j.c.whitney
Well-known member
Didn't want to clog up the good deals thread so here is a post on the $10 Stanley 35W HID spotlight on closeout at Walmart. That is an excellent deal on a high-performance spotlight with a couple of caveats.
First, they use a 12V 3ah sealed lead acid battery which will self-discharge and be compromised if not charged every few months. Won't know if the battery is good on mine until the charge cycle is complete. If you were lucky enough to snag one at $10 and it is malfunctioning on the internal battery don't despair, it probably sat on the shelf for an extended period and battery sulphation would be a likely suspect. Take it back for a cheerful refund at Walmart if you don't want to repair it or contact the manufacturer and see if they will repair/replace or send/sell a new battery. Manufacturers 1 year warranty is your friend, save the recipt.
Second, the runtime is not real great owing to the nature of the device as it draws considerable power to operate the ballast which needs to make some big voltage to fire the HID bulb. With a healthy battery it appears 20-30 minutes is about all it will give per charge. Once power drops below 12V the light shuts off. Of course it will run for extended periods on the vehicle charging system.
I've read it has 3200 lumens output at startup which is astounding for a handheld (although heavy) spotlight. Things out to 1000' are lit up nicely, some reports indicate road signs are visible at up to 2 miles, other reports include accounts of the Police being summoned to investigate users who were operating the HID Spotlight but otherwise behaving themselves. There are 2 models on closeout, the HID0109 and the HID010, the HID010 is the newer version and apparently does not have the metal bars or the hi/lo switch the 0109 has. Equivalent performance.
This is not your standard incandescent spotlight and does not operate on the same principle. If it seems to operate a little bit differently than what you are expecting, there are several hundred posts on candlepower forums (flashlight enthusiasts) pertaining to the care/feeding of Stanley 35W HID spotlight.
First, they use a 12V 3ah sealed lead acid battery which will self-discharge and be compromised if not charged every few months. Won't know if the battery is good on mine until the charge cycle is complete. If you were lucky enough to snag one at $10 and it is malfunctioning on the internal battery don't despair, it probably sat on the shelf for an extended period and battery sulphation would be a likely suspect. Take it back for a cheerful refund at Walmart if you don't want to repair it or contact the manufacturer and see if they will repair/replace or send/sell a new battery. Manufacturers 1 year warranty is your friend, save the recipt.
Second, the runtime is not real great owing to the nature of the device as it draws considerable power to operate the ballast which needs to make some big voltage to fire the HID bulb. With a healthy battery it appears 20-30 minutes is about all it will give per charge. Once power drops below 12V the light shuts off. Of course it will run for extended periods on the vehicle charging system.
I've read it has 3200 lumens output at startup which is astounding for a handheld (although heavy) spotlight. Things out to 1000' are lit up nicely, some reports indicate road signs are visible at up to 2 miles, other reports include accounts of the Police being summoned to investigate users who were operating the HID Spotlight but otherwise behaving themselves. There are 2 models on closeout, the HID0109 and the HID010, the HID010 is the newer version and apparently does not have the metal bars or the hi/lo switch the 0109 has. Equivalent performance.
This is not your standard incandescent spotlight and does not operate on the same principle. If it seems to operate a little bit differently than what you are expecting, there are several hundred posts on candlepower forums (flashlight enthusiasts) pertaining to the care/feeding of Stanley 35W HID spotlight.
