What light to use for lighting building interiors for 6 hours?

My summer job was to do an architectural survey to draw building layouts on AutoCAD. Problem is, the building had all of its lights shut off (Power, Gas and Water cut) and the windows were boarded up. It takes a while to tape measure every part of the building and reading it without a light is a pain. Had my Nautilus and my P2D with me, but they were a bit small to hold comfortably for a long time, plus, low on both lights were too low (night adapted vision doesnt work when theres streaks of light coming in from outside) Ended up using a 6V lantern (great for spotting things across the room and had plenty of runtime) and my co worker used his 2AA LED Lenser (3x5mm LEDs for close up work)

I woulda killed for a Zebralight at the moment along with a nice focused flood (I wanted both the flood for navigation and seeing the overall picture and throw to spot things)

So what would you have taken?

Gee . . . .


Are you saying that yer' Summer Job is OVER ? ? ?


Why, Summer doesn't even START for another 2 Weeks ! ! !


What am i missing here ?


:huh2:


_

I'm working for my uncle time to time. When I had full summer frees, I did this full time. Now, I'm on call

Sounds like you want a headlamp and a few sets of rechargable batteries. A nice cheap option is the rayovac sportsman 1xaa. It's a nice light headlamp with a spot or flood beam option. And a pack of rechargable aa's is only around $10, just take some spares each day. And of course, always carry a backup so you can do battery changes as needed.

A Malkoff-modded Maglite would have done just fine for you with runtime to spare

Of course, a Ra Twisty with the 18650 and a spare would have done you right too.

Any good camping lantern will be much better than any flashlight.

Hmm, The Eagletac M2 light is tempting, 100+ lumens for 9hrs

hmmm, maybe an LD01 with clip attached to the bill of a cap? Spare AAAs or nimhs are easy to carry.

Definitely a job for a headlamp. The Energizer Hard Case Pro Cree would do nicely. It has a flip up dissuser for close work.

Like said above definitely go with a headlamp just get something lightweight like a Zebralight 501 or similar.

Aside from lights may I suggest a laser meter? Makes measuring distances between walls, ceiling to ground etc A LOT easier. It may be a good investment if you're going to do a lot of this and saves you a lot of time.

I love my RA Twisty running on a 18650! Would do fine for you and have more than enough juice!!

I also would pick a headlight with spare cells. It would keep both hands free, you could read and write in the spill and still have the throw instantly whenever it's needed.

Zebra 501 is fantastic...I definately recommend it. Yes, your job would have been much easier with it on. with a few sets of spares it's still small.

I also have the energizer hardcase headlamp - as stated the diffuser provides a great flood. I've been using this lately crawling between rafters around the attic redoing the ventalation b/c it seems that the diffuser actually provides more flood then the Zebra (I want 180degree lighting b/c in some areas i have less then 2ft for myself between rafter and roof sheeting)
The beam (w/o diffuser) is a very decent throw. Downside is only two outputs for the main, full (first) then medium. It could stand to be a lot dimmer.

Having both, i'd recommend the Zebra501.

Princeton tec apex extreme, belt/backpack mounted battery pack that'll last forever so no need for spare batteries, and head unit is light and comfortable.

Don't know if you can get them any more but I highly recommend a Jetbeam jet II non-pro. With IBS you can select exactly what output suits your situation and it has a pretty tight beam when the head is fully screwed down or you can go full flood and remove the head. If size isn't a big deal I'd go for a 6d mag with a terralux TLE-300. It has amazing output for about an hour or two great for ceiling bounce illumination. Decreases to 2/3 power after that but still provides alot of light for a very long time. Plus if I was going into a boarded up abandoned building I would definately bring something with some defensive ability.

jzmtl said:

Princeton tec apex extreme, belt/backpack mounted battery pack that'll last forever so no need for spare batteries, and head unit is light and comfortable.

Click to expand...

Yep!

This or the Zebralight using 18650s.

Headlamps are a lot better than handhelds for this kind of work. A large lantern for general illumination and a normal flashlight if you need to see something further away should take care of most of your possible needs.

Sverre

I cannot recommend zebralight from my experience. The front unit is heavy, plus the forward located center of gravity it bounces up and down while moving, very uncomfortable. Beam while sounds nice on paper is quite useless in practice. Plus my H60 turned out to be POS, after several months of agonizing use I sent it back to 47, and they are sending it back to China for repair, so it's going to take two months or more before I can get it back.

I do building surveys all the time (albiet, not for 6hrs at a stretch!) - my suggestions would be at least three lights:

1) "Home Base" light. LONG runtime. Something running on D-cells like a lantern (Fluorescent or LED) or a 3DMag fitted with an LED module. Something bulky that you will set down while you work in an area, but will not require a battery change before you're done. AA's will NOT cut it under these conditions, unless you are willing to operate under reduced power settings. Sometimes I've had to leave this behind as the "this way out" light if I'm in a situation where the exit might not be easily identifiable from a distance.

2) Good headlight - like a PT EOS, MyoXP. Something general purpose that allows you to work hands-free most of the time, but will likely require at least one battery swap unless you conserve power (lower setting or turned off sometimes). It won't need to be a blazer like a PT Apex - this is for up close work. When picking this light, consider how difficult it may be to swap batteries under dimly lit conditions with little or no tools. I've used both, and I like the battery compartment on the MyoXP, very easy to swap batteries on.

3) Pocket backup - a solid AA or CR123 performer. Something with a little power behind it - this is your 'what the @$%@ was that?' light in case of run-ins with vermin, scoping areas from a distance (to determine if it's safe to proceed, for example), and the 'get outta dodge' light if the home base fails or you need to evac the building in a hurry for any other reason.

Hope that helps!

You might want to look at the Pelican 9430 RALS system. It goes for 7hrs on high (2000 lumens) and 15 hrs on low (1000) It will light up whatever room you take it in! I've been using one for a couple weeks and am very impressed. :thumbsup: