Advance auto 3W unimpressive vs modded Energizer 1W

[stephan2148]

Hi, just bought an advance auto 3W luxeon 2C. I have modded the energizer 1watt rechargeable by just shorting out it's lowish resistors inside.
The energizer is noticeably brighter then the AAP3W. Since using rechargeable nimh, the run is nice and flat, but for a half four only.
The energizer package said lumileds. THis was the target $20 clearance special. It is built Very well.

I measured 1.14A at the batteries and 3.55V to the led from the energizer (it is a 3.6V nimh driven directly), and since there is no stepup, I assume 1.14amp to the led also. Driven direct, I get about .5h of bright light which is a little lame though.

Interestingly, I measured also 1.14A at the batteries of the AAP3W and 3.23V at the led. I can only assume the led is getting lower current at the led than the energizer since it is stepping up the voltage and then must use some of that battery current (is 85% eff. typical maybe).
I measure 3.15V from the batteries unloaded (the alkalines from the package).


Anyway, I was a little disappointed in the AAP3W to the modded energizer, but I do have a seoul w42180 z-power coming, maybe it will be better. It was going into the energizer, maybe not. Also a cree from cree.com as a sample
Maybe I will hack the switcher in here to get more out of it also, it all comes apart, just gooped up with heat grease.
edit- no luck on the boost circuit, it is probably maxed out. 10KHz ish inductive switcher. Output to the LED is 350ma measured, 1.14ma sucked from the batteries.

-edit Using nimh, no better results.
It is just not enough current for my taste.
I suppose I need a 1A driver or better to approch the energizer blinder.
I need to see a refrence 'bright light' to klnow what all this cpf fuss is about. Are there really such bright lights I am hearing about? I'll continue modding until I impress myself. Rayovac search next around town. One of these days it will show up.

 

[spring]

Can you provide any pictures of the Energizer Mod. I purchased one about the middle of September and I like the light's recharge design but I would like to get a little more brightness from the light. I've been thinking about a Seoul P4 mod but I don't want to tear the light up until I find out if someone else has had any success.

 

[stephan2148]

I have some pictures I can e-mail you, I don't have a host to upload to. If you do, you may post what I can send you.
I put my seoul in there, but blew it up. The original LED handles the current (1Amp about) just fine, so I put it back. It is bright enough, so I will keep it at that. I also really like the focusable spot on it. This is my reference bright light since I haven't ever seen anything brighter yet.
If you give me your e-mail, I can send photos of what I did.
I can also show a comparison of the advance auto light.

 

[mhubble]

The energizer is noticeably brighter then the AAP3W. Since using rechargeable nimh, the run is nice and flat, but for a half four only.

Im sorry but I dont get it, what good is a light if it can only run for 30 min? Not trying to knock your mod, But I just dont understand. Ive got an ADVANCED AUTO I modded with a SSC thats really bright and I can get almost 3 hours of full brightness and another 3 hours of diminishing light.

 

[spring]

Would like to see pictures of your mod. I don't have a web hosting site but you can email the pictures to me at [email protected]. I did some research on finding a replacement battery stick and there are 1.5 amp hour batteries available in the 2/3 A size for about $3.25 each at Cheapbatterypacks.com. I checked the price once and I think for about $12 you can get 3 of the 2/3 A made in a stick. The stock battery stick is only 1 amp hour and it has a slight extension on top, I think the 2/3 A stick would be a close fit. If not, the spring in the tailcap could probably be shortened. I would like to show some pictures of this light to those who are unfamiliar with its design, so if you find a way to host the pictures let me know. I haven't seen the advance auto light but the charging feature of the energizer is really convenient, which is a little bit of a trade-off for the short run time. It's nice to grab a light right off the charger knowing it is fully charged. Because the light is made of heavy-grade aluminum and has the built in charging function, I think this light deserves some attention from the modders out there. Do you know what caused the Seoul to blow up? Was it from inadequate heatsinking?

 

[lumenal]

Good info, guys. I bought 2 of those Energizer 1 watt rechargeable flashlights, for $9.98 each, during Target's closeout.

They are very well built, tailstand, anti-roll, lanyard, and bright. And you just plug them in to recharge when they dim. Their solid build remind me of a couple Pelican 3 watt lights I bought before "Cree-mania".

Stephan2148 - how did you short out the resistors to increase output? And where are they?

Also, the packaging states a 200 minute runtime per charge.

Since these battery packs consist of 3 Ni-MH 2/3 A cells, I wonder if they need a few cycles for forming before their true output and capacity is reached?

 

[stephan2148]

I sent you some pictures. It is a bit hard to solder in there because I couldn't get the pcb out due to the charge plug in the way which appears to be glued or something.
I shorted resistors until I got switched battery power to the LED. This battery resistance seems to be enough that direct drive is OK with no resistors.
I don't know why the new LED couldn't handle it, but I am waiting on drivers for the other light, and waiting.... I won't attempt direct drive in anything else, and probably not with a heftier battery here.
It is good enough for me, and works great.
That is why I like it. I don't use flashlights for more than a half hour if ever, if needed I have this dim advance auto one. . I will mod that soon with a driver and better LED.
Yes, comparing to others, this is a tank, and very nice handling with the diameter I think the same or very close to those CR123 batteries, rechargeable, and focusable (very nice).


mhubble: Well, think about my situation for a minute. I bought this energizer 1Watt rechargeable because I liked it in the store for $20.
I saw the LED was driven at 350ma, so I wanted more out of it to see if I could get an idea of what a bright LED light might be like. I wonder if I am at the bright point now? I don't know. Someone send me a real light so I know what to shoot for. I haven't really seen anything yet that I was impressed by in stores around me, I am sure CR123 or lights like those are very bright, but I haven't seen any yet. This thing is solid, and the Advance auto one is quite cheesy compared to this, but probably easier to mod, and I also do like that one due to common c batteries. I did put my seoul z-bin (is that what it was?) in the aap3w, and it was nice and bright, but still not as bright as this one. I then decided to try the energizer direct to see if brighter is possible, and magic smoke..
So I am learning, drivers coming I hope. cheers

 

[spring]

I plan to upload some photos of the light soon. I found that you can use photobucket.com as a good source for sharing pictures.

 

[spring]

Forgot to ask. Does shorting the resistor affect the charging of the batteries. I was thinking it could be part of the load for charging the 3.6v stick and using the 4.2v switching charger may overchage the battery with the shorting of the resistor. On the other hand, maybe the resistor is only limiting current to the led and is not in the charging circuit.

 

[stephan2148]

It is hard to tell without being able to get the pcb out, but I was measuring the resistors to vias of an ohm or less to a few ohms, so that wouldn't really affect charging if shorted. I have charged many times, and the charger is regulated and limited to 300ma anyway. I just unplug it after it is charged via the LED indicator. If you figure out how to get the charge connector out, let me know, then it can be really modded.

 

[spring]

Here are links to the pictures of the Energizer 1 watt rechargeable led light. I found mine at Target on clearance for 19.99. It had been $40.00. Very heavy duty aluminum. Let me know if the links don't work. Any suggestions for modifying the light are appreciated.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd165/springbucket/2e7e07c9.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd165/springbucket/83086e0e.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd165/springbucket/620fc282.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd165/springbucket/9e668000.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd165/springbucket/4635fde1.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd165/springbucket/c3ab0a2e.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd165/springbucket/c9a2e324.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd165/springbucket/40d37730.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd165/springbucket/26be8188.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd165/springbucket/0eda8ef4.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd165/springbucket/1d599cba.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd165/springbucket/c25bc6f1.jpg

 

[lumenal]

Love the pictures with your cat - I have 2 of 'em, a brother and sister.

And boy do they like chasing the hotspot of a flashlight around the room!!

 

[stephan2148]

I just went to wallyworld, this energizer is now labeled 3W, looks the same but brighter.
Wonder if the resistors are just shorted out..but it said 100 minutes run time I think.

>rename energizer.1watt energizer.3watt
>


Also, many new rayovac sportsman extremes now, but not the 3C cree I am looking for.
They have a 2AA 1Watt, and same looking 2AA 3Watt. 40 and 80 lumens respectively.
I saw no CREES of anything that I could see though.

 

[spring]

I could not resist any longer. I tore into the Energizer 1 watt rechargeable and took it apart as much as possible. Took lots of pictures and will submit them when I can. It's getting late and my brain is starting to shut down for the night. I also took some beam shots before shorting the resistor and after and some comparison shots with my Fenix L2T. I did notice the head felt a little warm after running it about five minutes with the resistor shorted. Don't remember it ever getting warm before. I measured .91 amps current draw with the resistor shorted out. Can't recollect what the current draw was before. Well its lights out for now.