Recommend me a good work light for my dad

Hi, I wonder if someone can help recommend a good flashlight for my dad's work. I have spent so much money on Luxeon flashlights (from 1W - 3W - 7W - K2) and none of them seem to be suitable.

I remember when I first got him a 1W luxeon flashlight, he really liked it because it was cool and has long battery life compared to his old Snap-on flashlight. However, he realized it was kind of weak and wanted something more powerful. I got him 3W, 7W, and even a K2 but these generate a lot of heat and consume so much power that they almost have no advantage over his Snap-on flashlight any more.

First of all, he is a car mechanic. He repairs vehicles all day long so he will see a lot of dark objects on the car. I noticed LED flashlights don't shine well on dark objects. Is that correct?

Since he has to use a flashlight for a non-stop for upward 15minutes or more, heat can be an issue. Other than the 1W luxeon flashlight, the rest generate quite a lot of heat after a prolonged usage. He doesn't like them.

The other problem we have is that he only wants a 1-level switch, rather than a hi/lo switch. I guess this can be modified but I prefer it comes w/ 1-level w/o modification.

Also, I am worried his increasing blurry vision (eye strain, eye fatigue) is caused by these LED flashlights I got him. Are they not suitable? Too bright? Too white/blueish?

Sorry for the long post, but I really want to find the right flashlight for him. Can someone recommend such flashlight that will suit his needs? Hopefully it is cool to touch, has a long battery life and is rechargable, produces a yellowish light, and uses a 1-level switch.

I really appreciate your help. Thanks in advance.

If he's working on cars up close, it would seem to me that he really doesn't "need" a whole lot of throw. Would an Inova X5 be a good choice? I would think so. Lots of light up close and personal where he needs it, and extremely long runtimes.

I work on my cars too, and a regular work light from Sears - either a single 500W unit or a dual head is best. It has great flood and will lite up the entire area.

An LED or any hand-held device is a nice addition when you need throw.

I would suggest MagLite LED, as it's cheap enough to be dropped in the engine bay. Don't get 4D though, as it's too long to stick in some small spaces.

2D probably is best.

leds provide much better light than any incan, much more white and natural IMO.

Try SL PP LED 4aa, not SL PP LUX 4aa/3C?

I find that working with these lights to be real pleasure.

Very bright, long running times, life time warranty.

Get the yellow one so that you can find it quick!

If you use nimh batteries, they run almost forever......

Anyways, Goodluck.

Newbie.

PS. I forget tomention they are cheap compare to what your other lights cost you. Do a search on this forum with "SL PP" and you will be rewarded.

Left field here for handhelds. I use one of two cordless lights (Not LED)

in woodworking often if it's nighttime. 19.2 craftsman cordless with either

the spotlight or the soft light flourescent. Other light is a 14.4 Black

and Decker spot light cordless. Either light works fine for long periods of time.

Probably the flourescent version would be easier on his eyes for a long period

but not as bright as the spotlight. Just a thought. I use them often indoors

as well as the garage if doing night chores. The lights are usually included

with a cordless drill or cordless trim saw btw......

Hi I appreciate everyone's input on this matter. He is particularly interested in a flashlight to give some extra throw in deep spots. I wouldn't say he works very close to the object, but about an arm length to the object.

Is xenon a good alternative? I checked fifthunit and found that the xenon seems to get quite hot.

He would like the M@gled 2D

TORCH_BOY said:

He would like the M@gled 2D

Click to expand...

I'll second that

Best regards

____
Tom

LED lights are really lousy for working on cars, especially in a shop that already has ambient lighting, and most especially when your shop has windows, or garage doors left open during the day that let natural light in. In eithor case, your eyes are adjusted for high light conditions and a piddly 10-75 lumens of tight spectrum light available from various LED lights does not work very well. 100+ lumens of wide specreum flood light is really what is needed here.

Reality is that I have yet to see a flashlight made that is REALLY well tuned to a mechanic... But I know exactly what it needs to BE. (and I'm thinking seriously about making such a light)

requirements:
1. li-ion powered. eithor 3 18650, or 4 18500 cells.
2. reasonably small size.(shorter and stubbier rather than really long)
3. tail clicky with only 1 level of output (trust me, tail clickies are the BEST for mechanics as they can be easily located and operated with 1 hand, twisties are horrible and lead people to leave their lights on when they don't need light because they can only be operated when both hands are free).
4. lensed MR-8, MR-11, or MR-16 12V, 10W, flood type lamps. why??? because a greesey hand won't touch the filament when the lamp needs to be changed, and because most of these lamps contain very decent halogen bulbs that will usually run for thousands of hours.


[edit in]I use a Surefire P91 driven by a pair of 17670s for pretty much everything I do, it's a great wall of light for slightly farther distances than under a car, but it works well enough. I like to have enough light to really see what I am looking at. over 100 lumens of incandecent light is a neccesity. I see many mechanics using mag-chargers.

@mdocod: Yes please make us such flashlight!

I may buy a Maglite LED 2D but I have some questions. I saw online that it has a 3-position switch. Does that mean it's a 3-level switch and not just ON/OFF? Any good source to buy this flashlight along w/ some rechargables?

Thanks again for everyone's reply.

(Search function is dead atm)

I agree with wide spectrum light, you may want to consider 3.7V xenon with a rechargable cell. I'm thinking about the Wolf Eyes 6A which outputs 100 lum. Because it's driven consistantly at 3.7V right until the battery dies (and the 18650/wolf Eyes 168A can really go on and on), you'll have consist white light throughout the battery life. When it's low, simply put the battery on the charger, it will give you another 30+ min of bright white light.

http://www.pts-flashlights.com/products/product.aspx?pid=1-3-6-6015

I would like to know if the Wolf eyes 6A generate a lot of heat w/ the xenon bulb with continuous use?

outie said:

I would like to know if the Wolf eyes 6A generate a lot of heat w/ the xenon bulb with continuous use?

Click to expand...

Not at all. You probably know this already, incans project heat forward as infra red, so the head/body won't get too hot. However, LED's must dissipate heat through a heat sink that's normal connected to the head assembly. That's why the head of an LED light gets quite hot.

I'm surprised this hasn't been suggested. Headlamp. Having both hands free is virtuous when working on cars. I have a 4AA Eveready $10 dealie with Mag 4D xenon bulb that is really bright, but awkwardly heavy as well as not so bright River Rock 2AAA.

The 4AA gets used when I'm doing something outdoors. The River Rock 2AAA is very light weight you almost can't feel it and it's very handy for tasks like soldering.

I'm sure others will suggest better ones though.

@mdocod: Yes please make us such flashlight!

Click to expand...

If you do, make it freestanding, and give it a swivel head, or able to be aimed somehow...

My vote is for the Task Force 3 Watt 2 C cell at Lowe's for 30 bucks. Lots of throw, great overall output, good runtime, and tough as nails. Heat isn't an issue here either.

mdocod and dchao both suggested LED is lousy for this application. I am not quite sure any more. I may end up getting the Wolf eyes 6A dchao suggested. Thanks.

LED's are great for working in the dark as long but really it is going to be very hard to beat a incanesent especaly the ones with the larg work rechargers like those that are on the protable electrice drills. Those are very nice even though they are not very sexy. Until they get a little more effecent LED's are just not the way to go if he doesnt like the heat. Not very exciting but for that kind of work they are very effective.

Looks like there are alot of you that never saw the posts regarding the CentraLED work light from Central Tools. Check this link for a review.

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/centraled_100led.htm

Check out this thread and you will see that no one is dissapointed.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/119600&highlight=centraled

Forget about the $49.95, that was an aberration. This light is available to your dad through his typical mobile dealers but his best deal right now is on http://www.centraled.net where he can get a hot deal related to the light being shown on "Two Guys Garage" on Speed Channel.

I notice that one of the requirements was to get into tight spots. With the magnets allowing positioning (hands free) anywhere and the flexible stalk he can get the light exactly where he wants it. Our primary market is professional automotive repair tools and equipment with a strong focus on lighting. We designed this light just for your father and anyone else just like him.

Bob

The last time I changed the oil on my Honda CR/V I used the Dorcy super 1 watt (c123). It is bright enough to let me see the filter - with the use of a mirror.
It is a real hassle getting to the oil filter on that "car."
The advantage of this light is that it puts out plenty of light, but also can be cleaned off. I managed to get some ugly brown caulk on it, and could get the gunk off with mineral spirits. This may not be so easy with some lights.

If you don't mind a two level light, the Streamlight tasklight 2L puts out lots of throw for an LED. It is textured and does have a low level.

I find the Dorcy easy to get into tight spots - it is a small light and puts out plenty of light for my purposes when working on the car.