A newbie's first and a plea for advice

[shroomy]

paraphrase of my question (so you don't have to read everything below if you don't want to): inova Xo3 with li-ion rechargeables, or t4, or something else. Durability a must, bright is good, 1.5+ hour runtime is also good, and cheap is great.




I picked up an inova xo3 the other day at target, i was looking for a flashlight that could take one hell of a beating, and light a whole lot up (with a runtime of a couple hours), without being too expensive. The xo3 seemed to fit the bill. I got home, did some research on batteries, decided rechargeables weren't a good option and bought a 12 pack from surefire.

The next day i did a little bit more research, discovered the magic of no-memory li-ion batteries, and decided i'd made a huge mistake. i called surefire the next day (which happens to be today) to cancel my order and instead get some tenergy rcr123a 900mah li-ion rechargeables from battery junction. Unfortunately i was just a little to late and my order had shipped out that morning. The customer service rep was friendly and after i explained why i had wanted to cancel my order advised against rechargeables saying that they were bad for the led.

And now the meat of my question. will the 12 milla seconds of unregulated voltage that the tenergy's put out really effect the life span of my Led (i read somewhere on these forums that people had succesfully used the tenergy's in an xo3)

or am i better off coughing (perhaps hemorrhaging) up the money for an inova t4? I plan on giving the flashlight a lot of use so being rechargeable is a huge bonus. And the additional lumens are tempting, but it's rather expensive. What do you guys think. Are there any other flashlights you can recommend?

 

[Marduke]

:welcome:

The thing you have to be careful of is that CR123 lithium primaries are 3 volts (~3.2v new), where RCR123's are 3.7 volts (~4.2 off charger). Some lights can take it, some will fry. I have no clue if the XO3 can take it or not.

 

[shroomy]

I was looking at these http://www.batteryjunction.com/rc390reliba.html

They are supposed to be about 3.6 off the charger, but they have an internal valtage regulator which is supposed to cut the voltage down to 3.0-3.2 v within 12 milla seconds

 

[txmatt]

Durability a must, bright is good, 1.5+ hour runtime is also good, and cheap is great.

I know it seems counterintuitive, but if you want to save money, spring for a Novatac or Surefire, or for 1/2 that $, a Fenix, right now.

Here's why: you'll spend $20 or $30 a couple times on store-bought lights. Then you'll stretch and spend $40 or $50 on a Fenix before splurging on the $60+ special edition brightest Fenix at the time. Then after having already spent the equivalent of a top-end Novatac, you'll be wanting to buy a Novatac. After purchasing said Novatac, you will have spent twice as much as you would have had you just ponied up for the high-end light from the start.

Trust me, it'll happen.

 

[Jay T]

I know it seems counterintuitive, but if you want to save money, spring for a Novatac or Surefire, or for 1/2 that $, a Fenix, right now.

Here's why: you'll spend $20 or $30 a couple times on store-bought lights. Then you'll stretch and spend $40 or $50 on a Fenix before splurging on the $60+ special edition brightest Fenix at the time. Then after having already spent the equivalent of a top-end Novatac, you'll be wanting to buy a Novatac. After purchasing said Novatac, you will have spent twice as much as you would have had you just ponied up for the high-end light from the start.

Trust me, it'll happen.

Either that, or he will go the other way and buy 732 cheap lights from DX.

 

[shroomy]

Here's why: you'll spend $20 or $30 a couple times on store-bought lights. Then you'll stretch and spend $40 or $50 on a Fenix before splurging on the $60+ special edition brightest Fenix at the time. Then after having already spent the equivalent of a top-end Novatac, you'll be wanting to buy a Novatac. After purchasing said Novatac, you will have spent twice as much as you would have had you just ponied up for the high-end light from the start.

Trust me, it'll happen.

Yeah, i know, but right now i don't have the funds to do it, i think my limit right now is about 130, but i'd prefer not to go above 100-110 (including batteries). Though i suppose some novatacs are in that range.

 

[wishywashy7]

May suggest a Fenix P3D Q5 with a rechargeable 3.7 Li-ion setup or L2D Q5 with any of the AA rechargeables you can get from any grocery or hardware store.

also just in case stock up with primary batteries just in case. hope this helps and good luck! :thumbsup:

 

[Gunner12]

I would suggest the Dereelight CL1H for simplicity or the Olight T20 for many modes. Both have thicker walls then the Fenix and the Dereelight is easily upgradeable but the Fenix should easily take most abuse.

Or if you really want cheap(and bright), look at Dealextreme and Kaidomain's Cree/Seoul/Rebel LED section.

The reason a $25 light, like this one, can, or a 2 AA light, like this one, can out lumen your current X03 is because of a much more efficient LED. The Cree XR-E(P4-R2 bin), Seoul P4(U and the upcoming V bin), Rebel 100 have double or more the efficiency of the Luxeon K2 used in the 2007 Inova X03. So for the same power, the newer LEDs will produce at least double the output of the K2.

:welcome:

 

[shroomy]

Thanks a whole lot for the advice, the fenix l2 and p3d are looking very nice. Do you know the wattage of the cree in the p3d? At this point i think the only reason i'm delaying is because i like the feel of the xo3. Damn inova for not being up to date or modable.

 

[Gunner12]

The wattage is variable due to the multimode but I'm guessing around 3-3.5 watt on high for the Fenix P3D and L2D.

If you want to compare output, it would be lumens and not wattage. A Cree P4 at 1 watt will have more output then a Luxeon K2 at 1 watt.

 

[shroomy]

Oops, i wasn't thinking output, i was thinking of replacing the 123a's with rcr's and was wondering if it could take the voltage. Don't know why i asked about wattage, it makes even less sense than trying to use wattage to compare output (i think anyways). I was up all last *ahem* working on a report, but mostly researching flaslights and skimming the forums. So i'll use lack of sleep as my excuse for being non-sensical. Still, thanks for the explanation.

As a side note i emailed inova earlier today asking them about using rechargeables in the xo3, they responded within the hour saying that i could, but didn't know how the output or runtime would compare to regular batteries.

 

[Gunner12]

No problem, get more sleep when you can.

The Cree XR-E at 700 mA is around 3.5-3.7v(I've seen reports of 4v both those only seem to be Q5 bin problems). The K2 is around the same IIRC. there is a buck driver in the light to lower the voltage so the LED doesn't burn out.

Runtime might be shorter with the rechargeable cells. The start up spike should be of no problem.

As I implied before, look for a Cree/Seoul/Rebel LED light for your next purchase.

Good luck with that report!

 

[Kevin Tan]

No, the Inova XO3 will BURNOUT with 2x 3.7v lion.

 

[shroomy]

No, I'd be using 2x 3.0 li-ion.

Thanks for all the advice, i definitely will be getting a light with a Cree, Seoul, or Rebel. I'm planning on returning the xo3 and getting the fenix p3d q5 right now. The specs are of the fenix are to good not too. i like the feel of the inova's, but i can always pick one up after they upgrade their LED.

 

[nosuchagency]

i think you're gonn'a like the fenix; i just picked up that model last week. the batteries you were eyeing will work fine for it. this thread may be informative for you as well (see post #30).
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=179055

 

[shroomy]

Thanks, it's good to know that.

 

[ICspots]

Either that, or he will go the other way and buy 732 cheap lights from DX.

ROFLMAO:nana:

 

[SafetyBob]

Shroomy, I was in your same situation myself not long ago. I got a Task Force Luxeon at Lowes and was impressed, but not thrilled. After lurking for awhile I did what most have said here and got a good light and I won't blow my money on substandard stuff (junk).

I looked at the Surefires and will get one soon (and throw a Malkoff drop-in it), but I went for the Fenix P3D which takes the CR123 battery. I got Energizer Lithiums for it and I was truly amazed. Then, off course, the guys at the Fenix-store made a new 3xCR123 tactical replacement tube for the P3D. Got it and now my little Fenix is absolutely spectacular for a little, I won't say cheap, let's call it reasonable light. Actually, let the wife use it outside tonight while I made some adjustments to a fence out in the back yard and with the extra battery, it seems just slightly brighter than with just the two batteries and I have yet to drain my first set of batteries.

If you are going to use the light alot, I would suggest going with rechargeables. Otherwise, Lighthound offers Energizer Lithium CR123 batteries for at least a third of what you would pay at WalMart. For now, that is what I am going to do until I come up with a plan for rechargeables. NiMH and Li-ion battery setups can be confusing if you have just been using AA NiMH rechargeables for Radio Shack or wherever. Alot has changed, mostly a multitude of sizes and numbers you will have to get familar with. Yes it will be overwhelming at first but you will get it.

Be advised a really good Li-ion charger which comes from the world of R/C cars and planes can run into some serious money. That's why I am trying to keep my stuff into the NiMH arena. I dare you to google a Triton Charger and see just how much a really good battery charger that can charge virtually every type battery out there costs. However, as you have read here, the Li-ion batteries are first rate for flashlight applications.

Good luck and you won't regret spending money on a Fenix light. Although I would have liked to go with a AA setup (because I have a bunch of rechargeable AA's), the overwhelming, OK, much brighter CR123 lights really made my mind up and I don't anticipate using the lights all the time (lithiums keep charge for a long time very, very well).

Bob E.

 

[shroomy]

Thanks for the advice. I ordered the p3d Q5 weds morning from the fenix store, and i can't wait to get it. I'm not too worried about batteries, that was more of a concern with the relatively short burn time of the xo3, i think the fenix has 4.8 hours on high. I figure i'll just use the surefire batteries i ordered and see how long it takes me to run through them (that'll also give me time to learn what all those numbers and sizes mean, heh).

I'd also like to thank everyone for giving me advice, I really appreciated it.

 

[Gunner12]

I think you will like your new light, your only gripe might be that the Fenix will feel less tank-like then the Inova.