Freeze resistant lights?

CPF gurus....

I want to leave a light in my trucks glove box...

...but its gonna freeze here within the next month. It usually get to be about 20 degrees F. here at night by February.

I dont know what lights are safe in this regard and what lights are not.


Discuss.


-P.

20F (7C) isn't all that cold, really. I would say that if you used a waterproof flashlight (or at least water resistant) with O-ring seals all around, the likelihood of condensing moisture in the flashlight should be pretty low, and without moisture there isn't very much that can freeze at those temps.

However, if you plan on using the flashlight at 20F, I would generally recommend considering lithium batteries for at least two reasons...they perform marvelously well at far lower temperatures than alkaline batteries, and they will retain their energy much better in a glovebox over time than will alkalines. Lithiums are also far less prone to leaking than alkalines, so I guess that's three reasons .

Thanks. I guess that means my T2 is now truck bound. Thanks.

20F is not 7C, 7C is above the freezing point of water, 20F is below. 20F is about -6.666666666666667C.

FWIW I think that the freezing point for water is not the same as the freezing point for the materials in various battery types.

Sub_Umbra said:

FWIW I think that the freezing point for water is not the same as the freezing point for the materials in various battery types.

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It is extremely unlikely that the freezing points are the same.

In cold weather or hot, lithium batteries tend to be the best choice. As for the mechanics of the light I'd go for an LED in cold and I would look for a light with either a really beefy clicky switch or a twisty. That's in keeping with the KISS approach -- "minimize anything that can possibly to go wrong" sort of thing.

I prefer other lights but for something that is going to sit in the vehicle but still be working and easy to use with gloves in the cold, I'll be using a 3AA minimag LED with a NiteIze grip-n-clip around the barrel of the light. The other lights are going to be carried with me or get moved into the house when it gets cold.

As others have said, Lithium battery based lights are better for the vehicle because they handle the temperatures better and have a LOOOONG shelf life (though you should still flick the light on once in a while to check it).

If you can't, or don't want, lithium based lights another trick (for smaller glovebox lights) is to find a "fleece" type sunglasses case and keep the light in it. The insulation will do a surprisingly good job of keeping the batteries unfrozen in your glovebox.

I've used lithium battery powered LED and Incans down to -50F ambient and tested them down to -112F. At -112F you still get light, but it isn't very bright in higher draw incans. Use low output LED's and they work well.

If you are using lights in -100F degree weather, go back inside, its cold out.

Gnufsh said:

20F is not 7C, 7C is above the freezing point of water, 20F is below. 20F is about -6.666666666666667C.

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You are so right. I missed the 'minus' sign on my post.

Arc AAA on ice by Flashlight-reviews.com (3rd picture down).

wholeflaffer said:

You are so right. I missed the 'minus' sign on my post.

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Easy to do.

this is a fun place for luxeon V

get a DX1 with the luxeon V

i think li ions cell should handle the cold well too.

jch79 said:

Arc AAA on ice by Flashlight-reviews.com (3rd picture down).

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Yes... but thats already on my keychain. LOL

I would say Streamlight 4AA PP Luxeon with 4 Energizer L^2 batteries or something plastic with CR123A batteries. metal light won't be comfortable to handle at that temperature.

I put a rubber sleeve on the 3D Mag in my car. I also have an Inova 24/7 (uses 123's) in there.

greenLED said:

I put a rubber sleeve on the 3D Mag in my car.

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I mean, you can but those alkalinese wouldn't do much good at -40C

A G2 is a good winter glovebox light.

Not stated but important to know is that cold does not harm and actually preserves the life of alkaline batteries. In other words, if you leave alkaline batteries in a car and they are continously left in cold weather, their capacity is not lessened. They only have lower capacity when the batteries themselves are cold. You just have to warm them up before you use them because their capacity is lower when temperatures are cold. Once you warm them up your hand combined with the load that the batteries are under will usually keep them warm. 20 degrees really isn't that cold. I was expecting this thread to involve sub-zero temperatures. If it is consistently below 20 degrees and you envision yourself actually having to use the light in this temperature range then lithium batteries would almost be a necessity. It would take temperatures significantly below freezing to offer any type of significant advantage to lithium batteries.

I've never really bought the whole shelf life and cold weather performance of lithium battery argument. I tend to use all my batteries well before the expiration date. Alkalines have a 7 year shelf life and I never leave an alkaline battery sitting around unused for more than a year. It takes really really cold weather for lithium batteries to have an advantage in actual use. I simply like their combination of voltage and capacity characteristics for their size. The extra shelf life and cold weather performance are just the icing on the cake in my book.

FWIW, I used to live in Michigan, I have had a 2D plastic flashlight in the trunk of my car for years, I never used anything but alkaline batteries, they saw extended periods of time below freezing, I never had a problem. The light was dimmer in cold weather, but never unusable. I don't use the light much, I did not change batteries very often, frequently a set of batteries would see 90 degree summer temperatures as well as sub-freezing winter temperatures and still work OK.