SL 4AA overdriven - Streamlight response?

haertig

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 5, 2002
Messages
96
I have one of the older SL 4AA's that has the nice bright, but highly overdriven LED modules. I am a little worried about the long term reliability of the light. Sure, Streamlight will probably replace it if it melts, but that really doesn't address the problem of losing your light when you need it most. The longest continuous time I've had this light on is maybe 10 minutes so far.

Has anyone contacted Streamlight and asked for their take on this? Will they replace an older model with one of the newer ones that are a bit tamed down, given that the older one hasn't failed yet? Is it adviseable to ask for such a replacement? I know a dummy cell is an option to fix it myself, but for some reason I'm opposed to laying out money, no matter how little, to fix what appears to be a design flaw in the initial implementation. I sure like the brightness of this light, but I have concerns about it's longterm reliability.
 

BuddTX

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 27, 2001
Messages
2,521
Location
Houston, TX
I think that, in other threads about this issue, people noted that the newer Streamlights have added resistors to the light.

All Streamlights have a lifetime warrantee, so if it ever breaks, just send it in and get another one.

If you are using the light for mission critical situations where you don't want the light to fail, send it in now, and ask for a replacement.

However, if you had a mission critical app for the light, I would highly recommend the Streamlight 3C, 10 LED light, as it has a much heavier heat sink, 3 more LED's (10 vs 7) 4.5 vs 6 volts, and bigger batteries ("C" vs "AA") for longer run times.

The 4AA is nice when you need to slip a light into your pocket, but the 3C is the light I would want to grab when I know that I am going to need a lot of light, for a long time.
 

haertig

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 5, 2002
Messages
96
I wouldn't call anything I do "mission critical". I would just be kindof ticked off if the light failed on me. I have plenty of other LED lights, but I don't go suiting myself up with "redundancy time 4" every time I need a flashlight. If I'm heading into the crawlspace to string more CAT5 cable, I would hope that one LED light would be all I need. I wouldn't die down there without a light, but it wouldn't be my idea of fun navigating my way out in total darkness either. And these crawlspace like tasks are just the one's I'm most likely to grab the SL 4AA for.

Being an incredibly conservative type person, I've tried to choose my growing LED flashlight collection with an eye towards reliability and long run times. I guess I'm just kicking myself for maybe buying too soon on the SL 4AA. But, dang it, I love the light! I think it's still the favorite one in my collection (although that recent CMG Infinity Ultra purchase is an up-and-coming contender).
 

BuddTX

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 27, 2001
Messages
2,521
Location
Houston, TX
I have one of the earlier Streamlight 4AA, 7 led lights, and so far, it seems to be just fine.

I have had mine on for several hours at a time,(constant on) and it still seems to be just fine.

The only one that broke, to my recollection, was brightnorms, but he put in 4 lithium AA batteries and let it run until the batteries ran out, constant on mode.

I do understand that the newer 4AA's have an improved on/off tailcap switch.

I am sure that, for piece of mind, Streamlight would gladly replace yours with a newer model, if you asked them.

Call Streamlight and speak to them directly. I am sure that they will work it out to your satisfaction.

Like you, I like that light a lot, even though there are smaller, and brighter LED's out there.
 

StuU

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 13, 2001
Messages
647
Location
Virginia
Just put in a dummy cell. My Xmas gift was an SL74aa. The light was used from Xmas till early April before needing a battery replacement. Light output is impressive and no heating problems.
 
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