a CLOSER look home inspections

I have used an UltraStinger flashlight from Streamlight for about 6 years now on inspections. Quite frankly, a good flashlight is the most important tool a home inspector has in their tool kit. Remember that inspectors can only inspect and report on what they can see, so you have to make sure that you really light up dark spaces. In southwest Missouri where most of the homes have crawlspaces, it is critical to have a very bright and wide beam on a flashlight. This lightens the entire area of view instead of just a pin point area (as most flashlights do). The UltraStinger was a venerated model, but it has a halogen bulb that only lasts 30 hours of continuous use before burning out. Not to mention $9 to replace the bulb, that sucker gets HOT! In the summer time, an attic can get to 130-140 degrees and after just a few minutes in that space with the UltraStinger, it would burn your hand if you touched the bell. Anyway, the switch finally gave way and it was time for a new light.

I went to Kelley Police & Tactical Supply on Sunshine (Map) to get another UltraStinger, but found the Stinger DS LED light instead. This flashlight does not have as many lumens output as the UltraStinger, but it is very bright. Also, it uses an LED light bulb, so the light is much more white as opposed to the very yellow cast of the UltraStinger’s halogen light. Here’s the best part, it is lighter, smaller, recharges faster, has a 7 hour continuous run time on a single charge, and the bulb has a 50,000 hour lifespan – all for around $100. I had a chance to try this one out in a crawlspace yesterday and I was very impressed. The light was very bright in a crawlspace and an attic, and I was able to see everything normally. I always found that the yellow light from the UltraStinger made termite mud tubes blend in with wood and other dark brown materials making it harder to detect. However, with the white light of the Stinger DS LED – I have no problems with contrast. I highly recommend this flashlight to any inspector.