# Seeking HID Spotlight Advice



## Chicago Boater (Feb 28, 2010)

Hello CPF,

I'm seeking advice on a purchasing a HID spotlight for use on my small boat. I run my boat up and down the Illinois River from Chicago to Peoria and sometimes I am out past dark. -As you can imagine, navigation in pitch blackness on a river can be a challenge. It is critical that I am able to see the standard red and green navigational buoys. I've used everything for lighting from a Maglite to a high candle power battery powered spotlight...It's time for a *real* spotlight!!!

Here are a few of the features I'm looking for:
Type: HID
Price: I'd like to keep below $300.
Power: Powered from a cigarette lighter or hard-wired into the electrical system if I have to.
Mount: Hand held and easy to point around.
Use: Able to be turned on and off frequently / Able to be turned on for extended periods of time.
Beam: The most powerful, brightest, farthest reaching beam possible...Like a laser beam!

*Any advice would be greatly appreciated!*

Below are two river barges with HID spotlights. These lights are literally the brightest lights I've ever witnessed:


----------



## Arnulf (Feb 28, 2010)

I,m sure you can find what you need here. 

https://www.magnalight.com/c-120-hid-boat-lights.aspx


----------



## liteitup (Feb 28, 2010)

how far out in front of you do you need to see? Im gonna guess 300 yards minimum should be sufficient for navigation. Be careful on finding a beam too narrow.. On the water where air moisture might be very high a very narrow beam might obscure your visibility due to lighting the moisture up in the air if your directly behind the light.

Is battery required at all? Just as a note it is supposedly bad for hids to be turned off and on rapidly.. although ive done it a lot playing with my hid spots... lol Most data sheets say no more then 3 times in an hour for max life. How much is life shortened by it i have no idea. Also some hids can take up to 15 seconds to reach full brightness and another 15-20 seconds for the color to stabilize. Not the best choice for instant on and off. Again i dont know how long your talking when you say on off. If its on for 5 seconds and then off again dont go with hid. If you talking 5 minutes off and on hid should be fine...

If you looking for something cheap and hand held that can be run from a cord i would go ahead and throw the stanley spot light out there as another suggestion... its only 70 bucks and is more then enough for 300-400 yards (its 35watts just like the light on the other site that cost 300 bucks). Heck buy 2 of them incase you drop one in the water... lol Also the stanley starts up very quickly, a lot faster then other hid spotlights. Also for a boat application the pistol grip on the stanley beats out the handle grip on other spotlights. 

the website arnulf posted has a lot of options also

If your creative you could also build your own spotlight like i did for my boat   here


----------



## saabluster (Feb 28, 2010)

liteitup said:


> Be careful on finding a beam too narrow.. On the water where air moisture might be very high a very narrow beam might obscure your visibility due to lighting the moisture up in the air if your directly behind the light.
> 
> https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/260561


Actually it is completely the opposite of that. You need a super tight beam in those conditions.


----------



## Arnulf (Feb 28, 2010)

saabluster said:


> Actually it is completely the opposite of that. You need a super tight beam in those conditions.



Yep...you want to slice through it.


----------



## ntalbot (Feb 28, 2010)

Arnulf said:


> Yep...you want to slice through it.



Also, you want a bulb color temperature of 4200k. If you get something with a 6000k bulb, it will refract more in the moist air, instead of cutting through it.
The L35 would be a good option. It's $300. It won't run off a cord, but it has almost a 2 hour battery life. It has a 12V charger too. Unfortunately you won't be able to get one for a few weeks because BatteryJuntion just had a fire and they are still getting back on their feet. AFAIK they are the only distributor.


----------



## Arnulf (Feb 28, 2010)

ntalbot said:


> Also, you want a bulb color temperature of 4200k. If you get something with a 6000k bulb, it will refract more in the moist air, instead of cutting through it.
> The L35 would be a good option. It's $300. It won't run off a cord, but it has almost a 2 hour battery life. It has a 12V charger too. Unfortunately you won't be able to get one for a few weeks because BatteryJuntion just had a fire and they are still getting back on their feet. AFAIK they are the only distributor.



Yeah....6000k is crystal white...it would just illuminate fog.


----------



## Patriot (Feb 28, 2010)

Arnulf said:


> Yeah....6000k is crystal white...it would just illuminate fog.



6000K it typically considered a bit blu-ish still.


----------



## liteitup (Feb 28, 2010)

saabluster said:


> Actually it is completely the opposite of that. You need a super tight beam in those conditions.


I know what your saying but these conditions will limit all lights range and it is reduced either way. In my experience in boating at night i dont like a beam too narrow. when i say narrow beam im talking short arc narrow... When the foggy/humid conditions get bad you cant see far away anyways, and a narrow beam is not very useful for close up navi. This is what i was talking about. They are both going to have flash back no matter what. The brighter/narrower the beam the more flashback.... I had a friend of a friend 3-4 years back bring a maxabeam on the boat and going through foggy patches with the tight spot wasnt much use.

Im not trying to say a wider beam will travel farther i know it wont, im saying when conditions are bad a wider beam will be better suited for closer use where you can actually see if you only have one light to chose from and its not adjustable... If the light is mounted someplace other then directly in front of you and you dont have to look through the beam this really isnt an issue.

In any case with a hid i dont see a problem getting a beam so super tight that it cant be used closer up anyways.


----------



## Arnulf (Feb 28, 2010)

Patriot said:


> 6000K it typically considered a bit blu-ish still.



Isn't the heat color blue 8000k to 10,000?

I was just looking at a chart...5000k is oem white.


----------



## Patriot (Mar 1, 2010)

Arnulf said:


> Isn't the heat color blue 8000k to 10,000?
> 
> I was just looking at a chart...5000k is oem white.






Sure, 8000k is ultra-blue while 6000k is just blue-ish. 5000K is typically considered "white" HID while 4200K is still considered to be white but with really great CRI.


----------



## Arnulf (Mar 1, 2010)

Patriot said:


> Sure, 8000k is ultra-blue while 6000k is just blue-ish. 5000K is typically considered "white" HID while 4200K is still considered to be white but with really great CRI.



OT 
I was thinking of buying one of those HID kits and doing a conversion on a couple of halogen spotlights I have...what heat color would you suggest?
My first project.


----------



## Patriot (Mar 1, 2010)

Arnulf said:


> OT
> I was thinking of buying one of those HID kits and doing a conversion on a couple of halogen spotlights I have...what heat color would you suggest?
> My first project.




Anywhere from 4200-5000K is what most people here prefer including myself. You might try something closer to 5000k if you like the "whiter" look.


----------



## Arnulf (Mar 1, 2010)

Patriot said:


> Anywhere from 4200-5000K is what most people here prefer including myself. You might try something closer to 5000k if you like the "whiter" look.



Thanks....like a POB is what I'm going for.


----------



## Patriot (Mar 1, 2010)

Arnulf said:


> Thanks....like a POB is what I'm going for.




Sure.

BatteryJunction sells a much improved POB style light with 4200K bulb. They recently had a fire so they're not taking new orders just yet though.


----------



## Arnulf (Mar 1, 2010)

Patriot said:


> Sure.
> 
> BatteryJunction sells a much improved POB style light with 4200K bulb. They recently had a fire so they're not taking new orders just yet though.




I just negotiated a deal on a POB on mkt place.....so I am set....but I also bid on a halogen spotlight that I am gonna try converting to a HID with one of them HID car light kits....prolly have to ask you lots of tech questions.


----------

