Alternative to Brinkmann Dual Xenon?

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Phishy4

New member
I've had my Brinkmann for about a month, used it on 2 cars and when I took it off the charger yesterday, its dimmed almost immediately from full brightness. So I plugged it back in, and the red light came on for 5 minutes, turned off, same story. Something is whacked with it, so I email brinkmann and their response was



"The problem described does sound like there is a defect in the battery or circuitry. Unfortunately there is no way to repair the light with these types of problems. Please let us know if you have any additional questions."



Not cool for a month old light. Are there any other swirl finder type lights you guys are using with any luck? I've got a few nice led lights (Fenix, Streamlight, etc) but they don't seem to show defects quite as well as xenon.
 
Phishy4 said:
Nope, that's all the info they gave me. Pretty unimpressed with them.
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Where did you buy it from? I would see if the vendor would replace it for you if nothing else. I just can't believe Brinkmann isn't standing behind it... certainly doesn't leave a good taste in my mouth.
 
i've had 2 brinkmanns and one lasted long enough to be satisfied with but when i opened the second, it was DOA right out of the package. will not buy another one again...
 
My one-year old Brinkmann won't even hold a charge long enough for one full car, plus it absolutely sucks for showing micromarring.. I've switched to LEDs and smaller, handheld halogens. I honestly wasn't ever blown away by the Brinkmann in the first place.
 
Phishy4 said:
Not cool for a month old light. Are there any other swirl finder type lights you guys are using with any luck? I've got a few nice led lights (Fenix, Streamlight, etc) but they don't seem to show defects quite as well as xenon.
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Which fenix light are you using? I did a side by side comparsion between xenon and fenix tk11 and imo they are comparable in showing swirls and holos, but the xenon color temperature is nicer to look at(imo).
 
BigAl3 said:
i've had 2 brinkmanns and one lasted long enough to be satisfied with but when i opened the second, it was DOA right out of the package. will not buy another one again...
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Did they replace it for you or just leave you hanging out to dry?



dschia said:
Which fenix light are you using? I did a side by side comparsion between xenon and fenix tk11 and imo they are comparable in showing swirls and holos, but the xenon color temperature is nicer to look at(imo).
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I've got a Fenix LD20 that is a phenomenal light, but its got a fairly cool emitter in it. I'm not sure Xenon itself is any better at showing the defects, its probably more about the color of the light like someone else was saying. I'm thinking that a neutral or warm emitter option might help (Some of the 4sevens and eagletac's have these).
 
My original Brinkmann died some time ago but it had a regular life expectancy. I never did get around to getting a replacement and I had an Amazon link to one bookmarked and now I'm glad I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Shame on Brinkmann for the attitude they take.



I guess I'll watch this thread closely to see what other light can bump it and take its place; hopefully one made by a company that stands behind its product.
 
I can't remember what brand it is, butBarry Theal has a light he simply loves.



I'm still using my cheapie incandescents and the SunGun.



It's not about the color, or even the brightness, it's about the light's ability to produce a certain type of contrast that's pretty much exclusive to "point source illumination". A relatively dim 60w bare bulb in a ceiling-mount light fixture can often show marring as well as most anything, at least if used in an otherwise dark shop. Though *nothing* tops the SunGun IME, it's so unforgiving that some people (some highly respected people too!) have teased me about it..."yeah, it's even more demanding than sunlight, but so what? It's not like people go around inspecting your car with a SunGun in real life".
 
I love my flashlights. A good high-intensity CREE LED flashlight works wonders. I have one I picked up for around $25, uses AA batteries and has two intensity settings and an aluminum body. Hasn't failed me yet. That sucker is BRIGHT!
 
Why not, Accumulator? I do find I have to put some distance between the light and the paint, but it was a lifesaver on the repainted white Accord I did a couple weeks ago. Even showed micromarring pretty clearly.
 
animes2k said:
Why not, Accumulator? I do find I have to put some distance between the light and the paint, but it was a lifesaver on the repainted white Accord I did a couple weeks ago. Even showed micromarring pretty clearly.
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Eh, for one thing I don't like the ergonomics of it, though our Tomahawks aren't bad. Just a personal quirk of mine there! Lights that I use without any issues for other stuff just aren't how I want to do paint inspections. I didn't care for my headband LED setup either, though others simply love them.



Some of the lights do OK for showing marring, but... Oh jeeze I'm finding this hard to verbalize :think: ... some lights are too bright for me to inspect metallics with, or maybe the beams of those lights are too concentrated or something. When I step back (and yeah, I too like to have some distance between the light and the car) I can't always see what I'm looking for. Maybe it's my 51-year-old, twice-LASIKed eyes, but I do better with the light source away from my body while I move around (in all sorts of contorted ways) until I see/don't what I'm looking for.



I haven't tried positioning the light away from the vehicle, but maybe that'd help.



Don't get me wrong, I'm not :argue against 'em for this, just saying I don't like doing it that way *compared to my other inspection lights*. I have used cree-equipped SureFires to inspect vehicles pre-purchase and it's not like it's a bad form of illumination for this or anything. Heh heh, while I'd rather use my incandescent trouble light or the SunGun, I sure don't want to travel around with those :grinno: especially since I always have a flashlight or two on me anyhow.
 
Greg from DI was able to get Brinkmann to send me a new one (which they apparently don't do often) so thanks to him for sure.



Accumulator - I know exactly what your talking about with some of the led's being "too bright". I've actually had pretty good luck using lower lumen lights (like a Streamlight Microstream, which is a phenomenal pocket light if you didn't know btw) but my larger Fenix's, surefires and eagletacs all sort of blow out when they hit the paint. I'm going to use the new brinkmann (if it lasts longer than a month this time) but I'm going to play around with low lumen (like 30-50 lumen) led's with warm or neutral emitters.



Also, I have a feeling I know why the light failed. I got done doing a car and plugged the light in, and for the first time left it on the charger overnight. I imagine the light was on the charger for more than 12 hours, which I noticed in the manual it says specifically for the first charge to plug it in "for 8 hours but not more than 12". I think that the charging circuit is so rudimentary that it actually can't regulate itself, and just fries if you leave it on the charger. Now that's quality.
 
I just researched lights more and now have across a Sun Gun alternative, little less pricey. So let me start a new thread about being I have zero experience with any of these lights discussed so far....
 
Phishy4 said:
..Accumulator - I know exactly what your talking about with some of the led's being "too bright". I've actually had pretty good luck using lower lumen lights (like a Streamlight Microstream, which is a phenomenal pocket light if you didn't know btw) ..
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Yeah, I've seen those but never tried one (only Streamlight like that I have is their little "Stylus" model, a gift from the guys at EuroCar).





Also, I have a feeling I know why the light failed. I got done doing a car and plugged the light in, and for the first time left it on the charger overnight. I imagine the light was on the charger for more than 12 hours, which I noticed in the manual it says specifically for the first charge to plug it in "for 8 hours but not more than 12". I think that the charging circuit is so rudimentary that it actually can't regulate itself, and just fries if you leave it on the charger. Now that's quality.
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Gee, that's pretty, uhm...sensitive! Mine's been left on the charger for a looong time before and it never died, but maybe I just got lucky.
 
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