The higher the wattage the brighter the LED

Is it true that if you had two torches say one with a 3w LED and the other with a 1w LED, the one with a 3 watt LED will produce a stronger brighter beam, or this false ?

Again I'm sure there are 1 watt LED torches out there that have much higher lumens than that of a 3 watt. Though I'm sure a 3 watt would consume more batery power than that of a 1 watt.

In general, yes. BUT, it's a marketing gimmick. The LED is not actually running at 1 watt or 3 watts.

it all depends on led efficiency. If 3W led has 30l/w and 1W has 100l/w then it is 90 against 100, 1W would be brighter. etc.

If to read markings on torches, i think it is something like power consuption or some comparing with incan light.

i dunnoe if im correct, but i see the watt ratings advertised on leds in a different way... they tell you about the power draw from the led, and nothing about the brightness directly... the only thing theyre useful for is to help you figure out your runtime or something

Ok my friend who bought a $30 3 watt LED torch which uses 3xAAA batts has challenged his brightness/beam against my 1 watt ( I think) $85 Led Lenser Hocus Fokus 7438.

He's also willing to make a bet with me because his LED is 3 watt it will eat over my LL Hocus Fokus 7438 :twothumbs

It's depending on two things
1.How efficient the led is, early led like the 3w led reach about 80lm but after the Cree can reach 1xxlm up.
2.Is you led really run in the 3w mode? the AA battery sometimes can offer enough current to circuit, so you can find some flashlight use 14500 are brighter than 2AA.

I think it would be difficult to compare the two because your light uses a collimating lens whereas his probably uses a reflector so visually one may seem brighter than the other. If you were to quantitatively measure the output at a given distance they may end up being the same or similar.

Wattage and lumen ratings really have little to do with eachother. I really wish that companies would stop marketing flashlights this way. If a light is marketed with wattage and not lumens, it's probably :thumbsdow

It's a marketing Gimmick.
The wattage ouput of an LED has nothing to do with the output that it makes, unless those LEDs are being driven at recommended rates. Take for instance a Luxeon I LED QYAH (~3.3V @350mA) and a Luxeon 3 TXOJ driven at the same values as the Luxeon I. They will both be putting out about 30 lumens, but the Luxeon III is more efficient. Take for instance the Mini Maglite LED. The 2AA version states that it uses a Luxeon III but, it is only be driven at 1 watt, thus making it efficient, but not as bright as it should be. Luxeon III white LEDs normally get driven around 700-1000mA. If your friend has a luxeon 3 with the stated bin that I have listed and it is running around ~3.3v at ~700mA then it will be brighter in over all output and not necessarily throw ouput. You have to realize even if a lower wattage LED seems brighter in a distance (throw) test, it's over all output may be lower. Take for instance the 3 watt LED and give it a TIR (collimator) lens and the Luxeon I the Reflector. The luxeon I will have a higher Lux reading for the throw beam, but the over all will be lower than the Lux III. The lux III in this scenario wilil have a higher over all output and a lower throw output.
Also, your eyes can mislead you, I have a Luxeon I light that seems brighter than a Luxeon III light, but according to both the over all and throw lux readings the luxeon III light is actually brighter even though the Luxeon I light SEEMS brighter.
Basically, wattage is a way to hoax the every day person into buying a light, but if you look closer, a lumen rating trells you much more about the light. A high quality one watt light that is rated at 45 lumens output could actually be putting out more light than a no name brand 3 Watt LED light. So be careful what you buy.

that was the scientific explanation,

the "rugged" one is:
that 3 AAA light is crap, but if it already has a Seoul or Cree mounted, it will kick the azz of that Lenser
- try at least to have both lights running for 10 minutes, then the 3AAA is at just 50 % output at best.

PS: Throw away the lenser and get something good
PPS: just because a light is expensive, it must not be better than a much cheaper light

What every one else said plus, the Cree XR-E P4 bin would be brighter runing at 350 mA(usually called 1 watt) then most Luxeon IIIs at 1 amp(around 3.7 watt).

You never know(Unless you measure) that one is consuming 1 watt, producing 1 watt of light, marketing hype or what.

Usually a Luxeon I is called 1 watt, a III is usually called 3 watt, a V is usually called 5 watt and a K2 is 5 watt and up. It doesn't matter what is the actual power going through the LED(Some companies don't lie though).

Most of the current generation LEDs are called 3 watt.

P.S. if you recently bought the Hocus Focus stock, I would suggest returning it for something much brighter(And probably cheaper). Or try to mod it with a Seoul LED.

I swapped a heavily overdriven 1W Luxeon LED (pulled 590mA at 3.6V(Roughly) = 2.1W) with a T-bin Seoul P4 LED which drew 350mA at the same voltage (1.3W or thereabouts). It was 3X brighter for getting on for double the runtime. Wattage is only a guide between two identical (i.e., same bin/manufacturer etc.) LEDs.

The current figures are from memory and may not be entirely accurate, but the 3X the output for double the runtime (in the same light with the same battery) is accurate.

Albinoni said:

Ok my friend who bought a $30 3 watt LED torch which uses 3xAAA batts has challenged his brightness/beam against my 1 watt ( I think) $85 Led Lenser Hocus Fokus 7438.

He's also willing to make a bet with me because his LED is 3 watt it will eat over my LL Hocus Fokus 7438 :twothumbs

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Like others have said here, the 1W or 3W listed on the packaging usually refer the LED's power handling capability, but doesn't mean the LED is being driven at those power levels.

Most 3 x AAA lights are direct drive, so the wattage depends on the batteries used and the Vf of the emitter. I've tested about 80 Coast Hokus Focus lights, and they generally measure 3.4V at the emitter with an initial drive level of 1000 to 1200 mA. This works out to about 3.5 watts. Using alkalines, this figure drops rather quickly. Put some NiMH's in there and it'll hold 800 mA for most of it's runtime.

That being said, his 3 x AAA light might be running at the same level. The optic in the Hokus Focus concentrates the beam into a big blob of light, rather than the typical small hotspot with lots of spill. This helps your light in the throw department. Indoors, the lights might appear similar... so make sure you're outside when you compare! :naughty:

Marduke said:

Wattage and lumen ratings really have little to do with eachother. I really wish that companies would stop marketing flashlights this way.

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im starting to like that Dorcy is starting to put lumen ratings and watts. while we can only wonder if they're accurate i hope other companies follow