Help Me Fix a Flashlight, Please...

[cageym]

Here ya go:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014C2BGO

I carried these when I was over the road. Bright and small enough to fit in your pocket. And 3 for under $12 isn't a bad price. They use 3 AAA (which they come with) in a cartridge, so they are a little bigger than what you carry now but not much. I ordered some to use in the shop here on island.

[Greg]

Here ya go:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014C2BGO

I carried these when I was over the road. Bright and small enough to fit in your pocket. And 3 for under $12 isn't a bad price. They use 3 AAA (which they come with) in a cartridge, so they are a little bigger than what you carry now but not much. I ordered some to use in the shop here on island.

If you're willing to accept relatively low output and a floody beam then the little 5mm led's are fine. I have an Arc AAA-P on my keychain after all, and if I could find a good deal on a couple of Fenix E01's I pick them up, put Energizer AAA lithiums in them, stick them in the gloveboxes of the cars and forget they exist. (People pointing out that anything with a power led in it could smoke the E01 in terms of output is correct, but missing the point. Have you ever tried doing closeup work like reading a map with a 100 lumen light? Seriously.)

But showerheads suck. If nothing else they never have any kind of decent cooling- you're going to find that those led's have a much shorter life than you've been led to expect, and they're going to turn purple. (When those things take thermal damage they get dimmer and their output turns purple.) At that point you're better off with a light built around a power led, like a Cree or P4 (same emitter, different packaging).

[Guncrazy]

By the way, Greg, I think that's done it. Scrubbed the body out with vinegar and a brass brush, and the light seems to be a good as new. Thanks!