The Down Range Forum

Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: billt on February 06, 2018, 09:57:37 AM

Title: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: billt on February 06, 2018, 09:57:37 AM
I picked these up the other day at Harbor Freight, and have since purchased several more. They are all machined Aluminum and are very bright. The smaller unit comes with batteries, the larger multi LED unit does not, (It takes 4 AA's).

They both have a nice press on / press off switch. The larger one has both a low and a high power setting. On low power a small center rectangle of LED's are illuminated. On high they all are. The smaller unit is the same as the one's you see advertised all the time on TV. It has one large LED, and a push / pull adjustment that allows for a pinpoint beam, or else a much larger spread of the light.

These things are really nice and well made for the money. I'm going to keep one of each around the house, and in both vehicles. You can't have enough flashlights. And with some of these LED's costing well over $50.00 each, these are a nice alternative. Just be sure if you buy them get a 20% off coupon. Harbor Freight has them all the time.

https://www.harborfreight.com/588-lumen-tactical-flashlight-63934.html

https://www.harborfreight.com/6-3-4-quarter-inch-109-led-flashlight-98506.html

(https://i.imgur.com/GGW7Esb.jpg?2)

(https://i.imgur.com/FqUkNuV.jpg?2)
Title: Re: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: Big Frank on February 06, 2018, 02:05:38 PM
American Rifleman magazines have had 25% off coupons for Harbor Freight in them several times, but I'm not willing to butcher my magazines. I keep them for 10 years so when an article references an earlier issue I can look it up if I want to.

I've gotten a few non-tactical flashlights for free with coupons from Harbor Freight. They're 3.5" long and 1" in diameter, with 9 LEDs. I keep one in the glove box of my truck. There's another in a bag full on things I put in the rear cargo compartment of my ATV when I ride. Some of my friends have them too. I'm pretty sure I had a third one but probably gave it away. It could also be in my glove box as a spare but I'm not checking. They use 3 AAA batteries side by side with one facing the opposite direction of the other two. Black ones are selling for $1.99 apiece, and there's a 2-pack with a red one and a blue one for $2.99. I don't know how long the batteries last because I only use them for a moment at a time.

https://www.harborfreight.com/3-12-in-mini-flashlight-62573.html

https://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-3-12-in-9-led-mini-flashlight-69112.html

ETA: I got one of these free too and keep it on my fridge door using the magnet on the back. When you push the button the 3 front LEDS come on, and when you push it again the other 24 LEDs turn on instead. Whatever mode you used it in last, it will be in the other mode the next time you use it. It also has a hook that swivels all the way around to hang it on. These are very handy.

https://www.harborfreight.com/27-led-portable-worklight-flashlight-67227.html
Title: Re: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: billt on February 06, 2018, 02:54:03 PM
I have the one with 27 LED's at the bottom of your post. It's a good light. And I got it free as well. And with 2 separate purchases of the flashlights lights in my post, I got 2 of these free multi test meters. The problem is I don't know how to use them.  ;D

https://www.harborfreight.com/7-function-digital-multimeter-90899.html
Title: Re: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: Timothy on February 06, 2018, 05:33:44 PM
You can run a five axis mill, Bill!

A multi meter is a piece o cake!
Title: Re: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: billt on February 06, 2018, 06:01:54 PM
Electricity and I don't get along too well.
Title: Re: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: Solus on February 06, 2018, 06:30:13 PM
Electricity and I don't get along too well.

Keep one hand in your pocket and you will be fine...

Electricity is just a little more complicated than plumbing because stuff is series and stuff in parallel  have different equations...

And I like working with my house plumbing and electricity a whole let more than the gas lines.

If I get a plumbing joint faulty I have water someplace.  If I get electric wiring wiring wrong, I blow fuses or something smokes.  If I get gas fittings wrong the house blows up...
   
Title: Re: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: les snyder on February 06, 2018, 06:33:05 PM
sorry, I've had too many of the inexpensive lights fail... Dad always said always buy the best tools you can afford...  I live on the central west coast of Florida in the tropical storm belt...my flashlight addiction started years ago with a Surefire 6P incandescent, which now sports a Solar Force XML2 LED module... since then, a couple more Solar Force cr123 and 18650  L2 bodies with their voltage particular P60 LED head and a mongo 3x123 M3 head... a couple of 2D Maglight LEDs with attaching rings, one in the house, and one in the car... a AAA Fenix E5 is on the key ring

whatever you buy, consider running NiMH re chargeable cells like Eneloops and get a good charger.. since the 2004/2005 hurricane season,  my  hurricane LED lighting and radios are AA Eneloop, and no failures due to cell leakage in addition to the head and tail light on my bicycle
Title: Re: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: Big Frank on February 06, 2018, 07:00:26 PM
I have the one with 27 LED's at the bottom of your post. It's a good light. And I got it free as well. And with 2 separate purchases of the flashlights lights in my post, I got 2 of these free multi test meters. The problem is I don't know how to use them.  ;D

https://www.harborfreight.com/7-function-digital-multimeter-90899.html

I had one of those free multi-meters too. My friend already had a couple of them, so I gave it to one of his sons. It had thin wires that looked like they would break easily. I like the multi-meter I got at Radio Shack much better. I must have had it a couple of decades and it still works like new.
Title: Re: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: Big Frank on February 07, 2018, 12:11:31 AM
Almost all of the flashlights I've ever bought were MagLites. The only exceptions I can think of are a Streamlight Scorpion that I have in a cheap Picatinny rail mount on an AR, and some tiny LED flashlights that went on keyrings. I have a 2-C MagLite in my bedroom. I used to have a 3-C MagLite but it got lost in the muck while riding my ATV at night. I have some 2-AA mini MagLites around the house, and a 1-AAA MagLite on my key ring.

Before tactical flashlights were a big thing I bought a LiteSaddle made by Pelican Products Inc. It's a device made of a C shaped hard plastic piece and a larger U shaped soft rubber piece molded together into one solid piece. It's 3.25 inches long. A C-cell MagLite slides into the hard plastic part, and the soft rubber saddle goes on the fore end of a shotgun or rifle, with a Velcro strap to hold it on. Just for the heck of it I strapped it on my arm right behind my wrist one day and had it hanging there while holding a pistol. I'd call that option possible but not practical.

I like the looks of the Kel-Tek CL-43 flashlight. It looks easy enough to hold it and a pistol at the same time, and it comes in your choice of seven colors. It takes 3 CR123 batteries so it can't be too big.

https://www.keltecweapons.com/keltec-gears/flashlights/

I had a 6-D MagLite in my truck for ages but it finally died on me. It's still sitting here a few feet away from me, but I haven't checked to see if it was a burned out bulb or the batteries died. It's almost certainly the batteries after all this time, but I don't think I'll replace them since I use that flashlight less than once a year on average.

I only buy alkaline batteries for all of my flashlights. If there's a power outage I don't have any way to recharge any type of rechargeable batteries, but I can replace alkaline batteries with spares.

P.S. Full size MagLites can be lethal weapons. Tiny little weapons lights, not so much.  ;)
Title: Re: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: crusader rabbit on February 07, 2018, 06:11:28 AM
sorry, I've had too many of the inexpensive lights fail... Dad always said always buy the best tools you can afford... 

A long time ago, I bought a boat from an old guy.  He said he wouldn't include the cookware and I told him I would just go to K-Mart and buy some cheap stuff to keep aboard.

He gave me some great advice:  Buy quality and you only pay once;  buy cheap and you pay every time you use it.

Crusader Rabbit
Title: Re: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: billt on February 07, 2018, 06:50:36 AM
.....I only buy alkaline batteries for all of my flashlights. If there's a power outage I don't have any way to recharge any type of rechargeable batteries, but I can replace alkaline batteries with spares.

Agree 100%. Aside from laptops and cell phones, I'm not sold on anything rechargeable. Especially now with Lithium batteries available, and coming down in price. After several cycles of recharging, they last less and less, until you have to replace them as well. And that can be expensive, as well as a PITA to find the proper one.

I currently have a older, inexpensive Toshiba laptop that needs a battery replacement. (It only lasts about 12 to 15 minutes on battery power). Not only is it expensive, but they make over 100 different ones! And they all look the same. And the places in town that stock them want over $100.00 for them. I can get them online for much less. But I don't have the confidence that I'm buying the right one. Or that it's not a Chinese POS. And returning anything online is a PITA. So I just live with it.
Title: Re: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: Jim Kennedy-ar154me on February 07, 2018, 11:03:42 AM
I currently have a older, inexpensive Toshiba laptop that needs a battery replacement. (It only lasts about 12 to 15 minutes on battery power). Not only is it expensive, but they make over 100 different ones! And they all look the same. And the places in town that stock them want over $100.00 for them. I can get them online for much less. But I don't have the confidence that I'm buying the right one. Or that it's not a Chinese POS. And returning anything online is a PITA. So I just live with it.

I work in I.T. and this is usually the cheapest place I know of if you want to check them out. One advantage is it walks you through picking the battery by manufacturer, model, sub-model, etc...


http://www.kahlon.com/
Title: Re: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: les snyder on February 07, 2018, 09:49:59 PM
if you live where there is a potential for a long term power outage, I urge you to invest in some form of generator...I did not have one for the 9 day outage in 2004, but had both a 3500W Honda and 2200W Chicom inverter generator for Irma....even though the outage for Irma was only a little over 3 1/2 days, the difference having electricity made the recovery so much easier... one of the lesson's learned was the need for an additional charger for the AA Eneloops... and a dedicated power strip so multiple chargers can be run off the same outlet
Title: Re: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: Big Frank on February 07, 2018, 11:57:52 PM
No hurricanes here, and tornadoes only hit once every few decades.

The only things I can think of right off hand that knock out power are:
1. Critters getting fried in substations. I think the power gets re-routed right away.
2. Cars hitting utility poles really hard. The power may be out for awhile.
3. Trees and tree branches knocking down wires. I think that causes the majority of the outages. It's mostly ice storms that knock them down, and that mainly happens farther north. Sometimes high winds will drop a branch on the wires but that doesn't happen very often either.

Last year my power went out and came back on within a second, twice that I can remember, but it could have been 3 or 4 times. It's enough to shut off my computer and make the clock on my VCR/DVD player say 12:00. Everything else seems unaffected. I think it was about a year ago that my power went out for a few hours. I kept my freezer closed until the power came on and everything stayed ice cold. I sat around and read by my florescent camping lantern. It takes 2 6-volt batteries that last for years and years. If they died and the stores are closed and all of my flashlights and spare batteries died I might still be able to get batteries. They use the same kind in the flashing lights on orange barrels and barricades. With road construction going on 9 months a year I should be able to locate some. I would steal them if I had too, but I'll never have to.

I have city water that's supposedly safe to drink now, so I never have to worry about a well losing power. I should have plenty of heat, light, and water, as long as the situation doesn't last several times longer than it ever has before. If the water quits flowing I'll drink Powerade until I run out. I have propane to cook with if the natural gas quits flowing too. Earthquakes in Michigan are rare and small enough to sleep through, so they shouldn't cause any problems.
Title: Re: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: billt on February 08, 2018, 03:06:28 AM
.....Last year my power went out and came back on within a second, twice that I can remember, but it could have been 3 or 4 times. It's enough to shut off my computer and make the clock on my VCR/DVD player say 12:00. Everything else seems unaffected. I think it was about a year ago that my power went out for a few hours. I kept my freezer closed until the power came on and everything stayed ice cold.....

I'm the same way. It only goes out for a couple of seconds. And only about twice a year. The longest it was out was for about 20 minutes. I have a small Honda Generator, but I haven't run it in several years. It got to be too much of a PITA to keep fresh gas for it. (I have no lawn to mow or snow to blow like I did in the Midwest).

So the thing fell into disrepair. I've never tried to start it in years, so I'm sure it's gunked up. I should take it in to Honda and have it gone through, but then the same thing would happen. It would be nice to have a whole house generator, but I can't justify the expense, or work to keep it running.

My air compressor is over 30 years old, but still runs good. I've thought about getting a gas powered one with greater capacity. They even have multi use units that have an air compressor and a generator in the same unit. I could at least keep it running because I use compressed air for cleaning my guns and filling my tires. So the engine would get run regularly. This one is a pretty nice unit.

https://wholesalepowertools.com/mi-t-m-ag2-ps14-08m1-portable-gasoline-two-stage-air-compressor-generator-combination-15-7-cfm-14-hp-subaru-8-gallon-3500-watt?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI16bHlZu52AIV1RSHCh0tgQAMEAEYASACEgJV7PD_BwE#.WnwSirdy53F
Title: Re: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: PegLeg45 on February 08, 2018, 12:22:02 PM
if you live where there is a potential for a long term power outage, I urge you to invest in some form of generator...I did not have one for the 9 day outage in 2004, but had both a 3500W Honda and 2200W Chicom inverter generator for Irma....even though the outage for Irma was only a little over 3 1/2 days, the difference having electricity made the recovery so much easier... one of the lesson's learned was the need for an additional charger for the AA Eneloops... and a dedicated power strip so multiple chargers can be run off the same outlet

Thanks to Irma and the longest power outage in my life, we now have an 8750w generator. Some time later in the year I plan on purchasing a 4000w and setting up a heavy pigtail to tie into our well system.




I'm the same way. It only goes out for a couple of seconds. And only about twice a year. The longest it was out was for about 20 minutes. I have a small Honda Generator, but I haven't run it in several years. It got to be too much of a PITA to keep fresh gas for it. (I have no lawn to mow or snow to blow like I did in the Midwest).

So the thing fell into disrepair. I've never tried to start it in years, so I'm sure it's gunked up. I should take it in to Honda and have it gone through, but then the same thing would happen. It would be nice to have a whole house generator, but I can't justify the expense, or work to keep it running.


If you get it back running, keep the tank full with non-ethanol gas and add Sta-Bil. The storage grade Sta-bil is good for 24 months. After filling the tank, run it to get the stuff in the carburetor so it won't gum up.
Title: Re: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: Solus on February 08, 2018, 02:03:06 PM
If I could afford it, I'd go with a "whole house" Natural Gas...and one that will run on LP or gasoline too..

They are wired so that should the power go out, they kick in automatically.

Hooked to your Natural Gass supply line, it is n ot like.y that both electricy and NG will go out together...earthquake might do it..

And, unlike gas stations, the local NG facility will have backup power...they have a load of NG on hand for that...

Here is were you can find out more

https://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/power/natural-gas-generators.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAh_DTBRCTARIsABlT9May3hUh732ysyDRwf4WmKYPPunF-Jm5Nmo5DK-d5-n0wqdvIQN0A3saAuY7EALw_wcB
Title: Re: A Couple Of Good Inexpensive Flashlights
Post by: Big Frank on February 08, 2018, 03:50:17 PM
I'm the same way. It only goes out for a couple of seconds. And only about twice a year. The longest it was out was for about 20 minutes. I have a small Honda Generator, but I haven't run it in several years. It got to be too much of a PITA to keep fresh gas for it. (I have no lawn to mow or snow to blow like I did in the Midwest).

So the thing fell into disrepair. I've never tried to start it in years, so I'm sure it's gunked up. I should take it in to Honda and have it gone through, but then the same thing would happen. It would be nice to have a whole house generator, but I can't justify the expense, or work to keep it running.

My air compressor is over 30 years old, but still runs good. I've thought about getting a gas powered one with greater capacity. They even have multi use units that have an air compressor and a generator in the same unit. I could at least keep it running because I use compressed air for cleaning my guns and filling my tires. So the engine would get run regularly. This one is a pretty nice unit.

https://wholesalepowertools.com/mi-t-m-ag2-ps14-08m1-portable-gasoline-two-stage-air-compressor-generator-combination-15-7-cfm-14-hp-subaru-8-gallon-3500-watt?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI16bHlZu52AIV1RSHCh0tgQAMEAEYASACEgJV7PD_BwE#.WnwSirdy53F

One of my friends has a Honda generator and a Yamaha generator. He said the Yamaha is better than the Honda. When my power goes out it's like someone flipping a light switch off and on with no waiting in between. An air compressor/generator sounds like it would be good for you since you use an air compressor anyway.

I got a little Campbell Hausfeld air compressor at Sears that was cheaper than a generic Harbor Freight air compressor of the same or similar size. The Harbor Freight compressor didn't even have a hose or air chuck with it, but the Campbell Hausfeld did. I think it was around 80 bucks. It's only a 2 gallon tank but I thought it was 3 gallons. It won't inflate my truck, trailer, and ATV tires all on a single tank full like the big ones. But it works well enough for me unless I let my tire pressure get way too low. Before this I've only had inflators with no air tank. Mine looks like this but the end of the model number is slightly different. https://campbellhausfeld.com/air-compressor-2-gallon-hot-dog-oilless-36-cfm-33hp-120v-3a-fp209000av-1.html?category_id=62