# Real World Reviews - Two Spotlights



## zespectre (Apr 2, 2008)

Real World Review – A tale of two spotlights
4/2/2008

* Husky “Tough Brite” 6 volt lantern*
Model: HSK146 *http://tinyurl.com/2tttpd*

* Black and Decker “V-2Million” Handheld Spotlight*
Model: SL202BD *http://tinyurl.com/3x2p3u*

Neither of these lights are really your typical “walking around” flashlights so I’m not going to take them on the usual “standard evening walk” instead I’m just going to give an overview and my impression of each light.

My trusty $9.00 Radio Shack spotlight (remember that astounding deal?) finally died and nothing I did brought it back to life so I decided to buy something else to take it’s place. Since we’re moving into a new house soon I wanted to get something that would cover the whole back yard (most of an acre) and reach well into the adjoining golf course and park if needed. The first light I picked up was the Husky…mostly because it was dirt cheap aaaaaand I got what I paid for <grumble grumble>. So the next night I stumbled upon the smaller V-1Million and the larger V-2Million Black & Decker models and decided “oh what the heck” and bought the 2 million CP unit.

* Initial Impression(s)*
*
The Husky “Tough Brite” *6 volt lantern is a hefty -looking- unit that weighs in at 4lb 10oz. Not unreasonable for a light based on a 6 volt sealed-lead-acid battery. The light has an interesting “rough and ready contractor” feel about it with lots of thick rubber armor, big metal bolts, and metal trim with hex screws. Unfortunately that’s about where the initial impressiveness stopped for me because the body is comprised of a thick but cheap feeling plastic that creaks and feels weak. There seems to be NO attention to detail on this unit as the plastic seams don’t match up, the rubber plug that is supposed to protect the DC charging socket doesn’t fit or stay in place, the bulb was misaligned, and there is nothing to indicate that this light would survive much moisture let alone any type of immersion. The unit has an interesting “swivel” built into the handle that allows you to aim the light up while it’s sitting on the ground and that might be very useful for changing a tire or something. The light also has a small (pathetic) LED light on the front. I suppose it could be useful as a nightlight while camping or something.
*
The Black and Decker “V-2Million” *Handheld Spotlight is physically the larger unit but just seems more trim. Weighing in at a nearly identical 4lb 8oz the two handles just make this light seem more handy for use. The body is typical B&D orange and black with lots of rubber bumpers and a heavy, solid feeling, plastic body. Fit and finish are excellent and it seems like a quality unit that will take reasonable abuse and still hold together. This light also has two little LED lights on the front…and they are both as pathetic as the one on the husky light. I have NO IDEA why they’d use such poor LED lights on an otherwise quality unit.

Both lights have a _“unique”_ built in charging system where you simply plug in a standard extension cord to the prongs on the back. Both lights have a decent rubber covering protecting the prongs though the Black&Decker light has a better fitting cover. Both lights also have the capability to charge from a DC source and include a vehicle charging adaptor.

Both lights have a secondary switch to run the LED lights and a trigger for the main halogen lamp. Both triggers felt sturdy and gave a nice solid “click” when operated. 

And there any similarities ended.

Triggering the Husky lamp produced a strong but crappy beam with outrageous artifacting and very poor beam control. Yeah it would light up a decent area but any throw was severely impacted by the crappy beam. I opened the unit up (NOT EASY) and re-adjusted the bulb a few times, creating some beam improvement but on the whole the reflector is just mismatched to the bulb and socket.

I pulled the trigger on the Black&Decker and *HOLY JUMPING THOMAS EDISON I’M BLIND!!!!!* <grin>. Okay the advertising says it’s rated at a certified 1365 lumens and we all know how reliable those ratings are but let me tell you this sucker has some real POWER behind it! I lit up an entire football field sized area and had blinding reflections from street reflectors on the other side. Beam focus was good with lots and lots of sidespill to illuminate an AREA not just a cone.


* Verdict(s)*
The Husky is a useable light and has the virtue of being pretty darn cheap. If you need to set the light down and shine the beam up (say while you are changing a tire) it would be very handy but I don’t know how well it would hold up if it was raining at the time.
* Useful…SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED*

The Black&Decker is an excellent handheld powerhouse that turns night into day.
* STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.*


----------



## Brigadier (Apr 4, 2008)

I have the smaller 1M CP B&D that I got at Wal-Mart for $17 and it is a great light. It fits nicely under the front passenger seat of my Astro van.


----------



## alfreddajero (Jan 1, 2010)

I also have the 1m that i got from walmart and love it.....it just sits there next to my charging station waiting to get used which it never does.


----------



## tkelley (Jan 12, 2010)

I just bought the V 2 million. The bulb in mine is a 75 watt H3. The battery is 12v at 4 ah. 

Is this close? A bulb at 75 w with 48 watt-hr battery... a little over 1/2 hour burn time? (.64 hr)

Pretty bright... Glass lense, metal reflector, H3 bulb base in reflector...

I'm thinking on gutting everything and loading an H3 35 watt HID and ballast and powering it with Lifep04 cells:

I don't know the exact cell size, but looking into 8 cells. Is it ok to do a strand of 4 (sets of 2 in parallel) in series? If so, I just need to determine how big I can go on the cells.

I do plan on doing whatever I have to do to set the HID arc in the proper focus point of reflector. (I am a machinist)

My desire of this mod is to get a very good hot throw, but have very good burm time too. 

I might be a while before I get this all going..., but if any of you have any suggestions..., your thoughts and suggestions are welcomed!

Tom


----------

