Duty light help....

I have spent many hours on this forum and have never really even noticed this section on spotlights....I am glad to see it now as I have a few questions that a search only confused me more about.
Recently my Dept.made a bulk purchase on some cheap portable spot lights for our patrol cars.These are a 12 volt,cigarette lighter plug in that is a very cheap model.I have been using it lately and just realized how handy this thing is while on duty...man it is great for spotting addresses and stuff that are too far to see with my handheld.Ok now if this little cheap plastic model works so well for me I am now wanting to buy a personal one for myself to replace the cheap one given to me by the city....Ok sorry so long here...I am needing small and portable spot light.I hate that plug in thing and would like to have a good rechargable one that would hold a charge for some time as it would see limited use and need to go days without charging.Size and weight are the biggest factors as this unit would have to rest inside my duty bag that stays fixed to the passenger seat.Also what are some of the common mods for these things?...I have spent much time modding and playing with various hand held lights and just wonder if the spot light fans are as adept at mods as the others here who mod the smaller handhelds?...I have seen a light at Academy that was a Brinkman over/under type and the slim size was perfect.However I found it on a search here and the reflectors seem to be made more towards flood than spot.I like this unit and wonder if it could be modded with another type reflector or if there is something similiar that can be bought already made?...Sorry so long however this is my first attempt in purchasing this type of light...Thanks for any help

well, I don't know any light like that, especial not rechargeable. A SureFire M6 will do nice, but it's not rechargeable. Perhaps the X10 dominator of surefire. It has 2 lights: a small 20 lumen or something and a "high" output of 500 lumen. I mean, 20 lumen is a normal maglite 2D, but the 500 lumen is even better as the frontlights of your car. It wan't last hours, but it is rechargeable in the car, for checking driver licence, IDcards or other business, there is the 20 lumen light, so it has it all.
there could be one disadvantage: the price.
I have no idea how much it would cost, but I'm sure it is not a cup of tea. it is more like a barrel of whiskey: the same color, just a bit higher priced /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

I don't know of any spotlight that lasts more than a half hour and reasonably sized.

Except for maybe the Thor that weighs a whopping 11 pounds... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

I have a cheapo 500,000 candlepower spotlight from harborfreight that has a built in 6v 4Ahr battery. It comes with two chargers: AC and cigarrette lighter. I don't know the run time but with a car charger you can just plug it in once in awhile.

Well, when you find that light I think everyone else will want one too! HID mods on lights will give you great light output and run time, like the Thor HID at 120 minutes. Or do an HID mod on a smaller light.

cheese

Hard to beat an X990 (3200 lumens). It is a bit pricey but comes with two 70 min rechargable battery packs. For half the price and still very decent throw, check out the mini-hid here

10x Dominator Works for me! Ever since I have used it on patrol, I won't go back to anything else. The smaller lamp is a 60 lumen lamp that runs for almost 3 hours on a single charge. You depress the switch halfway down to activate this lamp. That is pretty much the same as something like a standard G2.

Push the tail cap all the way, and look out because you now have 500 lumens plus the original 60, although that will run only 20 minutes (approximately).

I keep the optional MN32 lamp assembly in the smaller lamp. I believe it is 120 lumens. It only runs for around 2 hours, but once again with an in vehicle charger, that is never a problem. With that smaller lamp in the unit, it is about 2/3 as bright as my streamlight (now dormant) UltraStinger. With the tailcap depressed all the way, it blows my Streamlight out of the water. You won't be disappointed.

Thanks for all the ideas and I am still looking for something to purchase.I really dont need to put a lot of cash into this as it will simply be a tool for spotting addresses or alley searches.I have never even considered the higher end handhelds as an option however I may do so if I intend to use this as a main light also.I like the idea of having a duty light on my belt with the temporary capacity to be a decent spot light also....I also am having second thoughts about one that uses a vehicle charger.For some reason most of our patrol cars(Crown Vics)seem to constantly blow fuses in the cigarette lighter.Most of the time the plug does not work and I can never find the right size fuse anyway.I really have not shopped around at any local places but I plan to do so this week.I have a Harbor Freight nearby and may try that.What is the first mod I should consider if I decide to get a cheapo and mod it?I really know little to nothing about incandescents but I do learn quick..hehe

I deliver pizzas at night and I find the Makita 9.6 volt rechargeable perfect for spotting addresses. It has a nice tight spot and if you overdrive a 7.2 volt bulb, it is very bright. Bulb life for the 7.2 is low, but there is a holder underneath the reflector for a spare bulb.
Larry.

The Home Depot's Vector Husky 2.25 mil candlepower lasts over 35 minutes with a 55 watt H3 put in it.
Still a handheld cordless highbeam headlight. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
It comes with a 100 watt.
It also works fine directly powered by the car while charging with included car cord.

All for about 30 bucks retail.
Might get a good groupbuy deal though with a nice enough HD manager. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Wow...I just thought the LED lights I have been playing with were complicated but there is much more to this spotlight section than I had imagined.I have been searching old threads and am learning much about this type of light.
I have just stumbled across Sways Lightforce SL240 HID conversion....my lord this thing is incredible.This is truly an amazing light.
Can someone give me a quick run down of what makes an HID better or worse for duty carry?I know it stands for High Intensity Discharge but what makes it different from other spot lights?The only thing I could find on a search was that an HID takes a little time to get to full brightness once activated.Are the HID lights worse at generating heat and also are they harder to put into a small package?
It does seem that the cost is much more than the average spotlight but man the output is incredible.I am really not considering one of these for patrol however my curiousity is now peaked...thanks for the help on this.

Robocop,

Here is a good read on HID that should answer most of your questions, hope this helps /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Later
Sway

I believe Costco sold a small 500,000 candlepower spotlight. Not sure if it was a Vector or some other brand. The shape is similar to those 6V Eveready laterns.

I believe it looks similar to this one.
http://www.vectormfg.com/site2/vectormfg/product_info.php?products_id=313
P.S. anyone have a review on this light, that CCFL should come in handy for large area lighting.

Thanks for the link on that Sway....that does help me to understand however most of it is still very much more technical than I can grasp.I really found the part curious where it stated that these can sometimes explode and send traces of Mercury into the person nearby...man that is just plain scary.
Regardless it is very interesting to me and let me say again that some of the threads I have read on your lights were amazing.I would love to take a light like this and wow my co-workers.I really think most of the high end lights would be way more than what I will need but the cool factor would make me want one simply for fun.
Thanks again....

[ QUOTE ]
V8TOYTRUCK said:
I believe Costco sold a small 500,000 candlepower spotlight. Not sure if it was a Vector or some other brand. The shape is similar to those 6V Eveready laterns.

I believe it looks similar to this one.
http://www.vectormfg.com/site2/vectormfg/product_info.php?products_id=313
P.S. anyone have a review on this light, that CCFL should come in handy for large area lighting.

[/ QUOTE ]

Costco is currently carrying a light that looks like the one pictured in the link above. It is claimed to be 1.5 million candlepower. I don't know if it actually is or not, but it is one heck of a spotlight - I have 2 of them. Great throw and small enough to easily fit in your duty bag. You certainly won't have any trouble spotting addresses with it.

Personally, I think this is the light you are looking for. It meets all your requirements and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

It probably is 1.5 Mil then, they have pretty good prices on refurbs on that website too! Costs a little bit more than a box of SF123s

HID lights for the most part take a few seconds to light up. The new Wolf-eye is supposed to come on around 200 lumens and go to 500 in a few seconds.
In a rescue situation the time might not be important but if you need to light up a bad guy *right now* the HID may not a good choice.

If you're lighting up a bad guy, then a small Surefire (attached to a gun) is the way to go. No other light works as well. Carrying a spotlight and a gun, well, that's pointless. The spot is just too stupid heavy.

If you're trying to rescue someone, then HID is much better, run-time is much longer. Also, once you hit "on" for any of the 35 watt HID's, they pretty much light up within one or two seconds, it's very quick (just not halogen quick-although if that's what you're counting on, well, then you already know where to be aiming, in which case, just fire a few shots in that direction).