Tec-40: a very balanced light

[pedalinbob]

Recently, I ended up having to rely upon one of my rather low-tech Tec-40's (it was in my toolbox). I was dealing with a plumbing issue under a friend's house.

The light was immersed in mud and water for around two hours. Being super-bright yellow, it was easy to find. It kept going and going.
My friend asked if it was one of my "super lights." I told him it cost me $7...with batteries.
It is his light now.

I did some quick runtime tests (and amp draws) using Rayovac alkies and various bulbs.

#1: stock HMP20. 0.55A, >2:15, as I terminated the test early. It still seemed to have more left.
#2: Mag Xenon. 0.83A, 1:14 it began a rapid fade, 1:15 it abruptly died.

I didn't test the Krypton KPR113 runtime, but the amp draw was 0.77A.
I also tested a Carley #714, which drew 0.78A.

The KPR appears to be about the same brightness as the HMP20 (eye-ballometer). I would guess it would run a touch longer than the Mag.

The Mag Xenon and Carley are VERY bright. They honestly rival the Surefire P60.
The Mag has an excellent beam. The Carley...well, the lensed end throws a strange oblong shape (the filament), and also has a dimmer area surrounding the bright center. Not a pleasant beam.

Sooo, I ran a runtime test with the Mag Xenon and 2500mah Kodak's (Sanyo). I didn't check amp draw.
At 2:00, I stopped the test. It still was brighter than the alkies were at 30 minutes!
It was a surprisingly flat discharge curve, and it started slightly brighter than alkies (surprise!).

So...for a general use light, the bone-stock Tec-40 is very well balanced. It produces a lot of light, a good beam, and gives well over two hours of runtime on inexpensive alkies. According to PT, you can use lithiums or rechargeables. It looks like PT really did their homework, attaining an excellent blend of performance and longevity.

I would guess that using low-discharge NIMH like the Eneloops or Rayovac hybrids, combined with the HMP20, would give 2.5+ hrs of excellent light. I might have to test this.
Combined with the Mag Xenon, you could probably get around 2hrs.

This kinda drives me nuts, because I keep drooling over the new Crees, etc...and the dinosaur Tec-40 served me so well, I question the need for other lights.

But...I am a flashaholic, after all...

 

[gunga]

Which reflector do you have? Mine is the old smooth reflector. Man, that is one ugly beam...

I guess I could put some write - rite on the lense (I'm too lazy to sputter the reflector).

Hmmm, not a bad runtime with alkalines. MIne just stays in the drawer for now. Decent for backup use when diving ...

 

[pedalinbob]

All of mine have the textured reflectors.

The beam isn't "Surefire" perfect, but they are a pretty good blend of throw/flood.
The textured reflectors are very inexpensive: $2.50 from Brightguy!

Those halogen bulbs are pricey...$5 - $7 each...but, they are rated for 30hrs, and are still less expensive than most lamp assemblies.

 

[gunga]

He he he. Any other sources for the reflector? I'm in Canada, so shipping is an issue. I can get it sent to seattle, but dunno if it's worth it to spend money on a light I never use.

I should have an extra halogen somewhere. I think I have some super bright 6V halogens from a bike light, probably super short runtime tho.

Any decent LED dropins for this one? (musty be cheap, again, I never use this light).

 

[mdocod]

I also bought one of the old ones from ****s sporting for about $7....

It instaflashed it's stock bulb as soon as I took it out of the package.. so that was discouraging, I wasn't going to spent $6 (local) on a bulb for a $7 flashlight... so I went to radioshack and bought a BUNCH of bulbs to play with instead for about $1.39 each... I really like the HPR50 halogen from RS, works good in the tec40 on NIMH, not as white as i'd like, but output is decent and the bulb should last awhile. It is one of my go-to lights for when I just need something that works without any flare... speaking of which... I should go charge it up.

 

[PhantomPhoton]

Back in HS a Tec 40 was my EDC (in the backpack). I still have a soft spot in my heart for those lights. It beat the pants off of the Mags and the big clunky D cell cheapo lights that everyone else had. Add to the fact that I could jump into the pool with mine and at the time it was the coolest light I owned for a couple years.

 

[Al]

Still use mine from my car ... Eneloop AA's, & stock lamp, SMOOTH reflector to concentrate the beam & read house numbers at night.

 

[SmokeDiver]

Ok, now you all have ME on the trip down memory lane. I have what Koehler calls the 8600 (2AA) and 8800 (4AA). Both are identical to the Tec-40. And I too have had them for years. Reading this thread made me go and find them. Now I want to mod them. Both have the smooth reflector that shows the true ugliness of the stock bulb. Are there any other reflectors out there, as well as better bulbs. I would like to do one in LED (2AA), the others in incan. Any thoughts?

 

[mdocod]

you could stick a pair of 14500 size li-ions in the 2AA and run a 5 cell mag xenon bulb. the nasty beam would still be an issue- but the output would be smoking by comparison.

 

[gunga]

An everled is cool, however a $40 LED in a $7 flashlight does not appeal to me...

:huh2:

 

[Flash_Gordon]

The Tec-40 is just a good light. Compact, very waterproof and bright,

Try a KPR139. This is the brightest lamp I have found in this light. It runs warmer than the others, but so far has not been hot enough to cause any plastic damage.

Mark

 

[spoonrobot]

I'll pop in for this one too. I first happened onto the Tec-40 a year or so ago when I was going through my "123A batteries are going to blow my croth off!" phase as a replacement for a 2XCR123A light. I found that with 4AA batteries and a 3-Cell maglite bulb that the light was a very solid replacement.

Switching is not fast being a head-twistie and the size/dimensions leave something to be desired but this light works and is cheap enough/good enough to use daily or as a loss-light.

P.S. The side-by-side form factor is the best! Rally for this to be present in more lights!

 

[dlrflyer]

What more is there to say, tec40 is a fine light, thankfully PT used a PR base, I wouldn't have bothered otherwise.

 

[leukos]

The Tec40 is certainly a classic in the flashlight world. Good light and probably would appreciate it more if I was a diver. My only complaints are the occasional contact issues.

 

[Nubo]

if you're thinking of modding, I've found that 7 watts is about the limit for this light in terms of heat generation. The KPR139 with NiMH is just within bounds and probably the maximum reasonable upgrade. I tried the GH40 with 6 2/3AA batts. Really impressive, for about 5 minutes

Unfortunately the reflector assembly is plastic and supports the bulb flange. That's the first area to melt. You might be able to go a bit further if you insulate the bulb flange from the assembly with mica or something but I didn't bother. All the other parts are plastic too.

 

[chiphead]

Sometimes simple is better, By the way, has anyone tried rechargables in a Tec-40? I'd like to know before I smoke a bulb.

chiphead

 

[mdocod]

rechargable NIMH are less likely to flash the bulb than alkalines fresh out of the package. use em and be happy!

(alkalines instaflashed my Tec-40 bulb day I bought it as soon as I took it out of the package. in front of a friend, I was trying to convince him that he should own one for only $8, thanks for the great selling point there PT, lol)

 

[Minjin]

Campmor has these on sale today for 10 bucks. Although if you guys are still getting them for $7, it probably won't interest you.

 

[Nubo]

Sometimes simple is better, By the way, has anyone tried rechargables in a Tec-40? I'd like to know before I smoke a bulb.

chiphead

Yes! But a normal "4-cell" bulb will be lackluster due to the lower voltage. The adjustment is to use a 3-cell bulb, which gets you a fairly extreme overdrive (very white light) but frequent bulb blowouts in my experience.

-- The KPR139 bulb matches the NiMH voltage very nicely and gives a bright light with good bulb longevity, and close to 2 hour runtime with good NiMH batts. A very sweet combination. This bulb will also work with alkalines, but they really can't provide for very long the 1.2 amps this bulb draws.

 

[Burgess]

Been a fan of Princeton Tec PT-20 & 40's for a while now.

Also the Sport-Flare (2AA) cousin.



Would love to see a PR-based Cree or SSC P4 lamp, which could handle 2, 3, or 4 cells.

Of course, MY preference would be moderate brightness, and L-O-N-G runtime.

Sorta' like an updated version of Lambda's SMJLED-PR2.


Anybody else feel like i do ?