YOUR INCAN BULB WONT QUIT.

[TinderBox (UK)]

incandescent bulbs in flashlight are only rated at few hours lifetime probably 25 hrs max.

have you had any bulbs that just run and run and run.

I was just wondering how long maglite bulbs last for.

regards.

John.

 

[Manzerick]

My M4 has atleast 15 hours maybe closer to 20 on it and it's not slowing down..


I'll keep ya'all posted as it goes.. Although I don't use it much anymore as a gang took over the woods I use to walk in

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

I know their are some old house lightbulbs that have been reported to have run for decades.

but what about flashlight bulbs.

I suppose being dropped while on kills a lot of them, as the filament will be soft when hot.

regards

John.

 

[Illum]

I have old lightbulbs with the glass mimicking candle fire, vaccuumed and uses a thick filament, so the output isnt the same as a newer bulb, but its been used for breakfast and dinner sessions for over 10 years now....only one of these blew from water dripping on it and it implodes [hence im assuming its vaccuum instead of gas filled]

so far the maglite bulbs i've used rarely blows...but thhe glass does get darker and darker from filament condensation.

 

[strat1080]

How are incand. bulbs affected by sagging voltage levels? I've heard it said many times that Minimag bulbs don't last long because people continually use them until depletion, which harms the bulbs. I've never quite understood. I would think constantly running them with new batteries and higher voltages would be harder on the bulb than underdriving the bulb. Am I right? Aren't halogen bulbs the only type of incand lights that will suffer from lower voltages and thus lower filament temperatures, which are necessary for the halogen cycle to be completed? Do Minimag bulbs really burn out as badly or quickly as made out to be or is this merely a matter of perception? I think people simply use Minimags a lot and put a lot of run time through them compared to the high power xenon stuff.

 

[benighted]

I have a C3 that still has the bulb that came with it, it just won't die!
On the other end of the spectrum I bought a G2 from a CPF'er and the bulb blew within 5 minutes of operating the light.

Strat1080: I had a mag solitaire back in my highscool days, it seemed to go through bulbs quicker than batteries.

 

[Flea Bag]

My C3's P90 is yellowing but still very usable and well over 40 hours. Li-ion use.

 

[clipse]

I have a Welch Allyn 1185 thats been overdriven and almost to 30 hours and it is still going strong.

clipse

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

looks like 30+ hours is normal for an Welch Allyn 1185 lamp.

regards.

John.

The bulb is a Welch Allyn 1185 which is rated for 9.6 volts. At 9.6 volts this lamp puts out 816 lumens and has a life of about 50 hours. Remember thats at 9.6 volts. This light drives the lamp at closer to 12 volts, bringing the lumens to 1050. You may be wondering how badly that hurts the bulbs life. Well, not that bad actually. I asked the make of this light how long the bulb lasts and he stated 35 hours. My light has 28 hours and counting. The bulb handles being overdriven very very well.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=217912

I have a Welch Allyn 1185 thats been overdriven and almost to 30 hours and it is still going strong.

clipse

 

[IsaacHayes]

MM bulbs blew on me all the time. Either from droping them which blew them instantly or within minutes after the fall, or they would ge dark and then burn out.

 

[zespectre]

I think my longest surviving bulbs have all been stock MagCharger lamps.
#1) Lasted for about 40 hrs before it popped while using the MagCharger to smash in a car window.
#2) The record holder, got used for 20min to 1 hr almost every worknight for just shy of 2 years for a ballpark estimate of 125 hours or so!!! (and this was not gentle use by any means).
#3) The next bulb lasted one day and popped when I dropped the light down a flight of concrete stairs (oops).
#4) (the current one installed) is pushing 36+ hours.

Beyond that I have a surefire 6P (see this THREAD and post #21) that seems to do really well with bulbs as long as I'm not dropping it down stairs.

 

[clipse]

looks like 30+ hours is normal for an Welch Allyn 1185 lamp.

regards.

John.

The bulb is a Welch Allyn 1185 which is rated for 9.6 volts. At 9.6 volts this lamp puts out 816 lumens and has a life of about 50 hours. Remember thats at 9.6 volts. This light drives the lamp at closer to 12 volts, bringing the lumens to 1050. You may be wondering how badly that hurts the bulbs life. Well, not that bad actually. I asked the make of this light how long the bulb lasts and he stated 35 hours. My light has 28 hours and counting. The bulb handles being overdriven very very well.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=217912

Yup, thats the same light I was talking about.

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

A little information I found on instaflash and bulb life.

regards.

John.

Actually what burn your bulbs is the sudden energy shock that it receives when you turn it on.
It is called instaflash and we are familiar with it when a regular home bulb instaflash when we switch the light on.

Pulsating or strobbing the light (like some tactical situations call for) is very hard on bulbs. Surefires can take that because they are a little under driven in comparison with others lights.

Leaving the light on for a minimum of 15 seconds (better 25 or 30 seconds) before switching it off is very beneficial for the light of the bulb as it allows the haologen cycle to be completed.
This is the ability of a Halogen-xenon bulb to redeposit the tugstem that is vaporized out of the filament. But for that it will have to get hot enough, that is why the 15 seconds or more rule.

 

[andrewwynn]

bulb life is inversely proportional to efficiency and whiteness..

if you have an 1185 lamp that has 30 hrs on it.. just means you aren't pushing it very hard.. putting 10.8V nominal on 1185 means you get 12.2hrs vs the 50 hr rating.. a lot of people think they have 10.8V to the lamp because they have 9 cells.. the harsh reality is.. here is a good example.. a typical 2500mAH AA cell can only output 1.07V/cell at 3.3A.. so.. that is 9.63VBat.. and if you use a potted lamp or a PR->Bi-pin adapter.. and using a stock sliding bulb holder (stock switch, not KIU etc).. now you have 9.08V to the lamp.. it will raise the bulb life up to nearly 100 hours.. but it will also reduce the output to 437L.. compare that to 802L if the lamp actually sees 10.8V.

I have some 'vested interest' in the concept of regulated output, but it's impossible to find fault with the concept.. more light.. less blown bulbs, better on the batteries.

here is an example of the current going through an incan light at startup:

This was a 100W light.. there is about a 35-40A spike but worse.. about 400-450W power spike on the lamp at startup..

now.. enter 'soft-start'.

Here is the same lamp showing both current (dropping) and voltage (rising).. now the power is limited to a bit of a surge.. maybe 140W..

an intermediate.. easier solution is to ramp up the voltage, but not 'current limit'.. it looks like this:

Now there is a 'peak' of current and power.. up to nearly 200W but still half of a normal 'direct drive'..

In lower-output lamps (like 13W).. i've measured a 600% power spike at startup.. and that is every time you turn it on (if you 'blink' like s.o.s... the spike each time is reduced because the filament is still a little warm).. it's amazing though.. how little time it take to cool enough for that to be a moot point.. on the order of a second typically.

In general.. my solutions will burn out the lamp quicker because they get more voltage do the lamp.. but they do it in a way to make it possible to get a lot more light out w/o blowing the lamp..

Oh.. another major difference.. that 437L from a 'typical AA NIMH x 9' solution in a stock maglite.. it takes 28W to make 437L while running it at 10.8V.. takes 36W to make 802L.. 84% more light for only 29% more energy!

hotwire is really nice that way.

if you don't really want or need 'the brightest'.. it's not a terrible tradeoff to have longer bulb life.. but a 'well driven' (meaning high efficiency, very white).. lamp you can expect 10-12 hrs to be the normal bulb life. If you want and succeed in making a super hotwire light.. it will NOT have a bulb life much more than 10 hrs.. it's just 'the law' (of physics).

-awr

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

hello andrew

can i ask your opinion on one of these, in increasing bulb life.

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/lightingpro_powerstik.htm

regards

John.

 

[Alin10123]

I've got a 4D mag that i bought like 8 years ago still on it's original bulb.

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

yes and it`s still sealed in the box.

or it`s a 6D bulb in a 4D mag.:lolsign:

seriously so how much runtime do you think the bulb has on it.

regards.

John.

I've got a 4D mag that i bought like 8 years ago still on it's original bulb.

 

[Delvance]

+1 on what Awr said. Build quality on the various M@g85s out there (and indeed any other hotwire) varies greatly...a high resistance setup with cells that can't hold voltage will mean the lamp will last a long time but not so great efficiency. IMHO, it's really worth it spending a bit more to see the best possible output.

 

[Norm]

Check this one out http://www.firehouse.com/news/2001/6/11_bulb.html
Norm

 

[Alin10123]

LOL
That's a good one!!!
LOL

But yea... seriously. That was my first light ever and for years i used it everytime i needed a light. Granted it wasn't really THAT often, but it was used quite a bit. It was wierd... I'm dead serious too since i still have the original spare bulb in the cap.

yes and it`s still sealed in the box.

or it`s a 6D bulb in a 4D mag.:lolsign:

seriously so how much runtime do you think the bulb has on it.

regards.

John.