Light Suggestions for a Home Inspector

I had my home inspected recently, and watched the inspector (a friend) using some sort of incan 3C or so light with moderate output and a lousy beam quality. I showed him my ELX-6 and he was stunned by the output. I then turned on my variable output CPF special 4 watt light, and it was as bright as his light, while less than one third the size.

He asked me to suggest a new flashlight for him. His needs are as follows:

Not so small that it is easy to lose, or slip from a gloved hand, but not huge.
No fancy batteries - common cells, or possibly rechargable required.
Bright output, but not excessive - the ELX-6 was way too bright for much of the close up inspecting he needs to do, but he also needs to be able to identify details over distances of up to 50+ feet at times.
Long runtime - the light may be run for a half hour at a time, several times a day.
Durable - will be banged around and dropped.
Water resistant - will get wet.
Needs to be hung from a belt (or sheathed) and easily put into use and re-hung.
Simple to switch on and off repeatedly - no twist on lights.

Your suggestions will be of great value!

Thanks,

Blindspot

How about an Inova X5, and some kind of decent LED headlamp ( I like the Brinkman) for when he has to crawl into crawlspaces or attics. Or maybe one of the MJLED 2 D or C Maglight upgrades or a modded minimag.

Streamlight Luxeon Propolymer
Either 3c or 4aa

Or, a 3D or 3C Maglight with a Diamond 3W Luxeon, UCL and stippled reflector would have monster output and runtime using common batteries

My job is very similar to a home inspectors, and I give the L4 Digital Lumamax two thumbs up. I tried so many lights before using this one for the task. I often think it was made to fall into these parameters.
Problem with it though, it turns you into a frenzied flashaholic.

spyderknut said:

Streamlight Luxeon Propolymer
Either 3c or 4aa

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+1 one on that suggestion!
$23 and uses any kind of cells (NiMh, alkaline or lithiums)...
Great deal on these in the dealer part of the forum.

UK 4AA (eLED or incan version - they also have a rechargeable one) with switch

Pelican Stealthlite rechargeable (or its sibbling the Stealthlite Recoil LED) Use 4xAA batts

Most straightforward for him would be a 2D Mag with an EverLED drop-in.

Agree with the 4AA UK eLED. You can also get a pocket clip w/it to meet your criteria:

'Underwater Kinetics: 2AA / 4AA Pocket Clip'
http://www.brightguy.com/detail.php?Sku=UND14843

For a working light, and also an introductory LED flashlight for a non-flashaholic, it must be relatively cheap (no more than a typical D-cell Mag), and bright, plus durable.

I can only think of one...the already mentioned Streamlight pro-polymer Luxeon 4AA.
A proven and well-reviewed light. No 'fancy' batteries like CR123a's which can get expensive for him.

Match one with a set of 2500mAH Japanese NiMH's, and he'll have a great daily worklight.

I dont think the 4AA eLED will be anywere as bright.

A Strion would also be a possibility: small, rechargeable, bright, holsters are available.

Hello Blindspot,

One of the best lights for inspection use is the SureFire 8NX. It does not meet all your criteria, but is worth looking into.

Tom

Pydpiper said:

My job is very similar to a home inspectors, and I give the L4 Digital Lumamax two thumbs up. I tried so many lights before using this one for the task. I often think it was made to fall into these parameters.
Problem with it though, it turns you into a frenzied flashaholic.

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But the guy doesn't want "fancy cells". Remember, for most, these are $5/cell photo batteries.

A Pila 168S rechargeable battery and a charger would easily turn the L4 into a rechargeable light that can use normal lithiums in a pinch.

I have been a home inspector for eight years. I started with a Maglite Magcharger. It was bright enough and had a two hour runtime (for those extensive crawl spaces that take 30 minutes or more). But at two pounds, it was just too heavy.

I then switched to a Streamlight Ultrastinger. This has just about become standard issue for home inspectors. The thinner handle was easier to grip while carrying other tools at the same time and it only weighed about a pound. It carried much better on the ring holder on my belt than the Magcharger. It was lighter, but still pretty long hanging from my belt. It was brighter than the Magcharger, but the runtime was only 1 hour. It would not last through a typical two inspection day, so I solved that by buying TWO Ultrastingers. (CPF motto: Buy them both--and in multiples!! :huh:

Then I found out about FiveMega's Pila battery tube for the Stinger with the HP head and using an Ultrastinger bulb. It is much shorter than the Ultrastinger, about 5 ounces lighter, and slightly brighter than the regular Ultrastinger. The Pilas are rechargable, so I just carry an extra set and have about 2 hours runtime.

The Stinger HP with Pilas is just about the perfect home inspection light. It is VERY bright, which is needed to scan walls and ceilings for moisture stains in bright rooms. I barely notice it on my belt and it slips in and out of the ring holder easily. It is too bright when looking under sinks for leaks, but I just don't point it directly at what I want to see and just use the reflected light. The switches do fail after 6-12 months, but Streamlight replaces them for free.

I was using the L4 on Pilas for about a week. It is nice for under sinks and in dark conditions, but it is not bright enough in many applications when there is a lot of daylight. Plus the switch only lasted a week before it failed.

A home inpector needs a light with good throw rather than a flood. I am considering another small light for under sinks and such. I may try the Lioncub (on rechargable CR123s), which is bright and has much better throw than the L4.

The one thing I don't like about the Pila system, is when the protected batteries run down, it cuts off all at once--instant darkness if you are in the crawl space or attic. But I always have another light in my coverall pocket or my pants pocket, so that has bailed me out the few times that has happened.

Now if I could just get my Lioncub to be as bright as my modded Stinger HP, I would have the perfect home inspection light--and with easily adjustable light levels for under sinks or in bright rooms! :rock:

RoyJ said:

But the guy doesn't want "fancy cells". Remember, for most, these are $5/cell photo batteries.

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It's an easy light to run off rechargables, in almost any form, single or double cell.. I have had mine for over a year, use it 2+ hours a day and have never bought a battery for it.
The cells only seem fancy in the beginning, they pay for themselves in the first week. As does the power of a KL4.

KISS for this flashlight civilain guys. He would be good with a SL PP Luxeon 4AA or 3C. I 3rd that suggestion!

You should charge a consulting fee!

Pydpiper said:

It's an easy light to run off rechargables, in almost any form, single or double cell.. I have had mine for over a year, use it 2+ hours a day and have never bought a battery for it.
The cells only seem fancy in the beginning, they pay for themselves in the first week. As does the power of a KL4.

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Interesting.

Now I don't know much about the this, does using a li-ion (168s) change the output? Or is the input voltage for the regulator wide enough to work off 3.7V?

What's the runtime on a single 168S?

Just one word about the ProPoly 3C, if there's a possibility that he's going to be using rechargeable batteries. Most of the C sized Chinese NiMH/NiCD batteries won't work with that light because the button is larger than that on a conventional alkaline battery and the Propoly 3C uses raised plastic area around to go around the button and makes contact with the battery with a pin-like point from the positive terminal of the lamp assembly.

One other one that may work very well for him is the LEDBeam 3C, though it's construction may be a little too flimsy for every day usage in an environment where the light is going to be banged around a lot. The output from that thing is fantastic, but the construction makes it a bit frail for it to fall into the 'industrial' category.

Streamlight Strion?