Run-Time Plot - Pelican SabreLite LED

[Roy]

This runtime plot is for a Pelican SabreLite LED running on 3xC alkaline batteries. Radio Shack "C" size alkaline batteries were used.

Equipment used is a Extech Mdl 401021 Light Adapter into a Radio Shack 22-805 multimeter with a PC interface that is using Scopeview software (V1.08).

The vertical axis is 0.30vDC per division which is eequivalent to 300 Fc @ 1 Ft per division. The horizontal axis is 30 minutes per division.

Be aware that your actual milage may vary from that indicated by this runtime plot.

 

[Roy]

The little red thingy is a pressure relief valve!

The SabreLite is turned on/off by twisting the head of the light. Notice the gap between the head and the body...that's the OFF position.

 

[JohnK]

I am SHOCKED !

I expected 3 C cells to go twice + that long. Interesting. My little SL TL-2 LED will go for several hours bright on 2/123's.

 

[Roy]

A shot of the "Recoil LED Technology".....no hole in the reflector...the LED is in front of the reflector.

 

[4x4Dragon]

is it just me or is anyone else seeing one of the supposed biggest "advantages" of led lighting starting to fade out? im speaking of battery efficiency of course. i mean this light for example, the thing appears to "drop dead" at around 4 hours! 3 C cells! i've especially noticed it in the mainstream manufacturers, maybe they just can't get it right. im personally just looking forward to getting my FT-3C in the mail today. im sure it will at least go past 4 hrs.

 

[waion]

My friend told me that his FT-3C installed with 0.5ohm resistor himself, on three 3500mah rechargeables, ran around 4 hours on high brightness. I haven't tested this myself but I believe that is close to what I expect. I really want to buy a Pelican sabrelite LED but I finally ordered one more FT-3C instead.

Does anyone has different runtime results of the FT-3C? Pls tell.

 

[MR Bulk]

Actually going by the fairly level output over the first 3½ hours and then the suddden drop, I think this thing is truly regulated by some type of circuitry.

On a non-regulated light (resistored or direct drive, for example) the graph above would show a line steadily sloping downward, which means it is constantly getting dimmer. Of course our eyes are set up in such a way that we don't really notice a difference until the output drops by nearly half, which is why other lights will give the Illusion that it maintains its good brightness for a long while.

I think this Sabrelight is designed for specific applications such as diving, where you need to see as far down that underwater cave an hour or two later (like when you're trying to get back out!) as in the very beginning, when the batteries are fresh. That's when the steadily, albeit gradually, declining dimming would become most apparent. And not necessarily in a positive way...

 

[Roy]

Notice that this light has NO side spill. It does have artifacts that pass through the beam on both sides. I suspect they are due to the bar that holds the LED in front of the reflector.

 

[MR Bulk]

Yup, noticed that on my M8 LED too. But at certain distances though (for example mine only seems to show up at a close distance).

 

[LightScene]

That's a very impressively flat runtime plot.
Has anybody reviewed this light yet?
Any beam shot comparisons?

 

[LightScene]

C cells have a capacity of over 8000 maH. To discharge them in 3 hours, this light must be drawing 1.5 to 2 amps. This result corresponds quite well with Evan's 1.6 amp reading which he reported in his own SabreLite thread.

The regulator in this light is wasting more than half the energy in the batteries. And they don't recommend using rechargeables!

 

[gadget_lover]

They must have several different versions. Mine only pulls around 600ma from fresh duracells. It should easily last the six hours shown on the box on a single set of C cells. I don't know why Ray and Evan have such lousy performance from their lights.

My beam is quite different from Roy's too. The reflector is very slightly distorted to create the square beam. I think that may have been to keep the supports from showing up as shadows. I don't get a round beam at any distance greater than 2 inches.

The picture below was taken in a hallway, 12 feet from the wall. The frame of the picture is 15 inches. The ambient yellow light is from a 100 watt incandescent 3 feet above the picture. The head of the Sabrelite is visible in the left side of the picture.

As noted, there is NO spill to speak of. You can even look at the reflector while the light is on if you don't point it directly at your eyes. If you do point it into your eyes you can expect your wife to complain about your hobby as she guides you to your chair. It is blinding!


If enough people request it, I can do a run time test, but the current draw is low enough that I expect it to last the rated 6 hours.

This is a niche flashlight, but it's rather neat. I would likely pull it out if I ever again need to cruise the neighborhood for hours trying to find my drain-bamaged cat in someone's bushes. Of course, I'd hack it and add an on/off switch.

Daniel