What is the Best / Brightest UV Flashlight?

Good Afternoon Forum,

I'm searching for the best / brightest UV flashlight... I've read through quite a few posts, unfortunately the forum search engine won't return any hits for "UV" (too short I assume... no pun intended) which means my hunting has been all by simply browsing.

I'm going to the beach this weekend and have been meaning to pick up a UV light just for the fun of walking the beach at night to see what shows up so something that will throw a beam (I know that's poor terminology for things in the UV spectrum) a good distance would be nice. A focusable unit would be even better, but I haven't seen any of those out there so that's probably off the list. Obviously the unit would need to be fairly rugged and have at least splash proof and ideally submersion proof.

I don't mind buying lamp modules to swap into an existing light, but because of the time constraints I'm probably limited to something that will swap into a maglight or some other relatively common flashlight that I can pickup around town before leaving.

I know I've procrastinated a bit too long on this, I just always forget about this project until it's time to leave, but am hoping to find something and have it FedExed for Saturday delivery. Otherwise it will have to wait till the next trip, but I'm still in the market.

Thoughts and suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks,

John

Welcome to CPF, jdaivpmed.

There is a recent thread on this topic, and there have been many other similar ones before. You are right that the 2-letter "UV" keyword does not work with the CPF search function, but the google search does accept it and you may have more luck with that.

:welcome:Hi, John:

I'd suggest that it's not worth the hassle of trying to research, find, order, and anxiously wait for delivery before your trip to the beach tomorrow. Life's too short. Relax and have a great weekend.

Later, if you have a P60 host, you can try one of these:
1W 390nm~450nm UV Drop-in LED

Cheap ($12.50, free delivery), but you should figure on 2-3 weeks delivery time.

It's very bright. In my darkened bedroom, I can shine it on the ceiling and it'll bathe everything in the room with the UV glow. When I shine it directly on a reflective object, I have to squint because it's so bright.

Do not look directly at the beam. I'm not sure it would cause permanent eye damage. After all, direct exposure of my skin for a few seconds doesn't burn it, Nonetheless, I wouldn't risk looking at the beam.

If you can't wait 2-3 weeks, or if you don't have a host, I can sell you a complete set up. Contact me by PM (you should have PM privileges after posting one more message), if interested. Delivery by tomorrow is out of the question, but you're invited to come pick it up.

for a very good, high quality UV P60 modules using a Cree 7090 LED, see nailbender over at the custom bst.

I want one but these Crees are so expensive, 75 bucks with the group buy (100+ without) For a complete module, well over 100 bucks. Then you need the host and you are pushing close to 150-$200 for a lite.

I will wait 6months - 1 year, maybe they will come down in price.

Meanwhile I have a cheap 3xAA 385nm lite to play with.

$17 Solarforce L2 host
$45 Cree UV 7090 XLamp, 395~400nm, 1200ma, 3.6-9.0v
===
$72 Complete UV Light Total (incl. shipping) :naughty:

Would this http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=194470 fit your needs?

1dash1 said:

Later, if you have a P60 host, you can try one of these:
1W 390nm~450nm UV Drop-in LED

Cheap ($12.50, free delivery), but you should figure on 2-3 weeks delivery time.

Click to expand...

Just FYI Battery Junction stocks them. Well worth the extra $7 not to deal with KD/DX, and you'll have it in a day or so.

Seiko said:

Just FYI Battery Junction stocks them. Well worth the extra $7 not to deal with KD/DX, and you'll have it in a day or so.

Click to expand...

The Battery Junction UV drop-in is a 3 watt model, 3v to 9v compatible, and has a tighter output bandwidth. It costs more, but it's a superior product to the one I referenced from DX. :thumbsup:

1dash1 said:

The Battery Junction UV drop-in is a 3 watt model, 3v to 9v compatible, and has a tighter output bandwidth. It costs more, but it's a superior product to the one I referenced from DX. :thumbsup:

Click to expand...

That's the way I would go, BatteryJunction is a great place to buy lights, cells, parts. The INovaX5 is MUCH brighter than the UV Arc AAA-P, yet the colour of the ARC's UV LED is superior.

John;

I shipped your 9 Watt Triple Cree UV light by Fedex today.

It does throw a substantial "UV beam"...
with the Sanyo #18650's providing power for about 1.5 hours.

Since Cree has stopped manufacturing the UV LEDs many months ago ...
it is already becoming a collector's item.


I hope you enjoy it & keep it in good condition.

Larry

P.S. When on vacation, do not turn it on in your hotel room.

Typically a higher NM appears* brighter, but for me are often less useful than a dimmer low NM light.
*may not actually BE brighter as much of the lower wavelengths are not visible. (this can be seen when a low NM light is used to floresce an object even though the beam is not visible at that distance)
UV is tricky, it can be hard to get the light you want on the first try.

I'm going to need one as well.

Is the P60 module at Battery Junction still the best bet?

http://www.batteryjunction.com/p60-uv-buld.html

It's on sale I noticed for $20.

Does the voltage affect brightness? I know we're not talking incandescent bulbs here, so I want to say no, but on the other hand, I'm not sure.

For example if I put it in a SF E1E - that's 3 watts right? If I put it in a G2 Nitrolon, that's 6 watts right? If I put it in a G3, that's 9 watts right?

Would there be a difference in brightness between putting it in the E1E and the G3, or would it only affect runtime?

Thanks.

:welcome:


:thinking: E1E doe not take a P60 lamp.

Depending on wether circuit can handle the extra volts, and what optimal voltage it's spec'd for - Max output typically stays same - it becomes question of when low voltage dimming begins.

And remember 2 or 3 pieces of CR123 at 3.0v each produces different voltages than 2 or 3 R123's at 4.2v each.
otherwise you make :mecry:

EX: a drop in spec of up to 9v can typically take 3 CR123's, but only 2 R123's. :thumbsup:


Tod

M.Biyce said:

Is the P60 module at Battery Junction still the best bet?

http://www.batteryjunction.com/p60-uv-buld.html

It's on sale I noticed for $20.

Does the voltage affect brightness? I know we're not talking incandescent bulbs here, so I want to say no, but on the other hand, I'm not sure.

For example if I put it in a SF E1E - that's 3 watts right? If I put it in a G2 Nitrolon, that's 6 watts right? If I put it in a G3, that's 9 watts right?

Would there be a difference in brightness between putting it in the E1E and the G3, or would it only affect runtime?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/246840

If you want the best that is.

Also worth the wait given the creators reputation.

anything in the 365nm range and not $500?

LEDite said:

John;

I shipped your 9 Watt Triple Cree UV light by Fedex today.

It does throw a substantial "UV beam"...
with the Sanyo #18650's providing power for about 1.5 hours.

Since Cree has stopped manufacturing the UV LEDs many months ago ...
it is already becoming a collector's item.

I hope you enjoy it & keep it in good condition.

Larry

P.S. When on vacation, do not turn it on in your hotel room.

Click to expand...

Can i get one of these- is there anything out there better now?

Eagletac makes 2 UV modules for the T20C2 MKII. Both have 5w output. One is 395nm and the other is 365nm.