Epic AAA Run-time test (low level only!)

[Darvis]

I'll tell you what, I own about 5 quarks and have the 2xAA and 1xAA tubes. I have both the R2 and XP-G versions as well. I have an Arc AA Adapter on the way for the peak head. I'll open a new thread in a few days and kick off a test... I gotta figure out why I can't upload pictures as well. I may have just have to do this the same way I ran the AAA tests and old school describe it. Anyway, I can drop some eneloops in and let's say single AA R2 vs XP-G vs Eiger AA XP-G? I don't have any other AA lights I would consider contenders for super duper runtimes... Anyway, like I said, a few days and I'll take this one on.

[Dances with Flashlight]

Judging by the intense interest in these great tests, this thread will have a very, very long life. But in the interest of clarity - since some readers may not realize which particular lights take which particular batteries - might it not be best if a new thread were started for the AA testing?

[Darvis]

Agreed.

[defloyd77]

Well, it seems as if everyone's pitching in with tests, I am working (mentally as of right now, don't know when I'll have the time) on a AAA test for me to do, but it'll have a curveball. Peak Eiger, level 1 with a red rebel, Fenix E01, iTP EOS, 4Sevens MiNi AA on AAA, Gerber Firecracker on AAA, I think that's all I have that'll do 1AAA, I'll add more if I find it. I don't have a camera, so I will be doing comparisons to the Quark AA on both moon and low. Now for the fun but somewhat difficult curveball I spoke of earlier, throughout the entire test, I will at random times (I'm hoping hourly, I don't know) turn each light off for 15 seconds and switch it back on, failing to light back up gets the light a disqualification. After all, who leaves their lights on for the entire runtime?

I'll be doing NiMH first, alkalines, due to the nature of my test, will be a PITA with the long runtimes and the (hopefully) hourly on off elimination test, but I do have chronic insomnia

[Burgess]

to Darvis --


http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...b3_attachments



This oughta' answer yer' questions about Posting Photos on CPF.


_

[Dances with Flashlight]

I do have chronic insomnia

You're going to need it!

[Beacon of Light]

Ok so since my first Group A batch turned out more sucessful than I first thought, I bring to you Group B.



The picture is self explanatory with the lights chosen. The Matterhorn SP=Standard Power (think of it as low) and HP=High Power. Only the top 2 Matterhorns have 3-LEDs.

On the right side is a blast from the past with a plastic Inova T-I forget the name of it. It runs 2xAAA but I seem to remember the claims of only 11 or 13 hours. The Connexion original should be interesting. It is running on an AAA cell. The Infinity Ultra is also running on a AAA cell. Then we are going to try the LF2XT again, and to round up the group is the new iTP H-01 headlamp.

The test started right around 1:45am

[defloyd77]

Inova Radiant. Looking forward to your results, thanks again.

[Darvis]

Burgess, thanks!!

Beacon, you da man!!!

[Beacon of Light]

Radient is right. I still thought it was an R-## to differentiate it from other Radient series.

[RAGE CAGE]

Ok so this is confirmed then the difference is that Fenix did use specs from alkies to to quote runtimes. I guess I learned something out of this and I guess I'm disappointed in NiMH batteries low performance compared to alkies.

I still will prefer NiMH because I don't worry about leakage....unlike the dreaded alkaline leaking cell suprise that will really f up a light (I know- don't store your lights with the cells in them) but sometimes you just have to- like in the car BOB etc.

Kudo's to you and Darvis for this test.

[Beacon of Light]

Also here are the pics of when the test started @ 1:30-1:45am:



L-R: High Power 3-LED Matterhorn / Standard Power 3-LED Matterhorn / High Power 1-LED Matterhorn / Standard Power 1-LED Matterhorn



L-R: Eiger #3 / Eiger #0 / Eiger #Subzero



L-R: Inove Radient / Lumapower Connexion / Gerber Infinity Ultra / Liteflux LF2XT / iTP H-01 headlamp



Groupshot L-R is same sequence as above.

[Beacon of Light]

Last night when I checked last I disqualified the Infinity Ultra just because it had a defective AAA to AA adapter. The bottom fell out of the plastic shell and it works intermittently.

[Side Note: If anyone knows of a place to get them cheap let me know. DX used to have 8 packs of them but it says out of stock, and when they are out of stock they NEVER get the item back.]

Well this morning at 7:45 all lights (except Infinity Ultra) were running. The Inova Radient was dimmer than the Quark AA on moon mode (not shown) so I called it at 6 hours for Radient. The 3-LED SP was dimmer and getting close to the Quark. Everything else seemed pretty bright. It's good to see the flaky results of the LF2XT is behaving itself this time. I loosened & tightened the tail section so not sure if that made a difference or not?

Here are the pictures at 7:45am:



L-R: 3-LED HP Matterhorn / 3-LED SP Matterhorn



L-R: 1-LED HP Matterhorn / 1-LED SP Matterhorn



L-R: Eigers #3 / #0 /#Subzero



L-R: Radient / Connexion



L-R: LF2XT / H-01

[Beacon of Light]

defloyd, thanks for confirming that and I'm going to have a look at that thread. I can sincerely say that I'm now a true convert/believer in single mode simple!!!

On that note, at exactly 11 hours, the Preon shut down. It was feeding on an energizer alkaline AAA... And that folks, is all she wrote.

Don't forget to check out the thread I started asking 4Sevens for an Ultra Low dedicated low level AAA light and a poll so you can give input.

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/sho...d.php?t=233237

[Darvis]

Thanks Beacon, I went ahead and put my vote in for an endurance champ.

I don't know what has happened to me... When I first joined CPF, I was a regulated lumen chaser and now... I think you've damaged me forever.

All I'm intersted in are low level runtime champs. These "watch the grass grow" tests are awesome. I find myself rushing home to catch the latest status.

That said, my brand new old stock matterhorn grab bag package arrived from RMSK last night. I now have a nice selection of single and triple Matty's in the stable. And he even had the old style triples with the individual housings for each LED, plus a sweet stainless single!! Man, are they nice lights!!!

[Beacon of Light]

Yes, Darvis, when I joined here the hype was bigger and brighter and that was back when the Infinity Ultra and Ultra G's were fairly new. I bought a few lights based on hype before I realized I want longer runtime and I prefer lower output for outdoors even. It's great for watering my plants and checking my plants at night for bugs as I can get in really close without alerting the bugs. I kept coming back to lights like the Infinity Ultra (no surprise I own several of them as well as the couple of different generations of the CMG Infinity Task Lights.

Well it's good to see your interest in low level / long runtime lights Darvis, I know there are a bunch of people that share those views as well. Spread the word, as I want at least some company that will take notice of this demand even if it is a small niche, but I'd say it's a GROWING niche if anything.

The 3-LED SP Matterhorn I got from Bob @ RMSK has the old style with individual housings for the LEDs. Pretty cool to say the least. 1 of the Matterhorns has a stuck battery and I tried WD-40 and hot water soak to remove it as per Bob's advice to try those things first, and it won't budge. I'm going to have to call Bob back today with the news. :-(

[Beacon of Light]

Well I checked at 12:45pm and I stopped the 3-LED SP at 11hours as it was very dim. It measured at .99v so I could have left it longer but it was a bit dimmer than Quark moon mode so I stopped it. Oddly the 3-LED HP is still running and not overly dim. Anyone want to take a stab at how this can be? The HP 3-LED should draw more current than the SP 3-LED so I wonder how this occured the way it did?

The 2 single LED Matterhorns are still going and the HP is quite a bit dimmer than the SP.

The H-01 was off completely and measured .87v. Pretty disappointing this is that much different than the iTP A3 EOS. It comes in at under 11 hours.

The Eigers are still pretty good with the #3 getting very dim (dimmer than any of the remaining Matterhorns).

The Connexion is still looking bright on the AAA in the adapter.

[Darvis]

Yes, Darvis, when I joined here the hype was bigger and brighter and that was back when the Infinity Ultra and Ultra G's were fairly new. I bought a few lights based on hype before I realized I want longer runtime and I prefer lower output for outdoors even. It's great for watering my plants and checking my plants at night for bugs as I can get in really close without alerting the bugs. I kept coming back to lights like the Infinity Ultra (no surprise I own several of them as well as the couple of different generations of the CMG Infinity Task Lights.

Well it's good to see your interest in low level / long runtime lights Darvis, I know there are a bunch of people that share those views as well. Spread the word, as I want at least some company that will take notice of this demand even if it is a small niche, but I'd say it's a GROWING niche if anything.

The 3-LED SP Matterhorn I got from Bob @ RMSK has the old style with individual housings for the LEDs. Pretty cool to say the least. 1 of the Matterhorns has a stuck battery and I tried WD-40 and hot water soak to remove it as per Bob's advice to try those things first, and it won't budge. I'm going to have to call Bob back today with the news. :-(

I had the same issue with two of them as well (alkaleaks!!!!) I resorted to lighter fluid and then kinetic energy (smacked the light, opening down, hard against a towel on top of the counter). Took a few whacks, but they came out and the lights were not damaged. Had replace the foam washer thingy though.

[Zendude]

Conclusions on my alkie AAA tests:

Quark MiNi AA: ~15.5hrs .61V

ZL H50b: ~27hrs(it was in strobe) 1.07V

ZL H501: +34hrs 1.08V

E01: is still going at 42.5hrs(low moon mode) .37V

[Beacon of Light]

zendude, did you use AAA>AA adapters for those or do AAAs work in them without them? Odd I never tried to see if a AAA without an adapter would work in my H50 or H50b. I think I remember AAAs working in the older CMG Infinities though without adapters.

Also did you stop the E01 to test voltage and then start her back up or do you have a way of testing voltage as the light is running?

[fugleebeast]

Figured I'd chime in.

I ran a couple year old Eneloop AAA through a conditioning cycle and then put it in my LF2XT (Q4 neutral).

I'm at 11.5 hours now and it's still going strong. Battery voltage at 1.29.

[Zendude]

zendude, did you use AAA>AA adapters for those or do AAAs work in them without them? Odd I never tried to see if a AAA without an adapter would work in my H50 or H50b. I think I remember AAAs working in the older CMG Infinities though without adapters.

Also did you stop the E01 to test voltage and then start her back up or do you have a way of testing voltage as the light is running?

I stretched the spring a little and that was it. Normally I wrap the battery in some paper to hold it in the center of the tube but not this time.

I did interrupt the test(maybe 1min. tops)to check voltage on the E01. I wanted to do that anyway just to see if it would fire back up. There was a slight delay but it fires up every time (with a slight bump in brightness).

I found it strange that with the Quark and E01 I could see the voltage rebound as I tested the batteries. The ZL batteries held steady at ~1V.

Thanks for all your work dude!

[Darvis]

Intersting! Thanks Zendude! There should be little doubt after this around what results the different batteries produce in these light with so many of us correllating the results.

That said, My Arc AA adapter arrived today and I'm refreshing the batteries for the launch of the Quark vs Quark vs Eiger AA test. Once I get that new thread fired up, I'll let the folks know here as well.

[Beacon of Light]

I'm away from my lights at the moment but I took the 3 dimmest with me.

The Eiger #3 was dimmer than the Quark around 4:45pm we will say (15+ hours). It's still glowing but I was in a closet shut the door in pitch black and I could barely read the lettering of the old Electrolux beater attachment. Still usable if you were in dire needs, but I will stop it now and report voltage later.

The next dimmest is the Matterhorn 3-LED HP. I'm going to call that one too even though it is a bit brighter than the #3 still, but it is dimmer than the Quark (15+hours).

The Matterhorn 1-LED is still going so I will end that later.

I forget if I called the other 3-LED Matterhorn SP but I ended it earlier at 12:45pm (11+hours).

I will update as things proceed. Thanks everyone else for doing independent runtime concurrent to this one. Job well done!!!

[Dances with Flashlight]

Well I checked at 12:45pm and I stopped the 3-LED SP at 11hours as it was very dim. It measured at .99v so I could have left it longer but it was a bit dimmer than Quark moon mode so I stopped it. Oddly the 3-LED HP is still running and not overly dim. Anyone want to take a stab at how this can be? The HP 3-LED should draw more current than the SP 3-LED so I wonder how this occured the way it did?

Older Peak lights were labeled - in order of increasing draw: XLR (Extra Long Run), HP (High Power), UP (Ultra Power), and SP (Super Power).

[Beacon of Light]

Mine are unlabeled heads and Bob said that meant standard power. If you say super power that's a new one for me.

[Beacon of Light]

Well the remaining lights LF2XT, Matterhorn 1-LED SP, Eiger #0 and Eiger #Subzero are still going past the 24 hour mark with ease (1:45am). So in 20 minutes we are coming upon 32 hours. The way they are going it looks like they will cruise right into 48 hours no problem.

[Zendude]

E01 update: At 63hrs light output was pretty dim. Battery voltage was .29V!
I tried to fire it up again but no luck. I rechecked voltage and watched it creep back up to .41V. I put it back in and it fired up again. I'm still calling it done.

BRAVO little guy!

[mcnair55]

E01 update: At 63hrs light output was pretty dim. Battery voltage was .29V!
I tried to fire it up again but no luck. I rechecked voltage and watched it creep back up to .41V. I put it back in and it fired up again. I'm still calling it done.

BRAVO little guy!

Indeed very well done little fella

[ama230]

Test with 1aa Icon rogue 1AA - Semi fresh (charged approximately 20days ago) Tenergy 1aa r2u lsd 2300mah battery. Just for comparison as I didnt want to add the light but need it for calibration.
Running on low mode 1.30V

Test started @ 8:21Pm on 08/17/2010

Test Ended @ 12:35PM on 08/18/2010

total runtime = 16hrs & 14 min

Test with Icon solo 2AAA - Semi fresh (charged approximately 20days ago) Tenergy 2AAA r2u LSD 1000mah batteries
Running on low mode 1.31V

Test started @ 8:21PM on 08/17/2010

Entered moon mode @ 12:25AM on 08/19/2010

Test Ended @ 6:38AM on 08/19/2010

total runtime = 34hrs & 17min


Test with Fenix E01 1AAA - Semi fresh (charged approximately 20days ago) Tenergy 1AAA r2u LSD 1000mah battery.
Running on single mode 1.31V

Test started @ 8:21PM on 08/17/2010

Entered moon mode @ 3:33AM on 08/18/2010

Test Ended @ 9:20AM on 08/18/2010

total runtime = ~13hrs

This is just for comparison.

My conclusion is that the threshold voltage of the LSD AA's and AAA's are that much lower than the alkalines and lithiums. Then the light seems to be picky where the working voltage of the transistor is too high to actually run the battery lower.

As seeing the quark aa, this is awesome as it is the lowest ive seen on a light. All my lights typically only run to .81v and then quit.

You would think that with spending above fifty bucks on a light would get you some transistors with a better tolerance and wider threshold. I know there is the scare of running an alkaline this low would make it leak but, who puts an alkaline in a nice light, other than testing?