AA "Vampire" Battery Light

[Ualnosaj]

So we know the Fenix E01 is a great vampire light to draw the last drop out of an AAA, but what do we have in the AA front?

NOTE: Edited post. Previously said "parasite" instead of "vampire"...

[scout24]

CMG/ Gerber Infinity. Pulls every last ma out of a cell.

[ragweed]

+1 on the Gerber Infinity..!

[jabe1]

Any of Peak's AA models.

[crizyal]

Oh, you mean vampire lights.

Safe lights/PALights use a 9 Volt battery long after a smoke detector says it is dead.

EDIT: My mistake... I missed the AA prerequisite.
I do have a joule thief that can use a AA. I am not sure how long it lasts though. I have had it by my bedside for the better part of a year using it a bit each night. I am still on the original half used battery.

[Ualnosaj]

Oh, you mean vampire lights.

Safe lights/PALights use a 9 Volt battery long after a smoke detector says it is dead.

EDIT: My mistake... I missed the AA prerequisite.
I do have a joule thief that can use a AA. I am not sure how long it lasts though. I have had it by my bedside for the better part of a year using it a bit each night. I am still on the original half used battery.

Hahaha yes vampire lights. An AA battery vampire. I thought it sounded funny but couldn't quite put my finger in it, which is why I put it in quotes

Know of the Joule Thief but not wanting to hack a host for it...



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[CMAG]

Member Qwillis makes a joule thief driver and now member Nailbender is makeing dropins with them
No need to hack

[archimedes]

Any of Peak's AA models.

... especially QTC versions

[Flying Turtle]

Best one I have for this job is an old and cheap Task Force 1AA that Lowe's used to sell. I haven't seen this model in a while, however. My Nitecore D11.2 is a good vampire, too.

Geoff

[somnambulated]

Inova has a few AA models that should work well for this. Only reason I still have my 123a Inova.


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[Dances with Flashlight]

... especially QTC versions

+1 for the Peak QTC El Capitan

[braddy]

CMG/ Gerber Infinity. Pulls every last ma out of a cell.

I agree, we mean the old 41 hour ones right? Does anyone know how the old CMG green led compares with the white in this way?Also, any opinion of the more modern 25 hour Gerber as a AA drainer?

[Ualnosaj]

+1 for the Peak QTC El Capitan

I would have gotten this last year but shipping to Canada was crazy. I'll see if things have changed...



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[Mr Floppy]

Know of the Joule Thief but not wanting to hack a host for it...

If you don't mind using a 3mm LED, you can use it in a 2AA mag and replace one battery with the joule thief.

Or just get the NiteIZE 3 LED drop in .. that's not too bad for draining batteries

[Danielight]

I assume the value of having a "vampire" light would be to drain the last of the charge out of PRIMARY batteries (alkaline or NiMH)?

[Tegan's Dad]

Anybody ever use an incan for a vampire light? I assume that would work well since it's more of a resistive/inductive load compared to that of an LED.

EDIT: I know this is an LED forum, just curious...

[Lynx_Arc]

Anybody ever use an incan for a vampire light? I assume that would work well since it's more of a resistive/inductive load compared to that of an LED.

EDIT: I know this is an LED forum, just curious...

Incans don't even compare to LEDs for sucking the last 5-10% out of a battery they tend to go "orange" at about 1.1v per cell vs LEDs can change tints but give useful light down to 0.5v per cell with the right driver. The currents at which the low level outputs are at are so low that I don't think any incan bulbs are designed for that low current and voltage to give any light at all.

[Sub_Umbra]

I agree, we mean the old 41 hour ones right? Does anyone know how the old CMG green led compares with the white in this way?...

IIRC there wasn't that much real difference in runtime between white and green Infinities, but I always felt I was getting more light out of the green LEDs.

[jabe1]

IIRC there wasn't that much real difference in runtime between white and green Infinities, but I always felt I was getting more light out of the green LEDs.

Our eyes see green and blue light better than reds and yellows.

[Sub_Umbra]

Our eyes see green and blue light better than reds and yellows.

That's why I bought them. I still have quite a few of CMG Infinities in LED colors that interest me that will probably continue to run forever. My avatar tells the whole story.

[Danielight]

Inova has a few AA models that should work well for this. Only reason I still have my 123a Inova.


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Any particular Inova AA models? I was looking at a titanium model of the Inova X1 (X1DM-HT), and for about $20 it looks like it might be worth picking up to have as a "vampire" light.

[HighlanderNorth]

Whats the difference between a "joule thief" and a vampire light? I know a vampire light is a light you use to get the last drop of juice from old batteries.

[tam17]

Whats the difference between a "joule thief" and a vampire light? I know a vampire light is a light you use to get the last drop of juice from old batteries.

JT is basically a DC-DC step-up circuit (not necessarily regulated), originally designed to power a single LED from a 1.5V battery and drain nearly all of its available energy. There are many variations on this theme. Wikipedia article

Any flashlight able to almost completely drain the battery can be considered a vampire light.

Cheers

[DaveTheDude]

+1 for the Peak QTC El Capitan

+2 for El Capitan. I found an old "heavy duty" zinc-chloride AA cell in a drawer in an office building my company is remodeling for utility use. On a lark I popped it into my El Cap. To date, the light has been draining the cell for over five hours of occasional use, with no sign of diminishing output. Either its a very efficient light engine, or the zinc-chloride chemistry was vastly underrated.

[angelofwar]

The Gerber recon is pretty good at running down cells as well

[Danielight]

What is it in the electronics that makes a flashlight a good "vampire" light? That Peak QTC El Capitan looks like a pretty nice light, although a little pricey for me right now. Which of the less expensive AA lights would be best as "vampires"?

[Ualnosaj]

Thanks folks I'm going to pull the trigger on the El Capitan that I've held back since last year. Now it's just a matter of figuring out the scheme (eg. SS head with Brass body and SS lug... etc). Was thinking the Eiger as well but I'll hang on to a E01 for AAA.

[Mr Floppy]

Thanks folks I'm going to pull the trigger on the El Capitan ... Was thinking the Eiger as well

It's a lot of money to spend to use on cells that could leak. Get them by all means (I desire a Logan with all the adaptors) but I wouldn't use alkalines in them.

[Ualnosaj]

It's a lot of money to spend to use on cells that could leak. Get them by all means (I desire a Logan with all the adaptors) but I wouldn't use alkalines in them.

That's a good point. I'm eyeing the 6v Haiku and Sapphire GS. I'll jump on those first and keep thinking about it. If I happen to see the Gerber locally soon (WalMart, etc) then I'll stop thinking about the Peak.



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[Lynx_Arc]

It's a lot of money to spend to use on cells that could leak. Get them by all means (I desire a Logan with all the adaptors) but I wouldn't use alkalines in them.

This is a smart statement for sure, people spend a lot to suck alkalines dry which is like saving 2 cents of wasted energy to damage a $30 light for good (at times). Personally my vampire type setups are typically under $20 and more often I have drained batteries with something like a nite ize 2-6 cell drop in wired up to a paper clip attached to a battery so if it leaks it ruins nothing but the surface it is sitting on.