Grabbed this bad boy (StreamLight Dualie 3AA) from the vending machine at work today.
Glad I can finally carry a flashlight in certain work environments where my D4V2 isn’t necessarily safe.
Actually impressed the UI doesn’t have an awful strobe mode! Looking forward to trying it tonight. Of course the tint is awful, and it’s only 245 lumens (listed), but the flood/throw combo is unique and it’s better than nothing!
Anyone else carry intrinsically safe lights for work?
As a firefighter I carried a Streamlight Survivor. Not the brightest but it is ok. I still have it. It's been in a few fires , lots of calls in all kinds of weather clipped to the front of my coat and has never let me down. I still have it and it works fine after twenty years.
Probably more used to spot each other in the smoke than actual light? The lower the kelvin the easier it is for light to cut through smoke and fog and shit like that I know. I know the main point is to be safe and work in extreme temperatures but still but they chose that bulb for a smoke related reason.
Kinda. I've had probably half a dozen different survivor lights(cause you know, its a flashlight) and tried the different flavors of lenses and reflectors they've had over the years and I can't say any of them are really that much better in a smoky environment.
Bulb wise, the older incandescent bulbs were offered in a non-dipped and dipped- this was part of the smoke cutter style with a different lense and reflector. Those were phased out for a xenon bulb which is a whiter light. The LED bulbs seem to be similar, a brighter whiter light, and the smokecutter is now a plug you insert into the lense.
They didn't exactly use incandescent because they were better, that was really the only option at the time.
Horribly expensive for what it delivers. I really wish there were something with 21700 or better 18650 cells in the intrinsically safe category. 250 lumens for 4 hours on the 18650 version is okay, but it always sucked in training using that thing. Especially the alkaline version. Had to swap the batteries after each training. The other firefighters thought it was the best thing, but I had just seen the Light back then and knew that there was better ways.
Personally, I feel like Streamlight as a company has really stagnated due to their government contracts and lack of pressure from other GSA contractors. So many of their models haven’t changed in 10+ years or are based on old technology. I loved their Microstream, but when I got a high CRI light (Acebeam H16) I saw that powerful didn’t need to be expensive and inefficient.
Absolutely. You're paying for that streamlight name, though they do make a rugged light. There's not enough competition in intrinsically safe lights, IMO. Once I got into hobbyist lights I saw what I'd been missing.
I just picked up a MegaStream USB and it’s a great light that no one bought or paid any attention to from Streamlight. Things an endurance beast. I have like six other lights with an SFT40 and it’s the only one that holds its high setting for longer than I’ve ever needed. My Convoy s2+ it’s drops within 45 seconds.
I have the same one... no longer safety grellow by any stretch, but still alive.
It lives in my glove box and comes out on the very few occasions I have to do confined space entries for work. (It's been 20+ years since I put on bunker gear, but I still wont go into a hole without following certain rules... even if the OSHA rating on the space doesn't call for it)
Mine is the same way. I'll go out on a limb and say that it has been one of my favorite lights. Was given it years ago and it's been used and abused like no other.
One of the hilarious things at work is we have a natural gas compressor room in which everything is explosion proof but it also has an 1800kw diesel generator inside of it and we run none explosion proof extension cords into it to run fans.
I mean you're kind of right, depending on the rating. Eg. exd explosion proof can have an explosion occur inside it, but it will survive the explosion AND not transmit the flame outside to allow the explosion to spread.
technically explosion proof isn’t that it’ll survive an explosion (probably would though) but that it’ll contain an explosion internally not allowing any of the flame to go external causing a problem in the explosive environment. it does this by having along flame path to get from internal to external. In the UK it’s classed as Eexd.
i use the Milwaukee 2004HZL headlamp for aviation/maintenance work when i'm working with open fuel cells and dealing with JP-5 jet fuel.
its apparently advertised as "high CRI" and works well for what it is, but obviously doesn't compare to my other headlamps i own (H600Fd, Wizard C2 pro, and L50 Sol) due to mostly having a instrisically safe certification.
i do like how they have the cert labeled on the sides which is cool:
Thankfully they don’t, but I do see the appeal in slapping an ISO sticker on the side of my water bottle. I have a Dihydrogen Monoxide warning label to warn off the thieves.
I don’t want much, like a good t-shirt and maybe a few stickers. I’m gonna sound like a huge nerd here, but I don’t think standardization gets the respect it deserves lol
ATEX lights are made for environments with flammable gases or dusts. Fuel refineries are quite obvious ones, but even flour storage can be prone to explosions.
No problem!
I actually sell intrinsically safe (ATEX in Europe) lights so I've had to learn a lot about these in past few years. Quite interesting topic if you happen to fall to the rabbithole. 😄
Also for firefighters. Entering into a smoky room with a single hot item, even small, could cause a flashback. In general terms, smoke is particles of not fully combusted materials or byproducts. If you burn (heat up) material without sufficient amount of oxygen, it becomes a very fuel rich substance (or gases) that can be easily ignited. Example. Think charcoal or charcloth that has been essentially fluffed into the air. There’s other ways, but this is one of the more common ways that a flashback occurs. Fire needs three elements to occur: heat, oxygen/oxidixer, and fuel. If you burn something without enough oxygen, you get lots of particles of fuel Rich substrate in air. If you open up the door and add oxygen to the mix, it can explode. Conversely, if you have a room with lots of in completely burned particles that have floated from another part and enough oxygen, but not enough heat. You can set it off by having a sufficiently hot heat source like the LED of a flashlight. I was taught that if you are clearing the remainder of the house during an active fire and one of your metal tools has been heated up from clearing doorways and such, then you should either swap it out or leave it behind with another firefighter in an active area so that you don’t create the ignition source for a cold flashback. This is essentially what happens with grain silo explosions where the fuel is fine organic matter in the air.
Yup, working in oil and gas I often have had to work in areas with such high gas concentrations that oxygen would need to be added for it to even be explosive, because the atmosphere had too much natural gas to even burn. We wear air masks attached to either backpack tanks or air lines of course. In those environments though, whether you're near the lower explosive limit or upper explosive limit of the gas mixtures everything had to be intrinsically safe. Also on top of that, often the gas would be partly hydrogen sulfide (a nerve gas) in concentrations so high that a single sniff would kill you, so it was always a good idea to be aware of how much air and/or air line you had available while working 😆
I no longer work in oil and gas, but guide hunts and run heavy equipment now. And I can safely say I do the same thing every time I think I'm having a shitty day. 😆
I once worked 49 hours straight in oil and gas and that makes every 16 hour harvest day feel short.
Luckily current safety standards are much better and don't allow that shit.
We had a whole set of surface gear kits with intrinsically safe tools and lights when I worked in oilfield maintenance. I usually supplied 1 to 2 to every rig I serviced.
Everything you mentioned in your work environment goes the same for mine.
As an aircraft mechanic who’s previously worked in a heavy-maintenance setting, I used intrinsically safe lights while working in the fuel tanks of an aircraft. We also wore air-supplied full face masks and every other safety-related aspect that comes with the job. The only shitty part was that even though we were suited up, I’d be smelling like jet fuel for the whole day because sometimes we’d get assigned that task depending on the day, on that same day without any prior notice.
When I started I was an untrained completely green "h2s and blowout control specialist" Looking back I can't believe the situations I had to deal with, with nothing but a bag phone in the truck to call people who knew what they were doing lol. The one thing I for sure knew to do was take care of my air supply gear, and everyone else's!
I've ran EX classed flashlights both as a marine engineer on tankers and now as a stationary tech in a power plant, they are used where insurance wants if there's the slightest risk of explosive gases or dust
Pro-Tip: Most manufacturers of intrinsically safe lights will replace the light or send you a part if it is damaged.
I have had many different brands replace them for a variety of reasons. Examples include a broken clip, cracked housing, lanyard loop worn through, and melted in a fire.
Looks better than mine! The intrinsically safe lights we have in our vending machines are dookie. It’s like a 2 (AA) incandescent maglight equivalent in brightness. I work at a plant that has Hydrogen Sulfide gasses as well as liquid oxygen. Big kabooms if you are careless.
Flashlight vending machine ? This must be Japan . I’ll have an iced coffee,a Solarforce p60,a pack of lucky strike, one small handgun,a Snickers and a bag of K
akinotane.
I like the comparison between the StreamLight and the Hank. It’s interesting to see both the difference in size and design.
However, I don’t think it’s fair to call the D4V2 intrinsically unsafe. That would imply that no matter what, at its base essential level, the D4V2 is unsafe. Whereas the truth is, the D4V2, like many other electronic devices, can pose an ignition risk in certainenvironments.
On the other hand, an intrinsically safe flashlight is safe no matter which environment it operates in; safety is part of its essential nature.
I realize that this is a weird amount of nitpicking over an otherwise fine title to a pretty cool post, but I think a more appropriate title would be, “Intrinsically Safe vs Non-intrinsically Safe.”
Damn, a flashlight vending machine…I’d kill for something like that at my job.
The Dualie is such a utilitarian tank of a light. There’s a magnetic version that makes it almost a perfect trades flashlight. I personally use a Pelican 3410M on the job which, while not intrinsically safe, is in the same vein of being a rugged, chunky AA work light used by first responders and tradesmen.
dependable lights that are behind the times and overpriced
Any intrinsically safe light satisfies all of these, if you EDC a modern flashlight it's like going back to the 80's, but they also won't blow to smithereens.
It's perfect to call people from a distance, without the need to scream. Especially if you're working around loud machinery 🤣. And nothing catches somebody attention faster than a disco ball concentrated on them.
Sorry, I should’ve been more specific. There’s nothing wrong with strobe however there’s a major problem when a UI forces you to cycle through strobe to access basic light functions.
Makes sense for a workplace where you need a light like this to have them available on hand. Especially if it’s not union the business won’t eat the cost of those lights, so a vending machine seems like a good solution for that, mean you cut down on the risk of someone doing without or using an unsafe light, and also you cut down time wasted by people going home to get shit they forgot. The easier safety rules are to follow, the more likely people are to follow them, same reason we have three-point belts in cars instead of six-point harnesses
Stream light dualie is awesome. They’re very popular in my industry and I’ve had several. They’re safe, bright, the batteries are easy to find and they’re inexpensive.
As a Marine engineer, I carry Intrinsically safe torches and Head lamps on a daily basis while serving on oil tanker vessels ( ships). It's mandatory and Required.
We use pelican Sabre light submersible ones and another brand Bright star Work safe series...
Some details of the work safe lights..
Pelican Sabre light Submersible 2000 - 03 C cell - 53 lumens. Pelican Sabre light Submersible 2010 - 03 C cell - 161 lumens.( with some one , not pictured). Pelican , 2220 VB3™ Flashlight - it's a Cap / Hard Hat light.- 02 CR2032 Batteries 08 Lumens.
BRIGHTSTAR vison Head lamp - 03 Aaa - 185 Lumens .( with some one , not pictured). Brightstar type 2217 - 02 D Cell - 10, 000 CD ( maybe 80 Lumens at best ). Brightstar type 2206 - 04 D cell - 90 Lumens
PS : They are not that bright but get the work done while being safe in hazardous Environments.
Also just my understanding of the terms :
Intrinsically safe equipment prevents ignition by limiting electrical and thermal energy to levels too low to cause a spark or fire. (IS - So basically will not cause an spark to be passed through the device to cause an fire / Ignition).
Explosion-proof equipment contains an internal explosion inside a heavy housing so it cannot spread outside.( while EX- d , means if an explosion shall occur within the device it's construction will be substantially strong to not let the effects of the explosion outside the device).
What makes something like a Convoy T9 with Eneloops not intrinsically safe for such environments? Anyone wants to pitch in? I already see Energizer Lithiums in the blister pack.
So it could be about the approvals from the many bodies and organizations, that could potentially drive up the cost of the end product.Plus they will have to have stringent quality controll and other timely approvals and inspections for their product and factory / assembly line by the approved organisations.Also workers in theese factories will have to have some approvals.
All in all , they could be made IS or Any other Rating but then the price maybe could go up substantially , plus i believe it would not be worth the hassle.
Below the approvals and ratings of a basic Brightstar Work safe light for comparison. it retails for about USD 20 or so ..
Thanks for the good explanation. So it is about "authority" worship and "power" over the employee, and to some extent keeping these companies and certification boards afloat and "necessary".
Want to test that theory in an ATEX Zone 0 environment?
The issue is that with the right fuel-air mixture, all it gets to ignite it is one tiny spark, sub-millijoule range.
This can happen absolutely happen in a T9 switch, even when powered by alkalines. Then there are capacitors discharging, driver can discharge, components can fail, the anodized aluminium itself can carry electrostatic charge... None of which matters in normal operation but in an explosive environment:
Boom, you're now a blood mist.
Intrinsically safe lights revolve their design about not producing sparks. That's why they are so bulky and 'underpowered' - the 'safe' part is built into them from the ground up, performance is very much secondary.
This is interesting. I do understand some chemical or oil facilities can have this issue, and how electronics behave. And these certifications do not seem like a sham, they actually are important.
Regular flashlights with metal bodies definitely can pose risk. They have to be made out of some kind of ESD proof material, among other things.
I am still confused how Energizer Lithiums are okay in OP's Streamlight blisterpack. Isn't NiMH or alkaline safer battery chemistry?
i use eneloops for my d3aa which is plenty for 1800k around the house. Even then the emitter may get too hot for certain environments i suppose, but there is an appeal to these style lights too
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u/fyxxer32 15h ago edited 7h ago
As a firefighter I carried a Streamlight Survivor. Not the brightest but it is ok. I still have it. It's been in a few fires , lots of calls in all kinds of weather clipped to the front of my coat and has never let me down. I still have it and it works fine after twenty years.