Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

[Light Sabre]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

The Coast led lenser Mini Tac TT7830CP 1 AAA is a battery vampire. :thumbsup: Package says 7.5 lumens, 18 hours max battery life. I would say 4.5 hours sun mode, and a very very long moon mode (total time so far is 19+ hours and counting) using a Rayovac alkaline.

Searching on the internet all I seem to find is the 4 old button cell model. The 1 AAA version is not even on their website. Unknown if it can take a lithium battery.

I like the warning on the back of the card: "Caution: Do not mix old and new batteries. Do not mix alkaline, standard (carbon-zinc), or rechargeable (nickel cadmium) batteries." All that for a 1 AAA flashlight!!! :thinking:

 

[maxspeeds]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

I have an Inova X5 in the mail. I hear they are awesome battery vampires.

 

[fisk-king]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

not sure if this counts..

but my MiNi 123 lasted a long time on 1 battery station cr123. the resting voltage (if that counts) when the light died was 2.17V. :shrug:

 

[LED_Thrift]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

I have an Inova X5 in the mail. I hear they are awesome battery vampires.

They sure are. Remember that the batteries are inserted "backwards" in the X5 - battery negative toward the head.

 

[shark_za]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

This could be true with all 2AA lights that have a 1AA version using the same head.

I just fired up my iTP C8 with 2x alkaline AA's measuring .75v each on my DMM.

It ran low and lower when adjusting with the infinite variable option. It even flashes when it gets to lowest.
Scared to run it much longer as I would hate to clean up.

 

[bullfrog]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

I have an Inova X5 in the mail. I hear they are awesome battery vampires.

+2

Enjoy it - my red x5 has been my ****-in-the-middle-of-the-night light for close to a year now - AND STILL ON THE SAME CR123!!

 

[bluepilgrim]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

About 2 years ago I made up a nightlight out of plastic pipe using the Niteize 3-led upgrade for the Mag 2 aa flashlight, and built to take one D cell. I've been using the same 2 or 3 D cells (alkalines) all this time, tossing them into a recharger for a short time when they run low -- when the light gets dim enough it's really hard to see the table it sits on. But the light never went out -- just got really dim. The old cells now take very little charge and dim out after a week or so (about 1/2 hour per night), but the light doesn't go out -- it looks like that Niteize adapter will suck almost the last drop of juice from a cell -- and that's starting out using one 1.5V cell instead of the two it's designed for. When I first started using it, it ran off a used D cell for 6 months.

 

[Flying Turtle]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

Interesting info about that NiteIze dropin, bluepilgrim. I've got one gathering dust here that I should put to use. Maybe set up a shootout of it versus my old favorite Task Force 1AA for low voltage startup.

Geoff

 

[RAGE CAGE]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

Crenshaw- great thread. Might I suggest an N cell candidate?
PEAK LED SOLUTIONS Shasta with 1 or 3 led heads or the Baltic XLR head lego'd onto the Shata body.:thumbsup:

 

[Toohotruk]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

About 2 years ago I made up a nightlight out of plastic pipe using the Niteize 3-led upgrade for the Mag 2 aa flashlight, and built to take one D cell. I've been using the same 2 or 3 D cells (alkalines) all this time, tossing them into a recharger for a short time when they run low -- when the light gets dim enough it's really hard to see the table it sits on. But the light never went out -- just got really dim. The old cells now take very little charge and dim out after a week or so (about 1/2 hour per night), but the light doesn't go out -- it looks like that Niteize adapter will suck almost the last drop of juice from a cell -- and that's starting out using one 1.5V cell instead of the two it's designed for. When I first started using it, it ran off a used D cell for 6 months.

I'd love to see some pics of your creation...

 

[OutTheFront]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

Would the Maratac AA be a good single AA cell vampire? I don't know how much current it needs to turn on in low, but the low is like 1.5 lumens.

 

[Sadsack]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

I pulled a cr123 out of my mini 123 after it would no longer fire up on low and put it in a Inova x5 with a dummy cell and this lights been running about 6hrs a night for well over a week. :wave:

 

[alnico357]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

I have a blue LED 1AA CMG light I use at night for navagation in the house. I save AA batteries from my electric shaver for it.

 

[fisk-king]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

I pulled a cr123 out of my mini 123 after it would no longer fire up on low and put it in a Inova x5 with a dummy cell and this lights been running about 6hrs a night for well over a week. :wave:

I need to look into getting one of these inova lights. If I understand correctly the red x5 is only 1 cr123 as oppose to the other X5 models?

 

[swxb12]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

I have an original KaiDomain "Buckle" AAA light (SSC-P4 iirc) that drops out of regulation and drains out alkaline batteries pretty well. At the moment I'm comparing it to my Zebralight SC50w's low mode of 0.6lm and the KD is noticeably dimmer.

No idea if the V6 (yep, version 6) has the same type of function.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

I picked up a dorcy 2AA with what looks like a rebel LED in if from biglots and it can put out useable lights off a 1.0v single AA alkaline so using 2 AAs in it you could bleed them below half a volt each an lower but it won't restart much less than a volt. The niteize 2-6 cell mag dropin will also work off a half used single battery, I used a bent paper clip to attach one to a used D cell and I used it in the evenings for several weeks. The interesting thing about the dorcy is if you can unscrew the head it makes for a great flood light although the emitter is recessed below the threads.

 

[M@elstrom]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

but my MiNi 123 lasted a long time on 1 battery station cr123. the resting voltage (if that counts) when the light died was 2.17V. :shrug:

My battery vampire will run well below 2.1v (as that's it's nominal Vf) :thumbsup:

FWIW I know it will still run at significantly lower levels because of it's resistored 2 stage tailcap

 

[Swedpat]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

My Malkoff M60s really suck out everything from the batteries. Many hours after they fall out of regulation they continue to run with decreasing brightness.

Regards, Patric

 

[tolkaze]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

I ran 2 cells down from full to about 2.2V each on my MG P-rocket, then checked the voltage, to make sure it was the same, then put them in my X5 White, and it went for another 10 hours give or take. It still puts out about a 10 Lumen burst (Cells recovered, and sitting at 1.61V each) and about 2 - 3 Lumens after about 5 minutes... this just keeps on going and going... Oh, I am checking the voltage a lot to make sure they don't go imbalanced... but wow! useable middle of the night light!

Would love to get hold of an X5 Red though, if anyone wants to get rid of theirs...

 

[fisk-king]

Re: Battery Vampires - Lights that you can feed your "dead" cells to, listing..

My battery vampire will run well below 2.1v (as that's it's nominal Vf) :thumbsup:

FWIW I know it will still run at significantly lower levels because of it's resistored 2 stage tailcap

What light is that:thinking:?


Edit: nevermind, I took a look at his list of lights