SF Hurricane Lamp

I went to Surefire.com to order batteries and noticed that the Hurricane Lamp was on sale for not much more than a box of 12. Does anyone have one of these and do you find it useful? Also, does it require all 12 batteries be installed?

Just wondering about whether it provides enough light to maybe use as a tent light in lieu of taking just a box of 123s.

How about you search back three months using the term "hurricane"? There was a thread on it just recently that should help you.

Al

It doesn't need all 12 batteries to be installed but it's kind of silly as a tent light. Use an AA-powered LED light instead.

The Hurricane Lamp is good as a storage box. There are certainly better low wattage lights out there. That said, I use it to store batteries that no longer have enough juice to power the xenon SF lamps but will still power a low wattage incadecent blub (mine does not have an LED). That way I can give spent batteries a little more life.

Best wishes.

Craig.

Al (shoe size 15s) pointed out in a old thread that the case was not weather proof. This stopped me from jumping...I want one that will protect the batts. But if you want one for in home storage...looks nice.

Ken

I just ordered one along with a couple of boxes of batteries but I haven't recieved it yet. It (the single LED) runs on just two of the batteries. I intend to use it as a storage box, but who knows, maybe I'll want to replace the 5mm diode with a luxeon one day. Or I might use it for testing LEDs. -RussH

Is there a version that comes with a LED? I just got one and it comes with an incan bulb.

Anyone know the specs on the bulb? Does it run off 3v or 6v?

Are you saying there's an LED version of the Hurricane lamp now? Wow, high tech.

No, there will be no version with LED

Al

I have one of these and was a bit disappointed with it. For something that was supposed to list for $60 bucks or so, I thought that it would be better. It is NOT an LED but an Incandescent that you move the bulb around via 6 holes it the top, it uses 2 batteries at a time. The lid sits in two positions, serves as the switch.

If you want some new 123 batteries and a nice plastic case then get it, but as I light, I can't believe that Surefire designed this!

FlashlightDR, the way to make sense of the Hurricane light is to understand that it was designed when 123's sold for $6 or $7 apiece. The way I heard it, Surefire got slightly better prices by buying in large volume from manufacturers in order to ship their lights with batteries included, but their contracts with the manfacturers forbid them from selling batteries separately. So the offered the Hurricane light as a way to sell cheap batteries ($5 each was a good deal at the time) while still never selling batteries without a light included. Actual usefulness of the light was a secondary issue. The market in 123's has opened up since then so prices have fallen and they sell batteries separately now, but apparently people do keep buying the Hurricane light now and then.

They store my "half-used" 123s for emergency/power outage/bathroom night light duty...and I squeeze every bit of juice out of my 123s before they go to the big battery bin in the used up batteryland cemetary...wherever that is!

What Sigman uses his Hurricane for is exactly what I use mine for.

I don't even bother with the "spent" 123s in my ARCs or other super-conservative lights....I just keep them around for use with the Hurricane (I've got two) as electric-candles in case of emergencies.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Allen
aka DumboRAT

[ QUOTE ]
paulr said:
FlashlightDR, the way to make sense of the Hurricane light is to understand that it was designed when 123's sold for $6 or $7 apiece. The way I heard it, Surefire got slightly better prices by buying in large volume from manufacturers in order to ship their lights with batteries included, but their contracts with the manfacturers forbid them from selling batteries separately. So the offered the Hurricane light as a way to sell cheap batteries ($5 each was a good deal at the time) while still never selling batteries without a light included. Actual usefulness of the light was a secondary issue. The market in 123's has opened up since then so prices have fallen and they sell batteries separately now, but apparently people do keep buying the Hurricane light now and then.

[/ QUOTE ]

PaulR - What you say makes perfect sense. I often wondered why SureFire would market what I think is such a lame product! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif You would be better served by a candle or two...

Dave

I purchased the Hurricane for 2 reasons 1) to bump up my order from Surefire to $100 so I get free shipping and 2) to use up my batteries. The problem is, on my LED lights I squeeze so much power out of them they are too weak to drive the bulb in the hurricane. I stick the same two batteries in my A2 and it will run the LEDs. I wonder why no one has made a 5mm led mod for it yet.

V8TOYTRUCK said:

I wonder why no one has made a 5mm led mod for it yet.
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I will when I get mine. I got the batteries I ordered but the hurricane light was backordered........Can anyone supply more details on the bulb? Is it a bipin? I think I saw replacement bulbs on one of the CPF advertisers sites - I'll have to see what I can find. If it is something other than bipin I suppose I'll have to mount the LED(s) in the base.

It's just some 6v incan bulb with a little clip that pokes into the battery hole. I don't remember if it's bi-pin but you can certainly solder an LED where the bulb is. I just don't understand people's fascination with these things. 123's are great if you need a tiny, high energy, portable light. For a not-so-portable, low powered light, why not use D cells, or even one of those 6 volt alkaline lantern batteries. That will run one or two LED's for literally months nonstop, none of this wimpy 40 hour stuff.

Thanks for the info Paulr.

In reference to quote "I just don't understand people's fascination with these things. 123's are great if you need a tiny, high energy, portable light. For a not-so-portable, low powered light, why not use D cells, or even one of those 6 volt alkaline lantern batteries. That will run one or two LED's for literally months nonstop, none of this wimpy 40 hour stuff."

I'm doing all of the above. I have an old 6P and an Inova XT using 123s, tho. And I'm using them with adapters in some of my Mag C lights. One of my 6v lanterns with a 4.5ah gell cell battery is running a 1w luxeon at 640ma. using an LM317 as a current limiter. Others just use better PR bulbs.....Flashaholism is incurable. -RussH