Do flashlights have shelf lives?

[mountaindewer]

I'm the kind of collector that buys multiples of lights i like. For example, when the olight I5T came out, I bought one. Played with it for a few days and decided I loved it, and ordered 4 more. About 5 or so years ago, when my local Kmart went out of business, I picked up a couple xl50 and the 98 lumen multi mode led mini mag. I cut the Duracell batteries out of the packages and put them in a closet. Here about 2 months ago, we had a storm come through that knocked the power out for a few days. My new neighbors moved in about 3 weeks earlier was out and we were talking and i heard the one say to her boyfriend not to bed on his phone cause they'd need the battery for a light. I was like you don't have any lights? And they said no. So I was like BRB. So I went in and grabbed an xl50 and the minimag led, threw in a couple panasonic platniums and was going to give them to them. No loss, I have 6 more xl50s, and I'd be a good neighbor and maybe get someone else hooked on lights.

Well, the xl50 didn't even work. Turned out the switch was bad. I diagnosed this from an xl50 I had out that I bought that made me decided to buy more. Swapped the tail cap and the light now worked and I put its tail cap on the other and it wouldn't work. So it was definitely the tailcap. The mini mag worked good. I give them too them, everyone is happy.

Just yesterday the boyfriend and i were talking and he told me that both lights no longer work. The xl50 started dimming and flickering like crazy. And half the time the mini mag won't turn on once you twist the head until you smack it. This got me to thinking. I remembered the oldest light I had. Some stick looking led light with a magnet that I bought at home depot probably 7 years ago. 3 in a pack. Not something that I would buy today, it was when I was in my beginning stage of liking lights. Pulled them out, and not one of them worked. Not even a flicker. I didn't have the nerve to try any other lights out. I was afraid of what I may find.

So my general question is, do unused lights have shelf lives, or were these just random strange occurrences? I'd hate to hear that all those spares i bought "just in case the company quits making them" are slowly turning into paper weights. The closet stays regulated in temperature. There is no register blowing ac or heat into it directly, but it stays the same in temperature to the room. I keep a digital humidity and thermometer in it, and they all stay in the normal range. Ive had flashdrives and old memory cards from many years ago (one is around 200mb, so that shows its age) and they all work fine.

 

[thermal guy]

If you are keeping lights just to collect them first don't keep batteries in them. Especially alkaline batteries! Worst thing you can do. They will leak and destroy your lights.

If you put a light on a shelf and just leave it you would probably have to be Reincarnated several times before Anything bad happen to them😁

 

[Fireclaw18]

I've had lights for decades and they still work fine. Flashlights generally should not have shelf lives so long as they are stored without batteries inside.

That said, it sounds like OP's Maglight apparently DOES have a shelf-life. I guess maglight quality is not what it used to be.

 

[chillinn]

I think environmental conditions could matter. Moisture corrodes exposed metal. Even copper will patina, breaking a connection. A decent flashlight will have all this coated and sealed, and I expect would last a long time even submerged in a fish tank. Consider upgrading to the next quality level.

 

[mountaindewer]

If you are keeping lights just to collect them first don't keep batteries in them. Especially alkaline batteries! Worst thing you can do. They will leak and destroy your lights.

If you put a light on a shelf and just leave it you would probably have to be Reincarnated several times before Anything bad happen to them

Oh yes sir, I'm well on top of that. That's what I meant when I said I cut the Duracell batteries out. I take any battery out of the light, and even remove any of the free batteries they include. Which in this case was the two Duracells that were in the package, but outside the light. All lights get stored empty.

That's reassuring to hear. I've been disappointed in maglites quality lately and the three home depot lights felt like something you'd get free from harbor freight.

 

[AstroTurf]

I'd check all electrical connection points for oxidation.

 

[mountaindewer]

I'd check all electrical connection points for oxidation.

I got both lights back from them. Everything looked cleaned. Wasn't too sure how the xl50 came apart but im familiar with the mini mags. Everything looked good. All exposed bare metal parts looked brand new,, which the lights were. The threads were a little dry on grease, but hell, the 332 lumen led mini mag i picked up late 2019 was dry as a bone on thread grease. Cleaned all contact tabs with dry paper towel. No dice. Tried again with 91 rubbing alcohol and nothing. Worked good for about a minute, then when I picked it up it dimmed low, even lower than what the low mode offers. I even checked to make sure the contact tabs and tail spring wasn't fatigued.

I think about the next oldest is a nightcore mt10a. I think. Maybe a single cell pelican led. I got some nimh batteries that need excercise, so I'm gonna run them through and see how that goes.

I've got old Toshiba hard drives that work good that stay in the same closet. Old Motorola frs radios from 2015. Many other electronics that live in the same closet. Nothing failed on them. I'm hoping that I just got unlucky with the maglites.

 

[AstroTurf]

Perhaps next time you buy multiples of a light you like, rotate it much like you would batteries.

Then you will quickly know what does not work.

Best of Luck.

Jim

 

[Kestrel]

Aging of PCB solder joints, including the formation of brittle intermetallics over time.
Most likely has gotten worse with the innovation of lead-free solders.

 

[mountaindewer]

Aging of PCB solder joints, including the formation of brittle intermetallics over time.
Most likely has gotten worse with the innovation of lead-free solders.

*sigh * I was hoping someone wouldn't say this, but I was thinking the same thing. Everything that I can see looks clean and in good shape, but what about the electronics and components in the led and circuit board? Guess those old battery radios i got in the same closet from the 60s and 70s are a lead "goldmine" lol.

 

[mountaindewer]

Perhaps next time you buy multiples of a light you like, rotate it much like you would batteries.

Then you will quickly know what does not work.

I may have to break this habit of mine with doing that. It's broke itself kinda, cause I haven't seen a light that has caught my eye since the I5T. I may take and start carrying the mt10a, since it is the one I believe to be the oldest, and see how it holds up. So far I've burned through an eneloop on high and its been good. The reason I picked it as a favorite is the built in volt meter.

 

[archimedes]

Other than alkaline batteries, I think caps are probably the most common component to go bad over time.

Poor solder too, I guess.

 

[Kestrel]

Ya I forgot about capacitors :thumbsup:
Those took out a very nice PC motherboard of mine, a while back.

 

[mountaindewer]

Other than alkaline batteries, I think caps are probably the most common component to go bad over time.

Poor solder too, I guess.

Well I believe the xl50 has an electronic tailswitch, so I can see that being twice the problem with aging, versus a manual clicker.


Edit: oh I see you meant capacitor, not tail cap. My ignorance is showing lol

 

[archimedes]

Well I believe the xl50 has an electronic tailswitch, so I can see that being twice the problem with aging, versus a manual clicker.

Electronic and mechanical failure modes differ significantly :shrug:

 

[mountaindewer]

Well i ran all 9 spare eneloops that needed excercise through the mt10a. Oh high mode a few time for the whole life of the cell, medium a few, and low all night, then dumped it on high. No problems. I went back and checked, this was the oldest one I had now. I plan on carrying it now for awhile and see how it holds up. It gave me a little bit more comfort in the health of the other ones.

 

[SYZYGY]

yes they have shelf lives

but i just need a light to last until the next generation of emitter appears with enough improvement to warrant upgrading.
how long does that take? maybe 10 years.

if i get 10 years of actual use out of a light, that's more than good enough for me.

i think a well made light can last 10 years if it's potted and well designed. but this means it's not worth servicing it and doing board-level repairs (e.g. replacing caps) when it goes bad, so it won't last forever, but i'm probably not interested in a light lasting forever.

 

[bykfixer]

No flashlights don't have a shelf life. But some parts inside do.

It's like a vintage automobile versus a carton of milk.

Parts can go bad in a 1918 automobile but the car work fine if the parts are corrected or replaced. A carton of milk on the other hand only has X number of days before it spoils.

A 1917 Franco baby cop light (nickel plated 2C officer edition)
100% original including the EverReady/Mazda light bulb.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

I always spray the contacts of maglites with deoxit gold when I first buy them, otherwise they stop working after about a month. Anything with Chinese plastic or rubber will become sticky and degrade after awhile. Anything with Chinese steel will start to corrode or rust within a few years. Lube orings and spray deoxit on contacts first thing. Check your lights every year or so like you check your smoke detectors. Any safety related equipment should be checked occasionally. Anything with a capacitor like a shake light should never be stored long term. Don't store lights with batteries in them. Anything with an electronic switch and built in batteries should be used frequently and never placed in storage (parasitic circuits, built in batteries, and long term storage make for an expensive paperweight).

 

[chillinn]

No flashlights don't have a shelf life. But some parts inside do.

It's like a vintage automobile versus a carton of milk.

Parts can go bad in a 1918 automobile but the car work fine if the parts are corrected or replaced. A carton of milk on the other hand only has X number of days before it spoils.

Just added some links to help the metaphor along.