Click to see our range of Long Wave 365nm Torches
ABOUT OUR LONG WAVE TORCHES
If you are buying your first UV torch you should probably get Long Wave. Long wave torches are cheaper and more powerful than SW or MW. They are also better for looking at fluorescent non-mineral things like lichens or scorpions etc. Unless, of course, you are looking for something specific like scheelite which only fluoresces under short wave.
If you are looking at or for opal, ruby, sapphire, calcite, fluorite, spodumene and various other minerals and gems, you need a Long Wave torch.
For Long Wave mineral fluorescence you need a quality Long Wave torch that is 365nm and filtered. All our torches are 365nm and filtered. Unfiltered torches, torches with 390nm or 395nm LEDs are not suitable for mineral fluorescence.
Unless you want to be quickly running out of power your batteries need to have good capacity. That is why high quality Li-Ion batteries are best – and they are what we supply. You get a spare set of batteries with each torch (except those with built-in batteries), so you get double time before you need to recharge.
The more powerful your torch the further it will shine, and the more you will find. Small less powerful torches are fine for looking at specimens you already have, but will probably not be much use in the field. The simple rule for all our torches is that the more a torch costs, the more powerful it is.
If you are hunting minerals that fluoresce brightly, our FL1 torch is good up to a couple of metres, the FL2 up to about 5 metres, and the FL8 and FL9 are good up to 10 metres or more. Our new 20W FL20 is a very powerful LW UV torch, and is our most powerful torch.
Click to see our range of Long Wave 365nm Torches
Being a collector myself, I’m more than happy to have a chat about long wave (365nm) or short wave (254nm) UV torches and lamps, or anything else about UV and fluorescence. Call me on 0408 37 27 37.
Avoid cheap knock-offs. If you buy a cheapie from people who don’t know anything about mineral fluorescence you will almost certainly have problems. We meet people all the time at shows who did that and have to buy another torch. Cheap UV torches are mostly unfiltered and often use LEDs around 390nm which is not right for mineral fluorescence. Without a filter, they emit visible light as well as UV, which distorts and can overpower the fluorescence colours, making everything purple-tinted (see picture below). They usually come with batteries that ridiculously overstate their capacity. 18650 Li-Ion batteries offering more than about 3700mAh will be fakes. Genuine Li-Ion 18650 batteries weigh around 45-48gm. Fakes weigh around 35gm or even less and can be potentially dangerous.
