Any good battery draining lights?

[Mags]

Hi everyone, I recently recieved an X5 HA III from someone as a Christmas Gift. It is a great light so I have decided to spoil it a bit with fresh cells. I think such a great light deserves more than half drained batteries. Now I want to find a AA battery drainer. Something that can run in regulation for a long time even though its battery is drained halfway or more while it is bright, durable, and regulated if possible. Any suggestions?

 

[dim]

I have and think very highly of the Gerber Trio. With approximately eight hours of regulation and by most accounts similar output to th X5, from comments made on CPF and elsewhere, the Trio appears to be a 2AA X5.

73
dim

 

[Sub_Umbra]

[ QUOTE ]
Mags_despiser said:
Hi everyone, I recently recieved an X5 HA III from someone as a Christmas Gift...

[/ QUOTE ]
That is so nice!

 

[ACMarina]

Draining AA's, hmmmm. .maybe a CMG/Gerber Infinity? A Peak perhaps??

 

[AFAustin]

I agree on the Ultra and the Trio. Just tried out some semi-drained AAs on my Ultra tonight, and there was very little difference in brightness from new Duracells.

Both are also very good flashlights in their own right.

 

[greenLED]

I haven't seen the Trio, but I have several Infinities (Ultra and Task) that I use to kill AA cells (which keep piling up...)

 

[KevinL]

That's the cool thing about the other kind of "free" light (as opposed to rechargeables) : using up cells that would otherwise have been thrown away.

A KL1 does a great job of draining batteries, it will eat 'em down to fractions of a flash amp where they're REALLY dead. MadMax converter based lights work as well.

I also have a lantern built around a Luxeon 1, that is direct-driven off two 123s. Of course if you ever load fresh 123s into it, you're going to get a very bright FLASHlight that'll last a fraction of a second. The idea is to put dead CR123s into it, and you should see direct drive really suck it down to 0.00A! Cells that won't even light a Surefire 6P will drive this lantern at peak ~400mA (safe enough) for hours and hours tailing off as the cells weaken.

 

[greenLED]

Here's my battery drainage sequence:
for 123's: Peli M6 Incan - Peli M6 LED - Inova X5
for AA: (I dig in a "battery recycling bin" at the local library) and grab a couple to feed my Infinity

 

[watt4]

[ QUOTE ]
greenLED said:
....I dig in a "battery recycling bin" at the local library) and grab a couple to feed my Infinity

[/ QUOTE ]

now that's recycling! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

 

[PAtwood]

TNC AA, best single cell AA light made.

 

[Mags]

does anyone have experienc with the milky candle?

 

[ACMarina]

I think it takes 123 cells. I'm trying to find one right now, in the BST forum. .

 

[Stanley]

YMMV, but I used to use my Ultra G to drain out my used AAs before, and one day the bezel was very very difficult to turn off. I had a lot of difficulty unscrewing it, but finally managed to, and still had to pull hard to get the bezel apart, with a loud 'pop'. Turns out that the used battery had leaked and probably caused a gas buildup inside. Now my Ultra G has a blotch along the side down to the -ve contact. Had to scrub it out before it was usable again. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
Don't know if it was a one off thing that made it so (mind you it was a Duracell), but just thought I'd let you guys know anyway.

With 123s I use my Tektite Splashlite Led and its holding up really really well so far. Cells that are too weak to power up my KL1 and Arc LSL still put out a decent amount of light in my Splashlite Led. Definitely a good choice!!

MilkyCandles are the best from what I've heard, but yes, they work on 123s only. I heard that MilkySpit is planning another run soon, I think, so keep your eyes open!