Nasty Plastic 2AA light

[highlandsun]

Well, it'll never win any beauty contests. Or waterproofing tests, for that matter. But here's a 2AA flashlight directly driving a 1W white Luxeon Star, using 2 3.6V LiIon rechargeable cells in parallel. http://home.attbi.com/~hyc_sub1/flash1/

 

[EMPOWERTORCH]

I'm glad I'm not the only person modding cheapie torches! You've turned a very mediocre torch into a serious blaster. This is the "Skoda Octavia Turbo" of the torch world. You meet up with some torchie friends and they ask to see your torch.
They laugh hysterically at the cheapo plastic torch you pull out of your pocket... and then you switch it on and... stunned silence... you get the last laugh!!!
I would be a bit concerned about heat though... most luxeon torch experts would warn against luxeonising any plastic torch... but this torch breaks all those rules!

 

[highlandsun]

I ran it for 3 hours straight, and the head got slightly warm to the touch in that time. Nothing else noticable. As I noted in another thread, if the Luxeon is not being overdriven, then the Star PCB already provides adequate heat sinking. It's those bare emitters that you have to fuss over.

Actually this was just something to pass the time while I wait for my Inretech parts to arrive. Then it'll be my MiniMags getting the LiIon treatment...

Hm.... SkodaTurboBlaster, has a nice ring to it...

 

[highlandsun]

Oops. I heard a *pop*. After 6 hours, a full recharge, and two more hours, the Luxeon Star died. Well, it's not dead yet, but it's only sucking 1mA and putting out a feeble white glow. Every once in a while it spikes up to 10mA. I guess I should have attached that 1ohm resistor after all... Not sure what made the noise, because there's nothing visibly different from the outside.

 

[EMPOWERTORCH]

RIP Plastitorch!
Highlandsun, where did ypou get the batteries from? Are they out of a mobile phone battery pack?

 

[highlandsun]

I still have a second white Star sitting here. This time I'll add the resistor. I left the "dead" star on my wall-wart, set at 3V, overnight. It climbed back up to about 30mA, with a reasonably bright output. But still nowhere near full function. Oh well.

I ordered the batteries direct from the manufacturer in Hong Kong. See my other thread:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=000767

The minimum order (in non-sample quantities) is 1000 units. If enough people are interested, I can arrange a purchase and then sell off individuals. There will be a markup, to cover my bank fees (must pay by wire transfer) and shipping fees.