Standard 2 cell flashlight... how bright?

I'm not looking for an exact science, but can someone give me a general idea of how many lumens is average for a standard 2C or 2D cell household flashlight? I don't think that stock PR based bulbs vary much in brightness. I'm thinking maybe 10 or 15 lumens, but I have nothing to base that on. I figure you more experienced guys can tell me. Thanks.

roymail said:

I'm not looking for an exact science, but can someone give me a general idea of how many lumens is average for a standard 2C or 2D cell household flashlight? I don't think that stock PR based bulbs vary much in brightness. I'm thinking maybe 10 or 15 lumens, but I have nothing to base that on. I figure you more experienced guys can tell me. Thanks.

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Might start out a little higher, but generally that sounds about right.

SureFire states that their Executive Elite series (MN03 lamp) produce three times the light of a big two-D-cell flashlight, so that means a stock PR bulb on two-Ds is roughly 20 lumens. And I agree with them. And that might be even a bit too optimistic, because I don't think a 2D "gas station" flashlight is brighter than a stock SureFire E1e. Most cheap PR lights don't even use krypton lamps, they are vacuum lamps with no gas inside, which are even dimmer than krypton.

Two cell C and D mags are 36 lumens. ..woopie...

A two cell mag with sputtered reflector and krypton bulb appears about equal to the MNO3, with the edge going to the MNO3

not to mention they dim very quickly on alkaline batteries

according to FLR, a 3D Mag is 32 lumens initially, but is at 50% output in just over a hour. A 2D would be dimmer still, and a cheapie may not be as bright as a Mag.

effulgentOne said:

not to mention they dim very quickly on alkaline batteries

according to FLR, a 3D Mag is 32 lumens initially, but is at 50% output in just over a hour. A 2D would be dimmer still, and a cheapie may not be as bright as a Mag.

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Ah, I see that. Good point. Brightguy recently changed the output figures of his maglite listings. I remember that the 3D mag used to be listed at 46 lumens. Pretty sad.

Doubt that I could add any useful info about lumens (actually, I'm, sure of that), but I will say this - numbers truly mean less when the beam color is as yellow as... well you know. With almost any white LED you get much better useful light for a great many tasks.

For this cheap plastic light FLR only got 14 lumens about 1/2 of the mags.

Hello Roymail --


Always figured that a standard PR-2 bulb
(for a 2-D cell flashlight) emitted about 12 to 15 Lumens.


I read that in a General Electric catalog of Miniature Bulbs and Lamps,
which (knowing me) i probably still have around here somewhere.


Now, understand, that is "bulb Lumens", not counting losses due to
reflector, lens, etc.


And also must point out this was before the days of
Halogen bulbs, Krypton bulbs, and other modern advances.


The PR-2 emitted 0.8 "units" (mean spherical candlepower, or mscp)

The PR-3 emitted 1.5 (mscp). This bulb was for 3-D cell flashlights.
Notice that adding one additional cell made the flashlight twice as bright.

Current draw was still the same (500mA), so they both lasted just as long on a set of batteries)


I remember those days well ! :wave:



Oh, just for fun . . . .

I understand that Wikipedia sez that a
Standard Candle emits about 13 Lumens in the visible spectrum.
_

Outdoors Fanatic said:

SureFire states that their Executive Elite series (MN03 lamp) produce three times the light of a big two-D-cell flashlight, so that means a stock PR bulb on two-Ds is roughly 20 lumens. And I agree with them. And that might be even a bit too optimistic, because I don't think a 2D "gas station" flashlight is brighter than a stock SureFire E1e. Most cheap PR lights don't even use krypton lamps, they are vacuum lamps with no gas inside, which are even dimmer than krypton.

Click to expand...

There's alot of variation in 2D flashlights. It depends on whether you're talking about a 96 cent grocery store light with a crummy lamp, iffy electrical connection and 'heavy duty' carbon zinc batteries or a 2D with two new alkaline batteries and a dorcy xenon or maglite magnumstar bulb. You can be talking a 4X difference in brightness or greater between those two.

effulgentOne said:

not to mention they dim very quickly on alkaline batteries

according to FLR, a 3D Mag is 32 lumens initially, but is at 50% output in just over a hour. A 2D would be dimmer still, and a cheapie may not be as bright as a Mag.

Click to expand...

Alkaline batteries run best in spurts rather than for hours continuously. It gives the chemistry a chance to recover. That has always been the strength (and weakness) of alkaline. I'll tell you what's really dim, when those CR123's go down to nothing after an hour running an MN03. 2 alkaline D's can run a lamp for up to ten hours.

The absolute brightest stock 2-cell bulbs I've ever heard of are about the 40-lumen mark.

This is why the 6AA or LED based solutions are so popular here.