Multiflare Hazard Beacon an Alternative to eflare
Eflare LED lights have been a popular purchase within public sector organisations for a decade or more, indeed we ourselves used to offer them as part of our range.
However, it has always been challenging trying to supply these, particularly in smaller quantities, high costs resulted in the UK distributor maintaining virtually zero stock which resulted in long lead times, variable import costs and minimum order quantities all of which has made it commercially unviable for many distributors stock these items.
Several years ago we sourced a viable alternative without some of the technical embellishments you see in the eFlare range, reducing the cost and making it more appealing to a wider audience who wanted something similar but without the price tag.
We therefore thought it was worth a post to highlight that there is well performing alternative to the eflare range with not quite the same spec but that certainly does 90% of the job at almost 50% of the price.
We went to one of our traffic baton manufacturers with a brief of what we were looking for and eventually this led to our multiuse electronic ‘e’ flare warning beacon which we call the Multiflare.
Available in several colour options, blue, yellow, red and green it’s a simplified hazard beacon which is a versatile, robust and bright warning light.
Push Not Twist
We found the eflare twist action novel but over time the feedback we received was that the O-ring seal was prone to wear and tear caused by dust and grit ingress prevalent in the type of environment these hazard LED’s often get deployed in.
As dirt builds up the twist action becomes prone to stiffness and the O-ring seal degrades, eventually moisture gets past the seal as it wears away further exasperating the stiffness. Freezing weather magnifies the effect and with operators wearing gloves there can be a tendency for the mechanism to become difficult to use with slips, accidental drops and too much force been applied that can damage the unit.
A large button, in a contrasting colour, in a raised section to help find it in darkness makes locating the power button easy to operate, even with gloves and in freezing or wet weather.
Fresnel Lens Hazard Light
Similarly to the eFlare the Multiflare uses a robust split Fresnel lens to disperse light in multiple aspects providing visibility up to 1km and suited to both ground and air operations.
Robust Built Hazard Light
A toughened drop resistant PCB body has contours that both re-enforce the main body integrity but additionally provides grip for handheld deployment of this warning beacon.
The Fresnel lens is similarly robust and built to withstand accidental drops onto hard surfaces, this makes it comparable to the eflare range of LED lights in terms of durability.
Multipurpose LED Beacon
Making the LED flare multi-purpose was an objective from the outset, so to make it be more practical it needed to be narrower so that an operator wearing gloves could use it securely as a handheld device.
We therefore used C cell batteries rather than wider D cell batteries, there’s a bit of a compromise in terms of duration because of the smaller battery but no impact of visible performance, side by side there’s little to distinguish one light from the other.
The flexibility a smaller circumference provides overwrites operational duration, you still get more than a full shift of light output from quality batteries and we found life expectancy of the light itself improves as its easier to handle (less likely to be dropped).
Torch Feature in a LED Beacon
Incorporating a white LED in a polygonal spotlight lens at the top of the Multiflare provides a useful wide area torch function, an additional feature not found on most eflares.
Drone and Helicopter Landing Light
The Fresnel lens provides a high level of light dispersant that can be seen from the air at 1km, additionally the white LED torch feature provides a pilot with a visually distinct, upward facing reference point so they know when over the target. This is an important point when vertical landings in congested areas have to avoid power and telephone lines and other obstacles.
Accessories for Hazard Beacons
A rubber base allows the Multiflare to be deployed securely on the ground, a tight fit ensures the flare is held firmly in place with fixing points allowing the base to be further secured to accommodating surfaces.
Conical projections on the underside allow the base unit to be pushed into soft surfaces increasing grip.
Rubber traffic cone holders that fit most traffic cones apertures allow the Multiflare’s to be positioned atop of standard traffic cones where their 360 degree light output provides a warning beacon effect at incidents.
Operation
- Press once to activate it on its first setting of a constant light
- Press again to get the rapid flash function
- Press again to get a torch
- Press again to turn the unit off
Eflares
We can still quote you for eflares but there are minimum order quantities, often airfreight and import charges to pay which will will be based of the quantity required so please do not hesitate to contact us should you have to have products from the eflare range and we will provide a price on application.
Multiflare Beacon with Blue LEDs
Multiflare Beacon with Yellow LED’s