PT Surge - battery options

I have two of these lights and have not tested the solder at the bulb pins by leaving them on facing down - yet. I purchased them because of the tremendous bang for the buck that they provide. I keep one in the kitchen drawer and take them when I go camping. To add to the economy, I use NiMH batteries. I hate the high self discharge rate though. I typically put a freshly charged set in each light before going camping.

I keep one light with just four AA lithium cells in it, in the kitchen drawer - so that it will always be ready to use. I do not use it like this for extended periods. I have typically not used either with AA alkalines.

I contacted a fellow CPF member who had recently purchased 10 dummy AA cells to ask if he would sell me a few. Instead he just gave them to me! Nice group of folks we have here.

I wanted to try six lithiums and two dummy cells - one in each group of four - to see how this would work. Brightness is down a bit from 8 NiMH and from 4 Lithiums. I expect this would mean significantly longer runtime with two more batteries in the light and less energy used by the bulb.

I wonder if this would be a good configuration to reduce the chance of bulb failure. I suspect alkalines only deliver enough power when they are very fresh to melt the solder.

If you're worried about the bulb falling out of the socket, the 3 lithiums should do it, if you're worried about the bulb blowing, you're pretty save with 3 lithiums on each side. If you're looking for brightness with 3 lithiums configuration, I think you're outta luck, it gets yellow rather quickly on alkalines, with lithiums, I think it would get as yellow, as quickly. The advantage here is the super light weight, I think it may be enough for it to float if dumped into a lake or pail of water.

Bob,

I would go ahead and test those guys. PT has fixed the problem and if you return them they will now send you good replacements. It's a hassle but not as much as having a light fail at the campsite.

I've wondered if there are other T 2 1/2 (???) bulbs with a lower voltage or amp rating that could be used in the Surge with the three battery setup you're considering. Carley might have some...

Jon