2AA Illuminator Goes 5 Watt - Run Time Added

OK, I pretty much had myself convinced that there was no way a 5 watt Luxeon would work decently off of 2AA cells. But, things be as they are, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. After much experimenting with converter design after converter design, I finally came up with one that is fairly promising. The 2AA Brinkmann makes for such a nice small flashlight I couldn't resist the urge to try it with a 5W at least once.



After getting the mod together I was quite surprised to find that the 5W SE really doesn't focus to a sharp beam too well compared to the 1W SE. The large die size of the 5W puts most of its surface area outside of the focal point of the small AA reflector. It does however make for a very broad and smooth beam, almost more like an area light than regular flashlight beam.



You can see from the photo this is one very white Luxeon, and is plenty bright for the broad beam it throws out. It really lights things up in a smooth even pure white light. The larger picture is using AA Lithium batteries for a little extra brightness, and the two inset pictures show it using alkaline AA cells. No run time tests yet as the thermal epoxy needs to set up completely before I take it for a long test drive. I would expect 45 to 60 minutes of runtime depending on the batteries used.

I've been wanting something with a bright even light to use when working with the lathe to help see fine details. I think this light will come in handy for that purpose and others.

Merry Christmas all!

So, are you selling them yet?

cableguy,

No not hardly, this one was completed about an hour and a half ago. The epoxy isn't even dry yet. Much testing needs to be done to see just how well it does work. The light has only been on long enough the snap the photos. While it all worked fine on the test bench, Murphy will always have his way.........

Murphy can have his way with me.
I'll take one!!!

Don't you just hate it when you want to show something new off and we are already fighting for it?

Ill take A chance! I have one of your lights, and love it.

Never one to leave well enough alone, I just had to try 3N cells to see what they could do. Another notch brighter yet from the Lithium cells.



Better put this thing down now and let the epoxy setup for tomorrow..........

5W on 2AA!!! Does it work on NiMH? I don't care if it has very short run time (even 20 min). I could charge it anytime I want and keep spares all the time.

I am on the line

Alan

Wow! What a nice light! 5W on 2 AA, how well does the tailcap switch hold up? That would be over 2 amps Sounds like a real hand warmer. Any details on the converter efficiency?

A 3AA would drop the current under 2 Amps. But you've got to love the size of the 2AA

How does the beam coverage compare with the illuminator with optics?

Will you be selling these?

How much current are you pulling from the batteries? Lithium or NiMH could do the job but I didn't think Alkaline could.

I'm really hoping for a 1 watt SE for the Exe series. I would love to use it on my Doug Speck UBH.

Next on my wish list would be a 5 watt SE in a classic series head for the UBH using the McGizmo adapter.

Keep up the good work Kevin !

Way cool If that convertewr could be "tailored" to work best with NiMh's, that would make for LOTS of cheap light..

As Slick once said, "The bar is raised yet again"...

I've always wanted a little sports car like a Miata, but with a Ferrari V-12 wedged in it, and this is the LED flashlight equivalent.

Originally posted by lambda:
But, things be as they are, I just couldn't stop thinking about it.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Aliens never stop thinking and do not sleep in the normal sense of the word.

Questions from an earthling:

Are my LGI, BBs and MM HD 1W LSs?

Would an LD 5W find the focal point of the reflector?

Could an SE 5W be dremmeled down to find the focal point?

Would a collimator made of mineral glass, pressed up against a mineral glass lens help dissipate the heat of a HD or LD 5W?

Have you guys already thought of all this and determinded that a 5W SE with a specially shaped reflector is what is needed to attain throw?

5 watts on 2AA...and some people still think you are of this earth. Right.

Nice converter lambda!

Kevin,

Have you thought about trying the 2AA with Lithium-Ions to power a 5W? 7.4V should work, shouldn't it?

I could easily make the 5w LED run for hours in a 2AA case !

"Why do you have wires running out of that flashlight to your coat ?"

If I wasn't travelin', I would've asked anyone if they would be interested in putting a 5W emitter into one of these:



4C batteries. Nice big reflector... Who knows.

Hi Lambda, how about 3AA Illuminator in 5W? This might ease the load a little.

Alan

Hmmmm,
A 5W 3 AA Illuminator (NiMH) with one of those acrylic balls cut in half to make a pencil beam! Those wizard converters will regulate both current and voltage? Hmmmm, that would be an awesome light so time to call Wayne with some ideas. Who do I have to kill to get one?

The thermal epoxy is dry, so time to test.

It became apparent that any extra brightness from the 3N cells lasted only about 1 or 2 minutes, as before I got it set up to measure, it was already dimming down. So, N cells are out.

Here's the first run time test using 2AA NiMh 1850ma cells.



While it is encouraging, the unit reached over 130F; too hot to handle. That, and the faint smell of enamel or other electronics cooking means I must investigate this further before claiming victory.....

Originally posted by lambda:
the unit reached over 130F; too hot to handle. That, and the faint smell of enamel or other electronics cooking means I must investigate this further before claiming victory.....

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I think you've got a victory here... I just don't think there's sufficient mass in a light this small to properly heatsink a 5W.

To me, a 5W in a 2AA package would mostly be considered an "intermittant use" type light that uses heat as an indicator to turn it off.

I'm assuming that during this run time test the light was not being "handled"? My thought is that it would probably sink a lot of heat into your hand and probably not get as hot, especially if used outdoors during the winter months.