"Way Too Cool" Ultra Violet (UV) LED Flashlights and Hand Held Lights
For years now our customers have asked for an inexpensive yet quality ultra violet light that would effectively allow our fluorescent mineral customers the ability to see the wonderful array of colors present in fluorescent mineral specimens. We have tried through the years to find and make available to our customers an affordable and reliable UV Light. I am sorry to say that we have tried just about every UV Light available and either they were very unreliable or they were an expensive light.
We have strongly recommended over the years that our customers invest the money necessary to get a quality UV Light. Our favorite has always been the “Way Too Cool” 9 Watt triple wave lamps, both 120V AC power or the 12V DC power with battery pack. For display cabinet uses we have referred them to Mr Gardner at “Way Too Cool” for larger UV Lights.
Way Too Cool is a Phoenix based company started by Mr. Bill Gardner in 1998. His dedication, drive and desire to produce high quality and reliable ultraviolet lights, coupled with his extensive knowledge of ultraviolet lamps, filters, electrical design and components has resulted in the development of probably the finest line of ultraviolet lights available today. His products are well known among mineral collectors.
These lights and larger ones offered by “Way Too Cool” are great for established collectors…but what about getting started…what about something really portable for checking specimens at shows or sales? Guess what?......Mr. Bill Gardner did it again! He has designed and now has made available a line of compact Ultraviolet Flashlights that are top quality, rated at 365nm (UV-A aka Longwave) that actually works on UV-C aka Shortwave and UV-B aka Mediumwave specimens as well. (see our photos below)
When Mr. Gardner explained them to me I was impressed but a bit skeptical, as there are other longwave flashlights out there, but they do not work on shortwave or medium wave specimens. I was delightfully surprised when I tested these lights on short and medium wave specimens and saw their amazing colors. Our neighbor is an artifact collector and he got really excited when he saw these in operation and actually wanted our first one before we even had them listed.
We are very proud to now be able to make the famous Way Too Cool Ultra Violet (UV) LED Flashlights available on our website.
SAFETY WARNING
The LED is a Class 3B LED hazard. Do NOT look directly into the beam of the flashlight and do not point it towards any eyes. permanent damage to eyes could occur if this is mis-used. This is not a toy
Convoy S2+ UV Flashlight
Our top selling UV LED flashlights combines a high-performance ultraviolet LED with the convenience of a rechargeable lithium battery.
Each Light comes with one battery and a 120V plug in charger
Item # S2+UVLED 4W Black 01208263
Convoy S2+ UV 365nm with LG LED Flashlight 4W Black
$59.00
Temporarily Out of Stock
Item # S2+UVLED 6W Grey 03239324
Convoy S2+ UV 365nm with LG LED Flashlight 6W Grey $69.00
$69.00
Quantity Available 5
SAFETY WARNING
The LED is a Class 3B LED hazard. Do NOT look directly into the beam of the flashlight and do not point it towards any eyes. permanent damage to eyes could occur if this is mis-used. This is not a toy
Convoy C8+ UV Flashlight
This custom UV flashlight features increased output and is made exclusively for Way Too Cool LLC by Convoy.
Item # C8UVLED Black 01206575
Convoy C8+ UV LED Flashlight with LG 365nm UV LED (black)
$79.00
Quantity Available 1
Way Too Cool “The Triple” - Handheld UV Light US Patent #7781751
"The Triple" from Way Too Cool is an ultra-portable handheld UV light that offers three wavelengths of UltraViolet light - shortwave, midwave, and longwave in the palm of your hand! This is NOT intended to be a display lamp and it cannot be run for many hours at a time, it is intended for intermittent use. There is a thermal switch that will turn off the ballast if it gets too hot. This is a great pocket sized light for use in finding fluorescent minerals at shows and sales events.
Product Features
Handheld UV light with shortwave bulb
Can output mid-wave and longwave with included phosphor sheets
Runs on 2 rechargeable 18650 Lithium Ion batteries (included)
Special reflector material for maximum UV output
Product Specifications
ON/OFF slide switch
Bulb 5-watt UV bulb
Battery two standard 18650 lithium-ion battery (protected)
Dimensions 5" (125mm) long x 3 1/4" (81mm) wide x 1 1/8" (27mm) tall
Weight approximately 180g
Item # ZWB3-05220269
The Triple Handheld UV Light with standard ZWB3 glass (Includes light, phosphor sheets, two 18650 batteries and a charger).
$135.00
Temporarily Out of Stock
Way Too Cool Flashlights
HERE ARE THE UN-RETOUCHED PHOTO COMPARISONS FROM OUR 9W Way Too Cool Triple Wave Light and the Convoy S2-4W, Convoy S2-6W and the Convoy C-8 lights
As you can see on this New Jersey specimen which is only fluorescent under SW, the Way Too Cool UV Flashlights (which are basically a LW light also show many of the SW and MW colors,,,not quite as bright or vivid, but extremely impressive for a pocket or handheld LW light!
The real difference in these lights is the distance from the specimen they may be and how much they light up the specimens from that distance. The 6W has a stronger light hence a longer distance capability than the 4W light. The C-8 is impressive to about 30 feet away from a specimen at night.
Way Too Cool Convoy S2+ UV Flashlights
This flashlight is available in two versions: a 6-watt (grey body) version and a (black body) 4 watt version. Both lights use a high quality LG 365nm ultraviolet LED. These flashlights are a favorite among fluorescent gem, rock and mineral collectors for their portable size and excellent UV output.
Built to Waterproof Standard IP-65, the unit is safe from accidental water immersion, the Ergonomic Knurling Pattern offers a comfortable, secure grip, and the reflector emits excellent beam shape. The flashlight has an ON/OFF Click switch in the tail cap, and it has a Lanyard. The power supply is one 18650 lithium-ion battery (protected or unprotected). Dimensions: 4 5/8" long x 15/16" diameter. Weight is about 81g w/o the battery.
The reflector focuses the UV output to an intense, but smooth "spot" with a range of 10 meters or more for finding specimens up close or quite far away. The intensity of the beam is strong enough to cause fluorescence in materials that do not fluoresce very well under the normal UV A tubes used in standard UV lamp fixtures.
Output
The S2+ 4-watt (black body) is is driven with forward current of 1050 mA, so the wattage is about 3.8-4, and the radiant flux is approximately 2W. The other 1.8 watts of energy is dissipated as heat.
The S2+ 6-watt (gray body) is driven with forward current of 1750 mA, so the wattage is about 6, and the radiant flux is approximately 3W. The other 3 watts of energy is dissipated as heat.
SAFETY WARNING
The LED is a Class 3B LED hazard. Do NOT look directly into the beam of the flashlight and do not point it towards any eyes.
Battery and Charging Information
Using a single 18650 Li-ION battery rated from 2,500 - 3,000 mAh, the flashlight provides up to an hour of use on a charge. Batteries will arrive discharged because of postal regulations and the batteries should be charged prior to use.
The flashlight set comes with one 2,500 - 3,000 mAh Rechargeable Li-ION battery and a simple-to-use Li-ION smart charger. The charger provides a safe charging rate of around 300 mA. The charger has fold away US style prongs, but it will operate on 100-240 volts AC and 43-63 hertz. It will take an hour or two to top off the battery after occasional use. If mostly discharged, the battery will need to charge for up to 12 hours. While the battery is charging the LED will be red. When the battery is fully charged, the LED turns a solid green and the battery should be removed from the charger.
Convoy C8+ UV Flashlight
Product Features
High performance LG 365 nm ultraviolet LED with a 1-3/4" inch head with 39mm ZWB2 glass filter pre-installed. Included extension tube allows for 2 18650 Lithium Ion batteries, instead of the rechargeable RCR123A batteries that the standard Convoy C8 uses. If the extension tube is taken off, the RCR123A batteries can still be used. This light has an Increased output via 1500mA buck driver. Waterproof standard IP-65 protects the unit from accidental water immersion. It also has an Ergonomic knurling pattern which offers a comfortable yet secure grip. The Polished reflector emits an excellent beam shape.
Built to Waterproof Standard IP-65, the unit is safe from accidental water immersion, the Ergonomic Knurling Pattern offers a comfortable, secure grip, and the reflector emits excellent beam shape. The flashlight has an ON/OFF Click switch in the tail cap, and it has a Lanyard. The power supply is two protected 18650 lithium-ion batteries.
Testing shows that the C8 light is slightly more powerful than the Convoy 6/3 offered by Way Too Cool Dealers. This new flashlight appears to be brighter than the 6 watt Convoy S2+ UV flashlight because the reflector is larger and is shaped differently (and there is a larger filter glass). It is able to fluoresce a sample of Greenland fluorescent sodalite at a distance of approximately 80 feet. The light has a 1-3/4" diameter head and a polished reflector that focuses the UV output to an intense, but smooth "spot" with a range of 80 feet for finding specimens up close or quite far away. The intensity of the beam is strong enough to cause fluorescence in materials that do not fluoresce very well under the normal UV A tubes used in standard UV lamp fixtures.
Battery and Charging Information Some of the WTC Dealers offer different options for the batteries and the charger. When purchased directly from WTC, the flashlight set comes with two standard capacity protected rechargeable Li-ION batteries, the filter pre-installed, the extension tube, and a charger for 2 batteries. The flashlight needs protected batteries so if one battery is dead and the other is fully charged, there will not be high current flows that might overheat the wiring. Using the two standard capacity 18650 Li-ION batteries that are supplied with the flashlight when you buy directly from WTC, the flashlight provides approximately 1.5 hours of use on a charge per set of batteries.
The batteries will arrive partially discharged because of postal regulations and the batteries should be charged prior to use. Please be aware that some manufacturers claim that their 18650 batteries are rated for up to 9,900 mAh and that any value over 3,500 mAh should be suspected of exaggerating. The standard capacity batteries supplied by WTC really only have a capacity of about 1,300 mA, although the label says 9,900 mA. True protected 2,500 mA batteries will soon be available.
The set also comes with a simple-to-use Li-ION smart charger with fold-away US style prongs. While the batteries are charging the LED will be red. When the batteries are fully charged, the LED turns a solid green and the batteries should be removed from the charger. If you have questions about the charger, please contact us with your concerns.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
This is a high-performance light and is not intended for continuous use because the LED WILL overheat and burn out if the light is left on continuously for too long. The flashlight sheds the excess heat to the surrounding air - so if it is cold out - say less than 55 degrees F, the flashlight may be operated for much longer periods of time than if the surroundings are room temperature. When the head of the flashlight feels hot to the touch, turn the flashlight off and let it cool for a few minutes. Just turn it on when looking, off when not. Don't make the mistake of putting it in your pocket when it is turned on.