A little help with batteries and other info please

[IanH83]

Hi, I'm new to all this but already concerned about the amount of money I could spend on these things.

I've had a photon microlight II for a while which never leaves my pocket, but decided to buy something better, so I bought a Fenix L0D CE and a SureFire L1 (cree). Neither has arrived yet.

I have three quick questions.

1. For the L1, would these batteries be ok?

Click here

I am worried as I have heard people on here mention exploding batteries . I am not overly concerned with whether these are the best possible batteries for the L1, just whether they are safe to use without worrying about damaging the L1 or me. (I would be grateful for any other comments).

2. Are standard alkaline (I currently have duracell) AAA batteries ok with the L0D CE? I again heard on here someone mention that these would not be good enough for the more powerful little torches and that rechargeables are better (As long as the L0D CE will work ok and I'm not sacrificing too much runtime or brightness I'm fine with sticking to these batteries that I already have for now)

3. Can anyone give me a rough idea of some numbers regarding what the photon microlight II (white) is capable of (in terms of lumens), I would be interested to know as it's the brightest light emitting diode I've seen (not for long!).

I am preying my L1 has none of the reported problems, I'm not keen on paying for insured postage back to the US.

Thanks in advance

Ian

 

[meuge]

2. Are standard alkaline (I currently have duracell) AAA batteries ok with the L0D CE? I again heard on here someone mention that these would not be good enough for the more powerful little torches and that rechargeables are better (As long as the L0D CE will work ok and I'm not sacrificing too much runtime or brightness I'm fine with sticking to these batteries that I already have for now)

Alkalines don't do well at high current draw, and their voltage drops rapidly.

If you don't plan to be using the L0D CE much, then get a 4-pack of AAA lithium batteries... or you could get a charger and use the AAA Eneloop rechargeables. Either will give you much better regulation than the alkalines (won't dim).

3. Can anyone give me a rough idea of some numbers regarding what the photon microlight II (white) is capable of (in terms of lumens), I would be interested to know as it's the brightest light emitting diode I've seen (not for long!).

Try flashlightreviews.com

Per their data, the L0DCE should put out about 6X more light than the photon. I am not familiar with the surefire, but I am sure someone else will chime in.

 

[Kilovolt]

Hi Ian, welcome to CPF. :kiss:

I happen to have both the lights you are waiting for.

The topic of low quality lithium batteries has been discussed at length here and the general consensus is that although nothing has been really proven it is advisable to use CR123 batteries from a reknown supplier. For instance in my lights I use Surefire batteries:

http://www.qualityflashlights.co.uk/termekekmain.php?csoportid=3


In my L0D CE I use Energizer L92 lithium primaries which last longer and also put out a bit more light than the alkalines. Of course Duracells are also OK.

As to the Photon I am not familiar with this light but you could look for it or something similar here:

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/index1.html

Finally my opinion on the L1 problem. It is quite unlikely that you go around for a long period (say 30 minutes) with the light always on at its maximum level. What you will probably do is to use it at minimum level for an extended time with short bursts at maximum. This is what I do with all my flashlights. In this case a.k.a. "the real world" I will not even know if my L1 does overheat after 20 minutes and acts funny. This of course is just my 2 cents (Euro). :naughty:

 

[IanH83]

Thanks for the replies.

I bought a 4 pack of energizer lithium AAAs off ebay for £5 inc p+p. I like the idea of having them sitting in the drawer ready to use for the next decade, I know I would forget to recharge rechargeables (Saying that I'm sure I'll burn through all 4 in the first day playing with it).

Not sure what to do about the L1 batteries as the "add to cart" button on qualityflashlights.co.uk isn't working for me, not sure if you have to register first. I searched elsewhere for SF 123as and one UK website was selling them for £10 for a pack of 2!

As for the reported L1 problems, I probably wont test it for a very long length of time, but if it can't handle 10-20 minutes on high it's going back - but probably after a few weeks / a month, giving them time to recognise and fix whatever the problem is and decreasing the chance of me getting another dud. Also given a few weeks they may have to recognise there is a problem and hopefully a polite email will lead to them paying for my return shipping.

I hope the flashing feature of the L0D CE is reasonably easy to activate quickly, I work in a shop part time while studying and unfortunately don't back down to anyone, even when they wave a 9" carving knife at me. 6xphotons flashing in their face should disorientate them long enough to KO them with a bottle of vodka.

 

[meuge]

I hope the flashing feature of the L0D CE is reasonably easy to activate quickly, I work in a shop part time while studying and unfortunately don't back down to anyone, even when they wave a 9" carving knife at me. 6xphotons flashing in their face should disorientate them long enough to KO them with a bottle of vodka.

A Fenix P2D would've been a better option for that. It's more than 3X brighter than the LODCE, and the strobe mode is easier to get to. Alas, it's not a 'pocket' light per se, but it's easy to carry it on your belt. I have it next to my cell phone, and it doesn't bother me.

 

[scottaw]

True, there have been reports of no-name 123's exploding or venting, but i don't think there have been any confirmed cases in 1 battery lights. Im pretty sure the problem is with multi cell lights and differently charged batteries.

 

[DM51]

True, there have been reports of no-name 123's exploding or venting, but i don't think there have been any confirmed cases in 1 battery lights. Im pretty sure the problem is with multi cell lights and differently charged batteries.

Here is the first case of an explosion_in_a_single-cell_light. The cell was a cheap chinese one obtained via eBay.