Flashlights with "parasitic drains"

[Mikellen]

Can someone please inform me of which specific brands and models of flashlights have a very slight drain on the battery even while not in use? I know the D10 (Edgetac?) has a parasitic drain, but what are some examples of other brands? Do all or most programmable lights have that type of battery drain? What about Fenix, Olight, and Surefire?
I'd appreciate if anyone can provide an explanation as to what are the characteristics of a flashlight that would determine the need for a constant and slight current draw on the battery.

Thank you.

 

[techwg]

I would like to know also, i keep away from lights that drain like that. It would be good to have a conclusive list to know what to not buy.

 

[Beacon of Light]

The Streamlight Tasklight 1AA and 2AA do this. Not sure why they incorporated this as a necessity. I overlook that as it is a nice light and it has a low/high setting as well as strobe and I always lockout that light to make this a moot point.

I guess the same thing can be said for the Maglite that uses a NiteIZE IQ switch. Again I lock it out to avoid this problem.

 

[Everett]

Most programmable lights will do this. Novatac and Ra lights do this, but you should be aware that the draw is in the microamp range. At the levels I measured on my NT and Ra, the draw was so low that the battery's self drain outweighs it. It would take much longer than the battery's 10-year shelf life for the light's drain to empty it.

 

[Beacon of Light]

Most programmable lights will do this. Novatac and Ra lights do this, but you should be aware that the draw is in the microamp range. At the levels I measured on my NT and Ra, the draw was so low that the battery's self drain outweighs it. It would take much longer than the battery's 10-year shelf life for the light's drain to empty it.

Compare that to when you use common NIMH batteries that do have a high discharge rate already, coupled with the parasitic drain (is this the proper term for this phenominon?).

 

[cave dave]

The Nitecore PD lights can be locked out by untwisting the bezel. As long as they are not in "clicky" mode there is no drain.

Some of the Fenix models had a incorrectly speced o-ring in the tail of the light around the spring. This tail cap allowed some current to pass and acted as a parasitic drain. 1 out of 5 of my tailcaps had this problem. I removed the o-ring as its only purpose was decorative. The tail cap can be tested with a multimeter but I don't remember how. The ohm-meter function I presume.
Some other lights have also displayed similar problems.

 

[Phaserburn]

I hate parasitic drain lights; I just do.

Any light with a "find me" blink led will be a drainer. There are a bunch of these, especially some headlamps.

 

[cave dave]

Most programmable lights will do this. Novatac and Ra lights do this, but you should be aware that the draw is in the microamp range. At the levels I measured on my NT and Ra, the draw was so low that the battery's self drain outweighs it. It would take much longer than the battery's 10-year shelf life for the light's drain to empty it.

However there is more to it than that, when CR123's sit unused they form a passivation layer between the cathode and anode which stops current from flowing and is the reason a primary lithium has such a long shelf life. I am not sure but the parasitic drain may interfere with the formation of the passivation layer and therefore cause the self drain to be much higher than expected.

However as a flashaholic if you let your lights sit unused so long as to notice this drain then Sasha will hunt you down and take away your CPF membership card.

 

[Lightraven]

This has been a minor problem with almost all of my LED flashlights, except the Surefire X-300 which has only one brightness level. I have experimented with CR-123A drainage in my Favourlite 3 watt headlamp, HDS EDC 60, Novatac 120T (slight), and First Light Liberator--all multi level lights. The results were discouraging. The EDC60 would drain a half drained CR-123A from 60 lumens at turn on to .8 lumens (or whatever minimum is) at turn on in 3-4 months. The Favourlite could kill 2 fresh cells in 6 months to a year. The Liberator gradually drained one of its two new 123 batteries and would lock itself out when momentary or strobe was activated. The 120T has a slower drain, not too bad.

I have read on CPF my Nightcore Extreme also does this.

 

[Mikellen]

Thanks for all of the responses. I recently purchased a Fenix L1D and I hope the switch design and head circuitry does not have that slight constant battery drain. I am looking to purchase either another AA or a single CR123A battery powered flashlight as my next purchase. I know it might seem trivial to some, but I just don't want to purchase a flashlight that draws current from a battery when not in use.
Please keep the examples coming.

Thank you.

 

[Lightraven]

Oh, yeah. Forgot to mention my Fenix P2D Cree. I have had some problems with two of them, but not battery draining. They seem to hold a charge.

 

[selfbuilt]

Thanks for all of the responses. I recently purchased a Fenix L1D and I hope the switch design and head circuitry does not have that slight constant battery drain.

You should be fine - the faulty tailcap o-ring was from a limited period of time (back when Fenix was using mainly Q2 emitters, and some of the early Q5s). And in those cases, removal of the ring or locking out the tailcap resolved the problem (I have one such switch myself, just keep it locked out).

As previously mentioned, a low-current draw when off is typically necessary for programmable lights with electronic switches. In a well-designed light, it is generally neglible and not a concern. Tailcap lock-out can again typically resolve the issue if you are worried.

The Streamlight 1xAA and 2xAA tasklights (Nichia emitters) from a couple of years ago were a particularly egregious example of a poorly-designed electronic switch. The drain was sufficient to discharge a full battery within a matter of months. Fortunately, that's a rare anomaly.

 

[Beacon of Light]

The Streamlight 1xAA and 2xAA tasklights (Nichia emitters) from a couple of years ago were a particularly egregious example of a poorly-designed electronic switch. The drain was sufficient to discharge a full battery within a matter of months. Fortunately, that's a rare anomaly.

Did they redesign the Streamlights since then. They are almost my favorite design for a 1AA/ 2AA and bang for buck light I have ever owned. The drain is the only reason I have a beef with it.

 

[selfbuilt]

Did they redesign the Streamlights since then. They are almost my favorite design for a 1AA/ 2AA and bang for buck light I have ever owned. The drain is the only reason I have a beef with it.

Sorry, don't know if they ever fixed it. Unfortunately, those light don't have anodized threads, so tailcap lock-out isn't even an option. But I agree they have a nice form factor.

 

[Mikellen]

Some flashlights that I'm interested in are the Proton Pro, NDI, Lumapower ConneXion X2, 1 cell Surefire lights, and the Olight M20 Warrior Premium R2. Any of these have a "parasitic battery drain"?

 

[Marduke]

I know the NDI has none. Not sure about the others.

 

[Flying Turtle]

I've never seen this mentioned in regards to the Proton Pro, and I think I've read everything mentioned about it here. Not to say it doesn't exist, but since the same UI is used in many Photon lights, seems it would have been noted by now.

Geoff

 

[houtex]

First Light Tomahawk.

 

[Splunk_Au]

Fenix P1D CE.

 

[HKJ]

Fenix P1D CE.

NO, Fenix does not have any parasitic drain.


LiteFlux does, but the drain is very low, i.e. it takes many years to drain the batteries.
Nitecore has a rather high drain, i.e. it will drain the batteries in less than a year (At least for some models).
Zebralight, the lights with buttons uses standby power

A general rule for detecting light with standby power drain is to look after the switch, if it is a non-locking switch, the light has a microprocessor that is always powered to control the power and for some lights they also need a running boost converter to power the microprocessor (That will increase the drain).