Streamlight SL20XP-LED??

[senna94]

I have been trying to find more info/reviews on this light. There seems to be little mention of it here on CPF. Most of the information I have gotten on it has been from Streamlight's website. Does anyone have one that could give me their impressions of it. Specifically the battery system. Since it isn't Li-Ion I was wondering how much of a pain it is?????

Thanks

Paul

 

[bones_708]

The bet thing about streamlights is that they are almost idiot proof. It uses a nicad pack and in light charging so you pretty much just drop it in the charger and forget about it. Once it's charged it switches to trickle charging and since it's nicad the battery can handle it just fine. You'll find cops, wrecker drivers, ect that have had streams for 10 years and never had to do anything and they are still working fine. That being said I know nothing about the LED version.

 

[depusm12]

IIRC the 20XP LED is the version wi 2 switches one for the Incadescant light and another for the 3 leds. It works off of a Sub-C cell stick and the leds are for when you need less light or for using with the traffice cone for directing traffic.

 

[half-watt]

I have been trying to find more info/reviews on this light. There seems to be little mention of it here on CPF. Most of the information I have gotten on it has been from Streamlight's website. Does anyone have one that could give me their impressions of it. Specifically the battery system. Since it isn't Li-Ion I was wondering how much of a pain it is?????

Thanks

Paul

NiCd's aren't really a pain. I've used them for years in powertools.

A real plus (in certain respects) is its very flat NiCd characteristic discharge curve. This makes it a good choice for some high current drain applications. NiCd's voltage remains flat and delivers strong current right up until near the very end. Then the voltage falls off a cliff and tools slow down quickly or lights can go dark somewhat abruptly.

NiCd's battery chemistry has a number of pluses and minuses which make them more suited for some applications and less suited for others.


Just a few of NiCd's Pluses (i'm sure there's more, but i can't remember them):

simple to charge with the appropriate NiCd charger - "set it and forget it"

inexpensively priced

can deliver large amounts of current right up till the end of a charge when it drops off very quickly under high loads (hence its popularity in some cordless powertools). doesn't give much warning in hi draw applications.

generally accepts 1000's of recharge cycles



Just a few of NiCd's Minuses:


lower energy density cp. to some other rechargeable battery chemistries.

possesses two or three different types of well publicized "memory" effects. just follow Streamlight's suggestions for use and you may largely avoided some of these so-called memory effects.

NOT eco-friendly due to the chemicals used to make them, i.e. toxic metals.

relatively high self-discharge rates, but NOT as high as NiMh.



Don't own the SL-20XP, but i have the 3C-XP (the little sibling to the SL-20XP), but that uses alkaline or NiMh cells. Not very bright for a Mfr. claimed 50lm output. Perhaps the Mfr. claimed 200lm output of the SL-20XP will be more like the Streamlight TL-3 (which i own - mfr. claimed 211lm output) in output. The TL-3 is quite bright, IMO, but don't know if it's really outputting 211lm.