average life span of a led flashlight?

[raggie33]

just wondering

 

[jon_slider]

google says:

average life span of a led flashlight?

 

[raggie33]

now im more conffused

 

[alpg88]

if they are designed and constructed properly, not abused, i do not see why it can't outlive an average human. i still have first gen leds (about 20 years old) that work,

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I think quality lights will be replaced long before they quit working. What question needs to be asked is the usable life of an average LED light instead. I've gone through several generations of lights that have end up gathering dust as newer lights I've found brighter and better constructed and more efficient using better battery technology.
Only time will tell if todays LED lights will be replaced by better ones in the future.

 

[Lateck]

To me they should last 10 ~ 20 years. My old Maglite is 35 years old.

 

[alpg88]

the only limiting factor would be led itself, will its die decay, led themselves are not new, been around since 60s, as very low power indicator leds, i have old radio that is around 40-50 years old, that has small red leds, they still work, but leds are made by many different manufacturers, some are better than others, use different elements, manufacturing process, some leds may stop working due to decay in 10 years, others may still go strong after 50 or more.

 

[raggie33]

i think i had a calcater that was leds but its been years so i forget

 

[idleprocess]

I think quality lights will be replaced long before they quit working. What question needs to be asked is the usable life of an average LED light instead. I've gone through several generations of lights that have end up gathering dust as newer lights I've found brighter and better constructed and more efficient using better battery technology.
Only time will tell if todays LED lights will be replaced by better ones in the future.

This is a better question. At some point it's too worn, become too finicky, needs some part that you can't source or don't want to mess with, uses batteries you can't source or don't want to buy any more, or is missing a new feature you want.

The lumens wars have more or less ended on a per-emitter basis, so big jumps in output are a thing of the past. Thermal ruggedness might improve however so brighter / more sustained runtime in a small package could start happening.

I've got a few lights that are either shelved or I've disposed of. I've got a perfectly-functional Surefire E1L Outdoorsman from the Luxeon I era that sits on a shelf and hasn't seen use in a good 10 years. I also used to have one of those always-on PALights that I stopped feeding 9V cells to and tossed at some point (after one of the domestic critters gave it a good gnawing, but it was on the way out regardless). I bought a number of the early Dorcy aluminum LED lights that almost all still work, but are a tad dim. I've got an Inova X5 that still works but is really dim - been contemplating the old freeze-pop method to remove the head for some modding action.

the only limiting factor would be led itself, will its die decay

I suspect that for most reasonably well-made LED flashlights the LED will not be the first failure component. Drivers are generally not given the thermal management considerations that the LED itself is given; RoHS solders can also lead to tin whiskers shorting out components. Switches and springs have finite cycle lives. A number of PCB designs direct the actuation force on electronic switches into the FR4. Lenses get scratched up or break and are often not user-replaceable. O-rings harden and fail. Switch boots crack and may not be replaceable. Accessories fail or are lost. Integrated cells reach end of life. Integrated magnets fail.

 

[sledhead]

They last forever or until the batteries leak and corrode the insides beyond repair..............:shakehead

( Don't ask how I know this! )

 

[Katherine Alicia]

Depends how badly I screw up when modding it

Seriously though, I`v never had a LED light go on me, the worst that I`v had happen was with the early 9x 5mm led lights, the sort that take a 3x AAA carrier, some of those started flashing intermitantly (bad soldering I suspect). the perfect LED light would in theory just get dimmer over time, but between that and reality. lays an undetermined amount of time, like the length of a piece of string

 

[turbodog]

the only limiting factor would be led itself, will its die decay, led themselves are not new, been around since 60s, as very low power indicator leds, i have old radio that is around 40-50 years old, that has small red leds, they still work, but leds are made by many different manufacturers, some are better than others, use different elements, manufacturing process, some leds may stop working due to decay in 10 years, others may still go strong after 50 or more.

This.

If you want a real-world example of led decay... compare your numlock keyboard indicator to the caps lock or scroll lock. May see a big difference if the board is old enough.

 

[orbital]

+

The motherboard on the computer I'm typing right now is from '07.
That's alot of On/Off cycles, crashes, finding the absolute finest of line on overclocking ect..
..all the little resistors, capacitors, solder points, chips, magic stuff, alien technology

Your flashlight should last as long.

 

[fbacker]

just wondering

1000 - 2000 hour

 

[Olumin]

LEDs don't usually just fail suddenly, unless something breaks. I don't see why a well build flashlight that is not abused cannot potentially outlast the user. A life expectancy of around 50 years or more, with moderate daily use, for a quality light, is not unrealistic I think. Lights that are used in more extreme settings, like police, security or military, will of cause have far shorter lifespans. However even such a light can last more than 20 years if taken care of. Of cause, the more complex the light and its electronics are, the more likely it is to fail in some regard. Simple lights will likely last the longest. The only components that will eventually need replacing on any light are the switch boot and perhaps the lens.

 

[neutralwhite]

some companies like HDS Elzetta, Malkoff limit the LED output to not push it too its limit right?

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

some companies like HDS Elzetta, Malkoff limit the LED output to not push it too its limit right?

Yes, if you under-drive an LED, it will last much longer. A lot of budget lights tend to over-drive the LED's, so they will probably dim to 70% brightness much sooner than the usual 50,000 hours. Of course, you're not likely to run a high-power light at full power all the time, nor is it likely even possible due to thermal management. So, the 50,000 hour point is probably a reasonable estimate to 70% of the original brightness (LED's dim as they wear out). I suspect something else in the light will break before that.

I have some lights that I've put a few thousand hours on (used for room lighting every night). I've worn out many batteries over that time, but the light still seems fine. Of course, I don't know if it has dimmed since it was new, but it still seems bright.

 

[Hugh Johnson]

The lifespan rating (usually in hours) is not a failure rating. It'a to a percentage of original brightness (ie. 70%).

I have one light with over 9,000 hours run time. It's noticeably dimmer than a new one I received with the same emitter. I can't say if some of that was a binning difference.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

I have some lights that I've put a few thousand hours on (used for room lighting every night). I've worn out many batteries over that time, but the light still seems fine. Of course, I don't know if it has dimmed since it was new, but it still seems bright.

Actually, I can measure it! It's an old 4sevens Quark Tactical 2xAA. When I used to do reviews, I measured its initial lumens, which was many years ago. It's the light that I've put the most hours on, mostly on its high level.

The result is the same lumens today. At least, as accurately as I can measure it, which is to approximately 10% accuracy. In any case, it hasn't lost much output, if anything, after a few thousand hours. Since it's an under-driven XP-G2 (or perhaps its XP-G, I can't remember), I wouldn't expect it to lose much output, though.

Something like my over-driven Astrolux S43, which I regularly heat up way too much (I turned off thermal controls because they suck), I might expect a loss of output. It probably has at least a thousand too-hot hours on it. But, it's still going, and still bright. I could measure it, but without knowing what cell I used and what the age of it was, it wouldn't be much use due to the FET.

 

[the.Mtn.Man]

Short answer: An LED in a well constructed flashlight will last long enough that you will never need to worry about it.