Let there be light

I have some night cleanings scheduled this week and that often means limited light in one of those buildings. When I saw minimal, I actually mean none...just the exit signs are lit up. I have been using a hand-held LED shop light lately, but that results in one-handed cleaning and normally a pulled a muscle after 6 hours of wanding. I have tried many things from wearing headlamps to using halogen work lights, but there never worked out as they either were too bright or at the wrong angles and just washed out the carpet.

Tonight I am taking a new approach. I am mounting a bicycle like rated for 1200 Lumens (1500 is a car headlight) onto my commercial wand. They aren't that expensive and with the battery pack is still less than pound in weight.

Pics coming soon....

Cool idea. I like the LED lights because they just sip battery power.

As mine burn out in the house, I'm switching to LED's. I like them better than CFL's.

For the price, it seems like a good idea. I had to deal with some family stuff all day, so I didn't set it up yet, but I clean Tuesday night so I will have more to post in a few hours.

https://www.amazon.com/Bright-Eyes-Rechargeable-Headlight-taillight/dp/B00GJZ015Y

Cool.

Just so you are aware, you can find stuff like this on AliExpress too for a little less.

If you like it and end up wanting another, an important feature to me would be one that takes 18650 batteries. People that vape and flashlight junkies like those. They are fairly cheap, recharge MANY times, and easy to replace in the middle of a job, should batteries run low.

You likely could find a brighter light too, if you had a light that ran on 18650's.

I agree with James, 18650 is nice since it gives more power than conventional batteries and they are rechargeable which saves a lot of $$.

Here is the set up:

This is what comes with the kit.  Head harness, tail light, charger, light, battery pack, and cords.



Install was simple and straightforward, I didn't get to analytical over the placement right now, will fine tune it on the job.  I might insulate the wand beneath the battery pack, but Ti wands don't really get hot.  I was going to use a second handle to mount it, but I don't lean on the handle anyway and still have enough room to re-direct the wand.



When I tell you that this building means cleaning in the dark, I mean it.  Some areas are pitch black and some are low light as you can see.





The light is plenty bright, but might be too bright to the point of washing out the carpet. There is a lower setting as well, so that might work better.  It is also very focused, that might work against me as well, not sure yet.  If it doesn't pan out, at least I have a new light for my bike.

Well, the light was both good and bad.  It did what I needed and did it well.  The focused beam was too bright, but there was a secondary halo around it that was perfect, so I just pointed the beam a little in front of my stroke and it was like cleaning in daytime.  It was pitch black in there without the light.



It also lasted the entire night running on the medium setting, which turned out to be 6.5 hours.  That was impressive as well.

The problem was the added weight.  This carpet was trashed with tons of gum and a few candy bars that were dragged by a stroller over the entire place.  It normally takes about 5 hours, but it took another 1.5 hours to get it presentable and my right bicep really got sore after the 5 hour mark.  I think that on a shorter duration, this was a slam dunk, but either it was too heavy or I am too old for it do work past that point.

I have another 6 hour job in a few hours to do and not looking forward to it, just so sore.  I might run the rotary tonight instead.  I also need different chemistry, we ran Grease Eraser last night because I was out of Pro-Zyme and still have 2 pails of the Eraser.  It works well on residential and did okay at times on commercial, but it wasn't pulling up the spots last night worth a damn and was a big part of why it took so long.

Anyway, the light was great and very durable, but a little heavy for marathon cleans.  Still, it was better than cleaning in the dark.

The things we do to earn a pay check?!?!

We sure do jerry rig tools, that's for sure.

I was checking the attendance counters tonight, that place gets 18,000 visitors per day through it's doors. Even worse, all that traffic is mostly along an 8 foot wide path in front of the fish tanks. It is no wonder the place gets trashed, and they have been delaying the cleanings for months this year.

WTF do the really expect you to clean their carpet in the dark. Tell those cheap asses to turn on the lights for you

They expect it all right. That building doesn't have any central lighting, just the lights in the tanks which are controlled by the keepers to provide the fish with normal night/day periods. They go off at what-ever they set and then I am a blind man.

What is the name of the place your cleaning?

It is an Aquarium exhibit for the local Zoo