1,000,000 Candlelight Spotlight fire

Hello everyone,

I?m posting to let everyone know that they should be aware of the Yellow rechargeable 1,000,000 candlelight spotlight that is manufactured by Vector. I purchased this Workforce spotlight at Home Depot approximately 7 months ago and never had a problem with this particular light until yesterday.
I had just completed my first Home Inspection of the day and plugged this spotlight into my car cigarette lighter to recharge it for my next Inspection. I arrived at my second Home Inspection and left this light charging in my car (as I always do), as I didn?t need a high powered light for this particular Home Inspection. About two hours later I returned to my car and opened my rear door to put my tool bag away and right as I opened the door, thick black smoke just billowed out of the car, which scared the living shi+ out of me. I looked towards the front passenger side of my vehicle and viewed flames on the floor board area. So I rushed to this area and noticed that the spotlight was in flames. I quickly grabbed the handle of this light and threw the burning spotlight onto the road. I then stomped out the flames that were spreading throughout the carpet area. Another five minute delay and my whole vehicle would have been in flames.
This spotlight obviously speaks for itself, 1,000,000 candlelight power. No matches or lighter required. For those of you who own one of these, BE CAREFUL. They should be monitored while they are charging.

This yellow spotlight is sold by HOME DEPOT and is manufactured by Vector, out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. It?s product name is Workforce Rechargeable Spotlight. The Model # is WKF 124HD.

Here is a picture of one...
https://www.nachi.org/bbsystem/usrimages/0flashlight.jpg

My insurance company is on this case as we speak and they will be investigating whether or not this has happened elsewhere. I?ll keep you all updated.

Here are the results of owning one of these fire hazards... Notice the melted insulation on the wire going to the ashtray https://www.nachi.org/bbsystem/usrimages/candlelight.jpg

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Oh sh*t! That's the one I have! I just ran down stairs to unplug it.

I didn't like it any way, the charge didn't last long enough.

David, I'm glad it didn't turn out any worse.

WOW that sucks! I will remember not to leave mine plugged in. Did you leave the switch on and as it charged?

David,

I believe at the very least you should contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Glad to hear no one was hurt and you did not lose your car.

Joe Myers

David,

Thank God you weren't recharging it in your house overnight!! This message board is great. David, you might have just saved some lives!!!

Hi Dave, Yes ,a fire can happen , years back I had mine in the car , the problem I did at the time was put it face down after having it on , the bulb was still hot ! and burnt my car seat .
It was my fault , not the lamp itself. I should have left the light part up .

Les

A friend of mine accidently left one in his truck and the fire department woke him up! The truck was burnt to the ground. I don't know if it was a vector or not this was a few years ago.

Mike

Hey David thanks for the info. I to have one of these lights I left mine charging overnite from a receptacle in the house, I'm glad I didn't
have the same misfortune that you did. However from now on I will monitor it when it is charging.

Thanks
Ken
www.tricehominspections.com

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I just bought one of these yesterday. The directions say not to use the car (DC) charger for more than 3 hours. It also says never leave sport spot unattended during DC charger. Keep us informed as to the results of insurance investigation.

Anatol

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I have one of these only it's 2,000,000 candle power and a different brand. Most of the time when I charge it at home it's sitting on top of my parts cleaner. Yes, 10 gallons of flammable liquid!

Thanks for the warning. Maybe you have broken the string. My daughter got busted for DUI last month. My mother had cancer surgery last week. Somebody shot my dog today. Things can always be worse.

The good news is, I'll be going back to work soon.

Joe,

Thanks for the advice, but contacting the CPSC was the first thing I did after I notified my insurance company. No response from them as of today.

My car reeks of plastic right now. After picking up my son from Daycare, he pinched his nose and said "Dada, this car stinks!" As you all know, plastic is not a pretty smell.

Anatol,
You said

Quote:

The directions say not to use the car (DC) charger for more than 3 hours. It also says never leave sport spot unattended during DC charger

I'm glad someone is reading the directions. I didn't think I had to read the directions to operating a simple "push button" spotlight. And I am not about to sit there and watch my spotlight charge for two hours. Thanks for the info.

My suggestion....Charge this light while traveling only. Do not (I repeat) Do not charge this spotlight in your house.

No updates yet as far as this particular spotlight goes. I?m just bringing this thread back on top to make sure everyone views this message. This spotlight is very dangerous and a potential fire hazard, if overcharged.

I just picked up a 2,000,000 candlelight spotlight that advertises that it will take a 10 hour charge. The Vector 1,000,000 candlelight cautions on a 3 hour charge. Not good.

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I believe the issue here is the DC charger. After reading the directions (again), it says charge using the AC charger for 20 hours before first use. I did that. I have since charged it after use, for 12 hrs. using the AC charger. No excessive heat noticed.
I was not really happy with the duration of use. It lasted 2 inspections, 2 days apart with no charge in between. I did use it quite a bit in the attic of a 80 year old house. K&T wiring covered with insulation and flooring. The circuts were still being used.

I will only use the DC charger if I am in the truck and can monitor it. It would be interesting to see how many amps it is drawing on a DC charge.
Anatol

To all,

Vector manufactures these for many distributers who in turn place their own lable and/or logo on them. CarQuest is one of them and I'm sure there are others. I've never been a big fan of Vector products and they are many. Everything I've owned from them has either fallen apart or malfunctioned prematurely. (I've had to buy for the immediate need)
Read the "manufactured for....by Vector" lable carefully. Usually in small print on the back of the lable.
Vector is BIG in the inexpensive (cheap, cheap, cheap) 12 volt accessory products, as well as automotive battery chargers and jumpers.
I guess we get what we pay for!

my two cents

Bill

I find that I prefer to use a streamlight flashlight. They are very reliable very bright and with the slim line design I hang it from my belt. I know, a lot of people think that looks hokey but, what the heck.

Thanks David,

I use this light and recharge it in my house overnight. Not any more. The light won't last through three inspections in a day but the damn thing sure throws a beam!

UPDATE

Vector Manufacturing has reimbursed me for all fire damage costs that it took to repair my vehicle. I?m completely satisfied with their reaction.
I still refuse to purchase this spotlight again. And everyone who owns a 1000,000 candlelight spotlight should not charge their spotlights while unattended.

Son of a B&**!!! That's the same light I own...I use it for duckhunting. I plugged it into my boat recepticle to charge and it fried the system...melted wires and the whole shebang!!!! I had assumed I had crossed wires somewhere.

Thanks for the tip!! It's going in the trash!!!!