how many lumens is a standard Mini Maglite?

Burgess

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30 LUMENS ? ? ? ! ! !

:lolsign::lolsign::lolsign:



(Oops, sorry -- couldn't help myself)


Ahem . . . .


You can figure a standard (incand.) 2AA Mini-Maglite

to produce perhaps 5-10 Lumens, on Brand-New Alkalines.


This number will, of course, drop Rapidly, in just a few minutes.

Just so you know.



Good Luck in yer' search for the Perfect Flashlight(s).

:candle:
_
 

Swedpat

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Several times I have read stated numbers of 15 lumens for standard Mini Maglite (from where does that statement come?), but have been quite doubtful when I tried my example and compared to other lights. 5,3lm seems to be more correct...

Regards, Patric
 
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Maglite used to keep many of these figures on their website, but I just checked and they have been replaced with "ANSI data coming soon". I assume this refers to a new industry standard I've heard about somewhere recently.
 

Burgess

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and when Maglite sez: " Coming Soon " . . . .


:tired: __ :sleepy:
 

LEDninja

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Thanks. About 30 lumens then?
30 LUMENS ? ? ? ! ! !

:lolsign::lolsign::lolsign:

:welcome:

For alkaline batteries:
Multiply Overall Output by 1.39 (for LED flashlights) to get lumens: 5.80*1.39=8 lumens.
That is 100% on the runtime chart. This drops to 50% 4 lumens in 45 minutes then to 25% 2 lumens in about 5 hours.

-

For NiMH batteries:
Because NiMH batteries is 1.2V instead of 1.5V for fresh alkaline, Brightguy's 5.3 lumens should be correct.
 

ampdude

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The newer Minimag AA bulbs are brighter. If I had to guess, I'd say they start out around 20 lumens on fresh alkalines and drop to about 10 lumens in an hour.

But my perception may be a little warped, since I tend to only use the light with a well focused hotspot. The newer Minimag bulbs are definitely brighter though.
 
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Swedpat

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The newer Minimag AA bulbs are brighter. If I had to guess, I'd say they start out around 20 lumens on fresh alkalines and drop to about 10 lumens in an hour.

But my perception may be a little warped, since I tend to only use the light with a well focused hotspot. The newer Minimag bulbs are definitely brighter though.

Compare with ceiling bounce test by shining the light to the ceiling and look around the room and you will get a better estimation about the total output.
Actually, according to all my tests with lightmeter, a focusable incan like Maglite has a higher total output with the beam at wide(not focused) setting.

Regards, Patric
 
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Actually, according to all my tests with lightmeter, a focusable incan like Maglite has a higher total output with the beam at wide(not focused) setting.

That makes complete sense since when you focus you are drawing the bulb back into the light and making it harder to 'see'. I imagine it goes to show why a lot of CPFers don't care for focusable lights - as you tighten the hotspot you lose lumens so you're not really gaining much unless you have a very good reflector.
 

fiftycalibre

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I remember back when I was a pre flashaholic, I tried using a minimaglite to illuminate the letterbox number while I was in the car. I couldnt see a damn thing
 

ampdude

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I remember back when I was a pre flashaholic, I tried using a minimaglite to illuminate the letterbox number while I was in the car. I couldnt see a damn thing

That's how I used to use a 2 C Maglite and it worked pretty good for that, plus it is easier to turn on while steering.
 

ampdude

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That makes complete sense since when you focus you are drawing the bulb back into the light and making it harder to 'see'. I imagine it goes to show why a lot of CPFers don't care for focusable lights - as you tighten the hotspot you lose lumens so you're not really gaining much unless you have a very good reflector.

Yea, the Magled's have the same issue. If you go back and check some of the earlier threads people realized that a lot of the light was being lost behind the reflector.
 

upriver

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:welcome:

For alkaline batteries:
Multiply Overall Output by 1.39 (for LED flashlights) to get lumens: 5.80*1.39=8 lumens.
That is 100% on the runtime chart. This drops to 50% 4 lumens in 45 minutes then to 25% 2 lumens in about 5 hours.

-

For NiMH batteries:
Because NiMH batteries is 1.2V instead of 1.5V for fresh alkaline, Brightguy's 5.3 lumens should be correct.

Sort of an old thread, but...

It appears that it's safe for a mini mag to run on NIMH then, with a possible/probable hit on brightness?

A google search turned up almost nothing, expect for one forum where a guy contacted the Mag company...the reply didn't make a lot of sense to me, but it ended with saying that NIMH is okay and may shorten bulb life a bit. I'd like to use NIMH because alkalines in the AAA model cause below 50% brightness after 40 minutes...I figure I could get well over an hour with eneloops.

BTW...multiple sites do list the mini maglite (AA or AAA) as 15 lumens, so I'm surprised to see ~5 posted here...with that said, it does seem closer to 5 (seems dimmer than Fenix E01).
 

bluepilgrim

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Ohms law: amps = volts/resistance. The current at 1.2V is going to be less than at 1.5V, so NIMH can't shorten the bulb life since it would be running underpowered a bit, and cooler (and dimmer).

A nickel zinc (rechargable) would give you a bit more brightness at 1.6V, and though it might shorten bulb life some I wouldn't expect it to be that much -- but nickel zinc should also not dim down as much until it's mostly discharged. A fresh Alkaline will usually run somewhat over 1.5V at no load (measured on voltmeter) and I expect with a light load also, although I haven't done measurements (probably someone else has and can be found on this board).
 

Swedpat

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The statement of shortened life using NiMh also is used by LedLenser. Can the explanation be that NiMh batteries provide a higher average brightness for the same runtime? In this case it's a bit misleading to tell that you will lose lifetime of the bulb with NiMh without telling you will gain average brightness.
Therefore I wonder if it can be correct that NiMh could shorten the lifetime of a bulb compared to alkalines. Comparing these batteries for incans it's only a very short time the alkaline will provide better brightness, the most part of the runtime NiMh will be brighter.

Regards, Patric
 
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