MiniM@g 2AA LED Really 1.5 Watts ?

lightinsky

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It seems that my MiniM@g 2AA LED starts off less than the indicated 3 Watt advertised. I'm figuring 1.5 Watts since it looks a little less bright than my Inova T3 and Surefire 9P + KL3 combo. I do really like the light for it's convenience and size. I did have the 3AA version but returned it since I hardly carried it due to it's lengthy size. I'm happy with the 2AA version all in all. Anyone else have any handy incite regarding my thoughts. Any input would be appreciated.
 

Tesla

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I doubt it is being run at 3 watts, but many lights that have Lux III emitters aren't run at their maximum output. Regardless, it kicks butt on anything in it's intended market, IMO. Mag did well on this light, in general. There's been a lot written about Mag being behind the curve, but there are many instances of cutting edge/early designs falling by the wayside...witness the Sony Beta Max vcr...while later "improved" versions (VHS, in this example) prospered. If you need something more, you'll need to spend more. I'm just glad to finally see a mainstream company adopt the technology.
 

Curious_character

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That flashlight does a whole lot better with NiMH cells than alkaline. I think the package says not to use rechargeable batteries, but in my opinion that's BS.

c_c
 

FredM

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What about cutting it down and running it on some Li-Ion's?
14670's?

ETA ofcourse meaning ONE Li-ION battery,
 
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speederino

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3 Watt LED!!*


*as rated by the LED manufacturer

That little gem on the packaging pretty much sums it up. Besides, a pair of alkaline AA's won't drive a LED at 3 watts AND run for 2+ hours.
 

frasera

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speederino said:
3 Watt LED!!*


*as rated by the LED manufacturer

That little gem on the packaging pretty much sums it up. Besides, a pair of alkaline AA's won't drive a LED at 3 watts AND run for 2+ hours.

yea probably, but under driving an led leads to longer life? less dimming? i dunno
 

MattK

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It's a 3W LED but it's not being driven at 3W - it's a bit dishonest. That said when I look at a Lux I and a LUX III they look the same to me.


I'd guess 1-1.5W - perhaps 40-50 lumens is about right.
 

EngrPaul

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MattK said:
It's a 3W LED but it's not being driven at 3W - it's a bit dishonest.

Hi Matt,

What about TerraLUX's MaxStar5 being called a 5W dropin and being driven closer to 2.5W ?

:touche:
 

CM

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This WATTTTTT thing has gotten so out of hand that people are relying on it for their buying decision. The WATTTTT thing is absolutely worthless and real flashaholics should ignore anything which makes a big deal out of the WATTTTTT thing.

The misinformation has gone from sloppy use of the term such as "uses 3W LED" (*cough*it's a marketing term pulled off Lumileds data sheet *cough*) to outright lies such as "eye scorcher 15W LED light" (*cough*We're drawing 15W from your poor batteries but only 1.5 of it goes to the LED*cough*)

/rant off/

Repeat after me:

Watts is worthless, watts is worthless...
Lumens is king, lumens is king...
 
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coppertrail

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Curious_character said:
That flashlight does a whole lot better with NiMH cells than alkaline. I think the package says not to use rechargeable batteries, but in my opinion that's BS.

c_c
Would 2700 mAh cells be too much for these lights?
 

PlayboyJoeShmoe

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Not at all. MaH capacity doesn't mean anything more than runtime.

What you MIGHT find is that the 2700s self discharge pretty drastically.

2500 is the highest I have at this time, and I've lost a couple of them to VERY fast SD.

That said, if you USE the light, it likely won't be a problem.

My 2AA M*gled is in my truck, and as such it has Lith AAs in it so it will work when I want it to!
 

chevrofreak

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etc said:
That flashlight does a whole lot better with NiMH cells than alkaline.

+1

While this is true, it's not the massive difference that you see with most other lights. I was somewhat perplexed by that.

Maglite_MiniMagLED_2AA.png
 

HEY HEY ITS HENDO

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FredM said:
What about cutting it down and run it on Li-Ion14670

ETA ofcourse meaning ONE Li-ION battery,

........ no need to cut it down to fit the li-ion 14670 ...just get a spacer to make up the difference ...or a single 14500 and an AA blank from AW see ...https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/140362
.............................................. believe me the difference is quite dramatic !!!

Watts is worthless, watts is worthless...
Lumens is king, lumens is king...
 
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coppertrail said:
Would 2700 mAh cells be too much for these lights?


No, but the tube itself isn't machined to that close of tolerance and there's been reports of high capacity AAs being too fat to fit in some lots of Minimags.
 

coppertrail

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Thanks. I popped some Energizer AAs in my MiniMag LED, they fit fine. Didn't try with the 2700s, but I know they fit more snugly in my Canon camera.
 

frasera

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they couldn't be too much anyways, the rating is for capacity not output
 

ace0001a

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Remember guys, even Mag states on their packaging: "3 WATT LED...As rated by supplier of LED". So yeah, it's mostly marketing. It's almost like a car maker saying "V8 Engine" but leaves out "150 Horsepower".
 
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