SFfanman
Enlightened
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Has anyone done a Runtime Test on LS20 low level?
- Thread starter PoliceScannerMan
- Start date
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scout24
Flashaholic
I must thank JBlackwood for the kick in the a$$ to do this... I don't think I have run a light this long ever. Still going strong, BTW...
:)>
Flashlight Enthusiast
It isn't right that I get so excited about this... I am hopeless and incredibly curious.
jblackwood
Enlightened
Here are my results from the first run:
9 hours and 32 minutes for one. I fell asleep for the other but it was done somewhere between 5-7 hours into it. Both batteries are on the charger and I'll turn them both on again for a second run starting around midnight.
There's something negative to be said about relying on simple tools. My new ZTS (happy birthday to me, btw) read both batteries as full, but the LEDs light up in increments of 20%. So one could have conceivably had 95% and the other 81% and both would still read with a full charge. Either way, that's the first run results.
Scout24, thanks to YOU for sacrificing a primary for this test. That's a line I won't cross . . . hehe. Not like it's a huge sacrifice I just prefer my rechargables.
9 hours and 32 minutes for one. I fell asleep for the other but it was done somewhere between 5-7 hours into it. Both batteries are on the charger and I'll turn them both on again for a second run starting around midnight.
There's something negative to be said about relying on simple tools. My new ZTS (happy birthday to me, btw) read both batteries as full, but the LEDs light up in increments of 20%. So one could have conceivably had 95% and the other 81% and both would still read with a full charge. Either way, that's the first run results.
Scout24, thanks to YOU for sacrificing a primary for this test. That's a line I won't cross . . . hehe. Not like it's a huge sacrifice I just prefer my rechargables.
jblackwood
Enlightened
Here's a side thing I learned about my own usage. My EDC (the BB) had a full charge on it's RCR123. The one I keep on my bedside and use mostly to go around the house every night have about 60% (I didn't use THAT battery for the test! 
). I would have expected the opposite but then realized that I EDC because I my workplace used to have power outages when the building was still new and my classroom has no windows. This year, though, I don't think I've had to use it once and I usually stay home so there's no need to use it at night when I'm out much.
Another thing, even though Don has moved on and considers his Sundrop and Haiku designs superior to the LS20, I'm really loving hard on my little Lunasols. They're by far my favorite lights and I'd only ever leave the house without at least one if I thought there might be some security checkpoint where it might get taken away. I'd rather lose a $60 4sevens light that I can easily replace (not that I'd be happy to lose one of those either). I even had a security guard run up to me outside of Disneyworld and demand to see what was on my clip (I carry it in my back pocket, clip on the outside). Even after taking it out, she asked me what it was and I had to turn it on to prove it. Luckily, it IS bright enough to be seen even in broad Florida sunlight.
Second test starting in T-68 minutes.
). I would have expected the opposite but then realized that I EDC because I my workplace used to have power outages when the building was still new and my classroom has no windows. This year, though, I don't think I've had to use it once and I usually stay home so there's no need to use it at night when I'm out much. Another thing, even though Don has moved on and considers his Sundrop and Haiku designs superior to the LS20, I'm really loving hard on my little Lunasols. They're by far my favorite lights and I'd only ever leave the house without at least one if I thought there might be some security checkpoint where it might get taken away. I'd rather lose a $60 4sevens light that I can easily replace (not that I'd be happy to lose one of those either). I even had a security guard run up to me outside of Disneyworld and demand to see what was on my clip (I carry it in my back pocket, clip on the outside). Even after taking it out, she asked me what it was and I had to turn it on to prove it. Luckily, it IS bright enough to be seen even in broad Florida sunlight.
Second test starting in T-68 minutes.
jblackwood
Enlightened
7 hours and 25 minutes into the second run of the RCR test. Both lights are going strong.
PoliceScannerMan
Flashaholic
Pretty good for "free" rechargable lumens.
+1 on the Disney security. I got checked "extra" after they saw my Ti Ra Clicky. "Why do hve this?" "Uh, because I always have it, 100% chance of dark tonight."
+1 on the Disney security. I got checked "extra" after they saw my Ti Ra Clicky. "Why do hve this?" "Uh, because I always have it, 100% chance of dark tonight."
jblackwood
Enlightened
8.5 hours and they're both still going strong!
jblackwood
Enlightened
Pretty good for "free" rechargable lumens.
+1 on the Disney security. I got checked "extra" after they saw my Ti Ra Clicky. "Why do hve this?" "Uh, because I always have it, 100% chance of dark tonight."
The one who came running didn't razz me but I did get one guy who made a joke about my Nitecore D20. BTW, am I the only person who sees the similarity in the barrel design of the D20 and the Lunasol 20?
scout24
Flashaholic
Okay, here we go. Test ending now, 23 1/2 hours... LS20 started flickering about 5 minutes ago, really fast. Midnight last night, it had started dimming ever so slightly, by 2AM it was down to being as bright as my Sapphire. It had been noticeably brighter until then. I was up at 6AM, it was still more than bright enough to read by and look for stuff on my bookshelf, even though the sun was up and there was plenty of ambient light, maybe 1/2 to 2/3 as bright as the Sapphire. I expected it to kind of slowly fade out, down to zero, but the flickering is still quite a bit brighter than I expected. Battery is now going into my Milky candle, to see how long that red Nichia will stay lit. :devil: I forget whose sig line it is, but this battery is going to be tortured to death... Figure I got 15 hrs. of full output, then another 8 1/2 of slowly fading output before the flickering started. I'll post back with MC2 runtime on the cell...
:devil: I forget whose sig line it is, but this battery is going to be tortured to death... Figure I got 15 hrs. of full output, then another 8 1/2 of slowly fading output before the flickering started. I'll post back with MC2 runtime on the cell...
jblackwood
Enlightened
Nice data scout24. My two just finished giving out. One went out at 9 hours 52 minutes and the other lasted until 10 hours and 1 minute. I'm guessing the output didn't fade too much because it's an RCR123 and not a primary, but that shouldn't matter too much, right? Maybe it's because of the protection circuit on the cell? I don't know.
Maybe I'll charge them up and give them yet another go but that's the news for now. This second run with the two lights side by side and the two freshly charged batteries is, I think, more valid than the last.
9:52 and 10:01
Maybe I'll charge them up and give them yet another go but that's the news for now. This second run with the two lights side by side and the two freshly charged batteries is, I think, more valid than the last.
9:52 and 10:01
scout24
Flashaholic
Okay, here's the cool part. not enough to run the MC2 by itself, but I put the battery back in the LS20 and get another 3-4 minutes of low output before the flickering starts again. I've done this 8 or so times now, last time was enough steady light to swap laundry into the dryer, start another load of wash, and change cat litter in a dark laundry room with the door closed. 3-4 minutes is longer than it sounds when you are working, and this is still about 1/2 as bright as my Sapphire. As long as the cell gets a rest between uses, 10 to 20 minutes, I figure this could go on all day... JBlackwood, good info on the RCR's, which is what I usually run. Any more usable light if they get to rest, or is the cell drained down to the protection kicking in, and done at that point?
jblackwood
Enlightened
I don't like trying to run the cells that dry. I did try to let them rest a bit (about 10 minutes) and then tried to engage the low but it was a no go.
scout24
Flashaholic
Okay, beating a dead horse... I let the LS20 sit for two hours, turned it on, and got 17 1/2 minutes until the flickering started... I hope I am just killing the battery at this point... Post flickering, when I started intermittent use and allowing the battery to "rest", I figure another hour of runtime so far, all at that same brightness level, maybe 1/2 regular low level output.
Post flickering, when I started intermittent use and allowing the battery to "rest", I figure another hour of runtime so far, all at that same brightness level, maybe 1/2 regular low level output.
jblackwood
Enlightened
Scout24, your tests make me happy I carry a primary with me in my bag. That and these tests make me happy I have an LS20 with me at all times. Even though there are other lights with longer run times on low, none of them offer soft, even illumination on low like the Lunasol does, there's always a hotspot with which to contend. :rock:
scout24
Flashaholic
JBlackwood- Glad I carry a spare primary or two, as well. Trust me, I love my LS20, fortunate to have been able to get one, and consider it one of Don's best, in my humble opinion. FWIW, the Haiku XR-E runtime chart shows around 30 hours on low. I assume the XP-G does the same time, with the wonderful beam that comes with it. Not quite as even or floody as the LS20, but beautiful all the same. I will do a side by side runtime on low with primaries next weekend... 
PoliceScannerMan
Flashaholic
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