Local inventor lights up in Walmart race

Brad Krabill's invention wasn't born of necessity as much as frustration.

Now that he's fixed the problem, he's hoping others with the same issues will be so thankful they'll vote for his invention, with the chance for it to be placed on a Walmart shelf.

Krabill and his wife, Brenda, are owners of American Allied Pest Control. When not killing bugs, Krabill can be found in his garage tinkering and perfecting his latest invention.

He thinks he has a winner on his hands with The Blazer, a portable light that uses cool-burning light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs and a small 12-volt battery.

Krabill entered The Blazer in a competition sponsored by Walmart. Winners will be selected by the number of votes cast, and Krabill is asking for support for his invention. Top prize is $12,000 and a spot on a shelf at Walmart.

"It would be awesome," Krabill said of the possibility of winning.

Even if he doesn't win the top prize, Krabill could earn money for placing second, or third in the competition. And if none of that happens, he at least will gain exposure.

Voting started Wednesday and lasts a month. From those votes, 10 finalists will be selected, and voting on them will continue two more weeks. Then the top three will be in a runoff.

He said he feels certain others will have the same frustrations he did when camping, fishing or hunting: Typical battery-powered lights didn't last long enough, and lantern lights burned too hot.

And he found that when doing outdoor activities or even jobs around the house, he had to rely on too many different types of lights.

"I just got tired of having to deal with all those lights," he said.

So Krabill headed to his workshop in the garage and started tinkering. He chose a small 12-volt rechargeable battery similar to those used to power some medical devices, including scooters. He contacted Pelican, a California company that manufactures custom cases.

When he got the various parts he needed, he put them all together to form the 6 pound Blazer.

"It's smaller than most purses," Krabill said.

The Blazer features two LED lights, which together last more than 12 hours on a charge and are not hot to the touch, on 12-inch flexible arms. The device has a long strap so that it can be hung on a tree limb or hook.

Krabill said that if The Blazer catches on, he could turn out several hundred a day in his garage. If it really catches on, he foresees an assembly process that would move out of the garage and employ several people.

"If we get one large order, then everything changes," Krabill said.

Krabill is in the process of getting a patent for The Blazer.

The Walmart competition is divided into various categories, and the one in which The Blazer is included has 4,000 entries.