Eric you should have gotten the 365nm high definition UV Beast. It works better than the 385-395nm especially if you use tracer products ac dye. You need different wavelength uv flashlights depending on the brand of ac dye you use and how it flouresces (sp). The 385-395 has more visible light as the purple light you see compared to the 365nm and tracer products a/c dye which will only show the dye/green color with visible light there is no purple hue.
@@MikeOscar-px9xyYeah..I got the uv beast mini v3 for the 365 range because I didn't know the florescent wavelength of the uv dye and for lower price. It works but the beam is narrow and i need it to be dark to see anything... which sucks sometimes.
yo eric, those glasses aren't for seeing the dye better, they help filter out the uv to protect your eyes brother. of course if you're not looking straight into the light then you should be fine but it's a safety thing they highly recommend using them while operating that thing. yeah that is a great tool to use, i'm glad someone invented it, in the past working on a/c units was a royal pain finding the leaks like you said.
I was going to say the same thing. Search 'big clive uv' and check out his informative info on UV light. And some of the crazy incidents where people were baked in it. Mmmm...toasty human.
@@TheMowgus I have a similar one I use for hunting Yupper Lites when I go home to Mi. Clear safety glasses work for UV just as well if the yellow inhibits your green vision. At night hunting those for mentioned rocks I noticed I was getting head aches right behind my eyes after 10 or 15 minutes of use, it was the reflected blue glow. If you see blue it reflecting back at you! lol
We use those in the automotive assembly plant . We have confirmation marks using a UV pen to validate torque on clamps and such. Because discriminating customers object to paint marks, we use UV to mark them and need a light later in the process as a secondary check!
You know it was. Something didn’t get tightened to spec but customers, as he said, don’t like paint marks. Pokeyoke=error proofing, for those that don’t work in a TPS environment.
18650s are normal for me. Alkaline are more energy dense, but lithium ion batteries aren't far behind and they will pump out a ton of current compared to alkaline.
I saw The Beast and had to comment, I got that baby for rock hounding and the automotive application was the icing on the cake. Thanks for showing folks 🙂
I live in Arizona and my wife hates scorpions. Home Depot sells small uv flashlights and my wife just had to have one so I bought one for her. Worked ok, but she wanted more so found one on Amazon that had a 2-1/2” face on it. Scorpions don’t stand a chance now. And the last time I had a problem with the a/c on one of my cars I snagged her uv light. Wow, sure beats the small ones. No problem finding the leak. Just have to remember to not put it in my tool box.
My husband is always stealing/swiping my tools I have for me to use here at the house and he "accidentally" puts them 😂 in his tool bag when he's done (if/when he remembers to put the tools away)! But then of course, when I need one of them, I'm frustratingly searching everywhere for it and not just in his tool bag or the tool drawer where I put mine, to find when needed, lol! Places like the driveway or in the grass along it, or wherever he was last working on something around the house! 😂🤯🤪😎 I know he doesn't always do it on purpose, but it is still very frustrating, nevertheless! 😂😜🥴🙃 And having two sets of tools is because of my need to find a tool, but not have it be in the tool bag in the back of his vehicle at work with him, when I need it now, at home! I really thought getting two sets of tools, was going to solve the problem, ha ha 🤦🏻♀️🤯🙄🤪🤞🏻🙏🏻😎 you'd think after almost 30 years of marriage and raising our three kids (two of which are married and have a child each) it would have taught me that being disorganized isn't something you get better at, after you reach a certain age in your life, lmbo! 😂 If you aren't better at being organized by the time your 35 or 40, it probably ain't going to happen! 😜😂 That's okay though, I love him, faults and all, and he loves me and my faults too. Well, maybe not so much loves my faults, as much as he overlooks them and forgives me, like I forgive him his, lol. 😂 That's how we've made it this many years together and (Lord willing) we'll make it another 30+! Here's to finding creative ways to work out problems, without going too crazy in the process, lol! 😂🤪👍🏻🍻
@@davidwright1653 The UV light makes them fluorsecent (green usually?) so they can be seen easily during the day or at night. They stick out like a sore thumb at a crime scene under UV light. The 385-395nm light is better for scorpions because it gives off the purple glow in visible light spectrum so you have more visible light to work with at night if scorpion hunting. You can see the rocks/terrain with the purple visible light where the 365nm filters out the purple glow from the light. All you would see at night with the 365nm is the scorpion illuminated. Everything else would be black.
@@jackalope9001 This is why i like reading the comments. Always finding something i don't know. No scorpions where i live but interesting to know. Thanks.
I appreciate the use of this light. My UV flashlights (all!) are pretty useless. What I ended up doing is putting a 'black' light bulb in a clip light. Yeah the power cord is a pain. The best results are gained from using it in the dark. It works and cost about $20.
Eric O. Could sell water to a fish! But when he shows how a tool really works is the best part of his videos! And yesterdays WOW had me laughing my A$$ off all day today! Telling us when a college kid needs SMA to fill out the personal check since he was never been taught how to fill out a check?
I agree, the Beast is just that. Best affordable handheld UV light. I found this light a couple years ago for locating holes in boiler bag house compartments. Great Product!!
Finding the leak has been a frustration of mine for 40 years. Thanks for the tip on the Beast. Funny thing is that I married way way out of my league 43 years ago and that’s what friends would call us “the beauty and the Beast “
About 8 or 9 years ago there were quite a lot of publications in diving magazines about UV-luminescence of corals in the dark, which prompted some professional diving torch manufacturers to sell UV diving torches for >300€ at that time. I chose a cheap (15€) Chinese eBay diving torch looking ABSOLUTEYL EXACTLY like the one you show here, replacing the 3 "cree" LEDs with 3W 395 nm UV LEDs (2€ each) also from eBay. (EDIT: mine has no button in the back, you switch it on or off by turning the torch head). Took a little patience to dis- and reassemble the torch head and place the LEDs, wires and thermal compound just right (1-2 hours), but in the end everything worked really well electrically and waterproof-wise. The only problem was that a pinpoint-focused 3 LED torch is just a LITTLE too bright especially when trying to take a video on a night dive. But for less than 30€ you really couldn't complain. Apart from that, a night dive with an UV torch at any semi-intact coral reef is a very nice experience. Just about a year later you could buy the same diving torches already fitted with UV LEDs directly on eBay, because the Chinese were quick to react to this trend. Right now I see just the same kind of UV diving torches listed on eBay for about 25-30€, so it might be cheaper to look for an "UV diving torch" than for this kind of marked up (relabeled) "professional/commercial UV torch".
Well this brightened up my day 😁 8 actually have a uv torch exactly for that purpose. I say it's indispensable. My one is super bright and runs a long time
I tell you every time you pimp a tool on the TH-cam it almost always sells out on the Amazon!!! The tool manufactures should be sponsoring you, if they are not already. Yes, I’m guilty of this a few times as well, I’ve purchased a few tools after seeing you use them…
"Back in my day" we used a propane torch to find the elusive leak. It took a real man not to burn up the interior or engine compartment. I remember when the electronic leak detectors came out then the dye additives and the UV lights which were not bright at all. Your UV Beast would be in my tool box if I were still in the business, nice unit!
Well, we use a UV flashlight to find hornworms (Manduca quinquemaculata) on tomatoes (or other members of the Solanaceae nightshade family), at night. Lights them up real good. Not exactly the UV weapon you show, but just a slight bit smaller, with more LEDs, about the same brightness.
Thanks Eric. I started working on automotive a/c about three years ago and have been so frustrated trying to find a decent uv light! I ordered it immediately. You also gave me the confidence to get and use a professional scan tool. Thanks for being such a great teacher.
Not all UV. Only UV B and C. This flashlight emits UV-A above the dangerous nm wavelength. Edit: By above I mean in the safe zone, closer to the visible light spectrum. The lower the wavelength the more dangerous and the ability for the wavelength to collide with DNA molecules.
The amber glasses are simply useful to see the UV luminescence better in bright daylight conditions. We are talking about UV-A light here (100-400 nm). It is the least damaging kind of UV radiation, and the 3 395 nm LEDs used in this kind of torch put out less than 9W of "radiation" (3W is the power INPUT rating per LED). Anyway, you are not supposed to look DIRECTLY into the torch, but at the reflected light!
@zunar_j5_933 this is in fact the main reason for the goggles, but the yellow tint is unnecessary to block the uv (any clear polycarbonate safety goggles will work) and serves a secondary purpose of increasing the contrast of the fluorescent dye with background objects thereby making it easier to see. While the above commenter is correct that it's mainly uvb and uvc which are most hazardous, this uva light at 365nm is EXTREMELY intense, and uva light like this is highly phototoxic to retinal cells. You never want to shine this light in your eyes or give it to a child, and should always use the blocking goggles when using the light for anything like more than a few seconds. They are extremely good for searching for fluorescent minerals as well, but you'll need a cheap few dollar zwb2 filter to put on the output to filter out the blue and violet light also emitted by the leds, giving a very pure uv beam of only 365nm radiation.
The light puts out a lot of power in a band that the eye is not sensitive to. Like looking at a welding arc that's not visible. Wear the googles in case you accidently look into the beam or get a good reflection.
We used to build them out of F15T8 UV bulbs years ago. It wouldn't give off much visible light, but if it hit anything UV reflective--- Wow! Glowed like a SOB
This looks great. Usually cameras have a UV-Cut filter to block out UV as best as they can and often times you can see a tiny purple tint or a grey-ish blob. The fact that your camera shows a vivid deep purple through the filter shows how bright it is. Great stuff!
@@charlesb4267 Why would you need a new battery when a simple cleaning of the corrosion is all that is needed?!! That's ridiculous. Anyone who upvoted that comment is clueless as well.
@@KStewart-th4sk I would say look in the mirror as to who is clueless and I am only stating this strong a wording because of your response, the fact is a sealed battery that is leaking that amount of acid has compromised post to battery case integrity. Also the charging system should be checked to ensure the voltage is not excessive causing a premature battery failure. No amount of cleaning will make the problem go away as it will come right back. Also having that volume of acid seeping out has a probability of finding its way into the cables terminating crimp and rendering the cables to be replaced as well due to high resistance under high load. It appears that Eric was not hired to sort out that mess but he couldn't help himself to say something as it will catch up to that vehicle owner.
@@charlesb4267 The battery is not leaking. It's outgassing and that's normal behavior for a lead acid battery. Just clean it up, spray on some protection and keep driving. Any battery that doesn't get something sprayed on the lead will start to bloom like that from outgassing soon enough.
I just finished installing heads on my 2000 Ranger V6. One head was cracked and a valve job on the other one. The machine shop charged $500 and he does great work. I hope they are around for many years, they do great work. I did the work so $500 to fix the heads wasn't a big deal. I also replaced gaskets and plug wires and rotors and wheel bearings, so I was in at under $800. Truck prices are high so fixing it could be something to do. It depends on the shape of the truck and the amount of cash the owner can spend.
Eric, I do enjoy allowing your viewers' "DIY'ers" to share in your knowledge and choice of tools. I have 2 "scopes on a rope" test lights including the mini long nose Vice Grip one that is An Astro tools example. I am a former retired industrial mechanic/ machine operator with the Coleman Company (coolers, stoves, lanterns) and developed a range of tools for my job for minor repairs and adjustments and such. I was wondering if you were ever a "street Machine or Hot Rodder", or motorcyclist too. Please continue to share in your personal collection of tools I'm sure it would be interesting to us all out here in the "peanut gallery". Thanks, be well.
Ultra violent lights also make finding oil, fuel leaks very easy! No dye or anything needed, just clean area really well with brake cleaner, let run, look around with light
I’ve had a UV Beast light for a few years now. Mine must be the original version because it doesn’t have a version number on the box. But it looks identical to the one Eric has and it’s very bright. Just keep in mind that it isn’t very useful UNLESS you’ve added a special dye to the system you’re checking for leaks. That dye FLUORESCES in the presence of UV light. Different dyes are available for oil, antifreeze, and refrigerant.
Looks good, My bedside alarm clock uses the same battery and is many years old now and on the original battery, it gets plugged in to charge maybe once a fortnight. Those batteries make all the difference to the quality of a device.
Had mine over a year now, I take the batteries out as well. Left it on once by accident and pretty sure you could melt s’mores with it lol. Not having to wear the glasses anymore is worth it by itself
Haaa.. I have the SAME Light. I however I live in West Texas and mainly use it to look for Scorpions in my yard and in the Desert. It makes them GLOW BRIGHT and the battery last quite a while! I did a comprehensive investigation on the best UV Light and hands down, the BEAST was the best. I'm sure you can find better for mega bucks but this is the one to get. Love the channel! Keep up the great work.
Eric you should have gotten the 365nm high definition UV Beast. It works better than the 385-395nm especially if you use tracer products ac dye. You need different wavelength uv flashlights depending on the brand of ac dye you use and how it flouresces (sp). The 385-395 has more visible light as the purple light you see compared to the 365nm and tracer products a/c dye which will only show the dye/green color with visible light there is no purple hue.
Great lights, I have an older model that uses 3 aa batteries, it was before they started to put the V label on them. It's a great thing to have if you have older pets, it makes it easy to track down what you smell when they have an accident.
What a bright idea 💡 Being in Florida where everyone wants ice cold A/C I'll be getting one of those. You're right, most have a tight beam and are dead when you need it. Thanks for the tip Eric 👍👍
I think I'll just have to get one of those. I've never really used a UV light to find a leak due the light being so poor you see the oil before any dye and then confirm it with a sniffer or bubbles. Thanks Eric!
Hey Eric, I took your advice! You know, "If I can do it, you can do it"! Found the cause of a 75 Datsun 280Z over fueling today. After 18 months of trying (off and on). Get this, it had a bad electrical connection! Something you would have spotted in about 8 minutes. Enough gloating and crowing. Thank you for your video, I have to go strut about now!
Funny story I have a VEHICLE with AC problems. I have gauges,pump,flusher all the needed tools not used in years. I have two uv lights neither worked when I opened the box{battery's not the problem}. Strange this vid came out as I was contemplating a new one. Thanks MR. O
I have the Blue Point uv leak kit and that thing is super bright and hot, but the cord is a pain always getting tangled ; and Eric you need the glasses to protect your peepers from the UV light, after a while you will start to feel the burn.
I jave older or different model beast has around 50 small leds bought it to find yooper lights on lake superior and for leaks takes 6 AA batteries. Love it and fun to use in hotel rooms if you want to feel dirty.
@@trenttadsen3066 Not to mention the fact that UV is basically invisible to the naked eye, and the yellow glasses prevent UV bouncing/reflecting off of shiny and reflective objects you might shine it on, without even realizing it. I've owned and used the UV Beast for the last year or more, and it IS amazingly powerful. With high power UV lights, by the time you notice eye damage, it's too late.
I use a UV light mostly to find golf balls in the dark. All the colors and most of the white ones really stand out in the UV. ALSO UV lights can be used to find scorpions as well as tomato horn worms (before they devastate your plants).
Eric O, I asked you Wednesday about getting a Bad Boy tire to re-bead because it wouldn't fill. Starting fluid and a couple of singed eyebrows worked. Thanks!
Yeah, I watched you use sniffers before and wondered why you didn’t used a UV light. I used many different Lights over the years. The Blue Point is the one I have used for over twenty years. Very bright and compact. It has a very long cord and hooks to the cars battery. I still have it.
Thank you Eric, I have a small UV light and it's like looking for a"needle in a hay stack". I love your recommendations! It's got to be good. It's been tested and approved by the best.
I have the exact same light, just in flashlight form. I can tell you with certainty the batteries will not go dead on you just from sitting. It's switch is a physical disconnect, so there is no quiescent current draw. I kept it in my previous cars' glove box. Left it for more than 2 years in the Vegas blazing sun. (not smart don't do that kids) and when I actually did need it, fired right up and had plenty of life left in them As a suggestion Eric, invest in a Nitecore battery charger. They are under $30 on the jungle site and you do not have to worry about them potentially overcharging the batteries that those "cost effective" lights come with.
The mag light style UV light that you get with UV glue is very bright. AC guy was looking for a leak, and I handed it to him. Dye lit up like daybreak with it.
Best uv light ever was the Optimax 3000. Was also sold under Bluepoint name. We call it the cancer stick in my shop. As with anything that works good they quit making it. I damaged one that belonged to another tech in the shop so I tried replacing it with the uv beast, the damaged light was much brighter. Got lucky and found a used one on ebay.
Well Eric I don't do AC work anymore but you just gave me the urge to buy a new light. That I don't need but I'm probably going to buy it anyways. Thank you for showing us that new 🌞 With all seriousness I truly have a problem when it comes to tools. It's like they talk to me. Tell me they want to come home with me. What do you say no you can't You got to stay in this crappy store😢
$60 and I can actually SEE the dye finally?! I have 3 different pen lights and they all SUCK. Like you said - low light output. I have 20/20 vision and it’s annoying. Sniffer is ok - works sometime. This is what I need. Too much AC work in cars. The oily mess is usually a clue but the dye is the ticket Thank you Eric!!! It arrives Sunday.
Well I'll be getting one of those for sure thanks for the light showing. An as for the 18650 batteries I've got a light that uses the same kind an they last for awhile.
I have this UV beast I got it because we have bark scorpions out here in the south west and I can tell you it's very bright I can see a scorpion 40ft away easily. this thing uses power so I recommend to get the extra battery
Those dyes work really well - once. After the first time, they spray UV dye all over the place, next time it's hard to tell which is old and which is new dye. That was on some big industrial machines running ammonia R11, R22 and some other gases. Bugger to clean up as well.
i have a snap on 14.4 UV light it works great & if the battery dies i just pop in another 14.4 battery & im good to go , but im definitely gonna be checking this beast out
While watching on TV, I am no longer able to like by pausing and arrowing up and over to click the like. Yours is not the only channel I am having trouble with. I have to switch to my iPad to like. Keep up the great videos!!!
That is pretty cool! I can see why it would make you smile. We don't want any of that super expensive Freon leaking out and burning a hole in the atmosphere right over the shop!
Being in south Texas, the other thing those UV flashlights are good for is finding scorpions in the dark. The bark scorpions we have here glow neon green under UV.
I want the sniffing tool for checking the vents for leaking evap coil. I guess I could just run the A/c and check dripping puddle for the glowing green dye for that.
You can in addition to troubleshooting A/C leaks and as others have stated, moonlight as a CSI crime scene investigator, you can also get into hotel room inspections and insure the rooms meet the cleanliness standards.
@@bucksmkr12ga I don't think I'd wanna blast through a "Brick" of what I'm pretty positive he was talking about, in just a weekend at granny's. Granny not only would kick my ass, but I'd also probably be brain dead and spaced out for the rest of my days...lol
Also work good to a) check your aim at the toilet, and b) check how well it was cleaned around the toilet, for whomever in your household does the "around the toilet" cleaning. After you see how much splashing and spatter there is from standing, you might just change your position on the subjet... to sitting... plus, you really going to stand there for 10 minutes watching youtube videos, or would you rather sit and watch youtube?
I have had mine for about 3 years and its awesome. you don't need the stupid glasses because it is the right wavelength, 365 nm for tru uv light. If you turn off all the lights at home and shine it on the walls you can see every finger print and smudge. Just don't shine it on the sheets at the motel. I just checked , the version 3 is actually 385-395 nm
I've got the smaller version cause I wasn't sure if their claims were all that and didn't want to drop the coin and it be a bust. It blew me away how good it was. The one in the shop is whatever is on the shelf at any parts house and it's pretty anemic.
I laugh at some point during every SMA video. Great humor and info. Today Eric had me at 03:45. “I’m getting all choked up about it”. Thank you sir for excellent info, education and diagnostics skills !!
UV Beast V3 sold here - amzn.to/3S7F5Mo
@@SouthMainAuto had to get one, looks great for the daylight leak check on outdoor residential a/c
Very nice! I usually kill the lights in the shop, but probably wouldn’t have to with that thing!
What happened to virgin 1 and virgin 2?
Eric you should have gotten the 365nm high definition UV Beast. It works better than the 385-395nm especially if you use tracer products ac dye. You need different wavelength uv flashlights depending on the brand of ac dye you use and how it flouresces (sp). The 385-395 has more visible light as the purple light you see compared to the 365nm and tracer products a/c dye which will only show the dye/green color with visible light there is no purple hue.
@@MikeOscar-px9xyYeah..I got the uv beast mini v3 for the 365 range because I didn't know the florescent wavelength of the uv dye and for lower price. It works but the beam is narrow and i need it to be dark to see anything... which sucks sometimes.
yo eric, those glasses aren't for seeing the dye better, they help filter out the uv to protect your eyes brother.
of course if you're not looking straight into the light then you should be fine but it's a safety thing they highly recommend using them while operating that thing.
yeah that is a great tool to use, i'm glad someone invented it, in the past working on a/c units was a royal pain finding the leaks like you said.
I was going to say the same thing. Search 'big clive uv' and check out his informative info on UV light. And some of the crazy incidents where people were baked in it. Mmmm...toasty human.
@@TheMowgus I have a similar one I use for hunting Yupper Lites when I go home to Mi. Clear safety glasses work for UV just as well if the yellow inhibits your green vision. At night hunting those for mentioned rocks I noticed I was getting head aches right behind my eyes after 10 or 15 minutes of use, it was the reflected blue glow. If you see blue it reflecting back at you! lol
That was a glowing recommendation!
We use those in the automotive assembly plant . We have confirmation marks using a UV pen to validate torque on clamps and such. Because discriminating customers object to paint marks, we use UV to mark them and need a light later in the process as a secondary check!
I've worked in an automotive assembly plant; is the tool you use to tighten torque tied to a pokeyoke?
You know it was. Something didn’t get tightened to spec but customers, as he said, don’t like paint marks. Pokeyoke=error proofing, for those that don’t work in a TPS environment.
Very illuminating. 😁
I see your pun!
@@DIYDaveOK well done!
I'm just a DIY feller. The $8 Harbor Freight UV flashlight works fantastic and runs on normal batteries!
18650s are normal for me. Alkaline are more energy dense, but lithium ion batteries aren't far behind and they will pump out a ton of current compared to alkaline.
Also a DIY feller, and the $8 light sounds like a great solution. But, 18650s are "normal" batteries.
And it’s probably not that bright. Hence why he made the video lol.
I saw The Beast and had to comment, I got that baby for rock hounding and the automotive application was the icing on the cake. Thanks for showing folks 🙂
no scorpion hunting?
@@gorak9000 They are great for mostly any bugs at night, a scorpion would glow like a light bulb haha.
I live in Arizona and my wife hates scorpions. Home Depot sells small uv flashlights and my wife just had to have one so I bought one for her. Worked ok, but she wanted more so found one on Amazon that had a 2-1/2” face on it. Scorpions don’t stand a chance now. And the last time I had a problem with the a/c on one of my cars I snagged her uv light. Wow, sure beats the small ones. No problem finding the leak. Just have to remember to not put it in my tool box.
My husband is always stealing/swiping my tools I have for me to use here at the house and he "accidentally" puts them 😂 in his tool bag when he's done (if/when he remembers to put the tools away)! But then of course, when I need one of them, I'm frustratingly searching everywhere for it and not just in his tool bag or the tool drawer where I put mine, to find when needed, lol! Places like the driveway or in the grass along it, or wherever he was last working on something around the house! 😂🤯🤪😎 I know he doesn't always do it on purpose, but it is still very frustrating, nevertheless! 😂😜🥴🙃 And having two sets of tools is because of my need to find a tool, but not have it be in the tool bag in the back of his vehicle at work with him, when I need it now, at home! I really thought getting two sets of tools, was going to solve the problem, ha ha 🤦🏻♀️🤯🙄🤪🤞🏻🙏🏻😎 you'd think after almost 30 years of marriage and raising our three kids (two of which are married and have a child each) it would have taught me that being disorganized isn't something you get better at, after you reach a certain age in your life, lmbo! 😂 If you aren't better at being organized by the time your 35 or 40, it probably ain't going to happen! 😜😂 That's okay though, I love him, faults and all, and he loves me and my faults too. Well, maybe not so much loves my faults, as much as he overlooks them and forgives me, like I forgive him his, lol. 😂 That's how we've made it this many years together and (Lord willing) we'll make it another 30+! Here's to finding creative ways to work out problems, without going too crazy in the process, lol! 😂🤪👍🏻🍻
I don't understand the relationship between the UV light and a Scorpion? Does it scare them away? Make them easier to see?
@@davidwright1653 The UV light makes them fluorsecent (green usually?) so they can be seen easily during the day or at night. They stick out like a sore thumb at a crime scene under UV light. The 385-395nm light is better for scorpions because it gives off the purple glow in visible light spectrum so you have more visible light to work with at night if scorpion hunting. You can see the rocks/terrain with the purple visible light where the 365nm filters out the purple glow from the light. All you would see at night with the 365nm is the scorpion illuminated. Everything else would be black.
@@jackalope9001 This is why i like reading the comments. Always finding something i don't know. No scorpions where i live but interesting to know. Thanks.
@@davidwright1653 uv makes them glow in the dark.
I appreciate the use of this light. My UV flashlights (all!) are pretty useless. What I ended up doing is putting a 'black' light bulb in a clip light. Yeah the power cord is a pain. The best results are gained from using it in the dark. It works and cost about $20.
Eric O. Could sell water to a fish! But when he shows how a tool really works is the best part of his videos! And yesterdays WOW had me laughing my A$$ off all day today! Telling us when a college kid needs SMA to fill out the personal check since he was never been taught how to fill out a check?
I agree, the Beast is just that. Best affordable handheld UV light. I found this light a couple years ago for locating holes in boiler bag house compartments.
Great Product!!
It is wicked awesome for finding golf balls too!
Finding the leak has been a frustration of mine for 40 years. Thanks for the tip on the Beast. Funny thing is that I married way way out of my league 43 years ago and that’s what friends would call us “the beauty and the Beast “
its always good to shine a little light on the subject, even in the summertime
About 8 or 9 years ago there were quite a lot of publications in diving magazines about UV-luminescence of corals in the dark, which prompted some professional diving torch manufacturers to sell UV diving torches for >300€ at that time.
I chose a cheap (15€) Chinese eBay diving torch looking ABSOLUTEYL EXACTLY like the one you show here, replacing the 3 "cree" LEDs with 3W 395 nm UV LEDs (2€ each) also from eBay. (EDIT: mine has no button in the back, you switch it on or off by turning the torch head).
Took a little patience to dis- and reassemble the torch head and place the LEDs, wires and thermal compound just right (1-2 hours), but in the end everything worked really well electrically and waterproof-wise.
The only problem was that a pinpoint-focused 3 LED torch is just a LITTLE too bright especially when trying to take a video on a night dive. But for less than 30€ you really couldn't complain. Apart from that, a night dive with an UV torch at any semi-intact coral reef is a very nice experience.
Just about a year later you could buy the same diving torches already fitted with UV LEDs directly on eBay, because the Chinese were quick to react to this trend.
Right now I see just the same kind of UV diving torches listed on eBay for about 25-30€, so it might be cheaper to look for an "UV diving torch" than for this kind of marked up (relabeled) "professional/commercial UV torch".
Well this brightened up my day 😁 8 actually have a uv torch exactly for that purpose. I say it's indispensable. My one is super bright and runs a long time
I tell you every time you pimp a tool on the TH-cam it almost always sells out on the Amazon!!! The tool manufactures should be sponsoring you, if they are not already. Yes, I’m guilty of this a few times as well, I’ve purchased a few tools after seeing you use them…
"Back in my day" we used a propane torch to find the elusive leak. It took a real man not to burn up the interior or engine compartment. I remember when the electronic leak detectors came out then the dye additives and the UV lights which were not bright at all. Your UV Beast would be in my tool box if I were still in the business, nice unit!
Well, we use a UV flashlight to find hornworms (Manduca quinquemaculata) on tomatoes (or other members of the Solanaceae nightshade family), at night. Lights them up real good. Not exactly the UV weapon you show, but just a slight bit smaller, with more LEDs, about the same brightness.
You are a very funny guy. .Listening to you blab away is a pleasure. Please carry on.
Thanks Eric. I started working on automotive a/c about three years ago and have been so frustrated trying to find a decent uv light! I ordered it immediately.
You also gave me the confidence to get and use a professional scan tool.
Thanks for being such a great teacher.
Back in the 70's I bought a UV light and the dye you added to other liquids.......was a good money maker, and time saver.
Those amber glasses might be more for eye protection. UV is pretty tough on living cells, might be careful.
Not all UV. Only UV B and C. This flashlight emits UV-A above the dangerous nm wavelength.
Edit: By above I mean in the safe zone, closer to the visible light spectrum. The lower the wavelength the more dangerous and the ability for the wavelength to collide with DNA molecules.
The amber glasses are simply useful to see the UV luminescence better in bright daylight conditions.
We are talking about UV-A light here (100-400 nm). It is the least damaging kind of UV radiation, and the 3 395 nm LEDs used in this kind of torch put out less than 9W of "radiation" (3W is the power INPUT rating per LED). Anyway, you are not supposed to look DIRECTLY into the torch, but at the reflected light!
You had to be the fucking know-it-all, huh ?
@zunar_j5_933 this is in fact the main reason for the goggles, but the yellow tint is unnecessary to block the uv (any clear polycarbonate safety goggles will work) and serves a secondary purpose of increasing the contrast of the fluorescent dye with background objects thereby making it easier to see.
While the above commenter is correct that it's mainly uvb and uvc which are most hazardous, this uva light at 365nm is EXTREMELY intense, and uva light like this is highly phototoxic to retinal cells. You never want to shine this light in your eyes or give it to a child, and should always use the blocking goggles when using the light for anything like more than a few seconds. They are extremely good for searching for fluorescent minerals as well, but you'll need a cheap few dollar zwb2 filter to put on the output to filter out the blue and violet light also emitted by the leds, giving a very pure uv beam of only 365nm radiation.
The light puts out a lot of power in a band that the eye is not sensitive to. Like looking at a welding arc that's not visible. Wear the googles in case you accidently look into the beam or get a good reflection.
We used to build them out of F15T8 UV bulbs years ago. It wouldn't give off much visible light, but if it hit anything UV reflective--- Wow! Glowed like a SOB
This looks great. Usually cameras have a UV-Cut filter to block out UV as best as they can and often times you can see a tiny purple tint or a grey-ish blob.
The fact that your camera shows a vivid deep purple through the filter shows how bright it is. Great stuff!
Ouch! Those battery terminals. Ouch!
Dare I also suggest a new battery, that mess is beyond bad !
@@charlesb4267 Why would you need a new battery when a simple cleaning of the corrosion is all that is needed?!! That's ridiculous. Anyone who upvoted that comment is clueless as well.
@@KStewart-th4sk I would say look in the mirror as to who is clueless and I am only stating this strong a wording because of your response, the fact is a sealed battery that is leaking that amount of acid has compromised post to battery case integrity. Also the charging system should be checked to ensure the voltage is not excessive causing a premature battery failure. No amount of cleaning will make the problem go away as it will come right back. Also having that volume of acid seeping out has a probability of finding its way into the cables terminating crimp and rendering the cables to be replaced as well due to high resistance under high load. It appears that Eric was not hired to sort out that mess but he couldn't help himself to say something as it will catch up to that vehicle owner.
@@charlesb4267 The battery is not leaking. It's outgassing and that's normal behavior for a lead acid battery. Just clean it up, spray on some protection and keep driving. Any battery that doesn't get something sprayed on the lead will start to bloom like that from outgassing soon enough.
Yup that is pretty wicket.Great find for sure.
Eric getting choked up 😂.
I love sweet flashlights too!
Mine always seem to end up with family so, I constantly get to upgrade.
I just finished installing heads on my 2000 Ranger V6. One head was cracked and a valve job on the other one. The machine shop charged $500 and he does great work. I hope they are around for many years, they do great work. I did the work so $500 to fix the heads wasn't a big deal. I also replaced gaskets and plug wires and rotors and wheel bearings, so I was in at under $800.
Truck prices are high so fixing it could be something to do. It depends on the shape of the truck and the amount of cash the owner can spend.
Eric, I do enjoy allowing your viewers' "DIY'ers" to share in your knowledge and choice of tools. I have 2 "scopes on a rope" test lights including the mini long nose Vice Grip one that is An Astro tools example. I am a former retired industrial mechanic/ machine operator with the Coleman Company (coolers, stoves, lanterns) and developed a range of tools for my job for minor repairs and adjustments and such. I was wondering if you were ever a "street Machine or Hot Rodder", or motorcyclist too. Please continue to share in your personal collection of tools I'm sure it would be interesting to us all out here in the "peanut gallery". Thanks, be well.
Wow!
Looks like a Jackson Pollock painting in there !
Completely over the heads of most SMA viewers.
Just bought one during prime day. Fantastic how bright it is!
Ultra violent lights also make finding oil, fuel leaks very easy! No dye or anything needed, just clean area really well with brake cleaner, let run, look around with light
Also to see how nasty the crapper room is.
@@Dirtyharry70585 Or the motel bedspread!
I’ve had a UV Beast light for a few years now. Mine must be the original version because it doesn’t have a version number on the box. But it looks identical to the one Eric has and it’s very bright. Just keep in mind that it isn’t very useful UNLESS you’ve added a special dye to the system you’re checking for leaks. That dye FLUORESCES in the presence of UV light. Different dyes are available for oil, antifreeze, and refrigerant.
Bedspread on motel bed. Look it up.
@@for2utube Or don't, if you ever want to sleep soundly haha
Looks good, My bedside alarm clock uses the same battery and is many years old now and on the original battery, it gets plugged in to charge maybe once a fortnight. Those batteries make all the difference to the quality of a device.
Had mine over a year now, I take the batteries out as well. Left it on once by accident and pretty sure you could melt s’mores with it lol. Not having to wear the glasses anymore is worth it by itself
Haaa.. I have the SAME Light. I however I live in West Texas and mainly use it to look for Scorpions in my yard and in the Desert. It makes them GLOW BRIGHT and the battery last quite a while! I did a comprehensive investigation on the best UV Light and hands down, the BEAST was the best. I'm sure you can find better for mega bucks but this is the one to get. Love the channel! Keep up the great work.
Eric you should have gotten the 365nm high definition UV Beast. It works better than the 385-395nm especially if you use tracer products ac dye. You need different wavelength uv flashlights depending on the brand of ac dye you use and how it flouresces (sp). The 385-395 has more visible light as the purple light you see compared to the 365nm and tracer products a/c dye which will only show the dye/green color with visible light there is no purple hue.
Great lights, I have an older model that uses 3 aa batteries, it was before they started to put the V label on them. It's a great thing to have if you have older pets, it makes it easy to track down what you smell when they have an accident.
If it just vibrated it would be one stop shopping. For the "on the go active life style".
Ya mean sorta like BOB? The Battery Operated Boyfriend? 😄
What a bright idea 💡 Being in Florida where everyone wants ice cold A/C I'll be getting one of those. You're right, most have a tight beam and are dead when you need it.
Thanks for the tip Eric 👍👍
I think I'll just have to get one of those. I've never really used a UV light to find a leak due the light being so poor you see the oil before any dye and then confirm it with a sniffer or bubbles. Thanks Eric!
Hey Eric, I took your advice! You know, "If I can do it, you can do it"! Found the cause of a 75 Datsun 280Z over fueling today. After 18 months of trying (off and on). Get this, it had a bad electrical connection! Something you would have spotted in about 8 minutes. Enough gloating and crowing. Thank you for your video, I have to go strut about now!
Funny story
I have a VEHICLE with AC problems.
I have gauges,pump,flusher all the needed tools not used in years.
I have two uv lights neither worked when I opened the box{battery's not the problem}.
Strange this vid came out as I was contemplating a new one.
Thanks MR. O
That will def brighten my outlook on the subject!
Thanks, Eric!
Gonna try it out. I've got the same collection of junk lights in my tool box. Thanks, Eric!
Cataracts at record speed. Be safe!
I have the Blue Point uv leak kit and that thing is super bright and hot, but the cord is a pain always getting tangled ; and Eric you need the glasses to protect your peepers from the UV light, after a while you will start to feel the burn.
I jave older or different model beast has around 50 small leds bought it to find yooper lights on lake superior and for leaks takes 6 AA batteries. Love it and fun to use in hotel rooms if you want to feel dirty.
The amber glasses are to protect your eyes from the UV light. Especially if you looked directly at the light.
@@trenttadsen3066
Not to mention the fact that UV is basically invisible to the naked eye, and the yellow glasses prevent UV bouncing/reflecting off of shiny and reflective objects you might shine it on, without even realizing it.
I've owned and used the UV Beast for the last year or more, and it IS amazingly powerful.
With high power UV lights, by the time you notice eye damage, it's too late.
I use a UV light mostly to find golf balls in the dark. All the colors and most of the white ones really stand out in the UV.
ALSO UV lights can be used to find scorpions as well as tomato horn worms (before they devastate your plants).
Eric O, I asked you Wednesday about getting a Bad Boy tire to re-bead because it wouldn't fill. Starting fluid and a couple of singed eyebrows worked. Thanks!
Yeah, I watched you use sniffers before and wondered why you didn’t used a UV light. I used many different Lights over the years. The Blue Point is the one I have used for over twenty years. Very bright and compact. It has a very long cord and hooks to the cars battery. I still have it.
My first UV light was a dinky one. I have a much brighter one now, but it's no Beast!
I had a black light in high school. Does that count?😂
@@harryl7946 only if you had a poster to go with it.
Thank you Eric, I have a small UV light and it's like looking for a"needle in a hay stack". I love your recommendations! It's got to be good. It's been tested and approved by the best.
Reminds me of Streamlight batteries and so does overall design. Thanks for sharing
I bought the smaller version from that company and I like it because you don't need the glasses because of the uv frequency or whatever it's called.
I have the exact same light, just in flashlight form. I can tell you with certainty the batteries will not go dead on you just from sitting. It's switch is a physical disconnect, so there is no quiescent current draw. I kept it in my previous cars' glove box. Left it for more than 2 years in the Vegas blazing sun. (not smart don't do that kids) and when I actually did need it, fired right up and had plenty of life left in them
As a suggestion Eric, invest in a Nitecore battery charger. They are under $30 on the jungle site and you do not have to worry about them potentially overcharging the batteries that those "cost effective" lights come with.
That would be good for tomato-worm hunting at dusk!
or scorpions in the desert
Hello. Thank you for taking your time it testing this item before doing a review on it.
With the battery pack extension, that would be an altered beast.
Ha That was a fun one Eric! Thanks lots of positive energy radiating off the beast and you too!!
Those purpose of the 'ambervision' glasses are to protect your eyes from reflected UV light.
I've got one of these for searching out scorpions, they're awesome lights. They do get hot so don't forget to turn it off if you set it down.
The mag light style UV light that you get with UV glue is very bright. AC guy was looking for a leak, and I handed it to him. Dye lit up like daybreak with it.
Best uv light ever was the Optimax 3000. Was also sold under Bluepoint name. We call it the cancer stick in my shop. As with anything that works good they quit making it. I damaged one that belonged to another tech in the shop so I tried replacing it with the uv beast, the damaged light was much brighter. Got lucky and found a used one on ebay.
Well Eric I don't do AC work anymore but you just gave me the urge to buy a new light. That I don't need but I'm probably going to buy it anyways. Thank you for showing us that new 🌞
With all seriousness I truly have a problem when it comes to tools. It's like they talk to me. Tell me they want to come home with me. What do you say no you can't You got to stay in this crappy store😢
$60 and I can actually SEE the dye finally?!
I have 3 different pen lights and they all SUCK. Like you said - low light output. I have 20/20 vision and it’s annoying.
Sniffer is ok - works sometime.
This is what I need. Too much AC work in cars. The oily mess is usually a clue but the dye is the ticket
Thank you Eric!!! It arrives Sunday.
I got the same one! Works great!
That’s good info since I have to run my AC year round and even more now. It’s only 109 here now and it’s just warming up today!!!!!
I love lights that don't mess around. Just my kinda tool!
The amber glasses are to protect your eyes from reflected UV light. You might wanna wear them Eric!
That's the exact flashlight that we use to hunt for "Yooperlite" fluorescent rocks in the UP of Michigan. Works great!
That light is fantastic!
Well I'll be getting one of those for sure thanks for the light showing. An as for the 18650 batteries I've got a light that uses the same kind an they last for awhile.
Awesome tool! Great find!
I have this UV beast I got it because we have bark scorpions out here in the south west and I can tell you it's very bright I can see a scorpion 40ft away easily. this thing uses power so I recommend to get the extra battery
Those dyes work really well - once. After the first time, they spray UV dye all over the place, next time it's hard to tell which is old and which is new dye. That was on some big industrial machines running ammonia R11, R22 and some other gases. Bugger to clean up as well.
i have a snap on 14.4 UV light it works great & if the battery dies i just pop in another 14.4 battery & im good to go , but im definitely gonna be checking this beast out
While watching on TV, I am no longer able to like by pausing and arrowing up and over to click the like. Yours is not the only channel I am having trouble with. I have to switch to my iPad to like. Keep up the great videos!!!
That is pretty cool! I can see why it would make you smile. We don't want any of that super expensive Freon leaking out and burning a hole in the atmosphere right over the shop!
Being in south Texas, the other thing those UV flashlights are good for is finding scorpions in the dark. The bark scorpions we have here glow neon green under UV.
I got the 2 cell. Very bright!
I always love and appreciate a nice tool review. Thank you!
I want the sniffing tool for checking the vents for leaking evap coil. I guess I could just run the A/c and check dripping puddle for the glowing green dye for that.
Love your channel would love to see a shop tour inside and out.
You can in addition to troubleshooting A/C leaks and as others have stated, moonlight as a CSI crime scene investigator, you can also get into hotel room inspections and insure the rooms meet the cleanliness standards.
When I was a youngin a "brick" was a box of 500 rounds of .22 caliber bullets.
Yeah that, and also one of Afghanistan's famous exports in the 60s and 70s.🥴🥴Ask any old hippy, they'll tell ya!
@@beezul That's the way I took it from a 65 year old male
And you could get them for about $7. My cousin and me could blast through a brick apiece at grannys for a weekend.
@@bucksmkr12ga I don't think I'd wanna blast through a "Brick" of what I'm pretty positive he was talking about, in just a weekend at granny's. Granny not only would kick my ass, but I'd also probably be brain dead and spaced out for the rest of my days...lol
They’re also fun to bring to cheap motel rooms…
Can't have fun in an expensive room?
You can… But, you’re much more likely to find the evidence in the cheap ones.
Eww.
@@harryshector keep telling yourself that. Take one to an expensive hotel and you'll find the same.
Also work good to a) check your aim at the toilet, and b) check how well it was cleaned around the toilet, for whomever in your household does the "around the toilet" cleaning. After you see how much splashing and spatter there is from standing, you might just change your position on the subjet... to sitting... plus, you really going to stand there for 10 minutes watching youtube videos, or would you rather sit and watch youtube?
thanks for the recommend... just bought one
We go Ruby hunting around a resivoir and I come back with loads of fishing lures
I have had mine for about 3 years and its awesome. you don't need the stupid glasses because it is the right wavelength, 365 nm for tru uv light. If you turn off all the lights at home and shine it on the walls you can see every finger print and smudge. Just don't shine it on the sheets at the motel.
I just checked , the version 3 is actually 385-395 nm
They also make a 365nm version.
@@jkg6211 Yes they do and that is the one I have
I've got the smaller version cause I wasn't sure if their claims were all that and didn't want to drop the coin and it be a bust. It blew me away how good it was. The one in the shop is whatever is on the shelf at any parts house and it's pretty anemic.
Im in Massachusetts and I would say wicked cool
I have the Beast for AC work. It's also great for spotting cat urine if kitty is doing the no-no.
I laugh at some point during every SMA video. Great humor and info. Today Eric had me at 03:45. “I’m getting all choked up about it”. Thank you sir for excellent info, education and diagnostics skills !!
Congratulations on the 900. I just realized in its mass hole
I got the snap on 14.4 volt one it so bloody bright best one I’ve ever had for uv light
The UV light is also great for finding tomato cut worms. They glow under UV light at night.
I've used the Snap-on CTLUV761 14V battery UV light.
Very similar, but it takes your standard cordless batteries.
Similar light output to that one
Light. Is. Amazing. Thanks. ❤❤❤❤