Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

[angelofwar]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

Neat to see when yer "invention" takes ona life of it's own, and slowly changes, molds itself into somethnig else...and it's still the same in "your mind" as when you came up with the idea. Neat stuff going on here guys! Like to see those runtimes Etc!

 

[Kestrel]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

Neat to see when yer "invention" takes ona life of it's own, and slowly changes, molds itself into somethnig else...and it's still the same in "your mind" as when you came up with the idea. Neat stuff going on here guys! [...]

Remember when you first mentioned that you had done this in some post way back when, and I thought it was such a good idea that I encouraged you to do a thread on it? And now, 182 posts and 10,000+ thread views later. :thumbsup:

 

[etc]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

Here it is in the 3P clone body. I tried to get the runtime but am sorry to say I lost track of it and now not entirely sure what it is, other than it's pretty long. I ran it 3 times, each time overnight, so it's around 15-20 hours on 1x123. And not even done.
It's bright for 1 hour and then it quickly drops to 3V and 1/2 of the initial brightness and stays there seemingly forever. Meaning that it drops from being twice as bright as Infinity to about the same level. The lumens are completely comparable to Gerber Infinity Ultra, except the tint is much better. I suspect the runtime is pretty similar.
Nice TSHTF lite. I don't really 'get' the 'battery vampire' feature but pop in a fresh cell and you got days of usage out of it, ranging from circa 15-5 lumens without even hitting the vampire mode. In the 'battery vampire' mode I am not sure I care for it, as it's pretty dim, but the benefit is that it's still (very marginally useful) and doesn't cut out on you. All these "I can use 0.2 lumens" people will love this mod... I do too but it will not replace my EDC lite, 6P clone.

 

[M@elstrom]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

I don't really 'get' the 'battery vampire' feature

TBH there's nothing to "get" as it were, think of it as a means to use up what energy is left in a Lithium primary cell that cannot sufficiently power a "regular" flashlight/torch anymore :thumbsup:


Tree hugging flash-a-holics :nana:

 

[etc]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

Yes, that is true - theoretically. In reality the lumens that it gives are so low that they are only useful for some super stealth mode.
I suppose a little better than nothing but in reality not much better than nothing.

The lite really shines on a fresh CR123A cell with enormous runtime. I also want to test it on that new 2900 mAh 18650 cell but don't want to overload with 4.2V that it's not rated for as I think it might shorten its life. But it's much brighter on the 18650 cell.

 

[M@elstrom]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

Your mileage (runtime/output) will vary depending of the choice of LED r/t Vf characteristics, this is why personally I eventually opted for a red emitter 😉

If i need a low 2Lm of white light my Jet3M can provide it with a minimum of fuss 😀

 

[angelofwar]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

Ditto Maelstrom. Red LED's can get more juice outta them. I didn't really have "EDC" in mind when the concept came up, just a "sneak around the house" at night light or a hurricane/extended power outage light to use all those useless CR123's we flashaholics tend to gather, instead of chucking them.

 

[etc]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

Had it running over night yet another time, maybe 3rd or 4th one and it still keeps going. The output seems to be half that of Gerber Infinity at this point but still good enough to read a map or navigate around the house.

 

[angelofwar]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

Had it running over night yet another time, maybe 3rd or 4th one and it still keeps going. The output seems to be half that of Gerber Infinity at this point but still good enough to read a map or navigate around the house.

Sounds awesome etc.!

 

[etc]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

I got the runtime figure: Forever.
Looked at it tonight and it hasn't changed in lumens to any real degree since yesterday. Good emergency lite.

 

[red02]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

I started using an exhausted cell out the SF Minimus just about as soon as I completed the mod. Between leaving it on over night and the frequent usage, I'd guesstimate about 50+ hours with no noticeable dimming.

The really great thing about this light is that there are 0 converter loses. No need to boost the voltage like the GUI. With the lower 1.7v of a red led this thing really will run forever.

 

[M@elstrom]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

Ditto Maelstrom. Red LED's can get more juice outta them.

The really great thing about this light is that there are 0 converter loses. No need to boost the voltage like the GUI. With the lower 1.7v of a red led this thing really will run forever.

So considering there's no actual electronic circuit these have an extremely high power efficiency, gotta' love the "improvisation factor" :thumbsup:

 

[red02]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

Just remembered that my white LRI Freedom is using 2x3v 2016. Are they seriously overdriving the LED or is it alright to use 2xcr123s?

 

[M@elstrom]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

Just remembered that my white LRI Freedom is using 2x3v 2016. Are they seriously overdriving the LED or is it alright to use 2xcr123s?

Not familiar with the freedom does it have a DD or buck drive? as for 2 CR123a I wouldn't recommend it without some type of step down/resistored configuration... the highest I'd push these LED's is a fresh Li-Ion cell @ 4.15v :thumbsup:

 

[red02]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

Its just a circuit board with a control chip. Direct drive all the way, since there absolutely no regulation I doubt there is any type of converter or resistor.

 

[baterija]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

Are they seriously overdriving the LED or is it alright to use 2xcr123s?

C. None of the above. :naughty:

Those little coins can't sustain a high current. Under load the voltage is sagging way down. In effect the batteries themselves are limiting the max current enough to prevent serious overdrive. CR123's can handle much higher currents without the same voltage droop.

 

[red02]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

C. None of the above. :naughty:

Those little coins can't sustain a high current. Under load the voltage is sagging way down. In effect the batteries themselves are limiting the max current enough to prevent serious overdrive. CR123's can handle much higher currents without the same voltage droop.

You just saved me a few bucks, thanks for the heads up.

 

[KevinL]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

Watch out for flying glass. The P60 I decided to cannibalize took its revenge on me by sending glass flying EVERYWHERE, even though I'd taken pains to use an envelope to prevent that from flying.

The bad news is the reflector has two small scratches, the good news is that after vacuuming all the glass up, I have an empty P60 shell 😀

I can't find my emerald green LEDs though...

 

[red02]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

You can remove the lamp by pushing it out from behind once the springs are removed. No glass, no mess.

Pretty sure that the lamp I removed still works...

 

[KevinL]

Re: *Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

You can remove the lamp by pushing it out from behind once the springs are removed. No glass, no mess.

Pretty sure that the lamp I removed still works...

Depends how generous Surefire was with the epoxy. They must have given me half the tube for my P60 😉