What says Extreme more than a handheld, unassuming flashlight that will light things on fire?
No, this isn't your average MagLight - although it was built from some MagLight parts. Instead, it is indeed a very high powered flashlight, capable of lighting things on fire, roasting marshmallows, or blinding your would-be attacker.
If you don't believe it, take a gander at this video...
Flashlight video
Ok, so now you believe it. What makes this flashlight so powerful? A few things. First, there's some batteries. And not just a few, but 12 1.2V NiMH (r
echargable) batteries capable of sustained 10 amp draws. They're in a nice, heavy duty battery carrier that can withstand the load as well.Then there's the bulb. It's an Osram HLX 64623. This is a 12V bulb which is being overdriven to 14+V, to about 140 watts, with an estimated light output of about 4000 lumens. Compare that to a regular 2D MagLight, which is much, much less than 50 lumens.
There's also a metal reflector, as the stock MagLight reflector would melt almost instantly from the heat of the Osram.
The stock MagLight switch would also melt under the current load, so that's also been replaced with a switch capable of switching the load.
There aren't many handheld flashlights that have this kind of power. This one was built by Mac's Customs.
I hope you enjoyed the first installment of fun here on Extreme-Geek. The next issue will take you for a ride in a 900 horsepower muscle car...
42 comments:
We've replaced Bob's fleshlight with a 5000 lumen fire-starting flashlight. Let's see if he notices...
Any way you would post a "How to" on how to build that bad boy?
What's the battery runtime on this thing? How quickly does the output decrease?
Wow, I want one for my survival pack!
Not so advanced as mine, this is.
You should put a Fresnel lens on the front of it and really start some fires.
Uh... 5000 lumens can't start a fire with a beam that wide.
Video tape it or its fake.
no, seriously. Where can i get one of these?
this is easily the awesomest thing i've ever seen. I'm not even sure awesomest is a word, but this is it.
enchantrem[at]yahoo.com
It's obvious there's some skepticism - post some sort of more valuable test and I'm happy to do it...within reason, of course :)
That's not a fake. There are plenty of those around. Most commonly, they're using 100w Osram bulbs. They WILL start a fire and fast!
Wouldn't it be much more efficient to start the fire with a laser?
You doubters have never had a high powered flash light have you? My dad once made one with a motorcycle headlight bulb and a bunch of gel cells. My mom accidentally turned it on while it was sitting on the counter and it burned a nice spot into it. That wasn't even 1/2 the output of this light.
Everyone is asking for another video? you guys up to it?
Some guy mentioned one on the youtube page. Something about coat hangers or something...
come on dude give us some info about this. And yeah you should try a lens to focus those lummens. And make a deadly ray and the of course post a video
there is a whole forum for modding flashlights such as these.
www.candlepowerforums.com
check it out =D
How about laying this thing sideways and putting a handle & trigger on the switch? Christmas is coming up, you know.
not to piss on the doubter parade, but i own a fiberoptic lamp that uses the same bulb at about 13V, and it can start a piece of black paper on fire at 1-2 inches distance. The fiber head is 2 non-focused bundles 3/8" in diameter that merge to a 3/4" bundle in front of the bulb.
A do-it-yourself would be highly appreciated :)
Is it regulated?
Wouldn't it be much more efficient to start the fire with a match?
j/k, cool stuff! I'd like to see it used side by side with car brights, stadium lights, etc.
How much did it cost to build? It sounds like you had it built by someone else - how much did they charge?
I'm curious both on the parts and the labor costs, here.
^_^ sub-scribed!
That's manly:D
I don't care how much it costs or how long it lasts
That's something that every person... young or old... can enjy carrying around to say "Yes, I have a flashlight that can burn your face off"
Awesome work
Rock on
~Ryan
Awesome flashlight. Hey, you got picked up by Makezine Blog! Keep up the posts!
Osram Sylvania Bulb (Made in Germany)
^^
That is some serious power, you don't want that switch accidentally turning on when it is in your pocket!
I want one for my bicycle!
Should give a whole new meaning to blinding oncoming traffic.
That's lame... I found his site but He hasn't even started making it...
LINK: http://macscustoms.com/default.aspx
I totally want one for Christmas... how much?
This is awesome. Need one on the back of my motorcycle to curb rude and inconsiderate drivers that harass tailgate and harass bikers ;-) Popping their radiator with this would be quite something - LOL!
You stole my last name. I wanna start a fire with a flashlight!
The light mentioned is "The Torch" from Mac Customs. Cost is around $300 for a complete kit. It would be a bit hard for a newbie to make one - this light has a custom tail switch and custom bulb assembly.
I am lucky enough to own one - it is truly great!
Oh and the video is not faked - it will start a fire!
If you want an easy way to do this... As in not needing 12 Lithim Batteries...
grab a CR-123 (3v Lithium Camera Battery) or 3x "223" (a pair of them in a plastic case) and they can discharge some phenomenal current.
3 will give you 18 Volts (2 x 223's is 12 V)
In fact they can melt metal (a paper clip for example)!
When they first came out back around 1985, a buddy had one in his pocket and it touched his car keys.
His testicles & dick got really badly burnt !)
FYI...
Ni-Cads and Lead Acid Batteries can deliver massive current which is what you want to do this "trick".
- Dave from Perth (West Australia)
Simple in principle.
the skill of the mod is in the details. Take any a projector lightbulb, overdrive the voltage to just under meltdown, add power, and burn!
This project uses VERY high power bulbs, high current wiring and switches. also all metal parts, and probably high temp wire insulation. even with all that, I bet the heat radiating off that bulb makes the light too hot to handle after only a few minutes.
Anything less than a professional job of wiring could render you dead.
May the Swartz be with you
So is the fire starting ability a byproduct of the heat or from the intensity of the light?
From the video it looks like the fire is started from the heat of the bulb, not the light (photon) output.
candlepowerforums.net - look for Mag85 or Roar of the Pelican.
We started to see your video getting passed around the Internet with other people's name on it so we branded your URL across the video and posted it on Fugly.com at: http://www.fugly.com/videos/6659/fire_starting_flashlight.html
I hope this helps people find your page.
Joe posted yet another ad:
The correct link is
www.candlepowerforums.COM
greez, Martin
Wow, just stumbled across this blog. Haven't seen anything like that, especially in a video! Does it have any practical runtime? You typically only see those kind of lumens out of a HID light...
That is one impressively bright flashlight. And relatively believable having owned a few bright flashlights in the 200 lumen range.
Nice post.
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