I bought these during the last woot-off. The packaging claims these will last more than 200 hrs of continuous use, so I checked it out. I put in 2 fully-charged Eneloops, turned it on, and let it sit. The strobe is actually pretty bright. Very impressive. After about 3 days, however, the light started to dim. After about 75 hours, the light output was too dim to be of any practical use. After about 78 hours, the batteries were completely drained. Three days of continuous use isn’t bad, but it falls far short of the claim.
great reviews over at home depot
This reminds me that both of the ones I received after the last sale never worked! I sent a note to the vendor and didn’t hear back at all. Time to contact Woot.
I should point out that when I posted this info in the prior sale the woot support did reply I could contact them and I forgot about it.
That’s potentially due to you using rechargeable batteries though… Since: 1. they only output 1.2v compared to 1.5v most batteries output. 2. Most rechargeable batteries have a diminishing lifespan after a while. 3. This is in no way meant to critique or diminish your findings and thank you for sharing.
Way OT, but I have to ask: CuzzinMerl, is your cousin’s name…Roy?
If you have no idea what I’m referencing, don’t sweat it. I’m pretty sure I’m the only person left who remembers Roy Otis and Merle’s purple '69 Dodge Charger.
Got these in the last woot-off. Haven’t had a chance to try them out, but the magnets on the bottoms are very strong. Helps to keep in one spot, so they will be around when we need them.
ok, but cheaply made
not sure of the floating in water, but both the units had crushed, torn, flimsey O ring on the switch / bottom end.
one light broke on the switch and the diffuser came off in my hand (nothin some superglue wont fix, but why am i havin to?
anywho, flashes bright and fast, magnet base sticks like glue, will do its job
ymmv, ygwypf
I bought 3 of these on the last woot off all three were completely broken. It is the reason I don’t use woot as much as I used too. At $10 for 3 it really was not worth my time and Postage to send them back.Too frigging busy.
I mean ALL three! You have been warned.
Just a question, did you MAKE SURE the batteries were in right? I know it sounds silly, but I thought they didn’t work either, then I had my kid look at the battery compartment that was VERY hard to see, too small, and each battery had to be reverse of the other, and just make sure the right one has positive up, and the other positive down… saw your post and remembered that… these lights are AWESOME though! Brighter than a flare!
I had 84 woots last month, INCLUDING these flares, which work great, and NONE of the 84 packages were broken… well, except for my “letter carrier’s” back, that is…
Once August comes around, your “letter carrier” will get an extra day to recuperate each week.
Said it before. You can never be too cautious or prepared. Keep a set in your trunk. When you finally do need them, you will be thankful you have them.
Can I assume that Congress has FINALLY agreed to stop Saturday deliveries in August??!!! Great difficulty for postal employees, but necessary for the future stability of the post office.
I bought … I forget how many. Several of these. About half of them worked but would not shut off. I did a quick search and found a phone number. I called the company and they sent out replacements no questions asked, did not want the defective ones back.
Ditto - unfortunately, I don’t have the time to waist tracking down the vendor or Woot for that matter. Batteries in, twist, no light…
Sorry for the problems. Did you email Customer Service. If not, please email support@woot.com for assistance. Include your Woot username and order number for faster service.
I bought these in the last Woot(-off?). Opened one up, tried to twist it - and the clear plastic housing the LEDs came off in my hand. Crappy glue. Put it back on (didn’t glue it - it seems to stay on somewhat), added batteries, twisted on/off/on/off - NOTHING. These stink.
Adding my 2 cents. I too had trouble getting the batteries in correctly, but once I figured that out, the lights are very bright. Plastic is flimsy, but you get what you pay. I bought them as emergency flares for our cars and they will do the job.
One of the things I like best about flares is how completely unsafe they are. Is there any way to modify these to be less safe?