The 100 Lumen Challenge

Ok, here's the challenge. Using "off-the-shelf" (no serious modding) lights, parts, batteries, drop-ins, etc., how much run time can you squeeze out of a flashlight above 100 lumens?

For example, say you piece together a 6D maglite with 6xD NiMH batteries, and with some kind of 3rd party drop-in and get 10 hours of runtime before the light drops below 100 lumens. Can anyone top that?

I'm interested in runtime only north of the 100 lumens line. And for the sake of simplicity, let's not get into the whole emitter lumens v. Out-the-front lumens debate. Oh, and of course I'm talking about just 1 set of batteries here... duh! This is only a fun / theoretical / trivia post guys.

Come on, I know my fellow nerdy flash-a-holics won't let me down on this one.

EDIT: Ok guys, 1 other rule here... no wiring your hand-held flashlight to a 30 lbs battery.... come on! The batteries have to fit inside the flashlight.

I win!

I like these challenges:devil:, Ok here's my entries:

4th Electrolumen Shadeslayer: starts off at 1,400 lumens for 45 minuets, then drops to about 100 lumens after 4 hours.

3rd Wolf Eyes M90X running 3x 2,900 mah 18650's with a LF throw master drop-in= 180 lumens out the front with 8 hours 45 minuets of run time:thumbsup:.

2nd Eveready lantern attached to a 18Ah SLA with a emergency power-outage bulb= 275 lumens for 18 hours:twothumbs!

1st I'd like to see someone beat this light out: The Bigbeam Powerhouse, high= 307 lumens for 35 hours and "drum roll please" low mode 110 lumens for 130 hours!


I'm pointing at the Powerhouse


The Eveready

Stanley 5 watt LED spotlight discussed here:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/226105

Connect its 12V input to an Optima marine deep cycle battery, here:
http://www.optimabatteries.com/optima_products/bluetop/index.php

Does not require extensive mods or DIY, using terminal clamps and crimp rings from any Kragen.

100 regulated Lumens, 1 battery, 1 light, no extensive mods, everything is B&M available... including the hand truck you'll need to lug around the Optima.

that was a quick conversation :twothumbs


perhaps a better question would be,

who can get the most combined lumens out of 1 x 2200mah lion battery? (18650) ?

What's a "combined lumen"? Do you mean lumen-minutes (lumens emitted * runtime)?

grunscga said:

What's a "combined lumen"? Do you mean lumen-minutes (lumens emitted * runtime)?

Click to expand...

Possibility of multiple emitters...

kramer5150 said:

Stanley 5 watt LED spotlight discussed here:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/226105

Connect its 12V input to an Optima marine deep cycle battery, here:
http://www.optimabatteries.com/optima_products/bluetop/index.php

Does not require extensive mods or DIY, using terminal clamps and crimp rings from any Kragen.

100 regulated Lumens, 1 battery, 1 light, no extensive mods, everything is B&M available... including the hand truck you'll need to lug around the Optima.

Click to expand...

About how many hours would that stay 100 lumens?

13.1v / 5w = .38A draw. 75 Ah battery / .38A draw = 198h runtime

joshconsulting said:

13.1v / 5w = .38A draw. 75 Ah battery / .38A draw = 198h runtime

Click to expand...

... and I am willing to bet the "5W" rating is bogus, and it doesn't really draw that much at 12 Vin.

Also, I just threw the blue Optima into the mix, perhaps the yellow top is better suited for this application and would result in longer run times. I am sure there are larger 12V cells, with higher capacities.

I have seen HUGE 12V batteries, arranged in SP configurations used for backup power in telecommunications installations. These things are the size of small refrigerators. You'll need a pallet jack to EDC one though.:twothumbs

A large battery powered by a small generator with a thousand gallon tank of gasoline. If you don't set a size limit, the amount of energy in a 'portable' device is infinite, as well as the supply of bulbs etc., therefore runtime is infinite as well

Here you go....
Stanley 5 watt LED spotlight discussed here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=226105

One of these
http://www.industrialpowerproducts.com/brochures/Energy-Plus.pdf

600AH cell / .38A Draw = 578 hours

grunscga said:

What's a "combined lumen"? Do you mean lumen-minutes (lumens emitted * runtime)?

Click to expand...

Mark620 said:

Possibility of multiple emitters...

Click to expand...

yes, using any readily available parts, how can we extract the most lumens/light out of 2200 mah.

10 lumens x 20 hours = errrr you do the math

1 lumen x 200 hours = still cant figure that out

75 lumens for 11 hours = :tired:


you know what im getting @

It really comes down to the efficiency of the emitter, the higher the efficiency the longer the run time at any given output, that's why it's hard for Incans to compete. My Electrolumens EDC-P7 "running on a AW2,200" puts out 700 lumens and slowly decreases, after about 1 hour 20 minuets it's still like 30 lumens.

As far as just paralleling cells, one could really make some silly stuff. My LF Throw master D36 drop in pulls 1A at 3.6 volts and has a wide input voltage range so hook it up to my collection of 26x 18Ah SLAs and you'd get(18x26=468/0.277= 1,689 hours at 180 lumens:thumbsup:! Though I would consider this a complete waste of battery power:shakehead! Though I would just rig my Florescent 8watt lamp with it's alligator clips for a more efficient 300 lumen output.

yalskey said:

For example, say you piece together a 6D maglite with 6xD NiMH batteries, and with some kind of 3rd party drop-in and get 10 hours of runtime before the light drops below 100 lumens. Can anyone top that?

I'm interested in runtime only north of the 100 lumens line. And for the sake of simplicity, let's not get into the whole emitter lumens v. Out-the-front lumens debate. Oh, and of course I'm talking about just 1 set of batteries here... duh! This is only a fun / theoretical / trivia post guys.

Click to expand...

The new TLE-6EXB is nominally 140 lumens. With a AR coated UCL lens upgrade it should get 100 lumens OTF of a 3D Maglite. I suspect 500 mA draw so with 10,000 mAH NiMH batteries should get 10,000/500=20 hours above 100 OTF lumens.

superbrightleds has the PR2-1WHP bulb. Flange base 1 Watt High Power White LED, 5.4 to 30 Volts DC, 50~280mA, 100 lumen.
A 6D Mag with NiMH is 7.2 V. Current should be 280*5.4/7.2 or 210 mA. With 10,000 mAH NiMH batteries should get 10,000/210=47 hours above 100 LED lumens.
The bulb works in a 6V lantern I got. (Note many lanterns are reverse polarity so a normal LED PR bulb won't work)

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A lot of people are missing I'm interested in runtime only north of the 100 lumens line.
Of course if there is no 100 lumen limit, I had a 4D Dorcy spot/area light with a Dorcy 4AA LED floating lantern bulb in it. 20 mA draw. 2-3 lumens. 10,000/20=500 hours. With alkaline batteries the runtime could double if the light is allowed to run until the LED goes dark to 1000 hours. (Dorcy claims 200 hours off 4AA batteries).
The bulb works in my 6V lantern. Don't know how many mAH is in a 6V lantern battery but runtime should be huge. My guess: 6V lantern battery is 8 (2X4) F (2XD) carbon-zinc (0.5Xalkaline/NiMH) = 20,000 mAH giving 1000 hours. If the light is allowed to run until the LED goes dark, probably double that to 2000 hours.

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The big battery or generator option as suggested by joshconsulting and kramer5150 should be disallowed as they make the light non-portable. If you take this all the way you can hook the light up to a nuclear plant on idle and get hundreds of years of runtime. Not to mention the big battery or generator won't fit any existing light.
(Little me can't lift those 15MCD/HID spotlights. Forget big lead acid batteries or generators.)

Yeah, I think I agree with LEDNinja... you should be able to hook this thing up to some 30 lbs boating battery or something... that would really kind of defeat the whole portable / hand-held flashlight concept. Might as well just plug it into the wall or a gas generator.

LEDNinja, I'm interested in the second light you mentioned in your post... is that an LED light?

I like that. A small nuclear power plant mounted on a dolly (think space-shuttle type) with a few metric tons of uranium should let it outlive you :twothumbs

LEDninja said:

The new TLE-6EXB is nominally 140 lumens. With a AR coated UCL lens upgrade it should get 100 lumens OTF of a 3D Maglite. I suspect 500 mA draw so with 10,000 mAH NiMH batteries should get 10,000/500=20 hours above 100 OTF lumens.

Click to expand...

Don't you mean the TerraLUX TLE-6EX? What's the "B" stand for?

Also, shouldn't the run time be 120 hours because there are 6 D batteries, each at 10,000 mAh? And if you got 12,000 mAh D's, it would be 144 hours.

Question: is the TLE-6EX regulated? And if so, how well?

yalskey said:

Yeah, I think I agree with LEDNinja... you should be able to hook this thing up to some 30 lbs boating battery or something... that would really kind of defeat the whole portable / hand-held flashlight concept. Might as well just plug it into the wall or a gas generator.

LEDNinja, I'm interested in the second light you mentioned in your post... is that an LED light?

Click to expand...

You probably should edit your original post to include size, weight, and a hand carry limitation to your set of criteria.

Your original post requested:
"...a fun / theoretical / trivia post guys.

I know my fellow nerdy flash-a-holics won't let me down on this one. "

So thats why you got what you got.
:twothumbs

**edit**
One CPF'er brought a theater/stage light to Modamags meet. It plugged into the AC wall outlet and was easily one of the brightest lights there.

Terralux TLE-6EX 4-6 cells. Uses SSC-P4 or Luxeon K2. My guess is 500 mA draw on 6D so theoretically runtime should be the same. But the bulb overheats in 10-15 minutes and drops to 1/2 power. With the SSC-P4 this translates to 40 hours at ~100 lumens if run continuously. If run in short bursts 20 total hours at ~200 lumens. With the K2 the bulb drops below 100 lumens when the temperature protection kicks in.
Terralux TLE-6EXB 2-3 cells. The old fatty version is similar to the -6EX except for voltage input and boost instead of buck circuit. 1/2 the runtimes. The current version seem to use the TLE-1F PR2 case so should fit non-Mag flashlights. Rebel LED. (I suspect similar focus problems with fixed focus lights as with the superbrightleds bulb below - I have that one and the pictures show the same LED in the same position.)

yalskey said:

Don't you mean the TerraLUX TLE-6EX? What's the "B" stand for?

Question: is the TLE-6EX regulated? And if so, how well?

Click to expand...

superbrightleds has the PR2-1WHP bulb. It is a PR2 LED upgrade bulb. Identical in appearance to the new TLE-6EXB. Fits non Mag flashlights (focus problems with fixed focus flashlights).
5.4 to 30 Volts DC. Does not work on 4 NiMH, works on 4 alkalines. Suggest 5 or 6 cell Mags only.
Somehow the direct link does not work.
Goto www.superbrightleds.com
Click ENTER. Scroll down to Flashlights and Bulbs. Click.
Scroll down to the Bulbs.
Click on the 2nd button from the bottom on the right hand side.

Or do you mean 4D FOCUSING AREA/SPOT LAMP with the bulb from DORCY COOL BLUE? LEDcorp which built the bulb designed by ARCmania is out of business. The current bulb is a 1 watt 25 lumen LED. At 350mA vs the 20 mA of old the runtime is much shorter. ~28 hours.
Dorcy also sells the bulb by itself.

yalskey said:

LEDNinja, I'm interested in the second light you mentioned in your post... is that an LED light?

Click to expand...

More batteries in an inline configuration means more volts, not more mAH.

yalskey said:

Also, shouldn't the run time be 120 hours because there are 6 D batteries, each at 10,000 mAh? And if you got 12,000 mAh D's, it would be 144 hours.

Click to expand...

kramer5150 said:

You probably should edit your original post to include size, weight, and a hand carry limitation to your set of criteria.

Click to expand...

Thanks kramer, good suggestion. I guess I asked for it didn't I? LOL