LED road flare with long usable storage life?

[troyboy162]

Has anyone seen one that has a long storage life? It looks like all the common types include the parasitic drain soft power switches. The Smittybuilt UFO only claims 1 year of storage life from a CR123. That's terrible for a safety item utilizing a battery capable of 12 years of storage. I can see these things being useful but not if they require more frequent maintenance then a regular old road flare.

These are the style I'm talking about. Overall they seem handy though none appear to have any kind of consideration for being stored until emergency use. Thanks ahead of time for any leads or info.

 

[LR Max]

I've had a UFO in the back of my truck for about a year and a half. If I remember this weekend, I'll see if it is still good.

The nice thing is with the magnets on the back, I can stick it to my bumper, preventing me from leaving it when I drive away.

 

[java]

Depending on how the batteries are mounted, could you add the little plastic strip between the battery and the contact like if often done with electronics that get shipped and stored?

 

[troyboy162]

Yes that how I handle my travel clock as well. With these they are screwed together for water proofing. For myself that's still a reasonable solution if nothing has been thoughtfully made. Unfortunately I'm putting together a kit for my lady. I don't think she'd apreshiate the finer points of 12 year battery life while trying to mark her disabled vehicle in the middle of the night lol

 

[justfred]

I have a FRED light, it runs on AAs, I'll have to check how it's doing but I suspect it has the same soft-switch problem. For a product that's meant to be stored for a long time then relied upon in an emergency, a hard switch does make more sense. Maybe I can just re-insert the battery disconnect paper? Or add a hard switch myself.


http://www.amazon.com/Wagan-EL2639-...TF8&qid=1402074667&sr=8-1&keywords=fred+light

 

[troyboy162]

I found another version that shows promise. No word on the switch being the soft parasitic style or not, but the design allows for easy access to the batteries without tools. That makes the paper battery disconnect a much easier situation. Still waterproof, crush proof, yada yada, just a little less elegant looking from the outside. The domed lens however does make for more efficient use of the LED. There is a pro version that is notably brighter, though it looks like the standard are bright enough.

Still looking but these are the Flarealert

 

[Crom]

I would be worried about batteries stored in the device for longer than 6-12 months in a hot car/truck. Especially alkalines. They're going to spring a leak. Just cleaned up a Rayovac LED lantern that was stored in my garage yesterday. The potassium hydroxide mess is no fun.

 

[UnfrozenCaveman]

LED?

What fun is that?

Mine are big red sticks with nails in the bottom that make fire. I've used them YEARS after putting them in the truck and never had one not light up.

 

[mikelite80]

LED?

What fun is that?

Mine are big red sticks with nails in the bottom that make fire. I've used them YEARS after putting them in the truck and never had one not light up.

I'm with him. They also are good fire starters. I try to replace them when we replace the flares on the sail boat. Also nothing makes you feel quite as manly as holding a flaming stick of fire.

Not sure how any batteries would hold up here is AZ with the heat. I do like the idea of something easy for the wife. I've slowly started building her car a little kit. Mostly just first aid stuff so far. Depending how annoying they are they might be useful for trail marking at night, help those late comers find camp at night.

 

[troyboy162]

Traditional flares are not at all a bad deal. If you are picked up quickly by a tow truck then the short burn times don't really matter. Also things on fire next to your possibly crashed vehicle could be debated, but they work well.

Lithium battery's are good to store at ~140 F without degradation and have a storage life of 12 years. The stats are there for a perfect product, but parasitic drain is hampering the ones that I can find enough info on.

 

[robert]

Mine lives in my tool bag with the batteries in a small ziplock that is also in the bag. It only takes a minute to open the battery compartment and pop the batteries back in it. I'm not around much and the SC summers do a number on batteries so this is a better option for me.