UV light?

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Oldaudiodude

Newly Enlightened
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May 22, 2007
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WI
Can someone recommend a small UV light? No special wavelength. Preferably runs on AA’s or AAA’s. Thanks in advance. Greg.
 
The Lumintop looks good, but it says it gets full performance only with a 14500 cell:
"A high-quality 14500 cell is recommended. The output will be extremely low when using the AA battery, it is a normal phenomenon due to the low voltage."

County Comm just started offering a AA based UV light. Don't know anything about it, but it does say to use AA and not use 14500:
countycomm.com

Micro Inspection AA-MI-UV365NM - 3W UV 365nm AA Flashlight by Maratac®

AA-MI-UV365NM Ultra Compact UV Detection / Fluorescence / Cure Light & More! ---------------------------------------------------------------- Presenting the Ultra-Violet Pro 365nm AA Flashlight by Maratac®, an indispensable tool for your everyday excursions. Boasting a peak brightness of 328...
countycomm.com countycomm.com
 
lampeDépêche said:
The Lumintop looks good, but it says it gets full performance only with a 14500 cell:
"A high-quality 14500 cell is recommended. The output will be extremely low when using the AA battery, it is a normal phenomenon due to the low voltage."
Click to expand...
I use 14500 with this, so I'll try to compare the output between AA and 14500 later.

Another option would be Convoy T2 or T3. They say the output is 400mA (AA) and 540mA (14500). The difference is not significant.
 
PaladinNO said:
You want UV-A (365 nm) - UV-B (310 nm) and UV-C (255 nm) are not toys.
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UV can damage your eyes. The shorter the wavelength, the more energetic it is, i.e. more potentially damaging.
Always wear eye protection— even plain glass eyeglasses help somewhat, but it is better to use certified UV protective glasses.
I find that whenever I play with UV emitters— even low output ones, like a 5mm LED — my eyes feel scratchy and irritated afterwards.
Better quality UV lights include a filter to screen out the visible wavelengths. That makes the reflection from fluorescent objects easier to see. Problem: it also makes it less obvious that the light is turned on, and less obvious where you are shining it.
You do not want sunburn on your eyeballs. But you probably know all this already.
 
lampeDépêche said:
UV can damage your eyes. The shorter the wavelength, the more energetic it is, i.e. more potentially damaging.
Always wear eye protection— even plain glass eyeglasses help somewhat, but it is better to use certified UV protective glasses.

You do not want sunburn on your eyeballs. But you probably know all this already.
Click to expand...
That is so true!

I always wear protective glasses when using my S12. Wasn't why I bought them - and didn't even know it at the time, I just wanted proper eye protectors - but my 3M 3700-series over-glasses eye protectors are also certified against UV. I have both Clear and Dark Grey - the Dark Grey lenses are the best sunglasses I have ever had while driving or working outside in the sun.

Loading…

www.3m.com

Tried using the Convoy S12 once without them, and a stray beam hit a mirror and straight into my eyes. And it really hurt!
Can't speak to the Convoy T3, but the S12 is a serious tool.

With the glasses on, I can point the S12 right at my face, and all I see are 3 glowing dots behind the lens.

I have a Convoy C8 UV-C as well, and whenever I use that, I wear glasses, gloves and a jacket.
Haven't been able to find some hard numbers on how powerful the C8 UV-C is, and how much UV-C is "safe", but all I know is that the UV-C rays are the cancer ones, so I especially treat those with respect. Intended use was killing germs (bathroom / refridgerator), but I don't think a flashlight is powerful enough to be effective - frankly, I think the C8 UV-C is only dangerous for people (like, damaging eyes), with no actual use.
 
PaladinNO said:
...frankly, I think the C8 UV-C is only dangerous for people (like, damaging eyes), with no actual use.
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And probably not ideal for fighting off thugs, either. "Don't even think about attacking me, or I will irradiate your exposed skin with UV-C, and you may get melanoma in several years!"

There are some devices that use UV-C for disinfecting water. I have not tried them but they look interesting, e.g. the "Steripen" made by Katadyn.
 
lampeDépêche said:
And probably not ideal for fighting off thugs, either. "Don't even think about attacking me, or I will irradiate your exposed skin with UV-C, and you may get melanoma in several years!"
Click to expand...
That didn't even cross my mind - any actual skin damage would take several minutes, and I doubt an intruder would stand still. And the eyes are can be reasonably covered against light during a fight. So, again, I think the Convoy C8 UV-C is a waste in every single way.

This is really derailing this thread, but against intruders (with the boring gun laws we have here in Norway), I got a digging bar and a crow bar near the entrance.
We have fortunately never been burglarized, or even have attempted break-ins, but should it happen, I will definitely try to hit first.

To re-rail the thread, anyone who wants to check their bathroom with UV-A (...not that you would want to do it, just saying), get the S12. It is a real UV powerhouse!
 
Lumintop Tool AA UV.

Left: AA Alkaline (Amazon Basics)
Right: 14500 (Acebeam USB-C)

14500 is apparently brighter, but I think AA is useful enough for close work.

UV.png
 
ChipDale said:
Lumintop Tool AA UV.

Left: AA Alkaline (Amazon Basics)
Right: 14500 (Acebeam USB-C)
14500 is apparently brighter, but I think AA is useful enough for close work.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the screenshots.
Oh noes! Now the UV rays are coming right through the screen into my eyeballs! I am blinded by the rays!!
All jokes aside, the visible-light fraction is probably a pretty good proxy for the amount of UV light being generated as well.
 
Thanks folks. Not looking for a toy, mainly needed to see where the cats been, and to check out hotel rooms…. I will likely go with one of the recommendations and run 14500’s. Appreciate it!
 
Oldaudiodude said:
Thanks folks. Not looking for a toy, mainly needed to see where the cats been, and to check out hotel rooms…. I will likely go with one of the recommendations and run 14500’s. Appreciate it!
Click to expand...
Ah the cat's whereabouts. You'll have an interesting time. Good choice.
 
Oldaudiodude said:
Thanks folks. Not looking for a toy, mainly needed to see where the cats been, and to check out hotel rooms…. I will likely go with one of the recommendations and run 14500’s. Appreciate it!
Click to expand...
As to Lumintop Tool AA UV, usable range would be ~1m (AA) ~2m (14500). AA would work fine if you look at the target closely enough, though 14500 is better. If you would like to check the hotel room entirely at a glance, Convoy S12 (21700) would be excellent as PaladinNO recommends.
 
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