Another UV posting

I'll say what I've said before in other threads.............
And maybe it's just because of the limited success I've had with a handful of UV lights I've bought, and it's just because I haven't yet found the really good one. What I normally do, especially when it's a new customer I've never worked for, is.......

I still prefer taking my moisture meter in to positively detect urine, it always blows away the customer, when I look at them and say those look like pet spots and a lot of times they respond oh no, my pet isn't doing that or that was a drink spill..........I then pull my pocket meter out and say let me check, and beep beep beep!! I say yes it is in fact urine, but he good news is I can take care of that for you.

I know this isn't prob the best solution for most, but it's worked for me, until I can find a uv light that I can really rely on, and that would also have to be something effective during the daylight hours when I need it while doing residential jobs.

Had to give AC the thumbs up for his post. He's right, it's just the mark up game.

Honestly, what Davey is doing, is probably the BEST move. Maybe using a UV light to help identify, but NEVER use it again on the job.

As I've seen, and most all of us know, it will still fluoresce after cleaning in most cases (urine spots). Some people have a extremely good memory, and it could cause us an embarrassing moment later on.

A UV light us just a lot quicker identifying spots in a room is all. But it doesn't mean we are finding urine anyway. Many things other than urine will fluoresce under that light. You need a moisture meter anyway.

I do agree on the moisture meter aspect to confirm your findings....automotive body filler will glow as well as do most anit-fungal cremes.

I have [urchased many over-priced crap in my days, I am not immune to it at all, but if this light can provide good indicators under daylight conditions while walking upright instead of like a gorilla with the light a foot off the carpet, I will be okay with the inflated price.

I will still hold out some hope until it proves unworthy.

Good point FM, that most are prob aware of, but maybe not all. And that is, other things besides urine will show up under uv light, I think most commonly is over the counter spot cleaners used by many customers, will light up because of the optical brighteners in them.

With a moisture mrter you can pretty much always get confirmation wither it's urine or not, plus you can also tell how sever the problem is.

milspec6 wrote:I do agree on the moisture meter aspect to confirm your findings....automotive body filler will glow as well as do most anit-fungal cremes.

I have [urchased many over-priced crap in my days, I am not immune to it at all, but if this light can provide good indicators under daylight conditions while walking upright instead of like a gorilla with the light a foot off the carpet, I will be okay with the inflated price.

I will still hold out some hope until it proves unworthy.

If it does work well in daylight conditions, and especially while standing upright, I'd call it a total winner!.........that's really what I'm looking for.

I will often just add some water to the spots found under UV light and use my nose to confirm that the source is urine salts. The meter makes sense, but I wanted to be honest, I do caveman it most of the time since my nose is a very good detector.

Which brings up a point, an ammonia meter would be awesome instead a water meter. The trick is finding one that isn't too expensive since most are in the 300 and up range.

If anyone finds one...we might have something of value.

By the way, if you do neutralize and flush well, the urine doesn't glow near as much and ends up almost as a dark spot under the UV light.....at least it seems that way to me with exception of when customers use a "Resolve" type stain remover on the spot first.

hydro shark is my go to for the urine jobs... UV is more like a back up or when its cats.

cat spray is harder to find with the hydro shark but the UV finds it well. all sorts of stuff will fluoresce, baby spit up, cleaning products, urine, other bodily fluids lol

Once again AC makes a great point regarding cat urine being where UV lights can shine (pardon the pun).

Unlike dogs that will often urinate in the same spot, a cat will spray vertical surfaces and often into floor vents (my secret weapon to ridding cat urine odors is to investigate and clean the vents).

You will not locate all the cat urine contamination with a moisture meter. You really do need a good UV light for that.

I did a job where a kat had jumped up as high as a 7' bookshelf, and sprayed on the wall, so yeah a uv light in a dark room is needed for that detection............but I was referring to carpet when I mentioned using the moister meter. That's why one of my first questions to the customer is.......

Dog or kat, how much does it weigh, male or female?

Then I know how to proceed, and where I should be looking for contamination.

That is the key....knowing what you are up against.

Another tip, when a cat is angry at the owner, they will piss all over their stuff. Shoes, favorite chair, bed, counter tops, etc. They can be real monsters when they want to be.

Neglect a cat and it will get back at you.

Well, the light arrived today.

I am waiting for the batteries to charge up, but I thought I would make some early observations.

First off, it comes in a padded aluminum case.  Not a bad case, egg crate foam glued to the inside, decent hinges, feels strong enough to take a hit or be dropped without damage.  The latch isn't the best and the lock will not stop anyone from opening it, but I really didn't expect that it would.



Once opened up, you see the tool and accessories laid out.  It is well organized and the parts fit snugly so nothing bounces around.  I don't really like the case being too short to hold the light with both pieces assembled which forces you to store them separately.  

It might be no big deal to most, but I would rather be able to remove the light from the case and go to work instead of assembling some sniper rifle on the job.  Just too many chances to drop the batteries or for the threads to develop a burr.  A nice rectangle case would have been better.



As for the light itself?  I am pretty pleased with that part.  It feels solid and not cheap at all.  The threads were perfect, end cap felt durable, uses double o-rings between sections, and the glass lens gave a very good impression.  The build quality was first rate and compared very well to my sure-fire lights that I bought from the military for almost the same price as this light kit.



The charger....a little disappointed here.  It just feels a little cheap and very lightweight.  It also has the space to hold 4 batteries, so it was clearly not purpose built for this light which holds only 3 batteries.

I would have preferred a more heavy duty type charger that held 6 batteries so that you could change out your batteries rather than having to recharge all the time.  Again, a rectangle (coffin) case would have allowed for storage of an assembled light housing and the larger charger with double the batteries.  

At least it seems to work.  It does have the option of charging from the cigarette lighter in the car as well as household outlets and there is a charging indicator light for each bank to let you know the status of each battery.  These are certainly good things.





I don't know what to say about the batteries yet as I haven't researched it , but they do have button tops so those little magnets shown in the earlier video are no longer part of the design.  That is a good thing and should make it easier to install them in the correct direction to avoid damage.



So, to sum it up for now.  I am impressed by the quality of the light and that is about it.  I will probably replace the case with a rectangle pelican case to fit the light assembled and try to find a charger that handles 6 batteries.  I think that would make it a far better set-up.

Once it is charged up, I will test out the strength of the actual UV light and see if it lives up to the claims.  In the end, it is all about the light and so far I really like what I see and feel.  The accessories should all be upgraded.

Worth the price?  Jury is still out, but I will know soon.

Batteries charged up and light tested......a real flamethrower!

I was able to find spots all the way across the basement (35 feet) from a standing position with only a couple of lamps on. In full room light and curtains open during the day, I could clearly identify spots about 8 feet in front of me from a standing position.

This light blows the 501b away in power, there is no comparison. I was very pleased by that. If they sold the light, glasses, and charger as a set without the case, I would have been happier and the price lower.

I think the cut off point for a light like this is around $165 with the accessories. Once it climbs over $200, it is hard to convince yourself of its value...it is just a uv light for crying out loud inside a harbor freight tool case.

Still, the light is a real winner and was what I wanted albeit maybe $70 over-priced. It is a massive improvement over my other lights and really, it only takes a couple of urine jobs to pay for it.

It goes on the truck....

There is a 6 bay charger, made by Efest called a LUC charger. The economy model comes without Bluetooth and it is ONLY an AC type charger. Those run under 40 bucks.

Unless this light is a real energy hog, those 2400 mah batteries should be ok. Though I'll be honest, I know nothing bout your brand of battery.

Thanks for the tip on that charger. That will be my next shopping item.