120 lumens/2 hour weapon light off a single AA lithium?

[pangris1]

Looking at some of the off the shelf offerings, like the Fenix LD10 - I would imagine this is possible if one were to use the latest greatest parts.

How hard would it be to build a 120-ish lumen light with about 75 - 100 yards of throw, good spill, and run the whole thing off a single AA lithium cell?

If it is optimized for a lithium cell and all that is available is alkaline, how much would performance suffer?

I'm looking to build a compact, light, general purpose weapon light for a scout type rifle.

Does anyone make a plain single AA cell body, ideally .8" in diameter, with a clicky tailcap or that a clicky is readily available for?

I'm not trying to re-invent the wheel... if this is already available of if there is a better way, please point that direction.

 

[kyhunter1]

120 lumens is easily possible but dont know about a 2 hour runtime. The Eagletac P10A with xre has the brightness and beam charataristics, but only has around an hour of regulated burntime. It might be possible with a xpe emmiter. (Edit -just checked 4sevens website on the Quark XPE R2 with a single AA, and it was rated at 90 lumens for 1.2 hours. I think you will be hard pressed to get a full 120 lumens for 2 hours on a AA with any emmitter out there right now.).

 

[pangris1]

Thanks for the reply.

There are such possibilities within this arena now that it is frustrating to me to not be up on the latest with the LED's themselves, and who is machining what...

for instance, I'm amazed no one is making a side by side AA housing with a standard SF or streamlight pattern thread system.

In a perfect world, where machining was no issue...

Imagine a rifle with this light -

2AA batteries side by side in a body with an integral mount
1.5"-1.75" head with a reflector that could throw 75-100 yards and spills well
80 lumens low (indoor) 200 lumens high (outdoor) two stage

Simple, batteries available everywhere, and based on whats out there should be able to retail for well under $150... I'm just amazed no one has made it yet.

 

[Justin Case]

120 lumens and 2 hrs looks possible from a single AA lithium primary such as an Energizer.

Take an XP-G R5 for example. The min rated output is 139 lumens at 350mA drive current.

At that drive current, Vf is listed as 3.0V in the datasheet. That means the XP-G R5 needs about 1.05W power from the driver. If the actual Vf is lower than 3.0V, then you are in even better shape.

An Energizer AA lithium primary can deliver 1.0V or more under a 1A load for almost 3hrs, based on the curves in the alkaline battery shootout.

If the driver is 90% efficient, then the AA lithium has to deliver about 1V/1.1A of current to the driver, which should still be doable for over 2hrs (esp since the Energizer lithium can actually hold over 1.2V at a 1A draw for at least 2hrs, meaning the cell can actually run at a lower current draw than 1A and thus suffer less voltage sag).

 

[Dead_Nuts]

I know it's not what you are looking for, but I run a Malkoff M30 in a Surefire 3P on an AR-15 SBR (Short-Barreled Rifle), as there is very little space in front of the foregrip to mount a light.

With this setup, I can run a CR123 at 160lm for about an hour and 20 minutes, but will continue to put out useful light for about 2 hours. But, with an RCR123 cell, I can get 235lm for about an hour.

This probably doesn't help you if you are trying to carry only one type of battery with you. This is the same reason I am buying a new EOtech sight for one of my carbines -- the current sight uses AA batteries and my weapon light uses 123's. So I am buying the EOtech that uses a 123, so I only have to carry one type and they are interchangeable. I'll put the old sight on a rifle that has no light.

 

[Wiggle]

According to this review the QAA will run for 2 hours on an L91. Thats on turbo which is just below 100 lumens for R2 and above it with R5.

 

[Dead_Nuts]

According to this review the QAA will run for 2 hours on an L91. Thats on turbo which is just below 100 lumens for R2 and above it with R5.

Yes, but that is at 50% output by 2 hours. Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought the OP wanted at least 120lm for 2 hours. I'm not sure that's possible; yet.

 

[pangris1]

Actually leaning toward a single or double 123 and EO XPS set up myself. I don't think the AA is going to work for now.

The Aimpoint micro battery life is amazing, but I prefer the EO interface and 600 hours isn't exactly problematic.

 

[Dead_Nuts]

Yes, battery interchangeability is a big deal when you need to quickly replace cells. "Are those 123's in my foregrip or my stock compartment?" The XPS really is much smaller than the 555 I'm moving. I have an Aimpoint also and love it.

 

[BentHeadTX]

Pangris,

The only light that will do 120 lumens for an hour would be the 4Sevens Quark AA2 Turbo with a 1AA body. As long as the 120 lumens you are talking about is measured at the LED.