looking for emergency light-low ma

[jasonsmaglites]

i'm looking for a good emergency flashlight/bulb, preferrably in maglite body. i just bought nite ize led upgrade for 2-6 cell. i already knew buying it how dim it was cause i've owned one before but the runtime is ridiculously high! this thing draws so little power it can run off what you think are dead batteries! but its about as bright as a moon mode i think, maybe a little brighter.

well, i don't know if these old .1 watt leds are as efficent as the new cree. is there anything powering a seoul or cree that uses say 100 or 200ma so it will run like this thing will. (165 hours in 6d mag or 50 hours in 2d mag)

i think i want 2d mag setup so i was thinking 2d magled upgraded to sscp4 but wouldn't mind less lumens than that, more runtime.

any suggestions? i want something with the same runtime as nite ize, maybe a little brighter but only due to efficency if you know what i mean.

 

[jasonsmaglites]

this isn't a great runtime light i'm sure but any idea how many ma the new terralux 2-3 cell sscp4 drop in draws?

the ebay ad claims 140 lumens so i'm assuming about 600ma?

 

[Marduke]

NiteIze PR dropin is best used with 3 or more cells, as it is designed to use 4.5 volts.

Also, read up here
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=172353

 

[scottaw]

If you want runtime, just buy a standard magLED, it'll run a LOOOONG time and it's pretty bright.

 

[jasonsmaglites]

but they're not as efficent as a cree are they?

 

[Marduke]

but they're not as efficent as a cree are they?

No, but you're looking for emergency flashlight. Emergency flashlights are stored for long periods of time with little or no use. No matter what emitter you get, it will be out of date probably by the first time you have to use the flashlight.

 

[jasonsmaglites]

my point is, couldn't i find something with a cree drawing half the amps but just as bright?

 

[wwglen]

Right now I would just keep the Nite-Ize...Spend $2.00 on an extra set of batteries and in 3 years when you need to replace the batteries there will be something drastically better (not just a little).

wwglen

 

[Patriot]

The stock magLED and nite-ize are about as long run as they come. There are no low output cree or ssc drop-ins that I know of.

 

[speederino]

That nite-ize PR bulb is super efficient at 3 cells, and will run forever.

NewBie had a post somewhere on modding the MagLED drop in into a long running light (hurricane light or something to that effect, may be on his web site too). Heck, even the stock drop in, once it gets warmed up and the output drops, runs quite long.

For runtime on a single AA, the RexLight can't be beat. 50 hours, rock on.

Ever since Wayne (Elektrolumens) paired up a single D cell with a Micropuck and a Seoul in his Blaster 1D, I have been modding mags (and whatever D cell lights I can get my hands on) into 1D 'puck'd seoul runtime kings. 40+ hours of regulated goodness at 20 lumens or so followed by 100 hours of dimming light. Just about the perfect match. If you're into modding, it's a nice setup.

 

[jasonsmaglites]

ok, what do you think the runtime of the magled 2d is.
how much brighter is it than this nite ize?
is there a moon mode after its already dim?
how do the two runtimes compare so i can make an educated decision, 2d magled vs 2d maglite with nite ize.

 

[Marduke]

ok, what do you think the runtime of the magled 2d is.
how much brighter is it than this nite ize?
is there a moon mode after its already dim?
how do the two runtimes compare so i can make an educated decision, 2d magled vs 2d maglite with nite ize.

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/maglite_mag-led.htm
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/niteize_magbulb.htm

 

[Skibane]

The stock magLED and nite-ize are about as long run as they come. There are no low output cree or ssc drop-ins that I know of.

If you know which end of a soldering iron to grasp, you can always roll your own. The Cree P4 is stupidly efficient at low current levels - all it takes is the right series current-limiting resistor (optional), the right battery combination, and an old PR bulb base to solder it all inside.

As an example, the Cree or SSC P4 produces a surprising amount of light when direct-driven from just two 1.5 volt cells (no current limiting resistor present) - and the current consumption is just a couple dozen mA! Throw in a resistor, and you can get similar results in 3+ cell flashlights.

 

[NA8]

This chart has the 2D, 3D, 4D, MagLed vs Mag Incan run times:

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/img/mag_magleds/vs3.gif

The 4D has the best regulation. It runs out to ~43 hours in good regulation and then goes into fade/moon mode.

I picked one of these up tonight for a real old maglite. Been running it for a couple of hours now and the "dimming" isn't all that bad. The focused hot spot is very bright. The spill is large but weak. When you hold it high on the neck, you don't think it's putting out any heat at all until you pick up another maglite (off) that feels like an ice cube in comparison. Could use an UCL and a stippled reflector. Got a slight green tint. Still not bad for colors.

 

[Spin]

For runtime on a single AA, the RexLight can't be beat. 50 hours, rock on.


Which AA Rexlight has the 50 hour runtime?

 

[hank]

I figured out that my ideal emergency light would be, at the rate things are improving in size and efficiency --- a finger ring, with a little LED and small battery.

 

[speederino]

For runtime on a single AA, the RexLight can't be beat. 50 hours, rock on.


Which AA Rexlight has the 50 hour runtime?

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=172434

The Rexlight 2.1 build 000 tested to 49.5hours on low using a single AA alkaline battery.

 

[arty]

I keep a Streamlight twintask 2D for long runtime. The 3 LEDs are good for in house walking around, and you have a choice of more LEDs or the incandescent bulb. It is a pretty sturdy light, and fine for power outages.

 

[Illum]

my point is, couldn't i find something with a cree drawing half the amps but just as bright?

look over at the new Surefires E2L outdoorsman
current draw is only 155ma, runtime approx 9 hours [tested] [documentation]
very low power consumption and just as bright. I'm getting one as soon as funding arrives

personally if you want longer runtime...stick with the 5mm LEDs, which [if correctly driven] should be around 5-10ma draw, that paired with a high capacity battery [something like a cr123A or C's and D's range will give you virtually unlimited runtime at the expense of output

 

[Patriot]

If you know which end of a soldering iron to grasp, you can always roll your own. The Cree P4 is stupidly efficient at low current levels - all it takes is the right series current-limiting resistor (optional), the right battery combination, and an old PR bulb base to solder it all inside.

As an example, the Cree or SSC P4 produces a surprising amount of light when direct-driven from just two 1.5 volt cells (no current limiting resistor present) - and the current consumption is just a couple dozen mA! Throw in a resistor, and you can get similar results in 3+ cell flashlights.

It sounds pretty neat to me......well, when are you going to show us??