Fogg 427 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I need a spotlight. What's 'the biz' these days? What kind of candlepower do you need? And do you go for rechargeable (flexibility to use anywhere with no lead restricting you) or plug-in (no nasty surprises from flat batteries)? Any models offer both power options? Link to post Share on other sites
tuffyluffy 76 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 2 years ago went down the rechargable LED path with a unit from Burnsco and its performance and brightness was far superior to the old plugin unit - sorry, dont recall candelpower, lumens etc. The battery in it seems to last forever and you can keep the unit pluged into the 12v charger plug if your worried about running out of juice while using it. Having said that, Santa gave me a top of the range 180 lumens Kathmandu waterproof leadlamp for Xmas (4 x AAA battery) and believe it or not, its brightness is comparable if not better than the above unit and because its so small, handy and waterproof, i use it all the time rather than the big unit. Admitedly its not rechargeable (unless you buy some rechargable AAA's). IMO, LED is definitly the way to go, and unless you've got a powerpoint near the helm, i cant see a good reason for hard-wired over rechargeable - modern LEDs are about 10x more efficient than the old school stuff, therefore the batteries last considerably longer. Link to post Share on other sites
OYSTR 1 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I bought a no-name rechargeable LED unit from Burnsco too over Xmas, $50, has good light output, comes with AC charger and 12v charging cable. Pistol/trigger style so easy to hold/point. http://www.burnsco.co.nz/Products_28.aspx?CategoryId=204&ProductId=20598 - not on special now though. Link to post Share on other sites
Farrari 4 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 A quick search on Amazon and I found this link. Three pages of spotlight options The 40 Million candlepower one by Humvee sounds idea for those midnight spotlight wars or possibly returning fire to those pr*cks that seem to want to shine a touch directly in your eyes when anchoring in a busy bay at night http://www.amazon.com/s/?field-keywords=million%20candlepower#/ref=sr_pg_1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Amillion+candlepower&keywords=million+candlepower&ie=UTF8&qid=1327461443 I had one of those Burnsco rechargable ones for a few years but the lens reflective coating peeled off and made it useless well before the battery died. Now I just use an LED headlamp and it works fine. Link to post Share on other sites
too_tall 15 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I actually get led lights from deal extreme. http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire- ... 8650-91087 is a truly grunty little sucker, and tough too. It uses a liIon battery, which cost about $4 each from the same website, and a charger is about $10 - $15. I also have a headlamp which has similar light output - its quite suitable for night shooting and has better range than a .22's useful range - its plenty strong enough to hold a bunny or possum. http://www.dealextreme.com/p/t6-smooth- ... -set-82507 and comes with the battery pack ( a huge one ). Its actually a bike light, but comes with a head strap also. These both are FAR more useful than most of the halogen lights, unless you need super range, as they have a good large medium range spot ( say 150 meters useful range ) but also have significant spill, and have run times in excess of an hour. Shipping takes about 3 weeks, but dealextreme is a very reliable company. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 The 40 Million candlepower one by Humvee sounds idea for those midnight spotlight wars or possibly returning fire to those pr*cks that seem to want to shine a touch directly in your eyes when anchoring in a busy bay at night Hooray been waiting an age to hear someone bitch on this, have in the past used a spreader spot as well as a handheld whilst asking by boat name just what the f*ck they wanted Link to post Share on other sites
grant 40 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 have had a play with one of these http://www.mitre10mega.co.nz/shop/light ... ht_108718/ and its a rather good light, not the cheapest, but heaps of power and seemed pretty robust. also got a mate who has one of these, http://www.fco.co.nz/online-store/produ ... escription not in spotlight territory but a seriously cool (& powerful) torch Link to post Share on other sites
too_tall 15 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 have had a play with one of these http://www.mitre10mega.co.nz/shop/light ... ht_108718/ and its a rather good light, not the cheapest, but heaps of power and seemed pretty robust. also got a mate who has one of these, http://www.fco.co.nz/online-store/produ ... escription not in spotlight territory but a seriously cool (& powerful) torch Interestingly I have both of those torches. The Energizer one I bought about 5 years ago when they first came out, and its good, has good range, but is now well outclassed by more modern designs. Battery life is good, durability must be excellent as its survived 5 years of farming and camping. The Led Lenser P7 is a great wee torch, but be aware that its true useful battery life is not much more than 100 minutes. They rate the battery life to 1 lumen - an absolutely useless rating which was clearly dreamed by marketers. Its light output is superior to the Energizer, however, and has a low power setting which extends battery life significantly. Its also focusable, meaning anything from a fairly good spot to a fairly wide flood. Neither has the light output of the T60 from deal extreme however, significantly less, and they both cost more than double. P.S. The energizer can be had at most rural supplies stores for about $80-$90. The led lensers are cheapest from gun city I have normally found unless you ebay them. Link to post Share on other sites
idlerboat 116 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 ...perhaps side ways... have just put a little LED underwater rated spot om my bow. Very bright close up not so good for long distance but enough to hit the markers coming into my (40 min) bendy channel. Much better than the hand held spot. (have to turn it off not to burn boats coming out the other way though)... Power draw ?.... mounted between my nav lights on the bow. cost...$14. Link to post Share on other sites
too_tall 15 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 ...perhaps side ways...have just put a little LED underwater rated spot om my bow. Very bright close up not so good for long distance but enough to hit the markers coming into my (40 min) bendy channel. Much better than the hand held spot. (have to turn it off not to burn boats coming out the other way though)... Power draw ?.... mounted between my nav lights on the bow. cost...$14. I have replaced all the halogen work lamps on one of our tractors with LED based floods - 9 * 3 watt cree emitters. Going from 8 55w halogens to 6 27w led lamps with a better spread has given me approx 50% more useful lighting area, not only does it give me 360 degree light, but it also gave an additional 15 meters of usefully lit ground. Not quite the equivalent of the HID worklamps on the larger tractor, and not quite such a nice color, but far lower power consumption ( not really an issue on a tractor but obviously different on a boat! ) Cost $100 each from an Auto electrician, made in Australia. rated at 2700 lumens. Very well made, and they work very well as spreader lights, I helped a friend put a pair on a 45'er and they lit the entire deck area to comfortable reading brightness and made the sails visible from a long way away, as in many kilometers. Link to post Share on other sites
Noodles 0 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 I have replaced all the halogen work lamps on one of our tractors with LED based floods - 9 * 3 watt cree emitters. Going from 8 55w halogens to 6 27w led lamps with a better spread has given me approx 50% more useful lighting area, not only does it give me 360 degree light, but it also gave an additional 15 meters of usefully lit ground. Not quite the equivalent of the HID worklamps on the larger tractor, and not quite such a nice color, but far lower power consumption ( not really an issue on a tractor but obviously different on a boat! ) Cost $100 each from an Auto electrician, made in Australia. rated at 2700 lumens. Very well made, and they work very well as spreader lights, I helped a friend put a pair on a 45'er and they lit the entire deck area to comfortable reading brightness and made the sails visible from a long way away, as in many kilometers. The genuine hella HID lights are the best but at $600 my customers don't want to pay that much so we fit the $80 HID conversion kits. comes with the ballast and bulb. I fitted 2 to the work lights on my van. allright but they interfere with the radio. last night I compared them with the 6 led work lamps I fitted to a telehandler. well, I have already asked the boss for some LED lamps. and these are only the cheap china ones. not hella. If you do want to go that way, get LED lights. way better than HID. Link to post Share on other sites
too_tall 15 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 I have replaced all the halogen work lamps on one of our tractors with LED based floods - 9 * 3 watt cree emitters. Going from 8 55w halogens to 6 27w led lamps with a better spread has given me approx 50% more useful lighting area, not only does it give me 360 degree light, but it also gave an additional 15 meters of usefully lit ground. Not quite the equivalent of the HID worklamps on the larger tractor, and not quite such a nice color, but far lower power consumption ( not really an issue on a tractor but obviously different on a boat! ) Cost $100 each from an Auto electrician, made in Australia. rated at 2700 lumens. Very well made, and they work very well as spreader lights, I helped a friend put a pair on a 45'er and they lit the entire deck area to comfortable reading brightness and made the sails visible from a long way away, as in many kilometers. The genuine hella HID lights are the best but at $600 my customers don't want to pay that much so we fit the $80 HID conversion kits. comes with the ballast and bulb. I fitted 2 to the work lights on my van. allright but they interfere with the radio. last night I compared them with the 6 led work lamps I fitted to a telehandler. well, I have already asked the boss for some LED lamps. and these are only the cheap china ones. not hella. If you do want to go that way, get LED lights. way better than HID. I am not sure that the HID lamps John Deere fit as standard, but they are exceptionally powerful. I do know that the total lighting load on the electrical system is 120amps - which is a fair lot. Good thing its got an alternator which would make most cruisers proud - 200amps continuous duty, and 350hp to drive it. The LED lights I get are good, but cant touch those HID's. Remember that JD design those tractors for 24/7 operation, and you really do need excellent lighting to keep working through the night with the kind of gear you put on a 350hp tractor. But, the LED lights are a considerably better choice when power is limited. Link to post Share on other sites
James C Potter 0 Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 have had a play with one of these http://www.mitre10mega.co.nz/shop/light ... ht_108718/ and its a rather good light, not the cheapest, but heaps of power and seemed pretty robust. also got a mate who has one of these, http://www.fco.co.nz/online-store/produ ... escription not in spotlight territory but a seriously cool (& powerful) torch The Led Lenser P7 is a great wee flash light, but bear in mind that its real useful battery power lifespan is not much more than 6000 seconds. Link to post Share on other sites
too_tall 15 Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 have had a play with one of these http://www.mitre10mega.co.nz/shop/light ... ht_108718/ and its a rather good light, not the cheapest, but heaps of power and seemed pretty robust. also got a mate who has one of these, http://www.fco.co.nz/online-store/produ ... escription not in spotlight territory but a seriously cool (& powerful) torch The Led Lenser P7 is a great wee flash light, but bear in mind that its real useful battery power lifespan is not much more than 6000 seconds. I would agree about the P7 being a good torch, and its good power output being limited to far less than the claimed battery life ( Which I believe is the time it takes to reduce to 1 lumen ). But I have found that via Deal Extreme, you can get cree powered LED torches which are _very_ much more powerful than the P7, have similar battery life, and use LiFe batterys - about $3 each, and are rechargable. I have had great success with this http://dx.com/p/ultrafire-a9-t60-cree-x ... 8650-90601 . Its probably around 150% the light output of the P7, is as tough as the P7 ( I have several which live on the farm, get all sorts of stuff on them, dropped in all sorts of stuff including effluent, and also used when fishing and when sailing ). Not one has failed as of yet. Also, the http://dx.com/p/t6-smooth-crown-waterpr ... -set-82507 light, which comes with a head strap also, is by far the brightest head lamp I have ever owned. Its _super_ bright, and I use one when trail riding attached to my helmet, because its so far superior to the bike lights that its almost a joke. Even compared to car headlights, its very powerful. Link to post Share on other sites
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