Infinity Ultra with Lithium and Alkaline AA test

[tornadoflash]

I did a runtime test with the Infinity Ultra with a energizer e2 lithium AA battery and energizer alkaline.

with the lithium the light was down after 17 hours.(no light left)
with the alkaline the light had still a throw of 15 feet after 25 hours.

i thought a lithium would have a longer run time than an alkaline but it has not.
the light was not brighter with the lithium either.
the ultra is the best flashlight i ever had.
it had the same brightness for 20+ hours with AA alkalines.it has the same brightness like my arc aaa 3.1

 

[this_is_nascar]

Yep. It's twice as big also.

 

[brightnorm]

Originally posted by tornadoflash:
I did a runtime test with the Infinity Ultra with a energizer e2 lithium AA battery and energizer alkaline.

with the lithium the light was down after 17 hours.(no light left)
with the alkaline the light had still a throw of 15 feet after 25 hours.

i thought a lithium would have a longer run time than an alkaline but it has not.
the light was not brighter with the lithium either.
the ultra is the best flashlight i ever had.
it had the same brightness for 20+ hours with AA alkalines.it has the same brightness like my arc aaa 3.1

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I had a nearly identical runtime with lithium, except at 17 hours the light was dim but visible. I am very surprised that the alkaline outperformed the lithium; that really seems counterintuitive. I assume your lithium was fresh and voltage tested, not that it makes any difference in view of our similar result. I would like to see an explanation for this lithium vs alkaline phenomenon, though I seem to remember a post that mentioned that lithiums showed their mettle best under considerable load, and the Ultra may not present enough of a challenge for the lithium to perform efficiently compared to the alkaline.

Brightnorm

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Sorry to chime in late, but have you tried them with any HQ rechargeables yet?? Was curious about that.

 

[Eric S]

The best way I can explain lithiums and rechargables vs alkalines is that lits. and rech. put out more current at their rated voltage. That`s why they are aimed at high current devices.
Alks. put its current out much slower.

Say you have two hour glasses the same size, but one has a bigger opening. The one with the bigger opening is going to finish first and the other is going to trickle on until it`s done.

I`ve notice that leds, since they don`t need a lot of current,they do fine with just alks. A Surefire light on the other hand needs some serious current flow to produce the amount of light that they do for a short time, then they die off ouickly at the end. Lights that use alks. run longer cause of the slow current flow, but die off graduly as the batt. runs low on power.
Hope this helps.
Eric

 

[Brock]

I really need to get one of these lights. In any case I would be willing to bet the lithium light put out more light for longer (at the beginning) then the alkaline light. I have seen this in many other LED lights. They are brighter for longer, then die rather quickly, while the same light on alkaline will start to fade right away but run longer. Lithium's have a flatter discharge curve, while alkaline is a slow slope down hill the entire way.

 

[BuddTX]

So, if I am understanding these posts correctly, if a light is regulated, or has resistors, it would be better to use an Alkaline or even rechargable, but if it is "wide open", Lithiums should work better?

Again, I am not stating this as a fact, so if someone with more knowledge could confirm or correct any of my statements, that would be great.

So the analogy to use lithiums or to not use lithiums, would be pouring water from a bucket to a bucket, vs from a bucket to a gallon milk container at the same speed.

The bucket to bucket would be an unregulated and un-resisitored light. There would be no spillage of water.

The bucket to gallon milk container at the same fast pour rate (picture all the water pouring all over the sides of the container) would be using lithiums in a resistored or regulated light.

And using Alkaline would be like taking a water hose, turning on the water, but closing the nozle, then turning off the valve. the water would come out hard first, because it was under pressure, but as the pressure died down, the water would slowly decay.

And the lithium would be like the valve on, and the nozzle open, until the supply runs out.

Again, I am not stating anything as fact, I am trying to understand it.

 

[Brock]

Yes, BuddTX those are pretty good analogies. If you're after brightness lithium's are the way to go. For the most part they will run brighter for a shorter time. For some people slightly dimmer with a longer runtime is preferred, it is obviously more light for the $.

The other advantage of lithium's is 1/2 the weight, 5 times longer shelf life, much better output under cold conditions and they don't self discharge under warm conditions as fast either.

 

[tornadoflash]

For me it's a fact that alkalines run longer in an infinity ultra than lithiums.
it may be different in another flashlight.
buying lithiums for an infinity ultra is just wasting money.for one lithium i can buy about 5 alkalines.

 

[Alan]

The only reason I could explain is that the lithium could be able to maintain the voltage to keep the regulator running until the battery is dead. For alkaline, the regulator shut off at preset voltage, the sinlge LED keep running with the alkaline in much lower current (dimmer) for longer time.

Does it make sense? The only way to prove it is to log its brightness during the runtime test. Anyone, Brock

Alan

 

[Brock]

As soon as I get my ultra I will do a runtime test on it

 

[Spork]

so is the ultra regulated like the arc?

 

[sotto]

Throw two Inifinity Ultra's in a bag of emergency gear, one Ultra with a AA alkaline and the other with a AA lithium cell. After laying there for 6-8 years, I wonder which one would work better?

Thanks.

 

[brightnorm]

Originally posted by mrchri5:
so is the ultra regulated like the arc?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I'd like to know also

Brightnorm

 

[Wingerr]

I just received my Ultra, and I connected it up to a variable power supply, and the brightness varied along with the input voltage, so it doesn't seem to be output regulated like the Newbeam, which I also just received. There was absolutely no change in the output level of the Newbeam as I brought the voltage up and down in the range; THAT'S what I call regulated-

The Arc AAA also varied with the input voltage, up to the 2V I put into it; it may plateau beyond that, but I didn't know what the safe limit is, so I didn't want to push it.

I compared the brightness of the Ultra and a chipped Infinity, and it was just about twice the brightness, according to my meter- I was rooting for the !black-dot Infinity, but the Ultra definitely has more oomph-

Current measurement comparison between the Ultra and Infinity was 178mA vs. 73mA, using the same alkaline, so there'll be a definite tradeoff of oomph for runtime.

 

[Charles Bradshaw]

Believe it or not, my black infinity puts out enough light to see my way down the driveway at night (trash night). The drive is flat black blacktop. Of course, I am looking at the edges of the drive to guide my way.

I have used trash night to test new flashlights, headlamps, etc. It makes a nice outdoor subjective test for me. There is always some ambient light in the neighborhood.

Now, has anyone done a runtime test for the regular infinity: alkaline vs lithium???

 

[Badbeams3]

I ran lithiums in my Infinity till I realized they were not lasting very long. The "slightly brighter" was only true for a very short time (maybe 1/2 hour)...and from their on out the Alkies were brighter...even if the price were the same I would buy alkilines.

My emergency light is the same one I have and use daily...it rest around my neck.

In Florida the temp rarly drops below 30...so I don`t need one for winter.

Ken

 

[Roy]

I bumped a runtime plot to the top fo the forum for you to see.