Thread: Cheap / good blacklight LED flashlights for spot effects? Effective?

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Can anyone recommend a good vendor / source for blacklight LED flashlights? Harbor Freight perhaps? Or vendors on Amazon.com? How well do these flashlights work for lighting up a single prop, say, in a front yard grave scene? Hate working with traditional tube and ballast blacklights generally.

We have a small flashlight from this place that we use more for quick testing of UV reflective qualities of props. I don't know if it would be a good spot light or not. They have larger flashlights that might work, but we haven't tried those. http://www.goldengadgets.com/uv-led-lighting.html

Gemmy makes a black light mini-strobe. I found mine at Big Lots. They have them in again this year already. They are easy to identify because they have a silver body instead of black and do not make sound. I use mine to uplight some of my gravestones that have UV/phosphorescent paint. You can adjust how fast they flash. I would guess you could probably hack them not to flash too, but I like the effect.

Target is carrying a led blacklight spot light that I use to make my spider victim glow. The thing is nice and powerful and costs 16.99

I have an incandescent blacklight spot that I'm not even going to put out this year. The effect was not at all what I wanted. I bought a florescent to replace it at a 1/2 price sale after Halloween last year, and the amount of effect off it is MUCH better. Just an fyi that if you need to be aware of the differences in the effect you can expect from different blacklight sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacklight

Thanks everyone. Last I checked, my local Target wasn't stocking Halloween stuff yet. Still schlepping Back to School items. Will have to check my local Big Lots. Will also have to see if my local Party City has started stocking Halloween stuff. Got some blinking peeper eyes for the bushes that reminded me of some walls in Disney's Haunted Mansion. Anytime I can add an effect that is Haunted-Mansion like, I'm excited. Favorite dark ride of all time. Wondering how I might get a cheap wall clock from an office supply or Big Box store to run 1) Faster and 2) Backwards. Don't need some elaborate grandfather clock. Just the clock piece itself.

Target doesn't have them on the shelves yet but can be ordered online

I do a 3D blacklight walkthrough in my garage. This year's theme is Haunted Mansion! I've tried all types of blacklights, but there really is no substition for a fluorescent bulb. My Christmas display is 100% LED and most of my other Halloween lighting is too, but you can't get true results from a blacklight led.

Just did a quick web search, not meant to be comprehensive but just to throw out an idea; Chavet makes a portable that could meet your needs:
http://www.amazon.com/Chauvet-NV-F4-.../dp/B0002FDKSC


Personally, I avoid battery power. Batteries run out at inopportune times, you have to buy and store replacements, and often they don't last long. I like to run extension cords. Last year I bought several black 20 or 30 foot (I forget) cords from Home Depot, I use them to power all my graveyard goodies. They are reasonably easy to hide being black, I don't have to worry about batteries running out, and the options for higher-wattage devices are wide open.