in black and silver finishes. The links here and above start @ $5 and go to $11, it is the same light, shop around.

 

[Superdave]

the terralux UV dropin for the MAG-AA is very nice. i modded a stock reflector for it instead of using the supplied one to get a better hot spot.


It's got more than enough power to hunt scorpions or whatever you wanna do with it. :thumbsup:

 

[MattK]

Tons of choices, many using AA/AAA: http://www.batteryjunction.com/uluvliulvipr.html

 

[Tubor]

I've had excellent results with this one...

http://store.advancedmart.com/allhosaandse.html

...and also the other variants are good too as the LED they use are of a low wavelength (370nm).

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Tubor, how bright is that one? The shorter wavelength UV LEDs that I've had have been rather weak. If that one has decent power I'd jump on it also.

 

[LEDite]

LED-holic ;

I've built and sold a couple hundred UV lights over the last a couple of years.

I started with eight 5mm 395nm LEDs powered by a lithium ion 1350 mah battery.

Then I tried 20 to 50 of the 5mm 380nm LEDs powered by 1800 mah lithium batteries.

Next came the 1 watt Cree UV 395 nm LEDs with 2200 mah lithium batteries.

Now, I build mainly Cree 3 watt 395 nm LED lights with 2400 mah Lithium batteries:

1. A single Cree 3 watt in an UltraFire C2 body.

2. A Triple 3 watt Cree in a double #18650 body.

3. A 6 X 3 watt Cree UV with Integral Heat Sink (AC powered).

Each light worked a little better for fluorescing the the common items such as urine, scorpions and UV dyes.

The 3 watt UV Crees are the leader in my testing.

Larry

 

[Northern Lights]

LED-holic ;

I've built and sold a couple hundred UV lights over the last a couple of years.

I started with eight 5mm 395nm LEDs powered by a lithium ion 1350 mah battery.

Then I tried 20 to 50 of the 5mm 380nm LEDs powered by 1800 mah lithium batteries.

Next came the 1 watt Cree UV 395 nm LEDs with 2200 mah lithium batteries.

Now, I build mainly Cree 3 watt 395 nm LED lights with 2400 mah Lithium batteries:

1. A single Cree 3 watt in an UltraFire C2 body.

2. A Triple 3 watt Cree in a double #18650 body.

3. A 6 X 3 watt Cree UV with Integral Heat Sink (AC powered).

Each light worked a little better for fluorescing the the common items such as urine, scorpions and UV dyes.

The 3 watt UV Crees are the leader in my testing.

Larry

For myself I have run out of reasons for any new white light since there seems to be a this or that around here to do any job but... a powerful UV does sound good.
If you want to spend just $5 and it is a cash issue the the 12x 5mm light is great. However I like very much the idea of the cree UV 3 watt, just think of how many hosts are out there to build a single or up to a 4x emitter 3 watt UV by just switching out the emitters! The TM-800x3 was once the most LED lumens you could get, 3X Luxeon III, LOL!, and I had to do something with the bodies I had when technology past me and my TM-800x3 by. I modded and I have some powered on 4x C cells and a 3X Ds, both SCC and Cree upgrades and they cannot come close to the MTE P7 in out put now. They need new life, with that battery capacity they burn a long time and with your UV Cree idea I see a weekend project. Thanks, Larry, for the idea. Looks like I need to swap the emmiters out of these again:
To tri-build or not to tri-build a LED light
Where did you get the UV Cree, what is the Vf? Are there any UV modules like the drop in IR out there? How useful is the strobe mode on UV?
I see where you could build a multi-LED mod and have a selective use of UV backed up by White for special purpose lights.

I have three open mod projects on my bench and I keep thinking once I finish them I am going to semi-retire as a flashaholic and pursue other interest. Then the "pusher" comes around and offers another hit.
Larry, you really know how to tempt a weak person.
:shakehead

 

[etc]

the terralux UV dropin for the MAG-AA is very nice. i modded a stock reflector for it instead of using the supplied one to get a better hot spot.


It's got more than enough power to hunt scorpions or whatever you wanna do with it. :thumbsup:

Do you mean this one?

http://www.batteryjunction.com/tle4uv.html

It appears to be 395nm. I always used 385nm.

 

[Hitthespot]

I bought the Inova X1. I can say I was a little disapointed. I thought it would show much more than it does. Maybe I expected too much, and I'm not sure if it is just this light or all UV lights but it is not as much fun as I thought it would be. The US money band will glow, Urine barely glows, and blood does not glow at all, and to top it off UV lights can be dangerous to the eyes. Unless you have a real and specific use for one I question buying one. But, if your interested in an new X1 PM me.

My 2 cents.

Bill

 

[LEDite]

Northern Lights;

The Cree UV's are hard to get today. Cree has quit making them.

The Vf is a little higher on the 3W UV's. Typical is about 3.8 VDC @ 700ma.

The strobe is fairly effective. The pulsing effect makes target items stand out.

Larry

 

[carbine15]

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4334
Put this on a star board and install it in anything. You won't be disappointed. I put mine in an Element from Sams club and all I can say is holy crap this thing is bright (for UV that is).

For less money you get one from Kai that's already on a star.
http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=3246

 

[ZMZ67]

The brightest I have are the INOVA X5UV and a 2C Mag with a TerraLUX Mini Star 2 TLE-5UV + PR adapter.The X5 uses CR123s but I use two lithium AAs in adapters in the 2C Mag(eliminates weight and provides a little more power).One nice thing with the Mag is that you can use/remove the reflector or use an aspheric lens to get the beam you desire.

 

[Yapo]

how bout the amilite T5 UV? http://www.amilite.co.kr/product.asp?gc=678
Although i havent really heard much on the UV model though...

 

[chmsam]

Is there anything reasonably bright but also in the 375nm range? Most of the lights mentioned above are 395nm or higher. My little Photon Freedom UV does a nice job in the 375nm range but I'd like to see something brighter without costing an arm and a leg.

 

[Bronco]

Is there anything reasonably bright but also in the 375nm range? Most of the lights mentioned above are 395nm or higher.

It looks like this Streamlight 3xC cell might give you the best of both worlds. You can either run 3 395NM LEDs, 3 375NM LEDs, or a white xenon bulb, all in the same flashlight:

http://www.brightguy.com/products/3C_Twin-Task_UltraViolet_375_NM_(UV).php

How careful do you have to be protecting your eyes while using these UV lights? I see the warnings, and I'm never stupid enough to shine any of my flashlights directly into my eyes. But how careful do you have to be to avoid illuminating shiny objects that could reflect the light back into your eyes? Are there protective goggles that both enhance the effect of the UV light and protect your eyes at the same time?

 

[Bronco]

how bout the amilite T5 UV? http://www.amilite.co.kr/product.asp?gc=678
Although i havent really heard much on the UV model though...

I'd like to know more about this one as well. Does anyone know at what wavelength this light operates. I can't seem to find an answer on the Amilite website.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

How careful do you have to be protecting your eyes while using these UV lights? I see the warnings, and I'm never stupid enough to shine any of my flashlights directly into my eyes. But how careful do you have to be to avoid illuminating shiny objects that could reflect the light back into your eyes? Are there protective goggles that both enhance the effect of the UV light and protect your eyes at the same time?

As a matter of reference, a regular fluorescent blacklight tube operates at 365nm. These are the blacklight bulbs that you see in Spencer's gifts and other similar stores. It's also the wavelength used in bug zapper lights This wavelength is a little bit shorter than most UV LEDs.

I've never seen warnings for longwave blacklight fluorescent lamps. That doesn't mean that it's a good idea to stare into them, of course, but they do put out more UV energy than the average UV LED flashlight.

Shortwave UV sources are another story though! UVC sources clock in around 254 nm, and at this wavelength the light can kill germs and damage skin cells because it's able to break down molecular bonds in living organisms. Naturally this wavelength is VERY bad for your eyes.

I have yet to see a shortwave UV LED in person. Currently they're only available in extremely low powers and at extremely high prices. For those applications that need UVC radiation, a quartz fluorescent "germicidal" tube is still the way to go.

 

[LED-holic]

Thanks all for the replies. I will be ordering a UV light (or two) very shortly.