how could i overdrive this?

[nitebrite]

http://www.coolerguys.com/840556028642.html

it takes 3xaaa in a carrrier. i have lithiums in it. could it take 2xcr2(taped around) or something? i don't know how tall those are.

would the cheap chinese led's pop anyways at 6v?

thanks
nitebrite

 

[qwertyydude]

Yes at 6V those cheap lights will pop, best to use an 18500 single cell. If it'll fit, since AAA's are only 44 mm and the li-ion battery is 50 mm, maybe the holder will make up for the length and it'll drop right in.

 

[nitebrite]

thank you.

is there anything non recharageable? i have about 48mm with the spring compressed.

could you tell me how tall a cr2 is?

i don't mind popping them. it is a $4 flashlight! i must say for $4 it is rather amazing really just as it is.

nitebrite

edit, cr2 is 27mm tall. no go. 18500 will undervolt it. any other ideas?
thanks

 

[hyperloop]

http://www.coolerguys.com/840556028642.html

it takes 3xaaa in a carrrier. i have lithiums in it. could it take 2xcr2(taped around) or something? i don't know how tall those are.

would the cheap chinese led's pop anyways at 6v?

thanks
nitebrite

That was the absolute first led light i ever got about 3 years back, after that, it was the Nite Ize drop in for my minimag then the ultrafire C3 single mode and on and on.

Pretty ok light for when its dark lasts quite a while too

 

[nitebrite]

if you think about it, even though it is junk it represents a better per dollar value than any surefire lol.

having probably 60 or so high end lights it is pretty fun to have just discovered this. it is like going in reverse of where most folks here started i just gotta find some bad boy batteries for this thing.


nitebrite.

 

[defloyd77]

Usually lights like that are already overdriven.

 

[Gunner12]

Those LEDs are probably overdriven already.

Also remember that alkaline AAA batteries sag in voltage at higher currents(maybe even lower then a Li-ion battery) so a 18500 battery might actually be brighter overall since it will sag much much less in voltage then 3 AAA batteries. Also remember that Li-ion batteries at 4.2v off the charger.

If you have a spare high power LED, it might be fun to swap that for the 5mm LEDs.

 

[PhantomPhoton]

18500 is not going to undervolt the LED. With 3 fresh AAAs in there you're already overdriving the LEDs for the first few minutes. If you want to burn out the LEDs even faster then use a protected 18500.

 

[nitebrite]

i forgot those are probably 3.2v or 3.6v led's in there. they are terrible quality too. all foggy. i have never seen any that cheap. i would put 22,000mcd's in there but they are soldered and it is not worth my time.

i am using li-aaa's so they will hold up a little longer than alkaline's. the 18,500 won't even fit.

overall, this is a real crummy flashlight but it is worth $4. i'll just leave it be. i am sure the led's won't last long as it is.

thanks,
nitebrite

 

[nitebrite]

i am already using this lite a lot. i like it.
the whole reason i wanted this lite is for long runtime.

i have a serious question though guys.

after 15 minutes or so the batteries(lithium-non recharagable) become super hot.

could this lite have a fire/explosion. is it likely or remote?

thanks guys,
nitebrite

 

[nitebrite]

the batteries magically stopped getting hot. i guess it drained them pretty quickly.
i was impressed with this little lite untill i pulled out my x5. oh well. in the drawer. i am just mad i spent $11 on batteries i have no other use for and are half drained already.

nitebrite

 

[mdocod]

On the lithium AAAs you are very likely overdriving the crap out of the LEDs, I'm amazed that none have fried yet, (lithium AAA primary cells will hold voltage under a load FAR better than alkaline cells). The reason the cells got hot is they were running with more current output. Draining some of the juice off will decrease the brutality of the overdrive level some, but I question whether the lithiums will actually deliver more useful runtime than alkaline cells in this application, since they will be pushing a lot more current and burning more juice than the alks would have.

I wouldn't bother wasting $5 worth of lithium primaries to overdrive a $4 light. Isn't practical.

If you want a flashlight with a lot of runtime, just get a decent cree 2xCR123 or 2xAA light that has a low mode. The low or medium mode on a light like that will probably be brighter, and run longer than the 3xAAA powered $4 showerhead.

Eric

 

[nitebrite]

thanks. i am happy with the x5 for runtime. it is much brighter than the trash $5 light.

i also assume it is brighter and runs longer than the cree in low mode?

i guess it depends on how many lumens the cree lights low mode is on the particular light. if it is 3 lumens it will run longer than the x5 and not be as bright. if it is 20+ lumens it will be brighter than the x5 but have shorter runtime. anyhow, the x5 suits me fine for power outages inside a room.

it is also easier to turn on the x5 in an emergency than to twist a light with electronics multiple times to get the low mode.
i think the x5 is brighter than the p1d in low too.

i don't know what impressed me with the $5 light besides it had 9(junk) leds for $5.
it is intresting how much brighter the x5 is though.

nitebrite

 

[mdocod]

A good XRE (like a Q5 or better) is going to be more efficient than just about any 5mm LED out there when driven at an output that is comparable to a small cluster of 5mm's. The X5 is a great light, and over the years, has had a lot of praise, but it is slowly being eclipsed in the efficiency and runtime department.

As I understand, the latest version of the X5 is pushing about 28 lumens for about 6 hours (to 50% output) on a pair of lithium primary cells. If you do the math, you will realize that this means that the light is drawing about 0.7W (give or take) to achieve this. If you took a modern cree, and set it up to run at the same 0.7W, it would deliver closer to 60 torch lumens for the same 6 hours on a pair of lithium primary cells. if you dropped it down to 30 torch lumens, it would probably run for well over 12 hours above 50% initial output. (probably much better infact.)...

Eric

 

[nitebrite]

which light does this(mass produced)? cree q5 30 lumens or so.

the surefire and fenix lights have a low mode of less than 5 lumens as far as i know. the high modes eat the batteries quickly.

thanks,
nitebrite

 

[mdocod]

Not sure if there is one, I was just pointing out the efficiency comparison if there were one....

There are some options in the "range" (all using 2 CR123s, just for direct comparison to the X5). Lets call the X5 30 lumens for 6 hours to 50%, but keep in mind that it can probably last another 20-30 or more hours at a small fraction of the initial output... it's not really a regulated light, it's basically a resistor direct drive setup (which has the advantage of being very reliable, and having plenty of hours of dim emergency lighting after the batteries are mostly depleted). Many of the lights in the list I will make below, have pretty flat regulation on 2xCR123s.

(keep in mind that these are all manufacture ratings, so reality can vary some, most of these manufactures are reasonably reputable and are going to at least be in the ballpark of accurate output and runtime, some may be emitter lumens instead of torch or vice versa, there is always some variation based on the LED lottery)...



Medium on the LumaPower Encore, 55 lumen for 9 hours
PD30 has a 70 lumen for 8 hours mode
TK10 general mode 60 lumen for 10 hours
P3D has 53 lumen for 13 hours mode
Tiablo MA6 A6 has a 50 lumen for 10 hour mode
Olight M20 premium has a 90 lumen for 12 hour mode
Olight T20 45 lumens for 10 hrs or 18 lumens for 30 hrs (2 of the 5 available modes)
E2L is advertised at 60 lumen for 11 hours on high,
L2 advertised at 15 lumen for 18 hours on low.

This is just a few examples I can think of right now....

I think a manufacture would do well to release something like an X5, a simple, single mode low output LED light based on an R2 emitter, with say, 30 lumens for 30 hours regulated on 2 CR123s (this should be possible).

Eric

Eric

 

[nitebrite]

thank you. one from that list will certainly do.

nitebrite

 

[nitebrite]

i got a kx2. it it will not serve me as i wanted for power outages.
i wanted flood not throw. the x5 is like a baby l4 that runs over 10 hours.

edit: i just saw here that the kx2 in fact does not run the claimed 11 hours in high mode. it ran six hours and shut off(regulation) in the test as seen here at cpf. the x5 will put usefull output for days. i'd rather have 28 lumens going slowly down than use surefires 3 lumen setting which is useless to me. i'll find some other use for the kx2. not the best for power failures do to the spot beam and runtime imo.

i'll check out the other lights you mentioned.

edit2: i just noticed after the fact that you did mention the surefires are "advertised" run time. i guess i'll be more patient and wait for a fenix.

nitebrite