Princeton Tec 40 Bulb replacement??

[socalrunner]

I have a tec 40 and really love it. I have read that you can use KPR103 for a little brighter illumination, but need to use NIMH rechargeable to overdrive the bulb. How long can expect the bulb to last 1 hour or 10?? Using the KPR113 will give me a longer burn time and a little less illumination. Both of these seem like good alternatives to the 6.00 Princeton Tec bulb. If my info is correct please confirm, if not please help..

Thanks
EP

 

[Nerd]

The PT TEC 40 bulb is a 4.8 volts bulb. As for how long the bulb can last, it's anyone's guess, normally 10 hours and above. But of course if you frequently drop it.... the life will be less.

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

To be very reliable you must use a KPR113.

To be very bright (even a buddy with an SL35X was impressed!) you use a KPR103. Mine has lasted for dozens of on and off cycles, and a max on-time so far of about 7 minutes. OH and this is on Alky Rayovac Maxs.

KPRs seem to be much longer lasting than XPRs or Halogens.

 

[socalrunner]

Has anyone used the kpr103 for more than 10 minutes at a time.. Has anyone run one for 1 hour plus.. If so were there problems.. I most likely will buy both and see what happens. I guess walmart sells these bulbs for about $1.25.. At that price I can buy a lot of these and still end up cheaper than any Lithium 123 light..

 

[ikendu]

Originally posted by socalrunner:
...buy a lot of these and still end up cheaper than any Lithium 123 light

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Yup!

I ran my PT TEC40 for over an hour on the KPR103 bulb with NiMH before it deformed the NiMHs so much they wouldn't make reliable contact and the light started to flicker on and off. The bulb was fine, the batteries tips were bent and the bottoms dented from the pressure the case exerts on the batteries! When I put in new batteries, the light kept on shining!

If you want to run this sort of mod...I recommend the 4AA Responder. Same batteries and bulb but with a tail switch (which can be worked one handed if you hold the light right). It won't destroy your NiMHs!

If you are going to run Alkalines or Lithiums I think the UK 4AA AS2 (w/switch) is the best! (IMHO) The beam quality isn't quite as nice as the dimpled reflector in the PT40...but overall I don't think you'd notice a practical difference and the UK is more compact and a lot easier to handle (although takes a more expensive bulb module than common PR bulbs).

 

[socalrunner]

I have been using my tec 40 for a while now and have not noticed the dents in the batteries.. I use 1800mah GP.. Maybe they are a little tougher. I like the Tec40 because of the wrist lanyard which I use when running at night. Just want to make sure it is reliable for more than an hour with the better bulb, kpr103??

 

[txwest]

You wont damage the NiMih batteries if you put some foil in the bottom of the light. I don't need to tighten the head very much to get the PT40 to work. The Responder would be a good choice as it has springs in the bottom & a clickie switch. It also uses PR base bulbs. BTW, you can get 2 of the KPR103's for about $1.50 at Walmart or Home Depot. I've run the 103's on alkalines, but brand new ones may make it a flash bulb. TX

 

[FluffyGrunt]

I just recently tried a 3 cell Kyrpton bulb in my Tec 40 with Kirkland Alkalines and I didn't notice much of a difference in brightness between it and the stock Halogen bulb. It burned out in less then 15 minutes, so I just went back to the stock bulb. Has anyone with a lightmeter or digital camera ever done any tests to determine how much brighter an overdriven Krypton bulb is?
Is it actually brighter with rechargables then Alkalines? That just doesn't seem possible to me, maybe I'll have to buy a second Tec 40 to do a direct comparison.

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

You can never tell about bulb life.

I flashed a couple KPR103s on 4Cs before finding one that stayed on a while.

 

[Tesla]

I've had no problems so far with a KPR103 & 4 Alkaline AA's in my 4aa light...and the AA's are new...I think turning the light on & off stresses the filament more than continuous use. We'll see, I guess. The bulbs are pretty cheap & the light is pretty good on this setup. I'd tend to think that lithiums might not have enough sag to do this, though.

 

[Luca]

Hi all,

Some months ago, I started using a Tec 40 after reading about all the possibilities to upgrade it. I must admitt that this is a very nice and usable light, also for a fair price.

I use the KPR103 and also some other bulbs I pick up here and there. I've used the light with GP1800nimhs for nearly half an hour on end. No prob. (didn't risk doing this with the stock reflector at first) I'm also very impressed by how long you can keep using the same batteries and still get usable light from the torch. I use it quite a lot intermittantly, and my last load was 2 months ago! ok now the light is fading back to a little over Maglite AA on fresh battery territory.

Now, What concers me is the fact that the head screws down quite hard on the bats. They do get dented. How thick a piece of folded tin foil do you guys use? is that just 1mm or more?, and do you fold it tightly or rather loosely?

Enjoy the Tec 40. It's a true workhorse IMHO

Luca

 

[txwest]

Fold it losely, 4 or 5 flips. The batteries will mash it down. After 8 or 9 months, my foil got too flat, so I just added a little more. Works great & a cheap fix. TX

 

[Warric]

I've just tried Pelican MityLite 4AA Xenon Lamp. it produce a very nice smooth, white bright laser-like beam. Much better than the stock bulb. And it's also safer, because it's not over-drive.