newbie battery question

[jinx626]

If I have 2 lights. One is regulated and the other direct drive, which will last longer with 1 18650 2400mAh? I always thought regulated means it regulates the output not the battery life, am I wrong? Thank you.

Jinx

 

[Hondo]

You are right. And while there are different types of regulation (i.e. buck vs boost, current vs power), the goal is generally to keep up the brightness of the light as the battery voltage drops. This means that the current pulled from the battery must increase as it is drained, and that it will eventually die sooner, and usually more abruptly, than a direct drive light. So it depends on whether you value keeping a light at max. brightness, or lit as long as possible which one has an advantage for you. Regulated is certainly more popular, but is worth mentioning that it is hard in practical application to notice a pretty large percentage drop in brighness, so direct drive should not be considered absolutely inferior.

 

[TorchBoy]

You can regulate current to be anything you like, which will determine how long it lasts. With direct drive capacity of the battery is the main consideration, along with minimum operating voltage of the LED.

 

[hopkins]

I was just thinking it'd be fun it there was a switch on the light
so you could be in direct drive or regulated mode at your whim.
Longer runtime vs constant brightnes depending on your situational
needs

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Hopins,

I believe that feature is available on some of the EternaLights.

Tom

 

[hopkins]

Thanks. I'll look around and see if anyone has posted some
EternaLight internal pics.
Seems like a straightforward mod if you have at least 3 cells driving the led.