HL21 Parasitic Drain?

Bought an HL21 for my GHB/BOB and just wondering if anyone knows if it suffers parasitic drain. Google hasn't been any help, even in the CPF only search. Don't want to have to use it only to find it dead.

Cheers,

Jash.

Jash said:

Bought an HL21 for my GHB/BOB and just wondering if anyone knows if it suffers parasitic drain. Google hasn't been any help, even in the CPF only search. Don't want to have to use it only to find it dead.

Cheers,

Jash.

Click to expand...

Does it have an electronic switch? If so the answer is yes. Not likely to be significant however.

gcbryan said:

Does it have an electronic switch? If so the answer is yes. Not likely to be significant however.

Click to expand...

Yeah Im pretty sure its an electronic switch which is what got me thinking. There's nothing in the instructions about it like with other Fenix lights that suffer drain, so I thought I'd ask.

Might be best to just leave the battery out until I need to use it.

Stupid iPhone!

If it's easy to just unscrew the battery cap a bit that will break the connection as well. I can't tell for sure from the pictures if that's the battery compartment I'm looking at but I assume you can do like most people do with Zebralights and that is just back off the cap a bit.

Unscrew the cap a bit and then try turning it on and if it doesn't come on there is no more parasitic drain and you don't have to take the batteries out each time.

gcbryan said:

If it's easy to just unscrew the battery cap a bit that will break the connection as well. I can't tell for sure from the pictures if that's the battery compartment I'm looking at but I assume you can do like most people do with Zebralights and that is just back off the cap a bit.

Unscrew the cap a bit and then try turning it on and if it doesn't come on there is no more parasitic drain and you don't have to take the batteries out each time.

Click to expand...

That worked a treat. Thanks for that. Only had to go about half a turn.

Jash said:

That worked a treat. Thanks for that. Only had to go about half a turn.

Click to expand...

Glad it worked for you. I do that with my Zebralight and found that I only have to move the cap a mm or two. It becomes a habit after a while and you don't even had to think about it.

Never seen a parasitic drain with the HL20. Gave away a HL21 for a gift so don't know for sure.

Woods Walker, electronic switch= parasitic drain. Even if it's not much, it's still there. I have to turn the battery cap more than two full turns (EDIT: I apologise. Only half turn is required. Was thinking of a different light) before the light turns off. (HL 20)

Boy am I out of date. What the hell is an electronic switch and/or how do you recognize one?

larcal said:

Boy am I out of date. What the hell is an electronic switch and/or how do you recognize one?

Click to expand...

An electronic switch is any switching mechanism employed in a flashlight, power tool, or electronic equipment that relies on a signal as opposed to a mechanical mechanism to turn on a circuit. The button on a PC that turns the system on is an electronical switch while the wall switch connected to your ceiling light is a mechanical switch. Does that make sense?

An electronic switch is usually a "soft" switch like a momentary push button as opposed to a "hard" switch that latches when the pole is thrown. Ultimately, any mechanism that does not directly relate to the connection of a circuit by use of a mechanical trigger is an electronic switch.

It should be fairly easy to determine if a parasitic drain exists by taking off the tailcap and bridging the contact and the battery through a digital ammeter set on the uA scale. [1000uA is the same as 1mA] Depending on the lights design, the parasitic drain could be as little as 1uA [lightflux LF5XT] and higher than 2ma [Jetbeam RRT series]

Thanks for answering Illum, that helps a lot. It's still slightly confusing Tho, as by that description all the old style flashes would seem to have electronic switches since they are a "momentary push button" like on my laptop, but then again my laptop has no click sound so probably/maybe that's what you mean? Hope so, cause that would mean my newly aquired and much loved Fenix LD22 is safe! Have to find my fluke meter, jump wires etc. I guess. Have discovered that even though you subscribe to a thread (actually seems like such choice is automatically checked) you are not notified so glad I suddenly remembered I posted here, as I sat repondering this very subject as I occasionally need a really good headlamp but don't have one. Even after remembering, at first could not remember which exact thread I posted to. Anyone know what's up with that?

With an electronic switch, the light is always on, but the switch is the signal that tells the light to turn the LED on or switch modes. With a normal switch, the switch physically breaks the power to the driver and LED.

With some lights like the LD22, there is both types of switches. The normal kind is at the tail the makes and breaks the power connection, and an electronic switch at the head to change modes.

As for the thread subscriptions, I have no idea.

So to clarify, if a flashlight has both an physical switch and an electronic switch, does the physical switch disengaging completely break the circuit and prevent the parasitic drain, or does the electronic switch stay powered regardless?

Eagle