get-lit
Flashlight Enthusiast
A friend says firemen use special smoke cutting lights, but he doesn't have any idea what makes them different. Anyone here know?
What the heck is a smoke cutting light?
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jellydonut
Enlightened
Google reveals;
Apparently it's just a fancy way for a flashlight company to say they have a narrow beam thrower.
http://flashlightnews.org/story76.shtml
Apparently it's just a fancy way for a flashlight company to say they have a narrow beam thrower.
jcw122
Enlightened
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I imagine it would be a very, very warm light too.
get-lit
Flashlight Enthusiast
Thanks, those were my guesses.
jacktheclipper
Enlightened
Many of the guys i know who have even bothered to update to something remotely modern have a polymer streamlight LED attached to their helmet and vulcans are on the trucks. Nothing spectacularly bright or high tech, just what is needed to get the job done.
For the longest time the most popular light was a cheap, disposable angled head incan wedged under a piece of inner tube stretched around the helmet.
For the longest time the most popular light was a cheap, disposable angled head incan wedged under a piece of inner tube stretched around the helmet.
So a Tiablo A8 would fit the bill...
M@elstrom
Flashlight Enthusiast
In performance perhaps (just like any decent thrower) but it wouldn't be used due to it's power source, all the lights I see utilized are using "traditional" cells from Alkaline to NIMH (for obvious reasons
) :thumbsup:No, not really.In performance perhaps (just like any decent thrower) but it wouldn't be used due to it's power source, all the lights I see utilized are using "traditional" cells from Alkaline to NIMH (for obvious reasons
The smoke cutting lights (and also dive lights) as I see it, are generally not only built for really tight throw but also for minimal spill: recoil leds and TIR optics are tech you might see here. Also, they're real PITA to use in general duty because of those properties.
M@elstrom
Flashlight Enthusiast
The question I was answering related to the use of a Li-Ion cell (Namely the 18650) for SAR applications lithium lights would be excellent however entering fires zones with massive radiant heat (and the potential for flashovers & backdrafts) the last thing you'd want to worry about is whether the Lithium-Ion cell is going to go
I also added the qualifier that the fire fighting personnel I regularly come into contact with are only using a multitude of Alk~NIMH powered lights (primarily Streamlight) YMMV :thumbsup:
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csshih
Flashlight Enthusiast
amber leds?
Thought, at first, that this was a thread about the old Smoke Cutter flashlights from L.A. Screw Products . I bought mine in 1982 and used it for years with my fire gear.
My .02 FWIW YMMV
My .02 FWIW YMMV
I had a buddy of mine, who was a fireman, refuse to convert over to LED's because of smoke cutting. Someone came to the fire department and told them that LED's can not cut through smoke like incans. I tried to explain that it was not incan vs LED but how the beam was focused, but he would not believe me. About a year later the same guy was talking about his new LED lights that he got at the fire department. Come to find out his expert was a salesman from a fire product company. I think the unaware consumer gets sold a bunch of bs so they pay more for the light!! Just my .02
65535
Flashlight Enthusiast
The question I was answering related to the use of a Li-Ion cell (Namely the 18650) for SAR applications lithium lights would be excellent however entering fires zones with massive radiant heat (and the potential for flashovers & backdrafts) the last thing you'd want to worry about is whether the Lithium-Ion cell is going to go
I also added the qualifier that the fire fighting personnel I regularly come into contact with are only using a multitude of Alk~NIMH powered lights (primarily Streamlight) YMMV :thumbsup:
Lithium batteries can handle sustained temps over 140F (and perform quite well at that temp) humans can't I doubt it'll really be an issue, if the cell gets hot enough to be dangerous the person using it was already dead.
alpg88
Flashlight Enthusiast
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sounds like GE 4515 would be perfect bulb for it.
alpg88
Flashlight Enthusiast
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actually humans can, (ever been to dry sauna??) sure you don't wanna be there for hours.
firemen with protective gear on, can ,for a short time, enter rooms that are a hotter than 140f. and survive.
In performance perhaps (just like any decent thrower) but it wouldn't be used due to it's power source, all the lights I see utilized are using "traditional" cells from Alkaline to NIMH (for obvious reasons
They would when it comes to the term "smoke cutting" thought. That's pretty much battery independant.
Bullzeyebill
Flashaholic
Regarding Lithium Ion cells goingin a hot enviornment, no battery likes heat though primary Lithium cells handle it better. Most firemen are using plastic body lights and plastic will isolate the cells from the external heat and the flashlight body will be melting before the cells are compromised. I think that using Alkaline, and NiMh, or NiCd cells is more of a traditional thing, and firemen have not yet moved to Li-Ion cells. Look how long it took them to move to LED lights. God bless Streamlight for helping them move there. :thumbsup:
Bill
in a hot enviornment, no battery likes heat though primary Lithium cells handle it better. Most firemen are using plastic body lights and plastic will isolate the cells from the external heat and the flashlight body will be melting before the cells are compromised. I think that using Alkaline, and NiMh, or NiCd cells is more of a traditional thing, and firemen have not yet moved to Li-Ion cells. Look how long it took them to move to LED lights. God bless Streamlight for helping them move there. :thumbsup:Bill
Hamilton Felix
Enlightened
I don't believe for a moment that there's any such thing as a light that "cuts through" smoke or fog.
A tight beam, with hemispherical filament shielding in a typical sealed beam, so there's no light scatter outside the beam, would help on light bouncing back at you, but NOTHING will magically cut through particles in the air.
Fog lights try to get under the fog, using a low mounted light with no upward scatter. But they don't "cut through" anything.
Get a tightly focused light, and live with the fact it's not magical.
A tight beam, with hemispherical filament shielding in a typical sealed beam, so there's no light scatter outside the beam, would help on light bouncing back at you, but NOTHING will magically cut through particles in the air.
Fog lights try to get under the fog, using a low mounted light with no upward scatter. But they don't "cut through" anything.
Get a tightly focused light, and live with the fact it's not magical.
