Armed Polite Society

Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: RevDisk on August 18, 2010, 08:01:12 PM

Title: Chemlights
Post by: RevDisk on August 18, 2010, 08:01:12 PM

Anyone have any brands they recommend?  Any specific places to buy from?

I'm not worried about 'cheapest. available', I'm looking for decent price but quality first and durability first.  Probably a mix of colours and sizes.
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: S. Williamson on August 18, 2010, 08:03:23 PM
I always thought that all were pretty much the same, but those with expiration dates (and not soon-to-expire) are generally better...  ???
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: vaskidmark on August 18, 2010, 08:11:53 PM
Same here.  I've bought what turned out to be the same product (same manufacturer) sold under different trade names for widely differing prices.  All seemed to my untrained eye, which was not measuring precisely how bright or how long each lasted, to be equal.

OTOH, you might not get quite as much value out of the stuff in the dollar bin.

stay safe.
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: AJ Dual on August 18, 2010, 08:19:16 PM
The dollar store ones go bad inside of a year of purchase. Only good for entertaining the kids.

You buy them for $1 or even 2/$1 at the dollar store, then give them to the kids at the fireworks/fair/parade, rather than pay the cart vendor $5 or more for them.

I don't know what a good brand is, but I'm relatively certain the ones from a gear/equipment/LEO-MIL supplier will be "better".

Cyalume is the name-brand/original maker. http://uscavalry.com/Productinfo.aspx?productID=8697&TabID=548 not bad, still close to $1 ea.
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: Regolith on August 18, 2010, 08:43:18 PM
You could always make them yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tItOOpyJP5k

 =D
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: RevDisk on August 18, 2010, 08:47:31 PM
You could always make them yourself:

...

You make a very very good point...
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: Ryan in Maine on August 18, 2010, 08:49:00 PM
I've always like Cyalume. But I've got to admit that I'm not really up to date on chem lights.
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: seeker_two on August 18, 2010, 09:03:01 PM
I've had good luck with the AmeriGlo industrial grade sticks...I usually buy 20-30 every year at Cheaper Than Dirt...cheaper & more fun to drive to Ft. Worth in person than pay both shipping & in-state sales tax....
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas on August 18, 2010, 09:04:37 PM
Don't do anything with them that John Ringo would do.
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: wmenorr67 on August 18, 2010, 09:48:49 PM
Whatever I can acquire through my military channels.
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: French G. on August 18, 2010, 11:24:41 PM
I have a few left from my Navy time, we'd throw away the expired ones when we PM'd life jackets. Cyalume mfg I think. They still glow for about 12 hours several years after expiration. I give them to my toddler to play with after dark. They are so precious to her that she demands to sleep with them.  :lol:
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: Perd Hapley on August 19, 2010, 12:12:01 AM
You could always make them yourself:


Do not feed the mad scientist.
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: Jim147 on August 19, 2010, 12:16:46 AM
Don't put them in the ice bucket of your side by side and hit crushed ice. The customer wasn't even smart enough to look in the bucket before calling about the lemon refrigerator they bought giving out lemon colored ice.

jim
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: Physics on August 19, 2010, 02:35:21 AM

Do not feed the mad scientist.

A true mad scientist needs no feeding. 
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: RaspberrySurprise on August 19, 2010, 10:28:23 AM
Don't do anything with them that John Ringo would do.

Like this?
http://loopzy.com/v/polizei_rave
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: freakazoid on August 19, 2010, 10:50:00 AM
I remember throwing some in a fire once and they would glow a glowy florecenty color. It was pretty cool.  =D
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: 41magsnub on August 19, 2010, 10:56:08 AM
Dunno, I'm still working off of the 3 cases I rescued from the trash after a field exercise 15 years ago.  I've found the ones that the foil tube is still air tight on still work great, the rest are hit and miss.
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: RevDisk on August 19, 2010, 12:23:30 PM
Do not feed the mad scientist.

Too late.   Looking into sources of fabrication of bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl) oxalate (C14H4Cl6O4).


A true mad scientist needs no feeding.  

Ayep.  Just the occasional tears of the innocent.


I remember throwing some in a fire once and they would glow a glowy florecenty color. It was pretty cool.  =D

Some of the chemicals, especially the florescent dyes, are carcinogens when aerosolized.     ;)
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: Marnoot on August 19, 2010, 12:31:08 PM
Too late.   Looking into sources of fabrication of bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl) oxalate.


Ayep.  Just the occasional tears of the innocent.


Some of the chemicals, especially the florescent dyes, are carcinogens when aerosolized.     ;)

If you find the main ingredient cheap, spare a link to it? Every place I found it would make a glow stick cost a ton...
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: RevDisk on August 19, 2010, 12:33:37 PM
If you find the main ingredient cheap, spare a link to it? Every place I found it would make a glow stick cost a ton...

Laboratory fabrication.

If that's not feasible, then forgot it.  Cheapest I found is $35/g.  Some places are $100/g. 
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: PTK on August 19, 2010, 12:54:13 PM
It's not an especially difficult synthesis, either. :)
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: RevDisk on August 19, 2010, 12:58:39 PM
It's not an especially difficult synthesis, either. :)

Ah'nope, but you need vaccum kit, specialized glass, and preferably a hood.  Especially because I don't need high purity.  Too many other projects on the burner to fully take on chemical engineering and give it the TCL it deserves.    =(
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: Jim147 on August 19, 2010, 01:14:23 PM
Ah'nope, but you need vaccum kit, specialized glass, and preferably a hood.  Especially because I don't need high purity.  Too many other projects on the burner to fully take on chemical engineering and give it the TCL it deserves.    =(

Yeah, you have a story to write. You don't have time to play chemist. =D

jim
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: kgbsquirrel on August 19, 2010, 02:00:02 PM
It's not an especially difficult synthesis, either. :)

One of these days we need to fabricate a big batch of TCPO so we can make something obscenely awesome like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS4WXKDZ-GE
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: PTK on August 19, 2010, 02:04:59 PM
I'm game for that when you finally get to MT. :P
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: AJ Dual on August 19, 2010, 04:20:59 PM
One of these days we need to fabricate a big batch of TCPO so we can make something obscenely awesome like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS4WXKDZ-GE

Not to question the "just because" factor of it, but you can get 100ft of blue Electroluminescent wire and the needed power supply for about $320 and change, while the chemicals for the 100ft glow-stick ran Dr. Nurd Rage about $500....

And you can use the EL wire over and over again, the glow stick only lasted about 6 hours.
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: kgbsquirrel on August 19, 2010, 04:23:40 PM
Not to question the "just because" factor of it, but you can get 100ft of blue Electroluminescent wire and the needed power supply for about $320 and change, while the chemicals for the 100ft glow-stick ran Dr. Nurd Rage about $500....

And you can use the EL wire over and over again, the glow stick only lasted about 6 hours.

I think you are missing the "because I can" factor.  ;)
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: KD5NRH on August 19, 2010, 09:28:03 PM
Anyone have any brands they recommend?  Any specific places to buy from?

I'm not worried about 'cheapest. available', I'm looking for decent price but quality first and durability first.  Probably a mix of colours and sizes.

How did we get this far without mentioning http://www.extremeglow.com  Any type you want from 12 hour to ultra-intensity 5 minute.

The 5 minute ones are great for distributing to all the places you might be when the lights go out so you have plenty of light to go find the flashlight.  You can easily navigate a room or check the breaker box by their output.
Title: Re: Chemlights
Post by: RevDisk on August 19, 2010, 09:52:37 PM
How did we get this far without mentioning http://www.extremeglow.com  Any type you want from 12 hour to ultra-intensity 5 minute.

The 5 minute ones are great for distributing to all the places you might be when the lights go out so you have plenty of light to go find the flashlight.  You can easily navigate a room or check the breaker box by their output.

Bingo!   Much appreciated!

Good, good, they stock the 15 inch chemlights.  Woot!  Need a couple of those on hand, especially after the morning from hell I had today.