Anyone recommend a good rechargeable torch? My elderly B&D one has given up the ghost, the cheap bazillion power spotlights in the sheds have batteries made of lard and Maglite want hundreds of pounds(!) for their "rechargeable torch system".
I want one that I can leave plugged in all the time and it would be nice if it recharged from 12V as well as mains and came on automatically in a power cut.
I got a cheap UniRoss one from Argos and it has been active and plugged in for probably 8-10 years. It starts flashing if the mains goes off (assuming the switch is in flashing mode - the flashing stops when an active charge is detected). The batteries probably don't last as long as they might now but still long enough for emergencies. I think it cost £8.99 at the time. They still do the same torch (restyled) for £9.99 and it has 12V car adapter (which mine didn't). Given my experience, for emergency use, I would buy this.
Have you considered the wind-up variety - which you can recharge yourself without needing a mains supply?
Can you really get those - are are you just winding me up? :)
Oh, yes. Several kinds.
There is also a torch which can be shaken. It comprises a tube with a fixed magnet at each end. In the tube is a third magnet which is free to move. Around the tube is a coil. Shake the torch and it charges a capacitor which in turn powers the light.
Nah, you're just cranking my handle now!
something...
I suspect that anything that comes from 'gadgets.co.uk' is probably a totally worthless gimmick. Functional but not practical comes to mind.
They really exist. We bought one when we went wandering around the Amazon. It has two light settings but with full charge it only lasts about 5 min on the brightest. They now make them with LEDs instead of a bulb so they might last longer. You also get ones that you shake instead of winding up. As you can imagine that caused many comments when someone started recharging it before leaving the pub.
Found a shake torch on ebay
The LED shaker torch is actually a pretty useful piece of kit. Modern LEDs and supercaps make it viable.
They're about 30 quid from most places, but I've also seen them for a fiver at a local garage. Certainly worth the fiver!
I bought a few of them in Makro a few weeks ago. Use LED bulbs and 1 mins winding give 30 mins light apparently. Axminster do one that will also recharge your mobile!
I have seen one where you shake it up & down to charge it - I'd be a bit careful about where I did that!
Dave
Around a fiver on ebay too.
And Makro.
Dave
Id go for the wind up, shaking is a very inefficient process.
NT
8.99 or thereabouts from CPC. Work OK, but should be shaken (not too hard) in a hrizontal plane to avoid the risk of internal damage due to the magnet hitting the end too hard. Rather a narrow beam, but OK.
No the black things at each end of the tube are bits of rubber to stop the thing making a racket as you shake it. Be warned that the magnet is powerful, it'll almost stick the torch to a vertical steel surface and it's a good 3/8" from that surface. Probably not a good idea to have one in the same bag as a wallet/purse containing mag strip cards...
I've got a nice (Ferm IIRC) windup 3 LED torch. Don't know where it came from as it was a present. It lives in the car/caravan and is very useful and plenty bright enough for most purposes.
Chris
I think in most of the "wind-up" or "clockwork" torches the winding action directly operates a dynamo that recharges some NiCd batteries.
Digging about on the web shows that Tervor Bayliss and Baygen have done a torch that uses a spring but it also has batteries (so the light can stay on as you wind the spring back up). Not knowingly seen these in the UK.
Purely a footnote. It's easy to rebattery most rechargeable torches. The cost is minimal and the performance comes back to "as new".
Regards Capitol
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